<Begin Segment 29>

TI: So let me explain this and then let me ask you a question. So, so when the redress bill passed, part of the bill was an apology and a twenty thousand dollar payment.

HU: Yeah.

TI: And so when it came your time to receive the payment you refused the twenty thousand dollars on, on principle. You said you did not feel like you wanted this. So first tell me why you refused the twenty thousand dollars.

HU: Okay, mainly my reason was that, rather than talk about the injustice, I want, I knew that this was gonna be on record in the archives and I wanted the Japanese Americans to go down in history as someone who went to camp graciously and made whatever, made the best of what they had. They didn't have much, but they made the best of what they had with what time they had. They even built a lot of beautiful gardens and things and when everything was over they said sayonara to camp and they went out and continued where they left off and continued on with their lives, so I think that was... to me, I think that was more important than the injustice. You know, today... well, let me say this, that it's important that we have people who, who say, "Well, we were sent to concentration camps, we were incarcerated, we were uprooted," and things, because those are strong words. And saying that, "Hey, we want redress, want some action, we want some apology," well, those things, they're strong and those are the things that rouse people up, and those, when people get riled up it sort of goes into history. Without them we probably may not have any mention in the textbook or anything, but it's important to have those people, so I have nothing against those people, but then I also think it's important to sort of bring up the fact that, or the things that we did to survive through that wartime hysteria because that's a legacy. So we're not leaving history in this case, but we're leaving legacy, so maybe generations from now our (descendants) might say, "Hey, my great great-great-great-grandparents, they were sent to camp and they did such and such a thing. They went through this courageously and they continued on their, with their lives. They didn't get any help from the government; they didn't go on welfare." So I think that, to me that means a lot and that's legacy.

TI: So it sounds like, and correct me if I say anything that isn't what you're trying to say, but it sounds like there's, that you are fine with this kind of... you know, people have different views of, of what happened and how they want to do it. In your case, you wanted more of this legacy of people persevering, able to go through this experience and without any government support, able to, to do well again, or to survive, but you also are fine with, perhaps, people that were some, I'll call 'em more activists, who used these strong terms and, and to make sure that this information gets in the history books. So in your case, you took, some would say, a big step of refusing a twenty-five, a twenty thousand dollar check at a time when twenty thousand dollars was, was a lot of money. It still is a lot of money.

HU: Yeah.

TI: Do you, how do you feel about the other Japanese Americans who took the twenty thousand dollars?

HU: Oh, that's great. Yeah, that's, that's great. Yeah, that, people ask me, "Hey, you refused, but I took it. What, how do you feel about it?" I say, "Hey, that's great. More power to you." I mean, it's just, it's just difference of opinion.

TI: And so what's the, the Nisei reaction when people find out that you refused twenty thousand dollars? I mean, what, what, like amongst your friends and they, and when you're having a quiet drink with 'em or something and they say, "Hey, you, you didn't take twenty thousand dollars?" So what do they think?

HU: They call me an asshole. Stupid asshole. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] Because they say it's like free money, just take it?

HU: Yeah. Yeah.

TI: But do they respect your --

HU: Yeah, they, they respect my stand.

TI: It is a very principled stand you took. Is part of your stand, does part of that come from discussions with Lillian Baker?

HU: No. No, that has nothing to do with it. Yeah.

TI: Or but not, not when you actually made the decision, but some of the words that you, you remember her saying or anything like that?

HU: No.

TI: So if she wasn't in the picture you'd still probably do the same thing?

HU: Uh-huh, right.

TI: Okay, good.

<End Segment 29> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.