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MN: Now during the redress movement in the 1980s you were involved in a number of organizations. Can you share with us how you got involved with the National Council for Japanese American Redress?

LW: I think there were some of us, and I had support among others, and I heard about Bill Hohri, and we felt like this was a good way to go. And Bill Hohri, going directly with a class action suit rather than going through all the other organizational efforts to bring together the community, we felt that that was the direct route, and so through that effort some of us became supportive of the NCJAR.

MN: Now William Hohri was really active with the United Methodist churches in Chicago. Did you know him through that at all?

LW: Only, yeah, only through publicity in the media, Japanese American media, and then because of that, at that time he was able to go from place to place. We asked him to come to San Francisco and spend time with some of us who were supportive of the NCJAR, so he spoke. We had an evening meeting, and he shared his story and the progress that was being made with NCJAR. So at that we were able to support him while he was still with, in Chicago.

MN: You know, when redress, the movement started, did you ever think that the government would issue an apology and reparations?

LW: Well, I was very doubtful about that. I felt it was important, but whether or not we, the Japanese community could really come together enough to exert enough influence and power to do that, I had my doubts. I guess it picked up, began to pick up some momentum when we saw NCCR, National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, I guess that's NCRR, NCJAR, and the JACL began to at least seem to be working together, building up some momentum. I guess optimism began to flower.

MN: Now, in either 1999 or the year 2000, you were involved in the interfaith group that passed a resolution in support of the World War II Nisei draft resisters. How did you get involved in that issue?

LW: We had an organization called Council for Pacific Asian Theology, which was supportive of dialogue with the, among various Christian groups, dialogue, interaction, interrelationship with Buddhists, so out of that we had a meeting here and we, and at that meeting we were able to support a resolution in support of the JACL issuing an apology to the resisters. So that was an effort that included Buddhists, Christians, and some community people, so we felt like it was important to support the JACL's effort to issue an apology.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.