<Begin Segment 25>

BF: Was there organized opposition? 'Cause that's another thing I've heard as why it passed, is that there wasn't really good organized opposition.

CK: No, the opposition was helpful. Because Lillian Baker was such a weird person. I mean, her reasoning... when you look, I mean, it angered you some of the things she said and claimed, but it helped to strengthen the support because she was so outlandish. She did have some supporters, though. She had some people here in the Kent Valley who came out to the hearings and there were at least two very strong Baker colleagues who testified. There was opposition from the veterans.

BF: Oh. Throughout the process or just at the beginning?

CK: Well, locally, Nisei veterans were opposed at the beginning and they gradually came on board. But the majority of the veterans organizations, VFW, American Legion, at first, at first, in the first instance they would oppose it because they still link in their minds Japanese Americans somehow tied with Japan, the enemy, and we had to get around that. So we had some people, Art Morimitsu for one, was tremendous in getting to the veteran's organizations and you know, pleading the case and making them realize that this was an American issue, that this was a constitutional issue and it wasn't a matter of the enemy, Japan, and we, in a sense looking like the enemy and this kind of thing. So that was important to get that support or at least a neutral position and that was what was accomplished, so that you didn't have this outpouring of negative, "Don't support the bill," from the veterans groups. Because that would have been very difficult to overcome.

<End Segment 25> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.