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BN: Which is a segue to, I want to now talk about redress, but also, I think, the roots of it in some ways came from the LTPRO and the whole Little Tokyo housing situation. How did you get involved in that?

AN: Well, initially, it was, again, one of the organizations that we started in the late '60s was the Asian American Political Alliance in L.A., where we were kind of already established in the Bay Area. And so then we wanted to connect with communities, so for JAs in Little Tokyo, there wasn't a lot of connection there. So we began to... first it was serve the people programs, doing things, we started the JAX Asian Involvement Office, etcetera. And then redevelopment was occurring, and so that became kind of the focus. Because the immediacy was the issues of evictions and things like that that were going on. So that's when we started the Anti-Eviction Task Force, then ultimately we realized that we needed, rather than just this anti-eviction kind of thing, we needed to broaden the scope to the Little Tokyo's People's Rights Organization. And so that's what we kind of took on, and we began to kind of work in Little Tokyo more. We were kind of seen as outsiders in a very set community, etcetera, so then we started rocking the boat in terms of fighting against the evictions, etcetera. But it was kind of a thing that we realized, some of us, that Little Tokyo was a community in need of redevelopment in some ways. So we needed to, rather than just kind of focusing on stop the evictions, really talk about how to fight for certain other things like the community center, location for small businesses, senior housing. And so, fortunately, it was at a time where those involved in redevelopment were also committed to Little Tokyo, so there was enough common ground that we didn't take the position of adversarial, they're the enemy, but rather saying, we are going to fight for these things, but at the same time, work together on these issues, if there's replacement housing, if there's commitment for cultural... so actually, when I was head of LTPRO, I testified on behalf of the redevelopment project of City Hall, the city council, saying that our priorities are all of these things. And so that's how we emerged. So LTPRO was involved in those efforts, and as the redevelopment project began to wind down, and the evictions had occurred and Little Tokyo Towers was started, JBP, etcetera, that we began to kind of look for the next steps. And so we began to look into redress as one activity, continuing to focus on immigrant and workers' rights as another issue, continuing our efforts with Nikkei and news.

So then I kind of took on, with some others, looking at redress. So that's when we took on, we started the Los Angeles Community Coalition for Redress and Reparations. Because our approach, this might work from other places, was we didn't want to create another organization, we wanted to create a coalition. From my other work, I was a firm believer in the value of one-issue-oriented coalitions, to bring together broader segments of people rather than trying to build an organization and that being the focus. Because we didn't want to build an alternative to JACL, we wanted to build a coalition that could include the JACL as well as others. Because recognizing the JACL, there's people that would never join the JACL. And if the JACL were to be the organization for redress, large segments of the community would not engage and participate. But yet, the JACL was critical. So that's why this notion of a community coalition including the JACL... and some people, the grassroots membership understood it, and so they joined NCRR, the leadership of JACL obviously had problems with it.

So we started the Los Angeles Community Coalition and then worked with activists in the other communities to try to then form a national network. So we involved the JACL, some chapters agreed, others, the national didn't want to have anything to do with us. We wanted to involve Bill Hohri and the National Council folks, involved in that, and Bill came out and we had a meeting. But Bill's was the class-action suit and that's it. And our position was class-action is great, but there were multiple strategies, and we felt that the legislative process was better because it allowed opportunity to engage the community more. Where class-action, it's raising money for attorneys and doing those things, which is important, but we felt for our base, they wanted to roll up their sleeves and feel that they're involved in a movement. And it's more than just raising money. So unfortunately, Bill was Bill. He was just so single-minded, and some of us... I talk about, we're not the enemy, and can't we just agree that you're going to do your thing? But he was... and he and many were so virulently anti-JACL, and so it was awkward because they saw us as kind of being like, just collaborating with JACL. So it was just kind of an awkward time. But we created NCRR, and that kind of got involved. It was something that when I initially was involved in it, I was saying, well, yeah, we were doing this, but I saw this as an issue that, yeah, this is going to be at a certain scope, but it just took on a much larger scope than I had ever imagined. And at a certain point, it was just not a political -- for me it was a political issue, to continue organizing, etcetera, but then it became, quote, "personal," but also a commitment to community that we had to see this thing through. So it was a crazy time, we were putting in an inordinate amount of meetings and things like that. And all of us were working, we had a lot of other things going on. So I just don't know quite how we managed it, and I could keep my employment job at Cal State Long Beach during that time, staying busy with doing all that.

BN: Raising kids.

AN: Yeah, with my kids. And I remember Angela, who was the oldest, was somewhat resentful for the fact that Yvonne and I didn't spend as much time with her and whatever. And so she was in childcare a lot and doing other things. So she was kind of resentful about those things. And where it kind of changed, the lightbulb turned on, was that I was invited to speak to her high school assembly about camp and redress. And Angela was so afraid, she goes, "You're what? No, don't do it, Dad, don't do it, Dad." How's she going to live this through? And so I did the presentation and it was well-received. And all of a sudden she saw what camps and redress was from a broader perspective and that changed our relationship, and I think the things that she saw. But yeah, it was a time when I think both Angela and Mia, it wasn't, I don't think... of course, I'm biased, but it was so traumatic that it was terrible, but they, especially Angela was very resentful. She said, "I remember that you weren't there for this thing, and Mom wasn't..." and so we said, well, yeah, but we were busy doing other things. And she understands it now about how you balance all these things. She says I guilt trip her now with her kids.

BN: Probably doing the same thing.

AN: Yeah, it's the same issues, but she's an OBGYN, so hers is just her job. She loves what she does, but she spends an inordinate... it just defines her life, because she's delivering babies at all hours.

BN: They don't come on schedule.

AN: No, and she's engaged with a lot of the, quote, "community," our people that are her patients. She loves it, but she also realizes it's so consuming and so demanding. We have conversations about what the next phase of her life is, and how she's going to prepare, looking to be engaged and other things. Because I remember when she graduated from med school, she said to me, at her graduation from med school, she goes, "Dad, I know you're disappointed in me that I didn't go into teaching and education," like Mia did, etcetera. I said, "We're not disappointed in you." So she always feels that politically, she just feels that she's not an activist enough. I said, but everyone finds their own routes, and I'm not saying you've got to be an activist, you just have to find your passion for what you want to do. But hopefully it's something that contributes beyond yourself to a broader good. And I said, "You're doing that, so just find your own path." I'm sorry, I digress.

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