<Begin Segment 17>

PW: One final question for you...

EH: Okay.

PW: ...because we're an educational resource, is to ask, what do you think we, all Americans, can learn about the Japanese American experience of incarceration during World War II? Given your own experience, what you learned through the movies and the DVDs and your parents...

EH: I think what this country needs to learn is to be more accepting of the ethnic minorities in our country or in the world. And so we need to be more accepting of those people, our people, whether you're Asian or whether you're African American, whether you're Muslim. I think those are all wrong to be anti. And so I try to speak out when I hear those things or people say something. And hopefully, the way I act toward other people will reflect that. And in some ways, maybe where I'm living is a chance for me to do that, because it's mostly a Caucasian community in the suburbs. So it's my chance to show them that just because I'm an ethnic minority, I'm the same as they are, and they need to accept that. But I also feel that I'm not a member of Densho, but I belong to JACL. So I feel that belonging to some ethnic organizations and trying to help them, at least financially, is important. And that's why I think the religious part, too, was, I appreciate the religious community, the ethnic and religious community. And now that my wife is also in many ways an ethnic person, we need to make sure that that is recognized also and accepted. But I haven't given a lot of thought to what I should do, but...

PW: Maybe not be so much that the burden was on you and what you have to do, but I'm, again, I'm asking more like what can be learned? Imagining from your grandchildren's perspective, what can they learn from that, what their families went through? Is there a piece of that, if anything, that they should be...

EH: Well, I feel that living in the East Coast, especially California, is different than living in, say, in the Midwest or in the eastern areas. What I feel really encouraged, is the fact that, especially during the Trump years and even now with the thing in Ukraine and with the Covid, I've noticed that a lot of the people that are on TV, whether they're the doctors or just the news people, there's a lot of ethnic minorities on there. I never realized that there were that many living in, like, Atlanta or in all of the other states in the country. So I'm glad to see that. Of course, then Atlanta had the problem with the three deaths that happened to those women. But even, like in the Muslim, there's several Muslim reporters that I've seen, so it's not all white. And a lot of African American people were working, too, so those I think are, it's progress. It's just these very right-wing people that are the ones involved in the January 6th thing, you know. They have to be changed a little bit. I do have to mention that when I was in the service, when we used to go drinking in the bars, I always went with a couple of my friends from the barracks, I never would go myself simply because I wouldn't feel safe going into a bar by myself because I'm Asian. So sometimes you have to keep those things in mind, but it looks like the country is becoming more ethnic than before, and I think that's a good thing. So to me, that's a good sign. And I think when issues come up, then that's the time people need to speak up. Either protest or find out what is the right thing to do. I forget who, someone said once, there has to come a day when you don't have to say, "I'm Japanese American," and you can just say, "I'm an American," you don't have to put the first part in. "I'm African American." But we're not at that point yet.

PW: Is there anything else you wanted to just share with me, just entirely your thoughts?

EH: I think I've said what was on my mind about this issue.

PW: Thank you.

EH: I appreciate your spending the time with me.

PW: No, I mean, again, kochiro koso, you're the one that came to sit in the chair for me. And so I guess we'll stop.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.