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BS: And then you talked about how Cherry was outspoken about the camps for a Nisei, which I imagine also made her very passionate about the Japanese American redress movement. So, can you describe the movement a little bit and then also go into Cherry's role in the movement and how she became involved in what she did?

KK: Yeah, I will. Because, obviously, that's kind of the main part of her legacy and what she's remembered for. I'll say something right here which I'll sort of clarify. I wasn't... I didn't participate with her and the redress movement for a variety of reasons. One was, in the '70s, it was kind of a thing where JACL was kind of known as a Nisei organization. Whereas the Sansei, if they were politically active, they were kind of involved in sort of radical causes on college campuses or in the community. And you know that the Nisei, even though we were sympathetic, were just kind of establishment for us. So even though much later, of course, Sansei got active in the redress movement, it wasn't seen right at that point as a Sansei issue, except for the fact that we definitely would find opportunities to talk about incarceration. So, just kind of that caveat, that a lot of what I learned about redress, and what happened afterward, was actually kind of after it happened. So I think that, from what I read, and again a lot of it was reading about it in Born in Seattle and hearing about it after she passed and things like that, from what I can tell, is that she was, of course, sympathetic. She helped out in the '70s. There were a number of individuals, one of the main people was a Nisei named Henry Miyatake, who was one of the ones who initiated when it was really the driving force in the '70s. And I think she helped out, but she didn't yet get to the point where she was actually known as the leader of redress or a strong leader of redres. She was one who just one who helped out.

From what I can tell is that when that changed was at a certain juncture in the redress movement -- which I don't... I'm trying not to get too much of the details -- In 1979, Representative Mike Lowry, who was a liberal congressman representing the seventh district, after a lot of work, was ready to introduce a bill in Congress for redress. And I think the Seattle people were quite excited about that. What happened was that those folks who were associated with redress were probably more cautious and conservative, kind of derailed it, quite frankly. Instead of letting the bill go to the floor, instead they introduced an idea for, to launch a congressional commission to investigate incarceration, I guess, to see whether or not it was unjust. And that may seem a ridiculous statement, but there was still the belief that there was military necessity for the security, and that was why the Japanese Americans were incarcerated. So the Congressional Commission, which was the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, CWRIC, was launched. And the bill in Congress was to actually do that instead of approving redress. From what I read is that some of the original leaders of the redress movement in Seattle were infuriated at this point. In fact, Henry Miyatake, who was the leader and who also, I guess, had some family difficulties, kind of step back from the movement.

And I think it was at this point where I understand my mom being, came forward to assume her leadership role. She recounts in Born in Seattle, that she had gone to a regional JACL meeting where this commission was talked about. And there was a lot of anger at the fact that redress was going to be sidetracked for several more years and at a time when Issei were dying and not getting the benefit of it. She tells a story about the fact that on the plane back to Seattle, it dawned on her that commissions have hearings, and in hearings, people testify. And long story short, she went back to Seattle and began to organize all sorts of people from the JA community here in Seattle. And I imagine that she had some influence in other cities to testify at eventually what were hearings here in Seattle. If you ever read some of the testimonies, there are some of the most gut wrenching and heartbreaking stories that you will ever read. And these stories would have never come to light had not there have been these hearings and had not people like my mom organized people to come and make statements in that way. And it was, I think, at that point that she began to be recognized as a leader.

At that point she then began to, I guess I would say, relentlessly, start pursuing the incarceration -- or redress, not incarceration. She became active while the national process was going on. Three separate regress actions locally, redress for Japanese Americans who had been fired by Washington State, redress for City of Seattle workers who had been forced to resign because of the incarceration, and just a tremendously interesting story about how she was, became involved, along with Mako Nakagawa, another JACL leader, in redress for twenty-seven young Nisei woman school clerks who had worked for Seattle Public Schools. That was quite a dramatic story, which I won't get into. But, you know, that in itself is just a fascinating story about how she managed to get these ten very shy Nisei women, who had no inkling and no inclination to speak out, at the school board meeting in support of redress.

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