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EK: Thank you. And you briefly touched on this before during your introduction, on your involvement with the JACL. But, during your time with the Seattle JACL chapter, if you don't mind answering what projects that you worked on during your time with the Seattle JACL chapter and what they meant to you. And if there was one in particular that you would like to -- you're not limited to one -- but if there's specific projects that you would like to talk about and the impact it had, not only on you, but on the individuals, community or group it affected? If you could share that.

KB: Sure. I think, when I think of the projects I was involved in, probably the one that is at the forefront is a Japanese Canadian project. In 1980... 1980 probably, I approached the chapter and said, "I wonder if the chapter would be agreeable to be a sponsor were I to secure a grant from the Washington State Commission for the Humanities to bring to Seattle an exhibition about the experience of Japanese Canadians, 100 years of the Japanese Canadian experience from immigration to the present. And couple that with a symposium to look at the comparative experience of Japanese Canadians, of Japanese Americans, as well as an archival exhibit at the University of Washington Suzzallo Library." And the chapter said, "Yes, go to it." [Laughs] And I was successful in securing, securing the grant, and had a wonderful committee of folks which included Gordon Hirabayashi, who was a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, but happened to be on sabbatical at the University of Washington that year. He was ideal because he... we needed someone who had professional contacts with scholars and artists and writers in Canada and in the U.S. for our symposium and he in fact had those relationships.

The photographic exhibition and accompanying text had parallels to the Japanese American Experience starting with immigration to North America, exclusion... removal and exclusion from the West Coast, and postwar resettlement. It was relevant to and resonated with me as a Japanese American and others who saw it. And the fact that we were able to secure the Frye Art Museum, just outside of the downtown area on First Hill, was really, felt like quite a coup. Because what it meant was that this exhibition would reach a larger general audience, which it ended up doing. The exhibition served to educate and promote understanding. And there was a book for visitors at the museum to record messages. I think this was the idea of the museum itself, which showed that the exhibition had a positive impact amongst its visitors. The day-long symposium brought together, as I mentioned, scholars and artists and writers from both sides of the border to discuss their experiences, and especially as it related to the forced removal and exclusion from the West Coast. The symposium was well-attended, especially by Japanese Americans at Seattle Central Community College. At that time, we had no idea that in approximately a year and several months, that same stage and auditorium would be the site of the CWRIC hearings. I think it ended up just being fortuitous that we all kind of started turning our minds to these compelling stories and images and what its impact had been on our communities. That wasn't by design, of course, because we didn't know about the CWRIC hearings at the time that the project was approved, but it was fortuitous timing.

This symposium included Asian American -- Japanese American poet, Lawson Inada, and the Canadian novelist, Joy Kogawa. And Joy Kogawa's book Obasan is a seminal piece of literature describing the experience of a fictional family that had been removed and excluded from Vancouver, and the impact and legacy of that experience on them. So it was quite a treat for me and I'm sure other people in the audience to see Lawson Inada and Joy Kogawa serve on a panel together. I think either one of them alone would have been an exceptional experience. Having them both speak respectively from their Japanese American and Japanese Canadian perspective was an extraordinary experience. There were other people who contributed at the symposium and I value that as much.

The third component of the project was an archival exhibit about the World War II experience of Japanese Americans at the Suzzallo library. And that clearly reached many university students and visitors to the university. The committee was of the view that the project succeeded and this goes to present the exhibition that would attract as wide an audience as possible, to produce a well-attended and successful symposium, to consider the comparative experiences of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians, and to collaborate with the University of Washington. My understanding is that the experience was meaningful also to the Japanese Canadians who attended. One comment by a Japanese Canadian was that when Japanese Americans -- Japanese Canadians met Japanese Americans during that time, the Japanese Canadians seldom knew about Japanese Americans, and would be surprised that Japanese Canadians had an experience similar -- a history similar to that of Japanese Americans. And, in fact, I think, in many respects, it was a much more challenging and difficult experience than that the Japanese Americans experienced. And she felt that viewing gigs for Japanese Americans -- to view the exhibit, and to attend a symposium was an effective way to educate Japanese Americans and to bring our respective communities together. So, I think that was... and I spoke two years ago with a Japanese Canadian, and I said -- who was head of one of their organizations in Vancouver -- and I said, "Has there been anything similar since this project in 1981?" and she said, "No, we should do something." [Laughs]. But again, I think this, the Seattle chapter deserves credit for what I thought was an impactful, impactful project -- oh, impactful and a worthwhile educational project.

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