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AT: I think it's just beautiful saying how much he can accomplish things on like, the more broad level, but also his relationships with individuals like Bill and, yeah, just, he seems someone very personable within his activism as well.

STS: Could I amplify what Janice was saying about him being a values driven person? I think in large part, again, one thing that we haven't really touched upon is that he grew up in the central area. And the central area in which he was raised was a very, very diverse neighborhood community. And it was racially diverse, it was religiously diverse. That's where you had the center of the Jewish community at one time, as well as that's where you have Japantown. So there were a lot of Buddhist temples in that area, as well as Christian. And so it was -- not only being the son of his parents, and the brother of his brother, as well as the brother of his sisters, but it was also being the child of the central area at a very, very sort of critical time in U.S. history during the Civil Rights Movement. And so, I guess, I don't know, and maybe Barb knows whether or not there was a specific family or friend or relationship or situation that exposed him to the challenges of the LGBTQ community early on in his life. But what I can say is what Janice said is absolutely key. When we put together -- when he put together the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, it was not to focus in on the Japanese American community and the Japanese American experience, exclusively. If you look at the legislation, it is about using that as a way to understand other similar experiences around the affronts and the challenges and the actual attacks on civil liberties period. So he was a committed warrior for civil liberties. And it was sparked largely by the family experience and the community experience. But his focus was far more focused on the broader notion of every person is endowed with an inalienable right to be who they are, and have the freedom, and that's the role of government. And so, I mean, I think it's important that we not confine Kip to just being a Japanese American activist, because he was so much more than that. And it is based in the value system that Janice talked about.

AT: Yeah, thank you so much. I'm not sure, Barb, if you had anything to add on to that or...

BL: No, I mean, I agree with what Sharon was saying. He, it was a very broad stroke that he painted in everything that he did, and very much was bothered both on the larger social scale to things that would happen to people that he knew, or even people that he didn't know. If they were treated disrespectfully, if they were not appreciated or valued for what they can bring, and what they can share, that always was really, really upsetting to him to see that happen. But I think in his work in the community, he was able to take it beyond kind of the personal or even the familial and really affect our community, the Seattle community, people in the state, and that was kind of the big picture. I find it just really interesting when I think about his life, and how much he did, it's almost like somebody who is like, I've got to get these things done, time is of the essence, because that's sort of how he worked. And he'd be working on, like, many projects at once. And so when he, when he passed away, it's like, wow, he really did a lot in in his lifetime. And I was really kind of... when I started kind of looking back and taking stock, I was really impressed. I guess, I would say, by how much he was able to achieve, and the way that he did it. I'm not that kind of person, I can't imagine the energy, the devotion, the commitment, the love that he put into this every day, even after he retired, which was not a real retirement, it didn't last very long.

AT: Yeah, thank you so much.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2022 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.