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AT: So, you mentioned how his history and his family's experiences during World War II was so impactful on his activism, and anyone can speak on this, but Kip advocated for this yearly Executive Order 9066 Day of Remembrance in the state legislature in Olympia. And this event still continues on today, every year on February 19th. And so, how was Kip able to gain this buy in on this event occurring during this busy legislative agenda? And how was this important to Kip and like, how does this importance serve into today? And again, anyone can speak on this.

STS: You want me to start? And then I would love to have all of the JACL leaders kind of step in and speak because this event wouldn't take place without JACL. So I will certainly say that. As I said, Kip introduced the first resolution to recognize the Day of Remembrance in 1997. This was in his, let's see, I think this was his second term of office because he was originally elected in '93 if I have my figures, my dates correct. And then so, in 1997, he offered the very first resolution. A resolution, just by, for your information, is a commemoration, it's a memorial, it's an opportunity to share information and to educate the broader public about whatever it might be. And then, of course, in this case, it was the Day of Remembrance, and I already spoke to how it was the lead in to his being able to educate people for the need to create a Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Kip was also, I mentioned, he was a mentor to me. My first year in office was 1999. And so in 1999, he asked me -- and this was so Kip -- he wanted to have other people sort of share leadership and share in sort of the opportunity. So I became the prime sponsor in 1999, and he was the secondary sponsor. And then in 2000, since we do the biannual things, our legislature works in a biannual fashion, meaning two year cycles, Kip became the 2000 sponsor of the Day of Remembrance resolution. Well, this is important because beginning in 1999, the state of Washington has never not had -- shouldn't use two negatives, sorry -- let's say it this way. Since 1999, there has been a continuous resolution recognizing the Day of Remembrance in the Washington State House of Representatives. And I would suspect that in all of the states, there is no other state in the country that has had a continuous recognition of the day that the President of the United States signed the Executive Order 9066. Part of the reason that, again, that Kip was able to do this was, fortuitously, the end of the '90s and the early 2000s, as I said, we were still in a tie. And so there was very little that actually made it to the floor of the House of Representatives, honestly, because you would have to go through the labyrinth of committees, and they were set up just like a house with a tie. So very little was coming to the floor. And so we had the luxury, if you will, of the time and the opportunity to do something like this where, because of Kip's leadership, he was getting buy in from both Republicans and Democrats to take this time to acknowledge. That becomes very important as we move into the last few years of Kip's service in the legislature because I think the House tilted very slightly in favor of Democrats in his last couple of years. It was still so tight that we didn't get a lot of legislation to the floor. And so we were able to recognize those last two years of his service, and then 2003, Kip's first year out of the legislature, the person who succeeded him, I had asked him to carry this legislation. We made the Day of Remembrance a state recognized day, which means that in the state of Washington, there are very few dates that are recognized by the state. This is not a paid holiday, but it is a state recognized day, which means that of the very few times when we actually offer up resolutions on the floor of the House, the Day of Remembrance is one because it is a state recognized day. And that is, again, in large part to Kip's ability to see far beyond the immediate needs and his incomparable ability to develop relationships on both sides of the aisle. And I would love to hear from the JACL people what that has meant to our community because that's where I think the real impact is had.

AM: What I love about Kip was, his strategic thinking. So he always had a chuckle and he always had a smile, but he also always knew what his goals were, how long they would take, and how we would implement them. And I really respected that, and I asked him for advice many times, and he was really a good mentor. I don't tend to think strategically like that, but to hear him, plan, and think ahead and know exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it, I really respected that. As an example, when he became JACL president, he said, "First of all, just have one goal for the year, and bring people with you to the board so that you can implement it." And that's the advice that he gave me, and it was very good advice.

BT: I'd like to add about Kip's impact with the Day of Remembrance, and I think that in our community, it's been very strong, and it's allowed different groups to really come together. For example, the Nisei Vets and JACL share in the Day of Remembrance. And these are not opposite groups, but we've had differences from time to time. But we all see the common good in the Day of Remembrance, and we're now, I think we're very good partners with Nisei Vets. I think that overall, especially these days when we're so polarized by party lines, that Day of Remembrance is a time to come together. And I'm -- Sharon Tomiko, you do such a wonderful job of securing bipartisan support for the annual resolution and getting speakers from both sides to speak to the resolution and remembrance of Executive Order 9066. And in fact, some of the... I've attended most of the Day of Remembrances, some of the most moving speeches have been from Republican speakers, for example. And I remember one from the representative from Yakima Valley, who spoke very eloquently about the personal part of him growing up and seeing his schoolmates taken away. And I think to me, that's the importance of Day of Remembrance, is in retelling the stories. Sharon Tomiko, when you talk about... when you give your speech, and you tell about the personal impact on your family, that's really a reminder for all legislators. When these type of actions happen, it's more than just something that you read in a headline, it has impact on real people and real families, and it can be very traumatic and lasting forever. And to have a bipartisan acknowledgement of this, and taking time so people listen and not just vote, I think it has an impact on our legislators of all parties. So I really am, again, grateful to Kip and Sharon, for you, for your continuance to this program. So it has a big impact.

AT: Yeah, thank you. Janice, did you have anything to say on that?

JD: Everybody said -- shared such great reflections. I just wanted to say that I think as a young person growing up, I didn't know what EO 9066 was, I didn't know the significance of February 19th. And I think my children take that for granted, we take that for granted now. Like oh, yes, of course February 19th, EO 66, we all know what that is. But there was a time not that long ago, until I took my own Asian American Studies class, that I knew what that was. And now because of the public education fund, because of Day of Remembrance, we talk about that. There's -- every newspaper has an article about Day of Remembrance on February 19th. We actually, you know, I talk to people that aren't Japanese or aren't Asian, they know what EO 9066 was, and they know what incarceration was, they're still shocked that, that someone is close to, like, my parents were incarcerated, they're still shocked by that. But now we can teach ourselves that it's not inaccessible. It's more commonly spoken of, it's in the mainstream that at least in this, at least in Washington state, it's in the mainstream that we talk about it, that newspapers talk about it. And we know the significance and the importance of that day and what happened.

AT: Yeah, thank you so much.

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