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AT: So when you were president, what are some of the things that you worked on? And what was kind of like the environment, like when you were president?

RI: I think there were a few things going on during that time. There was Initiative 200, and it was, I won't say the first time but it was the first time that I remember that there was an organized movement against the gay/lesbian community. And JACL as a civil rights organization, I thought it was important that we be involved in fighting against those initiatives and really stand up for our brothers and sisters. And so that was going on. Also, I remember one of the things I clearly remember and I enjoyed immensely was the Seattle chapter working with the American Jewish Committee, the Seattle chapter, and we had some joint meetings. And Barbara Hirsch, who was head of the AJC at that time, was just a tremendous leader in her community and in the greater Seattle community. And so that was going on as well. And I think in terms of JACL, I think we were still finding our way from the post-redress movement that had successfully been accomplished a few years before. And I know, I had some conversations with some people saying, "Well, is there still a need for a JACL?" The big issue has been resolved and the redress battle was won. And so I think I think the chapter and the community was still looking to find its way. Who were we? I think, I think we had, we were a pretty, or traditionally, it seemed like we had been a pretty insular group that we really looked to the Japanese American community and what was going on there. And wasn't, individuals were, but as an organization, we maybe weren't as involved with the broader community on civil rights issues. I know there were individuals, many individuals, people like Mako Nakagawa, and Kip Tokuda, and Al Sugiyama, and Teresa Fujiwara and Patricia Lee, and many other folks that were actively involved and were leaders, both within and outside the Japanese American community. But I think JACL, as an organization, we were, we were still kind of feeling our way through that whole, that whole process.

AT: Yeah. Do you remember any, like, were there any efforts to kind of shift that focus at all? Do you remember?

RI: Well, I really think the strength of JACL has been the membership, that the community would, generally speaking, would get together and support the organization. And that's where the strength of the organization came from. And so and so it wasn't a matter of a leader such as Joy saying, here's the issue that we're now going to tackle, but I think it was, it was a process of both bringing some of these forward to the community, but then also bringing the community forward. So they would understand what the issues were, and why it would be important for JACL as an organization to be involved.

AT: Yeah. Thank you.

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