JA leaders renew efforts to educate Hawai'i children about internment
Web update: Read our email interview with Hawai'i state Senator Norman Sakamoto, chair of the Senate education committee, at the end of the article.
Nichi Bei Times, March 2003
As products of the Hawai'i public schools, your humble columnists sat in our respective social studies classes (Kyle at Castle High; Keith at Mililani High), learning about the founding of our country, the difference between the executive and legislative branches of government, which president did what, numerous wars and likely many other facts and figures of American history.
One thing we didn't learn in school was how our government imprisoned citizens and immigrants of Japanese ancestry during World War II, denying them their basic constitutional rights and, more importantly, their dignity and honor as loyal Americans.
Small kid time, we loved to listen to the stories our uncles shared about their experiences in 100th Battalion and 442nd RCT. Other relatives amazed us with their tales of collecting scraps of foil and other valuable items for the War Effort.
However, we did not have grandparents or parents who talked about "camp." We did not have other relatives or neighbors that recalled being herded away from their homes and businesses so the government could put them behind barbed wire simply because of their Japanese ethnicity.
This is not to say that families in Hawai'i were left unscathed by internment, where 3,000 Japanese Americans were relocated - a relatively low number likely because it was logistically difficult to transport what amounted to a third of the state's population to Mainland camps.
And so it is that even today Hawai'i's children know little or nothing about the internment and its impact on Japanese Americans throughout the country.
Realizing the seriousness of this problem, especially in light of the current threats to civil rights, Hawai'i state Senators Carol Fukunaga, David Ige, Les Ihara, Jr., and Suzanne Chun Oakland introduced a bill to provide for a specific program to "educate public school students about the history of World War II, including events such as the internment of Japanese Americans and other related civil rights issues."
The bill, Senate Bill No. 1691, is likely dead in a year when the state government is desperately seeking ways to balance the budget and meet the demands of basic programs and services.
Senator Fukunaga said that Senator Norman Sakamoto, the Senate's education committee chair, would be introducing a resolution on the proposed program to keep attention on the issue. It's also clear that the other legislators involved in the proposed program are determined to see Hawai'i's children educated on one of the darkest chapters in our country's history.
"In Hawai'i, we sometimes don't understand the full impact of the internment," said Senator Ige, whose father Tokio Ige fought in the 100th Battalion. "My dad never really talked about the war. But these men felt a duty and an obligation to their country and felt compelled to serve, despite the unfair acts that our country did to them."
Senator Ige mentioned that former state Senator Matt Matsunaga hatched the idea for a local educational program on the internment experience after learning about similar programs in other parts of the country.
When Senator Sakamoto heard the bill in his education committee, the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, various officers of the Japanese American Citizens League Honolulu Chapter, and other citizens voiced their support.
The committee supported the bill, which was amended to include funding for a resource teaching position to coordinate and implement the program. But larger concerns about the state budget prevented the bill from moving forward.
"The governor has cut $23 million over the next two years from the (education department's) budget request," said state Representative Roy Takumi, chair of the House education committee, referring to Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle. "Under this situation, it is difficult to justify an add-on when the department will have a difficult time just restoring the cuts."
Budget challenges aside, Rep. Takumi strongly supports the proposed program's intent. "It is important that students learn about the internment experience to show that our government is capable of violations of civil liberties and human rights," he said.
"It is also important for them to learn the struggle to right that wrong that culminated in the apology and settlement. The current political climate points out this need even more where under the guise of 'national security' we see a diminishment of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights."
The Hawai'i legislative process gives stalled bills a shelf life of two years, so the internment education bill can still be considered next year.
Time is not on our side, pointed out Senator Ige: "The real issue is that these guys are passing away and we're not making enough of an effort to capture these experiences."
Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are the Two Japanee Bruddahs. Read their past columns online at http://www.twojapaneebruddahs.com or email them at wot@twojapaneebruddahs.com.
2JB's email interview with Hawai'i state Senator Norman Sakamoto, chair of the Senate education committee:
2JB: "Why the need for education of Japanese American internment in our public schools?"
Sen. Sakamoto: "Education of the Japanese-American internment experience is crucial to our children. As the older generation leaves us, the memory and history of this important era is departing with them. Creating this knowledge in our children preserves these memories. Japanese internment during World War II was an important part of Hawaii's history, not just the West Coast. This education is important to develop the vigilance of the next generations against prejudice and the erosion of civil rights."
2JB: "Is the internment experience being taught now as a part of the social studies curriculum?
Sen. Sakamoto: "Internment is included sporadically in the social studies curriculum, it certainly is not included in all classrooms, and is not backed by comprehensive curriculum and materials for teachers to use."
2JB: "Who else, other than the organizations listed in the SCR is supporting the bill?"
Sen. Sakamoto: "We received testimony from many private citizens in addition to the organizations listed in the SCR, most notably Ms. Yoshie Tanabe, who has been a vigorous proponent."
2JB: "What were - or are - the challenges of passing such funding, given the budget crisis?"
Sen. Sakamoto: "The budget crisis has certainly provided us with many challenges in education. In order to assure that the crisis does not cripple the momentum we have gained on this subject, I drafted the SCR to specifically ask the DOE to work with our strong community organizations in partnership to develop the curriculum and move the programming forward. It is my sincere hope that these community organizations step up to assist us in making this a reality."
2JB: "Is the bill dead for this session? Will the funding be incorporated into the budget."
Sen. Sakamoto: "The bill is dead, but the resolution asking the DOE to work with community organizations to accomplish the same goal is very much alive, and is a priority of mine for this legislative session."
Hawai'i
state Senator
David Ige (top) and
state Rep. Roy Takumi