Speak Out for Justice: Little Tokyo Towers Evening Session

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Los Angeles hearings, Visual Communications and Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR) presents SPEAK OUT FOR JUSTICE, the entire gavel-to-gavel tape coverage of the Los Angeles hearings, held August 4 - 6, 1981. We are releasing the full 26 hours of tapes, comprising over 150 testimonies from those impacted by Executive Order 9066, including special introductions by various community members. Click here to watch the rest of the footage.

Speak Out for Justice: August 4, 1981 - Little Tokyo Towers Evening Session

On the evening of August 4, 1981, NCRR arranged a special evening session at the Little Tokyo Towers in Los Angeles, so that people who worked during the day could attend and participate in the CWRIC hearings. While the testimony footage for this session is incomplete and disjointed, the testifiers provide their heartbreaking experiences of personal loss, trauma, and discrimination.

On Thursday, August 26 at 6pm PT, join Nikkei Progressives and NCRR for Reparations Then! Reparations Now!, a virtual program to commemorate the anniversary of the CWRIC hearings and the passage of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act, which granted reparations for the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The event will feature leaders of N’COBRA and the HR 40 Coalition, who are committed to supporting the demand of Black-led organizations for the passage of HR 40, a commission to study the harms of slavery and to propose reparations. Click here to RSVP.

An Introduction by Kay Ochi
Co-Chair of NCRR/Los Angeles Kay Ochi provides an overview introduction of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings in Los Angeles, held from August 4 through August 6, 1981. Kay Ochi emphasizes the power of testimonies, grassroots organizations, and the importance of speaking out against injustice.

August 4, 1981 - Little Tokyo Towers Evening Session
On the evening of August 4, 1981, NCRR arranged a special evening session at the Little Tokyo Towers in Los Angeles, so that people who worked during the day could attend and participate in the CWRIC hearings. While the testimony footage for this session is incomplete and disjointed, the testifiers provide their heartbreaking experiences of personal loss, trauma, and discrimination. Testifiers include Mary Iwasaki, Frank Endo, Martha Okamoto, Marge Taniwaki, Mo Nishida, Jane Nishio, Bill Shinkai, Ewan Yoshida, Mary Oda, Linda Morimoto, and Mr. Tsuboi.

Afterword by Kathy Masaoka and Alex Kanegawa
Kathy Masaoka, Co-Chair of NCRR and Nikkei Progressives, and Alex Kanegawa, member of Nikkei Progressives, provide an afterword to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings in Los Angeles, held from August 4 through August 6, 1981.