Equal Justice Newsletter

Justice James M. Dolliver
Equal Justice
Charles Z. Smith
Donna V. Mcconnell-Adams
House Resolution Number 97-4614
Relocation Reflections
Asian Americans: Impact Of Incarceration on Children and Families
The Japanese - American Internment
Trials And Triumph Of The Nikkei
Japanese American Experience: Notes On The Exhibition
Research Sub-committee
Diversity Education Programs: Foundations In Pluralism
Minority And Justice Commission Members
Technical Support Members

At the quarterly meeting of the Minority and Justice Commission in Seattle on October 16, 1998 a standing ovation was given to Justice James M. Dolliver, co-chairman of the Commission, who announced his retirement from the Supreme Court in January 1999 after twenty-two years on the Court.

A scholarly man of great intelligence, he has made a significant mark on the quality of justice in the State of Washington and in the United States. He is a person of great compassion. He has given leadership to the Minority and Justice Commission as an outspoken advocate of the principles of fairness in the administration of our courts and the need for inclusiveness as we fulfill our obligation to all persons coming before our courts.

We shall understandably miss Justice Dolliver after he leaves the Supreme Court. Although he will no longer represent the Court on the Minority and Justice Commission, we are confident he will continue as a source of encouragement and inspiration as we pursue our mandate to assure a better quality of justice for all persons served by our courts.

A strong advocate for the rights of Japanese Americans, Justice Dolliver, while serving as Chief of Staff for Governor Daniel J. Evans, is credited with facilitating the repeal of Executive Order 9066 by President Gerald D. Ford on February 16, 1976.

EQUAL JUSTICE

Equal Justice is the official publication of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission whose goal is elimination of racial and ethnic bias, where it exists, from our state courts. The newsletter is a communications and networking tool providing information about Commission programs, projects and issues of concern.

Editorial Committee

Justice Charles Z. Smith
Co-Chairperson

Justice Charles W. Johnson
Co-Chairperson

Myrna I. Contreras
Executive Editor

Donna V. McConnell-Adams
Editor

Printer
Washington State Department of Printing

ELEVENTH ANNUAL CONSORTIUM MEETING
IN HAWAI'I

Charles Z. Smith

The National Consortium of Task Forces and Commissions on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts has accepted the invitation of Chief Justice Ronald T. Y. Moon, the justices of the Hawai'i Supreme Court and their Committee on Equality and Access to the Courts to hold the Eleventh Annual Consortium Meeting in the "Aloha State," Hawai'i, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30 and May 1, 1999.

The meeting will be held in Honolulu (O'ahu) at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel, 2553 Kalakaua Avenue (in the Waikiki Beach area). The planning committee, headed by Judge Leslie A. Hayashi and James E. Duffy, Jr., Co-chairpersons of the Committee on Equality and Access to the Courts, is planning a full program of presentations and seminars on relevant subjects, as well as a "cultural cornucopia--the Hawai'i Experience."

Registration information and materials will be provided in due course by the Hawai'i planning committee from Ms. L. Dew Kaneshiro, project director of the Hawai'i Committee on Equality and Access, Post Office Box 2560, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96804, telephone (808) 539-4860.

Members of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission are welcome to attend and participate in the Eleventh Annual Consortium meeting in Honolulu in 1999.

Charles Z. Smith is a justice of the Washington State Supreme Court and also serves as co-chairperson of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Donna V. McConnell-Adams

The Washington State Minority and Justice Commission was created by the Washington State Supreme Court "to determine whether racial and ethnic bias exists in the courts of the State of Washington and to take creative steps to overcome and prevent such bias." To prevent, identify, and eliminate racial and ethnic bias and injustice to some might be considered quite a lofty and idealistic goal, but it was this goal that attracted me to the position of Commission Executive Director.

Being an African American woman who migrated from the Midwest 20 years ago, I have lived in both monocultural and ethnically diverse communities. I believe people are just people and that we truly can "all get along." I am not so naïve, though, to believe that we humans naturally and by instinct overcome personal prejudices and biases; sometimes we need a little help. The collective body of the Minority and Justice Commission has provided some of that help to the Washington court system for nearly ten years.

For some years now, my professional and community work has led me to be involved in programs and with organizations that strive to pave the way for equity and inclusion. I have spent the last fifteen years as an educator, a manager and administrator, leader, and a human relations and communications professional. For three years I served as a Commissioner for the City of Tacoma Human Rights Department and have also served as a member and director of non-profit boards and grassroots organizations with a diverse clientele. It is by these positions and experiences that I have come to my position as Executive Director of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

I am very proud to be in the midst of women and men from the Washington Supreme Court, the judiciary, the court system, the legal field, and the community who aim to strive for Equal Justice Through awareness, education, and action. The Commission has consistently provided high-quality educational programs and research reports for use and discussion by the judiciary, court employees, legislators, state officials, and others who are genuinely interested in making a difference for the citizenry of this state. We are proud to share with the readership of the Equal Justice newsletter our ideas, accomplishments, programs and projects, Sub-committee updates, and goals, while providing EJ as a vehicle for you to share the same.

This second issue of Equal Justice is dedicated to Justice James M. Dolliver who has tirelessly upheld justice and equity in the government and court system for many years. Equal Justice also contains a number of articles about Japanese citizen relocation camps during World War II. Other proposed Equal Justice themes for 1999 include specialty and minority bar associations; tribal court systems and Indian law; and justice and women of color. We welcome your article submissions around these topics and others related to the court system/law, cultural diversity, multiculturalism, pluralism, equity, and inclusion.

Thank you for taking the time to read EJ and to stay informed about the work of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

Donna V. McConnell-Adams is Executive Director of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

HOUSE RESOLUTION NUMBER 97-4614

Representatives Kip Tokuda, Velma R. Veloria, James "Jim" Clements, Mark Sterk, Joyce Mulliken, Cathy Wolfe, Mark G. Schoesler, Dow Constantine, Dawn Mason, Mark Doumit, Mary Lou Dickerson, Leslie (Les) Thomas, Gigi Talcott, Brian Hatfield, Steve Conway, Suzette Cooke, Dave Schmidt, Eileen L. Cody, Brian C. Thomas and Debbie Regala.

WHEREAS, On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced assembly, evacuation, and internment of approximately 12,000 Japanese Americans residing in the state of Washington; and

WHEREAS, The order for assembly and detention at Camp Harmony in Puyallup, Washington, prior to evacuation and subsequent internment caused the Japanese Americans from the state of Washington to lose millions of dollars in property and assets, to suffer immeasurable physical and psychological damage, and to be deprived of their constitutional liberties without due process of law; and

WHEREAS, The alleged purpose of this drastic course of action was to prevent Japanese Americans, all of whom were deemed disloyal and untrustworthy, from committing acts of espionage and sabotage against the United States during the period of its involvement in World War II; and

WHEREAS, An overwhelming number of Japanese Americans from the state of Washington responded to questions of their loyalty and patriotism by volunteering from within barbed wire camps to serve in the United States Military Intelligence Service and the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the latter of which became the most decorated American unit of its size in World War II with seven Presidential Unit Citations, a Congressional Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 588 Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze Stars, 9,486 Purple Hearts, and a total of 18 decorations from France and Italy; and

WHEREAS, A few equally patriotic Japanese Americans like Gordon Hirabayashi, then a student at the University of Washington, were willing to face imprisonment to seek justice by challenging the constitutionality of the evacuation and internment orders; and

WHEREAS, Hindsight has proven that the predominant factor that actually led to the internment of Japanese Americans was not a military necessity to protect the United States from possible espionage or sabotage, but was the result of "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership"; and

WHEREAS, Japanese American internees from the state of Washington endured economic, physical, and psychological hardship and suffered in silence for over forty years before the state of Washington provided monetary redress and reparations to municipal and state employees;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, along with the people of Washington, pause in its endeavors this day to recognize the Japanese American internees from the state of Washington and honor their patience, heroism, sacrifice, and patriotic loyalty, and to remember the lessons and blessings of liberty and justice for all; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to the Nisei Veterans Committee, the Military Intelligence Service - Northwest Association, and the Japanese American Citizens League.

Resolution 4614 adopted by the House of Representatives
February 19, 1997.
________________________________
Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk

RELOCATION REFLECTIONS

Kenneth H. Kato

In spring 1942, my father's family not only lost its home and business, but also its innocence. Americans all, they lost their former lives, as they knew them through no fault of their own. Because they were of Japanese ancestry and lived in California, they and others of this marked group were "evacuated" from their homes and away from established lives to be sent to "relocation" camps during the war. But the Japanese were not "relocated" to any new beginning, but to what was contemplated as a dead end. This was the United States' shameful and racist reaction to perceived fears about certain people of color - fears, which proved to be unfounded and untrue.

In Oregon, Japanese who lived east of I-97 were apparently far enough inland to pose less of a subversive threat than those who lived in California and thus were not relocated. In Washington, Japanese who lived east of the Columbia River were similarly spared from having their roots totally pulled from underneath them. My father's California family was sent to Tule Lake camp in California, a desolate and barren place not far from Klamath Falls.

My father went inland for work on a "leave of absence" and ended up at another camp in Colorado while the others stayed at Tule Lake. In 1945, he went to work in the orchards in Spokane where he met my mother, who was not relocated to a camp. They married in 1946. I arrived in 1949, a third-generation Sansei. As I grew up, my father did not talk about the relocation. He felt it was a past experience he would rather not have gone through, but he had and there was nothing he could do about it now. Government reparations were of little consequence to him because they were too little and too late for what the relocated Japanese had lost and had to endure so many years before and since. He is saddened, not bitter, about what happened.

For me, the relocation itself had no tangible effect on the way I was brought up or the way I viewed life and people in general. Culturally, of course, it is indeed part of my heritage and will not be forgotten. For some Sansei, the effects of relocation were profound. Works have been written on this very subject. But my experience is strictly my own. I cannot and will not speak for others. The relocation's effect on me has everything to do with my father's odyssey to Spokane as well as what happened thereafter, and nothing to do with absolutes or universal truths common to my peers whose parents also suffered through it.

In a sense, the relocation was a catalyst for personal change, albeit unasked for and unwelcome at the time. If it were not for the relocation, my father would not have left Auburn, California, and eventually come to Spokane, my family's home. He would have stayed in the orchards or gone into the family business there. He worked instead for the railroad. Years after, that employer helped me through college. Like others, my father made the best of a bad situation. Despite the relocation and as fate would have it, some good things did come to us, which could not then be foreseen.

On a larger scale, Japanese may still be largely concentrated in certain parts of the country, particularly the West, if it were not for the relocation. Rather than concentrate Japanese in certain locales, however, the evacuation served to relocate us throughout the country from Idaho to Arkansas. Although these effects can be viewed as somewhat benevolent, they were happenstance.

The truth remains that relocation should not have occurred in the first place. This is the lesson of the relocation and the concentration camps. My generation and subsequent ones, along with all Americans, must learn from that lesson. The relocation is not ancient history, which holds no relevance to us today and could never happen again. We must continue to be vigilant against the racial paranoia that 50 years ago prompted our government to sanction for no reason a person's loss of liberty in a free society.

Kenneth H. Kato is a judge of the Washington Court of Appeals, Division III and also serves as a member of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

ASIAN AMERICANS:
Impact Of Incarceration on Children and Families

Charles Z. Smith

With completion in 1998 of payments for redress to Asian Americans (Nikkei) who suffered the indignity of evacuation by forced removal from their homes under Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, herded into animal stables ("staging grounds") and incarcerated in concentration camps ("placed in relocation centers"), we are reminded of this indelible stain on democracy in our great United States.

Executive Order 9066 was rescinded by President Gerald D. Ford in 1976 upon the urging of Washington's then Governor, Daniel J. Evans, and his Chief of Staff, James M. Dolliver (later Supreme Court Justice Dolliver). Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 with special leadership from Congressman Mike Lowry (later Governor Lowry). The Act, signed by President Ronald Reagan, authorized restitution through payments of $20,000.00 each to eligible persons and established a public educational program to prevent the recurrence of similar discrimination in the future. The Office of Redress Administration was established to identify eligible persons and distribute payments, beginning in 1990. An apology was sent by President William J. Clinton to each eligible recipient in 1996.

Writing on "The Evacuation: Impact on the Family" in Asian-Americans: Psychological Perspectives, University of Washington Professor James K. Morishima, Ph. D. explored the subject, reviewing the literature, interviewing many individuals, and reaching conclusions. In his introduction, he stated:

"Executive Order 9066 ushered in a shameful era, the era of the forced confinement of 110,000 Nikkei residing on the West Coast. By virtue of birth in the United States, two-thirds were American citizens. (The majority were 18 or younger.) The remainder were alien--not necessarily by choice but by American naturalization laws which prohibited their naturalization until the laws were changed in 1952. The only crime the evacuees were guilty of was being of Japanese descent.

²As a result of the evacuation, one-fourth of those interviewed indicated that they had made conscious efforts after the war to be more American. Having ascribed the evacuation to the relative isolation of the Nikkei community and the alien' customs of the community, these interviewees felt that, were they more American, the evacuation would not have taken place. They consequently decided that they would act more like Americans and raise their children as Americans. (Because of cultural differences, this would lead to the development of different personality types in their children.)

²Many evacuees are perhaps understandably cynical about democracy as a result of their experience. This cynicism has in many instances been transmitted to their children, but it is, perhaps, surprising to note that many students indicate their parents are unwilling or reluctant to discuss the evacuation."

In his article, Dr. Morishima observed that "[f]or many children, the evacuation was one of the happiest periods in their lives. . . ." For the first time these children acquired other Nikkei friends, and had time to play. Discipline was lax. There was no longer the traditional emphasis on upward mobility through education. Children tended "to band together with minimal adult supervision in the relatively safe confines of a barbed wire enclosure. . . ." He further observed that "[m]ealtime, often the only time many families had to exchange experiences and opinions, virtually disappeared from the family institution" and "[t]he availability of mealtimes as stimuli for interaction, then, largely disappeared. . . ."

Commenting on family discipline, Dr. Morishima observed that disciplining of children in the camps "took on an increasingly Japanese look." He stated:

"More and more psychological punishment was utilized, and physical punishment was relied upon less and less. Children crying at night were cuddled to prevent disturbing other families in the barracks. The infants soon learned to control their parents' behavior through crying . . . .

"Many youngsters, then, spent part of the formative periods of their lives devoid of non-Nikkei peers, imbued with Nikkei values, raised by disciplinary techniques which were mostly psychological, and with minimized meaningful interaction with adults. The exact effects are difficult to measure some twenty-five years after the event but some things are clear. The effects of course, varied from person to person."

Paying tribute to researchers and writers with limited tools for assessing the impact of the evacuation on children and families, Dr. Morishima commented:

"Like the data on the effects of the relocation on adults, the data on the lasting impact of the evacuation on children are sadly lacking in depth and scope. Longitudinal measures which might have been taken are also lacking. The greatest hope for a deeper understanding of what transpired lies in reading scores of diaries. Unfortunately, children do not keep diaries, and many adults have long since discarded theirs. The author's research data are not in great enough depth, do not tie loose ends together very well, and are based solely on recollections which were distorted by ten to fifteen intervening years. Were recall measures taken now, it would mean twenty-five or more years would have intervened between the events and the reporting."
Reflecting upon his task, Dr. Morishima concluded:

"The evacuation, then, is an historical event, an event on which behavioral scientists cannot get a firm handle with today's tools. Unfortunately, at the time of the evacuation the more recent research techniques did not exist, and there was minimal effort expended to utilize the tools, which did. The author, of course, recognizes and applauds the efforts of a small handful of [researchers and writers] to chronicle and understand the experiences of the evacuees. Reports on the evacuation should be read in light of the inadequacies which underlie them."

THE JAPANESE - AMERICAN INTERNMENT:
The Transition of Trauma to the Offspring of the Internees

Sumi Hayashi

Was the psychological trauma of the internment transmitted to the next generation of Japanese Americans? Linda Carr studied this question for her dissertation at Columbia University in 1992, and has agreed to have her work summarized here.

The magnitude of the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II suggested the possibility that the phenomenon of intergenerational transmission of trauma, as has been recognized in the families of survivors of the German Holocaust, might be observable in the children of American internees. The intergenerational transmission of trauma has been recognized since the mid-1960s when psychological clinicians observed that a disproportionate number of Holocaust survivors' children were being referred for treatment at a community mental health facility. The concept of one traumatized generation passing the psychological impacts of that trauma on to their children has also been extended to other groups including the children of Dutch nationals who were interned by the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies during World War II and the children of Vietnam War veterans.

The means of communication is seen as one possible vehicle for the transmission of trauma, although the literature is mainly based on anecdotal evidence and is somewhat conflicting as to the relative benefits and detriments of a reticent versus an open communication style.

An earlier study of the transgenerational effects of the Japanese American internment, published by D.K. Nagata in the Journal of Traumatic Stress in 1990, had investigated the impact of having a parent who had been interned on patterns of communication; interest and knowledge about the internment; and attitudes towards ethnic affiliation, sense of security in the U.S., and monetary redress. According to Carr, this study "documented a high degree of silence and noncommunication regarding the internment" within most Japanese American families.

For her study Carr focused on the communication from parent to child about the internment in general, from the perspective of the offspring. "The objective was to extend the line of inquiry regarding the relationships between the perceived style of parental communication regarding internment experiences during childhood, the level of general parental communication during childhood, and the offspring's present level of psychological adjustment and specific psychological symptomatology," Carr wrote.

Carr gathered a sample of 75 subjects, all raised in Hawaii, and all having both parents of Japanese ancestry. The subjects were divided into two groups, 38 subjects whose parents had been interned and 37 subjects whose parents had not been interned. The subjects in the Interned Parents group were from families where both parents had been interned, and the subjects had all been born either after their parents' release or were no more than one year old at the time of their parents' release. The subjects in the Non-Interned Parents group were in the same age range and were of roughly the same male/female ratio.

Five measures were used in the study in the form of questionnaires that were administered in person by the researcher. Four of the measures were received by subjects in both groups. One was an information sheet designed to gather demographic information. Another form assessed the parents' general communication style from an adolescent's perception (the research subjects, whose age ranged from there 20s to late 40s, were instructed to think back to their early adolescence). A third questionnaire (the forms were received in varying order to control for an order effect) was designed to evaluate parental communication about trauma. A self-report measure that reflects symptom patterns as indicative of current psychological distress was also administered to all subjects.

In addition, the Interned Parents group was given a fifth questionnaire containing questions regarding their parents' current demographics, place of birth, and whether, to the best of the subjects' knowledge, either parent had sought psychological treatment or services. The questionnaire also asked about the parents' pre-wartime and post-war status and experiences regarding occupation and residence, and asked about the parents' internment experience, to the best of the subjects' knowledge.

Analysis of the demographic characteristics revealed no significant differences between the groups except that the Non-Interned Parents group was younger and there were fewer second generation (Nisei, those born of immigrant parents) and more third and fourth generation (Sansei and Yonsei). Carr notes, however that age and generation were not significantly related to the two main variables of the study, communication and psychopathology.

The primary analyses of Carr's data revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding their families' communication and, on the whole, they were characterized as being open as opposed to being problematic. The scores for both groups on communication about trauma were on the low end of the continuum, indicating a reticent style of communication about trauma, and "experience of trauma did not seem to affect the parents' style of communicating, whether in general or about trauma," Carr wrote.

Assessment of psychological adjustment also indicated no significant differences between the Interned Parent and the Non-Interned Parent groups in general, however when looking at individual items there were slight differences. In fact, further analyses showed more psychological distress among the Non-Interned Parents group.

When Carr looked at the relationships between perceived parental communication about trauma, general communication and psychological adjustment, she found that psychological adjustment did not appear to be predicted by either the parents' general style of communication nor the communication specifically about trauma.

Carr offered several possible reasons for the results of her research, which differed from what had been predicted based on previous research. Because the subject sample were all Japanese Americans born in Hawaii, the process of acculturation has probably been different than for those Japanese Americans on the mainland who had previously been studied for psychological effects from the internment. Generational difference also may not have been as apparent for the Hawaii-born group because they had not experienced the same feelings of being a member of a minority group.

The World War II internment was conducted differently in Hawaii than on the mainland. There was no general round up of people of Japanese ancestry; instead Hawaiian internees were targeted because of possible connections with Japan such as business ties or religious affiliations. As a result, many of the parents of the Interned Parents group in the study were Buddhist priests and perhaps were better capable of dealing with trauma because of their strong religious convictions.

The constricted range of scores on some of the measures may have affected the results, or there may be cultural differences in the definition of trauma and in communication style that are specific to the Japanese that affected the results. Other studies have indicated that Japanese Americans may score differently on measures formed for mainstream subjects.

Finally, the timing of the study may have affected the results. The research - conducted after the Redress Movement, when Japanese Americans began publicly speaking out against the government's actions during World War II, and after a government apology had been issued and reparations paid to internees - may in fact reflect a change in the parents' feelings about the internment and their willingness to communicate their experiences. Carr surmised that the results of the study might have been different twenty or even ten years earlier.

Carr's research certainly raises many questions, which should lead to further research on the effects of the internment on Japanese Americans.

Sumi Hayashi is a former staff writer for the International Examiner newspaper in Seattle and is currently Research Coordinator for the School of Nursing at the University of Washington.

TRIALS AND TRIUMPH OF THE NIKKEI

Charles Z. Smith

One of the most significant writings on the experience of Nikkei from Washington State who were among the 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry forcibly rounded up and placed in concentration camps following Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 21,1942 is a book by a Seattle Nisei, Hiro Nishimura entitled Trials and Triumphs of the Nikkei (Fukuda Publishers, Mercer Island 1993).

A World War II veteran, with distinguished service in the Army Military Intelligence Service in Allied combat areas around the world, Mr. Nishimura writes about cultural heritage and cultural pluralism in a graceful style which integrates history, philosophy, biography, autobiography embellished with anecdotes and photographs.

This book is a "must read" for all Americans--children and adults-- who believe our great United States, despite serious and regrettable human rights violations in the past, can still imbue us with a strong sense of patriotism as we search for the ultimate benefits of democracy in a pluralistic society.

Hiro Nishimura is an American patriot, a proud Nikkei, a scholar, a gentleman, a devoted husband and father, and a person we proudly acknowledge as our friend.

JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE:
Notes on the Exhibition

Thomas A. Haven

In May of 1995, my wife Sara and I hosted friends and dignitaries from across the State of Washington at the opening of our photographic exhibition documenting the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Occasionally, during the years since the opening, we have been asked why we put our time and effort into this project. After living with the project for the past several years, I find there are as many answers to this question as there are possible reactions to the photographs.

Our first thoughts of this exhibition came with our first look at photographs documenting the internment by Dorothea Lange and other photographers hired by the War Relocation Authority. Because of the nature of the internment story and the skill of the photographers, these photographs are some of the most striking and evocative documentary photographs of the twentieth century. Because the United States government paid gifted photographers to document the internment story, it is a story, which awaits and is accessible to each new generation of Americans.

For a variety of reasons, we wanted to bring this story to Ellensburg. Like many other small towns in Central and Eastern Washington, Ellensburg was, for many years, isolated from the changes in the character of Washington's population, which made "diversity" an inescapable experience for much of Western Washington. While those living in Seattle have had no choice but to live with racial and ethnic diversity, those of us living in Ellensburg have not often been required to struggle with these issues. Those times are in the past. Ellensburg is quickly becoming a racially and ethnically diverse place and is beginning to face the challenges found in all multi-racial and multi-ethnic communities. To a community facing these

(Insert 2 photos and box of text)

challenges, the internment story is a valuable historical lesson. While the story of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is not Ellensburg's story, it is one filled with meaning for Ellensburg today. Unfortunately, many Americans are simply unaware of the internment story. During my own elementary and high school years in California during the 1950s and 60s, little if any time was devoted to teaching this chapter of American history, in spite of the fact that my childhood home was within a few miles of the Tanforan Assembly Center. Perhaps the fact that some of my classmates were Japanese Americans led my teachers to conclude, "the less said the better." Perhaps it is natural for a community to want to forget its darker moments. It is not, however, in our best interest to do so.

The internment story also deserves to be remembered in tribute to those Americans who personally experienced the humiliation caused by Executive Order 9066. If we allow ourselves to forget those Americans affected by Executive Order 9066, we would relegate their experience to a mere historical footnote.

Thankfully, the photographs taken and preserved by the United States government have the power to keep the meaning of the internment experience alive. When we stare into the eyes of a five year old child with a numbered tag attached to her winter coat or a family huddled together with a few belongings waiting to be taken to a detention center, we do not see some forgotten historical event. Instead, we see human beings. We see our own children. We see ourselves.

The internment story is not just a Japanese American Experience. It is an American Experience. It has the power to teach us how we want to live. It has the power to help us bring to life that part of the American spirit, which welcomes and cherishes diversity.

Thomas A. Haven is a judge with the Kittitas County District Court.

Thirty photographs documenting the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II are on permanent display at the Lower Kittitas County District Court. These photographs and accompanying text describe the events, which started soon after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and culminated in the signing of Executive Order 9066 and the internment of Japanese Americans living in California, Oregon and Washington. The court is located in the Kittitas County Courthouse in Ellensburg, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Main Street. The courthouse is open to the public between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

RESEARCH Sub-committee

Kenneth H. Kato

The Research Sub-committee of the Minority and Justice Commission has recently been working with the Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee, particularly with respect to the Commission's last research report, A Study on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Superior Court Bail and Pretrial Detention Practices by George S. Bridges. Using records from King County felony cases filed between 1994 and 1996, the report looked into the extent and causes of these disparities. No evidence of deliberate discrimination was found, but the report concluded that race and gender did influence decisions on pretrial release and setting of bail amounts above the prosecutor's recommendation regardless of the seriousness of the offense and other factors. It states that "minority defendants and men were less likely to be released on their own recognizance than others even after adjusting for differences among defendants in the severity of their crimes, prior criminal records, ties to the community and the prosecuting attorney's recommendation." The report has generated active criticism and discussion among judges. With the research done, the Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee is the next step in the process of analyzing and changing practices, rules, and behaviors which tend to lead to disparate treatment because of race and ethnicity.

With direction from the Commission's Executive Committee, the Research Sub-committee will soon undertake a new project. Some suggestions have been to look at the community's perception of bias in the courts or to revisit prior research data/studies to see if there has been change.

DIVERSITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS:

Foundations In Pluralism

Ronald E. Cox

One of the more interesting of the variety of programs on diversity education from the perspective of the judiciary is the "Foundations in Pluralism" project in the state of Alabama.

Judge Dale Segrest, Circuit Court Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in Alabama, explains that a basic problem in dealing with the racial divisions in this country is that there are few ways of engaging in meaningful discussion about those divisions and how to address them. The subject is emotionally charged. Thus, attempts to discuss racial divisions often become opportunities for venting emotions rather than solving the problem.

As judges, we all aspire to deal fairly with all persons and strive to overcome the impact of society's racial divisions. But as humans, there is still a danger that the effects of racial divisions will affect how we dispense justice.

If we are committed to the principle that we should promote public trust and confidence in the courts and agree that racial bias undermines that goal, then we should ask how we can structure meaningful discussions about bias. How can we structure those discussions so that we can actually change our attitudes about race and racial divisions?

The "Foundations in Pluralism" project in Alabama shows how one group of judges has approached the problem. Several years ago, a group of twenty Alabama judges gathered at Tuskegee University for a three-day meeting. The group was mixed by race and gender. Enrollment was intentionally limited so that each judge could fully participate in the discussions. There were no recording devices, so no one would feel inhibited in expressing controversial views.

Under the leadership of an experienced faculty member, the judges engaged in detailed discussions of selected literary and historical works. Among the works were Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington, The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. DuBois, Barn Burning, by William Faulkner, and Sonny's Blues, by James Baldwin.

A year after the initial session, a second group of thirty judges convened at Tuskegee for a second three-day event. Some had attended the original session. Others had not. This group studied and discussed works including The Autobiography of Malcolm X and selections from A Testament of Hope, a collection of the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Judge Segrest identifies several advantages to this approach to discussing racial divisions. First, it invites judges to participate by considering specific texts and historical events. In this way, there is less chance for finger pointing and name calling that often accompanies the emotionally charged subject of race. Second, it exposes judges to history and literature with which they are likely unfamiliar. This exposure provides them with an opportunity to learn specific and important information about cultures they may not otherwise have. Third, the two groups have found that this approach has lead quite naturally to identification and discussion of present-day racial divisions and suggested some solutions for healing those divisions.

While Judge Segrest notes that the project is too new to assess its long-term effects on the judiciary, this approach is certainly interesting. It provides an interesting model for those considering tailoring the project's approach to their specific needs.

Ronald E. Cox is a judge of the Washington Court of Appeals, Division III and also serves as a member of the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission.

WASHINGTON STATE
MINORITY AND JUSTICE COMMISSION
MEMBERS

Justice Charles Z. Smith
Co-Chairperson
Washington State Supreme Court

Justice Charles W. Johnson
Co-Chairperson
Washington State Supreme Court

Judge William W. Baker
Court of Appeals, Division I

Judge Ronald E. Cox
Court of Appeals, Division I

Judge Anne L. Ellington
Court of Appeals, Division I

Judge Kenneth H. Kato
Court of Appeals, Division III

Judge Ricardo S. Martinez
United States Magistrate

Judge Deborah D. Fleck
King County Superior Court

Judge James M. Murphy
Spokane County Superior Court

Judge LeRoy McCullough
King County Superior Court

Judge Richard A. Jones
King County Superior Court

Judge Monica J. Benton
King County District Court

Judge Ron A. Mamiya
Seattle Municipal Court

Ms. Myrna I. Contreras
Attorney at Law
Contreras Law Offices

Dean Donna Claxton Deming
Assistant Dean
Seattle University School of Law

Guadalupe Gamboa
Attorney at Law
United Farm Workers of America

Ms. Kazzie Katayama
Community Outreach Coordinator
Metropolitan King County

Ms. Mary Campbell McQueen
Administrator for the Courts

Jeffrey C. Sullivan
Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney

Ms. Mary Alice Theiler
Attorney at Law
Theiler Douglas Drachler & McKee

Ms. Donna V. McConnell-Adams
Executive Director
Washington State Minority and Justice Commission

TECHNICAL SUPPORT MEMBERS

Judge David H. Armstrong
Court of Appeals, Division II

Judge C. C. Bridgewater
Court of Appeals, Division II

Judge Sergio Armijo
Pierce County Superior Court

Judge Karen B. Conoley
Kitsap County Superior Court

Judge James D. Cayce
Presiding Judge
King County District Court

Judge Clifford L. "Kip" Stilz, Jr.
Thurston County District Court

Jeffrey A. Beaver
Attorney at Law
Graham and Dunn

Robert C. Boruchowitz
Director
Office of the Public Defender

Ms. Madelyn Botta
Kitsap County Superior Court Administrator

Lonnie Davis
Disabilities Law Project Coordinator
Washington Coalition of Citizens with DisABILITIES

David J. Della
Executive Director
Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

Ms. Kim M. Eaton
Yakima County Clerk

Larry M. Fehr
Vice President
Pioneer Human Services

Ms. Lourdes Fuentes
Ryan Swanson and Cleveland

José E. Gaitán
Attorney at Law
The Gaitán Group

Charles A. Jardine
Retired Certified Public Accountant

Ms. Debora G. Juarez
Executive Director
Governor's Office of Indian Affairs

Ms. Ada Ko
Tax Counsel
City of Seattle

Robert Lamb, Jr.
Regional Director
United States Department of Justice

Ms. Lorraine Lee
Legal/Security Director
Washington State Lottery

Ms. Terry Mark
Assistant Director
King County Department of Human Resources

Richard F. McDermott, Jr.
Attorney at Law

Ms. Mary Elizabeth McKnew
Attorney at Law

Tony Orange
Executive Director
Commission on African American Affairs

Ms. Esther L. Patrick
Human Resources Manager
King County District Court

Judge Albert M. Raines
Office of Administrative Hearings

Manuel Romero
Executive Director
Commission on Hispanic Affairs

Ms. P. Diane Schneider
Conciliation Specialist
United States Department of Justice

Barbara J. Selberg
Attorney at Law

Judge Philip J. Thompson (retired)
Counsel to the President
Gonzaga University

Judge Vicki J. Toyohara
Office of Administrative Hearings

Brian A. Tsuchida
Attorney at Law
Office of the Public Defender

Ms. Mary I. Yu
Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
Office of the Prosecuting Attorney

Washington State
Minority and Justice Commission
Publications and Artwork

Minority and Justice Commission publications are available to judicial and court employees, members of the legal community, state officials, state agencies, state legislators, colleges, universities, and libraries. Posters and note cards are available free of charge if picked up. Otherwise, a shipping and handling fee applies. Please telephone (360) 705-5327 for a list of publications and artwork or visit our website at http://www.courts.wa.gov/mjc/.