Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and the Passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988

Hatamiya has put together a book that is educational but doesn't skimp on the passion. It's an analysis of the factors that came together that led to passage of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act which apologized to the Japanese Americans who were interned during WWII. Besides an official letter of apology from the President, every surviving internee received a $20,000 payment. The payment was meaningless in terms of the freedoms taken away (not to mention businesses and real financial losses), but of great symbolic importance. Hatamiya examines the crucial question of how, with a conservative President and a time of economic down turn (the latter half of Reagan's second term, leading into Bush's Administration), did a bill which led to payments of $20,000 to a special segment of the population could be passed. Hatamiya also draws out the various factions among Japanese Americans who disagreed over tactics to win redress, as well as the various communities (Asian Americans more widely, WWII veterans, US Senate and Congress) who stood on either side of the debate. The book is also a good introduction into the personal side of legislation and lawmaking, how and why representatives do what they do. I use it for a class on Asian/Pacific American legal issues and the book is great both for its subject matter as well as its general analysis of factors involved in successful legislation. Japanese Internment is not just a Japanese American, or even an Asian American issue. The fundamental injustices involved in the relocation of loyal citizens for no other reason than skin color is a vivid lesson that our Constitutional freedoms are not protected by the document itself, but by the sentiment and agreement of all the people who live under it. This is a necessary object lesson for all Americans.