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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE 2004 NATIONAL CONVENTION
HONOLULU, HAWAII
AUGUST 14, 2004
6 PM
Thank you, John Tateishi, for that wonderful and generous introduction. And
“Mahalo” to all of you for that warm welcome.
John, first of all, I want to thank you for the outstanding job that you are
doing as National Director. All of us are very, very proud of the time and
energy that you bring to your work at JACL.
Let me again introduce my wife, Deni. We are so pleased to be here with so many
old friends. Well, I don’t really mean old friends – I mean friends of long
standing. At one point, because of the intelligence and security issues that we
were dealing with, I had to cancel coming out but at the last minute we were
able to come, fortunately.
On behalf of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, I would like to wish JACL
a very happy 75th Birthday.
In the three quarters of a century since its founding, JACL has seen some
incredible leaders. And I cannot think of any better example than my good
friend, Floyd Mori.
Floyd, you have done a terrific job as President for the past four years, and we
are all grateful for your leadership.
I first got to know Floyd many years ago when he was Mayor of Pleasanton and I
was Mayor of San Jose. And while our lives have taken us down different paths,
one thing about Floyd has remained constant – and, that is, his dedication to
our community.
Now while Floyd is getting out of the hot seat, so to speak, I know that we are
going to be in good hands under the leadership of our new President, Ken Inouye.
Ken, congratulations and thanks for taking on this job. All of us wish you the
best as you take the reins of one of America’s most important civil rights
organizations.
And I would like to add my congratulations to our award recipients.
I cannot think of any three people more deserving of recognition as Japanese
Americans of the Biennium than Paul Igasaki, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and Tom
Ikeda.
And I am especially honored that Ismael Ahmed is here tonight to accept the
Edison Uno Award for his work on civil rights. Ismael, as you know, I had the
honor of speaking to ACCESS’s annual banquet with about 3,000 people in
attendance two years ago. I know the tremendous work that you are doing there,
and I know that the partnership between the Japanese American and Arab American
communities is more important now than ever before.
The world was a very different place when the Japanese American Citizens League
was founded in 1929.
The Exclusion Acts, the alien land laws, anti-miscegenation laws, the threats of
racial violence – all were barriers in our everyday lives.
The story of JACL over the past 75 years has been one of breaking down those
barriers, and of our journey into the mainstream of American life.
Today, we are witnessing the beginning of a sea change in America. The face of
the Nation is changing.
We are gathered here in Hawaii where, for many years, there has been no one
racial or ethnic group that could claim majority status. Today, the same is true
of my home state of California.
And projections indicate that the United States as a whole will look a lot more
like California and Hawaii by 2060.
Our responsibility as Americans, and as members of JACL, is to make certain that
this change strengthens the fabric of our life as a nation, and fortifies the
bonds of citizenship among all the peoples of America.
As Asian Pacific Americans, we are uniquely qualified to help guide the Nation
in that great work.
As a tapestry of dozens of nationalities and cultures, we understand the meaning
and the strength of diversity.
We know the work that it takes to build coalitions, and to build understanding.
But we also know the incredible rewards of that work.
Each American community contains within it a part of the American story.
Each of our histories teaches a unique lesson about what America means, about
the challenges that face us, and about the solutions to those challenges.
I am proud of the lives that my parents built for themselves, for my brother, my
sisters, and for me, when they immigrated to the United States. In fact, let me
introduce my sister, who hasn’t missed a JACL convention that I know of since
1938. My sister, Etso Mineta Mashoka.
I am proud of the traditions and the heritage that my parents brought with them
to this great country. My father liked to say that Japan was the land of his
birth, but that America was the land of his heart.
Like JACL, my parents kept their faith in the promise of this country, even in
the face of discriminatory laws and the evacuation and internment. And like JACL,
they saw that denial of our human rights not as a signal to give up – but as a
call to action.
As a community, we have traveled through a crucible that few others have ever
experienced, and one that few can truly understand. But we have persevered. We
have carried on.
And, as Americans, we have worked to ensure that the Nation we love so much
becomes the best that it can possibly be.
Along the way, our community has proven its ability to provide truly great
leadership for the Nation. For proof, we need look no further than in this room
to see great Asian American leaders – Senator Daniel Inouye, former Lieutenant
Governor Mazie Hirono, former Governor George Armoshi, Hawaii State House
Majority Leader Scott Saiki, Washington State Representative Shari Santos, and
Congressman Mike Honda, who represents my old district in California, as well as
other state legislators, mayors, and county commissioners.
And here in the state that she loved so much, I can’t help but remember a woman
that so many of us counted as a mentor, a friend, a leader, and a hero – the
late Congresswoman Patsy Mink.
And we have with us tonight a great friend of our community, Senator Danny Akaka
from whom we have heard, as well as Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Congressman
Ed Case and Minnesota State Senator Mee Moua, the first Hmong American elected
to a state legislature.
Each of these leaders has broken barriers in his or her career, and each has
spent that career making sure that those barriers stay down, and that the doors
of opportunity are never closed again.
That is a job that is never going to end, and JACL must continue to be at the
forefront of that work.
As Americans of Japanese ancestry, our history and our experiences are critical
parts of the ongoing fight for justice and equality for all Americans.
That is why I am so proud to be here tonight. I am so proud of the work this
organization has done, over so many years, to make the promise of America real –
not just for us, but for all Americans.
As difficult as it is sometimes to stand up for your own rights, the true test
of courage is when you risk yourself to stand up for the rights of your
neighbors. I can think of no group that has more consistently passed that test
than the Japanese American Citizens League.
There are many reasons why I am proud to be an American of Japanese ancestry.
But among the best reasons I know are the history and the work of this
organization, the things that you have achieved for our community, and the
things that you have achieved for our country.
Continue the good fight and continue the legacy for the next 75 years, based on
your theme of “Our Legacy, Our Future, Ensuring Diversity in America.”
May God bless each and every one of you, and may God continue to bless the
United States of America.
Mahalo.
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