War Wounds

Many issues contained recollections from Issei, or first-generation Japanese immigrants, of their time spent incarcerated during World War II. In 1981, the Congressional Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians sought out similar testimony, eventually hearing from hundreds of witnesses. Evelyn Yoshimura served as a community outreach organizer for the hearings as part of a grassroots movement in which the Japanese-American community fought to obtain restitution of civil rights, an apology, and monetary compensation from the U.S. government. She insisted that the government provide translators so Japanese speakers could testify. The campaign led to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, as well as the still-honored “Day of Remembrance.”