Primary Sources from UH Mānoa Library's Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection
Daniels, Roger, et al., editors. (1991). Japanese Americans: From Relocation to Redress. University of Washington Press.
The first edition of this book, published in 1986, was a collection of papers with first-hand accounts of the experience of incarceration and efforts at redress. Re-issued in 1991, the second edition includes a section titled “Redress Achieved,” which contains reflections on the efforts for redress and the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Hatamiya, Leslie T. (1993). Right a Wrong: Japanese Americans and the Passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Stanford University Press.
Hatamiya addresses the question of how a quiet minority was able to successfully pass legislation recognizing and offering redress for harms done 40 years earlier. Focusing on the legislative process, she posits several forces, including skillful political leadership, the framing of the issue as constitutional, a lack of coherent opposition, and widespread individual and organizational support.
Japanese American Citizens League | Densho Encyclopedia https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Japanese_American_Citizens_League/.
This page provides an overview and history of the Japanese American Citizens League, which was instrumental in achieving redress. However, during World War II, the group was criticized as being too accommodating to the government, encouraging Japanese Americans to cooperate with government policies surrounding exclusion and incarceration and condemning those who resisted.
“Justice Denied.” (15 Aug 2016). National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research/japanese-americans/justice-denied
The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment’s report entitled Personal Justice Denied, digitized and searchable.
Maki, Mitchell T., et al. (1999). Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress. University of Illinois Press.
Maki et al. provide a history of the redress movement including local grass-roots efforts, the work of national organizations such as the JACL and NCJAR, legal cases, and congressional acts. They point to the story of Japanese American redress as a great American story that recognizes civil liberties for all and affirms the ability of a minority group to achieve a seemingly impossible dream.
Murray, Alice Yang. (2008). Historical Memories of Japanese American Internment and the Struggle for Redress. Stanford University Press.
This book examines the road to redress through the efforts of distinct Japanese American groups, highlighting the differing and sometimes conflicting initiatives. It illustrates how attitudes towards incarceration and redress varied among the Issei, Nisei, and Sansei generations. It traces how conflicting historical memories influenced redress activism.
National Council for Japanese American Redress | Densho Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/National_Council_for_Japanese_American_Redress/.
This page summarizes the origin and work of the National Council for Japanese American Redress which sought direct redress through a class action lawsuit. It discusses the effects of their class action suit on redress legislation.
Shimabukuro, Robert Sadamu. (2001). Born in Seattle: The Campaign for Japanese American Redress. University of Washington Press.
This book focuses on the redress movement through the experiences of activists in Seattle, WA where the first efforts for redress began. Shimabukuro relies on interviews with key players to craft an account of tremendous personal and collective effort in the face of numerous obstacles that led to a national apology and redress.
Takezawa, Yasuko I. (1995) Breaking the Silence: Redress and Japanese American Ethnicity. Cornell University Press.
Takezawa offers a close look at how incarceration and the fight for redress affected Japanese Americans’ sense of identity. She uses personal stories from interviews to describe how distinct generations of Japanese Americans understood their experiences and themselves differently.