Achieving the Impossible Dream

Mitchell T. Maki is the is the president and CEO of the Go For Broke National Education Center. Harry H. L. Kitano was a professor emeritus of social welfare and sociology at UCLA and the author of The Japanese Americans: The Evolution of a Subculture. S. Megan Berthold is an associate professor and the Director of Field Education at the University of Connecticut.

Myers Outstanding Book Award, Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America, 2000"An excellent summary of groups, individuals and events involved in the redressmovement. It offers a broad overview that makes sense of a wide-ranging and multi-faceted campaign unfolding slowly over several decades. . . . A major contribution to Asian American studies and U.S. history, one which is destined to become a classic resource and reference text."--Stan Shikuma, Pacific Reader "[Makes] an invaluable contribution to the literature in Asian American studies by shedding light on the complex legislative process to enact the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, as well as the social, political, and economic maturity of the Japanese American community that achieved the impossible dream of obtaining redress from the United States government."--John N. Tsuchida, Journal of American History "Valuable for its documentation of how 'relocated' Japanese Americans, their relatives, and political leaders gained apology and reparations from the United States government. . . . The real strength of the book, however, is the clear exposition of the many forces throughout the years that worked for and against redress for wartime internment. For researchers and others wanting to delve even more thoroughly into the history, the authors have provided a comprehensive bibliography, a set of endnotes, and an excellent index."--Carol Ann Traut, MultiCultural Review "A useful case study of a successful national lobbying effort. The authors conducted many illuminating interviews and show a good grasp of the published literature."--Choice "The story of the incarceration of Japanese Americans and the subsequent Japanese American redress movement involves the worst and best of what our country has to offer. Mitchell Maki, Harry Kitano, and Megan Berthold have written an informative account of the Japanese American community's quest for justice."-Senator Daniel K. Inouye "The story of the Japanese American redress movement involved the victimization of an American community; the strength and courage of that community to raise its voice to demand justice; the legislative and judicial battles that made that demand a reality; and most important, the healing and reconciliation that occurred within individuals and a community and between a nation and its people. . . . Through archival documents, public statements, and personal stories, Achieving The Impossible Dream tells this very important story. It is must reading for all Americans who cherish the Constitution and all that it promises."-Norman Y. Mineta, former U.S. congressman

• Foreword by Representative Robert T. Matsui   ixForeword by Roger Daniels   xiiiAcknowledgements   xvIntroduction   11. Theoretical Perspectives   92. Historical Factors prior to World War II   203. World War II (1941-45)   334. The Postwar Decades (1945-69)   515. The Genesis of the Modern Redress Movement (1970-78)   646. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (1979-82)   857. Other Efforts at Redress   1178. The Continuing Legislative Battle (1983-86)   1379. The Aligning of the One-hundredth Congress (1987-88)   16110. The President's Signature and the Fight for Appropriations   18911. Delivering on the Promise   21312. Lessons of a Movement   228Notes   243Works Cited   279Index   291Illustrations follow page 50