Third Annual Asian American Voices event at UW-Madison
“Reclaiming Our Past: The Untold Stories of Asian America”
“Reclaiming Our Past: The Untold Stories of Asian America”
| (Above) Prof. Sumi Cho; (R) wreath laying |
| Hisashi Miyasaki & Lynet Uttal |
| Dr. Victor Jew |
| Prof. Leslie Bow & her daughter; Fred Marshall & Sharyl Kato |
Part 2 of 2
By Heidi M. Pascual
To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Asian American student leaders, faculty and staff
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to do something big and different this year. While it was
definitely hard work, they put their minds together and held a three-day series of arts, academic scholarship
and commemoration, in collaboration with the UW Asian American Studies program and other groups.
The first day (April 30) featured a performance arts showcase titled “Go Back to Where you Came From,”
held at Memorial Union’s Tripp Commons. Performers did spoken word numbers, and transitions between
each act consisted of carefully selected videos or slide shows. The event highlighted Japanese American
internment, violation of civil liberties in America yesterday and today, as well as identity issues being
experienced by minority groups in America today. The room also offered an exhibit of students’ art work
reflective of the day’s topic.
Day 2 (May 1) was an academic symposium held at the UW-Madison Law School, aptly titled “The Body of
Evidence: Recovering the New/ Forgotten.” The symposium panel was composed of Dr. Victor Jew (UW-
Madison), Prof. Kent Ono (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), and Prof. Elena Tajima Creef
(Wellesley College); with Prof. Leslie Bow (UW-Madison) as moderator. The symposium keynote was
delivered by Prof. Sumi Cho of DePaul University College of Law.
Keynote Address
Prof. Sumi Cho is professor of law at De Paul College of Law. She teaches and writes in the areas of
Critical Race Theory; employment discrimination remedies; and race, racism and U.S. law. She holds a J.D.
and a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Her interdisciplinary work has
explored workplace dynamics in “UnWise,” “UnTimely,” and “Extreme: Redefining Collegial Culture in the
Workplace and Revaluing the Role of Social Change.” Cho employs a critical race feminist approach to her
work on affirmative action, sexual harassment, legal history, and civil rights. Her keynote address focused
on national security and the racial sovereign: from Internment to Incarceration and Immigration.
“This (topic) actually dovetails with my present project … where we’re trying to conceptualize the issue of
racial sovereign, to explain the many ways in which sovereign powers are exercised to the detriment of
rationalized powers,” Cho began. “(I will) try to provide you with my basic argument as well as evidence
that we have put together.”
In doing so, Cho explained that from ‘national security’ literature in legal scholarship — that dominant
name in post 9/11 scholarship — ‘security law’ has centered on the sum of balances between sovereign
emergency reality and civil liberty aspirations. “The traditional framing suggests that the quintessential
challenge for a constitutional democracy like ours is to properly balance civil liberties protection of
individuals inherent in our bill of rights against the need to safeguard the nation from threat and harm, or the
contemporary threat of terror,” she said . “This traditional framing and discourse is suggested in former
Chief Justice William Renquist’s … ‘ The laws need not be silent during the times of war but they will speak
in a somewhat different voice.’ This notion is also plugged in the apochryphal saying, ‘The Constitution is
not a suicide pact.’”
She continued to state that although civil liberty protections are important to a democracy in times of
peace, they are subordinate to the imperative of ensuring national security in times of war. “It seems to be
virtually unpatriotic to pursue a hard-line civil liberty protections,” she said.
Her presentation, much like a class-room lecture, approached the question from a different perspective,
utilizing critical race theory to challenge the dominant framing of civil liberties versus national security.
By Heidi M. Pascual
To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Asian American student leaders, faculty and staff
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to do something big and different this year. While it was
definitely hard work, they put their minds together and held a three-day series of arts, academic scholarship
and commemoration, in collaboration with the UW Asian American Studies program and other groups.
The first day (April 30) featured a performance arts showcase titled “Go Back to Where you Came From,”
held at Memorial Union’s Tripp Commons. Performers did spoken word numbers, and transitions between
each act consisted of carefully selected videos or slide shows. The event highlighted Japanese American
internment, violation of civil liberties in America yesterday and today, as well as identity issues being
experienced by minority groups in America today. The room also offered an exhibit of students’ art work
reflective of the day’s topic.
Day 2 (May 1) was an academic symposium held at the UW-Madison Law School, aptly titled “The Body of
Evidence: Recovering the New/ Forgotten.” The symposium panel was composed of Dr. Victor Jew (UW-
Madison), Prof. Kent Ono (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), and Prof. Elena Tajima Creef
(Wellesley College); with Prof. Leslie Bow (UW-Madison) as moderator. The symposium keynote was
delivered by Prof. Sumi Cho of DePaul University College of Law.
Keynote Address
Prof. Sumi Cho is professor of law at De Paul College of Law. She teaches and writes in the areas of
Critical Race Theory; employment discrimination remedies; and race, racism and U.S. law. She holds a J.D.
and a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Her interdisciplinary work has
explored workplace dynamics in “UnWise,” “UnTimely,” and “Extreme: Redefining Collegial Culture in the
Workplace and Revaluing the Role of Social Change.” Cho employs a critical race feminist approach to her
work on affirmative action, sexual harassment, legal history, and civil rights. Her keynote address focused
on national security and the racial sovereign: from Internment to Incarceration and Immigration.
“This (topic) actually dovetails with my present project … where we’re trying to conceptualize the issue of
racial sovereign, to explain the many ways in which sovereign powers are exercised to the detriment of
rationalized powers,” Cho began. “(I will) try to provide you with my basic argument as well as evidence
that we have put together.”
In doing so, Cho explained that from ‘national security’ literature in legal scholarship — that dominant
name in post 9/11 scholarship — ‘security law’ has centered on the sum of balances between sovereign
emergency reality and civil liberty aspirations. “The traditional framing suggests that the quintessential
challenge for a constitutional democracy like ours is to properly balance civil liberties protection of
individuals inherent in our bill of rights against the need to safeguard the nation from threat and harm, or the
contemporary threat of terror,” she said . “This traditional framing and discourse is suggested in former
Chief Justice William Renquist’s … ‘ The laws need not be silent during the times of war but they will speak
in a somewhat different voice.’ This notion is also plugged in the apochryphal saying, ‘The Constitution is
not a suicide pact.’”
She continued to state that although civil liberty protections are important to a democracy in times of
peace, they are subordinate to the imperative of ensuring national security in times of war. “It seems to be
virtually unpatriotic to pursue a hard-line civil liberty protections,” she said.
Her presentation, much like a class-room lecture, approached the question from a different perspective,
utilizing critical race theory to challenge the dominant framing of civil liberties versus national security.
“I draw from writer Carl Smith’s pro-realist observation that emergency
powers derive from an extra legal state of exception,” Cho said. “Smith
maintained that the state of deception is a highly politicized exception and
symbol of state sovereignty that allows concentration of power into the
executive, the president, absent judicial review. I used critical race theory to
illustrate how Smith’s politicized deception is also racial — an imperial
conception that reveals the dichotomy inherent in the civil liberties versus
national security framing.”
Note: Critical Race Theory (CRT) began as a response to critical legal studies
(a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical
theory to law). CRT is concerned with racism, racial subordination and
discrimination. It emphasizes the socially constructive and discursive nature of
race, considers judicial conclusions to be the result of the workings of the
intersection of race with other social phenomena but sees race as a primary
factor, and opposes the continuation of all forms of subordination. — http://www.
absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Critical_race_theory
powers derive from an extra legal state of exception,” Cho said. “Smith
maintained that the state of deception is a highly politicized exception and
symbol of state sovereignty that allows concentration of power into the
executive, the president, absent judicial review. I used critical race theory to
illustrate how Smith’s politicized deception is also racial — an imperial
conception that reveals the dichotomy inherent in the civil liberties versus
national security framing.”
Note: Critical Race Theory (CRT) began as a response to critical legal studies
(a movement in legal thought that applied methods similar to those of critical
theory to law). CRT is concerned with racism, racial subordination and
discrimination. It emphasizes the socially constructive and discursive nature of
race, considers judicial conclusions to be the result of the workings of the
intersection of race with other social phenomena but sees race as a primary
factor, and opposes the continuation of all forms of subordination. — http://www.
absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Critical_race_theory
Cho examined early 19th century cases of indigenous peoples; the meaning of “indigenous” versus “U.S. Sovereignty;” the Marshall Trilogy; and the
Cherokee Nation’s struggle in the State of Georgia.
“Prior to the civil rights era, the courts played a key role in promoting what sociologists … called America’s unique form of racial dictatorship,” Cho
stressed. “And an important judicial function of preserving the social order and the system of privileges have all been around, developing foundational
legal principles … that were more encompassing than ... legal rationales that many in legal studies pointed out were problematic. … Foundational legal
principles in the United States developed modestly with the structures of societal racial formations, and therefore, what is meant to be a nation; how
federalism would be defined and understood; who could be a citizen; and what citizenship meant. What is meant by military necessity or national
security? These principles grew up beside the question, ‘What it meant to be White? And conversely, what it meant to be not White?’”
Cho discussed lengthily several more cases in the past century and explained how these principles continue today. Her audience definitely received a
ton of legal information of historical proportion, most of which, hopefully reached their memory banks.
Day 3, May 2, “Remembering James Wakasa”
At 3 p.m. at the UW-Madison Humanities Courtyard, a memorial service for internment casualty and former University of Wisconsin student, James
Wakasa, was held. A group of Asian American students, faculty, guests and community members were present as the “Badger State Reclaimed its
Forgotten Asian American Heritage: Remembering James Wakasa.” Musical interludes were performed by the Marquette Jazz Collective, with music
from Issei haunting and Nisei memories spun by Phil Lee.
While names of Japanese Americans interned during World War II were being read, a wreath was laid in remembrance of James Wakasa, and a
procession of students bearing paper flowers began, handing one flower to each attendee. Student leader Vorada Savengseuksa opened the solemn
event with an introduction of James Wakasa, and the symbolism of the paper wreath that was made for James Wakasa during his funeral in 1943.
“If you look closely, they are made solely of paper flowers by our student community, just as the Topaz community has done for James Wakasa in
preparation for his funeral,” Savengseuksa began. “Today, I’d like to begin with a quote from Tom Akashi, a Japanese American internee who was also
at Topaz Camp.
“The interviewer [of Tom Akashi] asks: ‘A friend of the family, James Wakasa, was shot and killed by an MP Sentry, and this was about six months in.
What was the effect on you, and your father, and the rest of your family?’
“‘Since we knew him, it was a personal thing. As far as my father was concerned, they had the boiler room, they used to drink together. And he went
to the University of Wisconsin. He’s an educated man. They exchanged ideas and they knew each other’s feelings. And so when he was killed, he took it
hard. And of course, he became one of the committee members to see what they could do about it, so it won’t happen again. But to him it was a loss.’”
Savengseuksa continued, “We’re all here to pay tribute to James Wakasa. The life and death of James deserve to be honored because he represents
Wisconsin’s lost Asian American heritage. Born in Japan in 1884, he came to the U.S. and made his home in various places in the Midwest. He …
completed a two-year post graduate course here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1916. He eventually moved to San Francisco; but in 1942, he,
along with Americans of Japanese descent, were rounded up and forcibly removed from their homes, later to be sent to Topaz War Relocation Authority
Camp in Utah. On the evening of April 11, 1943, he was shot to death by a military police sentry. At the time of his death, he had been in the United States
for 40 years, many of those spent in the American heartland. His killing became one of the most controversial during the Japanese American internment;
moreover, his killing was censored, and to this day, we cannot accurately say that the public knows the complete truth of what really happened about his
death.”
To commemorate James Wakasa and the events that happened in Topaz, a performance called “Voices from the Past” was presented, with David
Furuomoto as narrator. Essentially, the “voices” were those from Topaz during World War II: official press releases from the War Relocation Authority; a
vivid description of James Wakasa’s bullet wounds; a statement from five Japanese American internees (Issei) from Blocks 4, 29, and 36, who went to
the spot where James Wakasa’s body was found to do their own investigation; and passionate messages directed to the larger American society.
Below are snippets of these “voices”:
Victor Jew: To complete our investigation for our records, we walked towards the scene of the shooting from Block 36. Together as we approached
the south fence, approximately 35 feet away, an Army jeep speeding from the north [appeared] from the road beyond the fence, and upon seeing us came
to an abrupt halt. The driver stood up from his seat, turned to his companion, grabbed his sub-machine gun from the latter’s hand, jumped off the jeep and
came dashing to the fence, pointing his gun at us. “Scatter, or you’ll get the same thing as the other guy got!” We immediately obeyed his orders, given at
the point of his gun. His companion was hurled to a mirth, a loud laugh, one of derision.
Chorus: You’ll get what the other guy got!
Narrator: From the final report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation & Internment of Civilians, the Report of the Official Congressional
Investigation into the internment conducted, researched, and written from 1981-1982.
Voice 4: From December 7, 1941 to Sept. 29, 1947, the United States used its war powers to incarcerate more than 110,000 American citizens and
resident aliens. They confined most of them in barbed wires, under armed guards, where they were held for an unspecified time. This action was taken
against Americans of Japanese ancestry and their parents — a group who hadn’t committed any crimes or been accused of taking any action to warrant
such adverse treatment.
Voice 5: We often take our civil rights and civil liberties for granted. When we vote, we go to a polling place, and privately vote our conscience,
casting our ballot for a candidate or issue of choice. We’re free to express our opinions on any controversial issue, among friends, family, or others.
Voice 6: But, how would you respond when your civil liberty was taken away?
Voice 5: That happened during WWII and could happen again, not just to American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry, but to any other
group for arbitrary reason, if we fail to learn the lesson of history.
Narrator: From Frank Murphy, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dissenting in Koromatsu vs. the United States, Dec 18, 1944:
Victor Jew: This exclusion of all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, from the Pacific Coast area, on a plea of military necessity in
the absence of Martial Law, ought not to be approved. Such exclusion goes over the very brink of constitutional power and falls into the ugly abyss of
racism.
V oice 7: … As living, breathing, thinking, individuals, we must continue to look into history to understand the vulnerability that currently exists and
the potential for future state-sanctioned injustices to be carried out in our post Sept. 11, 2001 political climate of unwielding executive branch wartime
powers. The organizers of this series want to remind you of the importance of remembering America’s triumphs, as well as injustices of war, imperialist
conquests, and domination condoned under the political auspices of national defense and homeland security.
Cherokee Nation’s struggle in the State of Georgia.
“Prior to the civil rights era, the courts played a key role in promoting what sociologists … called America’s unique form of racial dictatorship,” Cho
stressed. “And an important judicial function of preserving the social order and the system of privileges have all been around, developing foundational
legal principles … that were more encompassing than ... legal rationales that many in legal studies pointed out were problematic. … Foundational legal
principles in the United States developed modestly with the structures of societal racial formations, and therefore, what is meant to be a nation; how
federalism would be defined and understood; who could be a citizen; and what citizenship meant. What is meant by military necessity or national
security? These principles grew up beside the question, ‘What it meant to be White? And conversely, what it meant to be not White?’”
Cho discussed lengthily several more cases in the past century and explained how these principles continue today. Her audience definitely received a
ton of legal information of historical proportion, most of which, hopefully reached their memory banks.
Day 3, May 2, “Remembering James Wakasa”
At 3 p.m. at the UW-Madison Humanities Courtyard, a memorial service for internment casualty and former University of Wisconsin student, James
Wakasa, was held. A group of Asian American students, faculty, guests and community members were present as the “Badger State Reclaimed its
Forgotten Asian American Heritage: Remembering James Wakasa.” Musical interludes were performed by the Marquette Jazz Collective, with music
from Issei haunting and Nisei memories spun by Phil Lee.
While names of Japanese Americans interned during World War II were being read, a wreath was laid in remembrance of James Wakasa, and a
procession of students bearing paper flowers began, handing one flower to each attendee. Student leader Vorada Savengseuksa opened the solemn
event with an introduction of James Wakasa, and the symbolism of the paper wreath that was made for James Wakasa during his funeral in 1943.
“If you look closely, they are made solely of paper flowers by our student community, just as the Topaz community has done for James Wakasa in
preparation for his funeral,” Savengseuksa began. “Today, I’d like to begin with a quote from Tom Akashi, a Japanese American internee who was also
at Topaz Camp.
“The interviewer [of Tom Akashi] asks: ‘A friend of the family, James Wakasa, was shot and killed by an MP Sentry, and this was about six months in.
What was the effect on you, and your father, and the rest of your family?’
“‘Since we knew him, it was a personal thing. As far as my father was concerned, they had the boiler room, they used to drink together. And he went
to the University of Wisconsin. He’s an educated man. They exchanged ideas and they knew each other’s feelings. And so when he was killed, he took it
hard. And of course, he became one of the committee members to see what they could do about it, so it won’t happen again. But to him it was a loss.’”
Savengseuksa continued, “We’re all here to pay tribute to James Wakasa. The life and death of James deserve to be honored because he represents
Wisconsin’s lost Asian American heritage. Born in Japan in 1884, he came to the U.S. and made his home in various places in the Midwest. He …
completed a two-year post graduate course here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1916. He eventually moved to San Francisco; but in 1942, he,
along with Americans of Japanese descent, were rounded up and forcibly removed from their homes, later to be sent to Topaz War Relocation Authority
Camp in Utah. On the evening of April 11, 1943, he was shot to death by a military police sentry. At the time of his death, he had been in the United States
for 40 years, many of those spent in the American heartland. His killing became one of the most controversial during the Japanese American internment;
moreover, his killing was censored, and to this day, we cannot accurately say that the public knows the complete truth of what really happened about his
death.”
To commemorate James Wakasa and the events that happened in Topaz, a performance called “Voices from the Past” was presented, with David
Furuomoto as narrator. Essentially, the “voices” were those from Topaz during World War II: official press releases from the War Relocation Authority; a
vivid description of James Wakasa’s bullet wounds; a statement from five Japanese American internees (Issei) from Blocks 4, 29, and 36, who went to
the spot where James Wakasa’s body was found to do their own investigation; and passionate messages directed to the larger American society.
Below are snippets of these “voices”:
Victor Jew: To complete our investigation for our records, we walked towards the scene of the shooting from Block 36. Together as we approached
the south fence, approximately 35 feet away, an Army jeep speeding from the north [appeared] from the road beyond the fence, and upon seeing us came
to an abrupt halt. The driver stood up from his seat, turned to his companion, grabbed his sub-machine gun from the latter’s hand, jumped off the jeep and
came dashing to the fence, pointing his gun at us. “Scatter, or you’ll get the same thing as the other guy got!” We immediately obeyed his orders, given at
the point of his gun. His companion was hurled to a mirth, a loud laugh, one of derision.
Chorus: You’ll get what the other guy got!
Narrator: From the final report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation & Internment of Civilians, the Report of the Official Congressional
Investigation into the internment conducted, researched, and written from 1981-1982.
Voice 4: From December 7, 1941 to Sept. 29, 1947, the United States used its war powers to incarcerate more than 110,000 American citizens and
resident aliens. They confined most of them in barbed wires, under armed guards, where they were held for an unspecified time. This action was taken
against Americans of Japanese ancestry and their parents — a group who hadn’t committed any crimes or been accused of taking any action to warrant
such adverse treatment.
Voice 5: We often take our civil rights and civil liberties for granted. When we vote, we go to a polling place, and privately vote our conscience,
casting our ballot for a candidate or issue of choice. We’re free to express our opinions on any controversial issue, among friends, family, or others.
Voice 6: But, how would you respond when your civil liberty was taken away?
Voice 5: That happened during WWII and could happen again, not just to American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry, but to any other
group for arbitrary reason, if we fail to learn the lesson of history.
Narrator: From Frank Murphy, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, dissenting in Koromatsu vs. the United States, Dec 18, 1944:
Victor Jew: This exclusion of all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, from the Pacific Coast area, on a plea of military necessity in
the absence of Martial Law, ought not to be approved. Such exclusion goes over the very brink of constitutional power and falls into the ugly abyss of
racism.
V oice 7: … As living, breathing, thinking, individuals, we must continue to look into history to understand the vulnerability that currently exists and
the potential for future state-sanctioned injustices to be carried out in our post Sept. 11, 2001 political climate of unwielding executive branch wartime
powers. The organizers of this series want to remind you of the importance of remembering America’s triumphs, as well as injustices of war, imperialist
conquests, and domination condoned under the political auspices of national defense and homeland security.
UW Students who performed the "Voices from the Past"
