The Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Los Angeles Hearings Video Collection, 1981

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and Visual Communications
Language:
Materials are in English and Japanese.
Preferred citation:

The Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Los Angeles Hearings Video Collection, 1981. Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and Visual Communications Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Los Angeles Hearings Video Collection,1981, consists of approximately 26 hours of video testimonies, transcripts, and summaries from the 1981 Los Angeles public hearings of the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). 157 participants, including historians, elected officials, Japanese Americans (including former internees), and community members testified during the three-day and one evening session at the Los Angeles State Building and the Little Tokyo Towers.

The testimonies cover personal stories of former internees and their children, in addition to the range of effects of Japanese American internment during World War II that cover property, business, and economic loss; psychological impact; health impact; mental health impact; impact of FBI activities; voluntary relocation experiences; educational impact; military and veteran experiences; search, seizure, and mistreatment; constitutional issues; and resettlement. These testimonies encouraged Japanese Americans to push for reparations.

Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR, then known as the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations) enlisted Visual Communications to videotape the 26 hours of Los Angeles hearings (just one of the two cities that had its hearings recorded). These digibeta tapes were later compiled into a 13-volume DVD set produced jointly by Visual Communications and NCRR entitled “Speak Out for Justice.” Digitization of these testimonies was funded in part by grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, Japanese American Community Services, the Aratani Foundation and with the help of many individual donors.

Biographical / historical:

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) was created through the passage of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians Act in July 1980. The Commission explored the implementation of Executive Order 9066, its effects, and related actions of Japanese-American internment during World War II.

The Commission’s final report, entitled Personal Justice Denied, stated that the causes of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans included wartime hysteria, racial prejudice, and the failure of political leadership. The commission proposed that monetary reparations be paid to those Japanese Americans who were interned. The report and conclusions of the CWRIC was critical to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that granted monetary compensation to former internees and issued a government apology.

Processing information:

This collection was digitized in 2008. Processed and arranged by Helen Kim in October 2012. Finding aid written in October 2012 and encoded in February 2013 by Helen Kim.

Arrangement:

The holdings are organized into two series: I. Testimonies and II. Written materials. Materials are mostly in English; a select few are in Japanese.

Series I consists of the bulk of the collection and consists of video testimonies varying in length and detail. Series II contains short synopses of the testimonies, a Viewer’s Guide with summaries of the testimonies, and transcripts of the testimonies. Selected testimonies are available online at the Densho Digital Archive.

Physical description:
13 DVDs; digital files.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use. Advance notice required for access. Contact repository for appointment.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holders.

Preferred citation:

The Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) Los Angeles Hearings Video Collection, 1981. Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress and Visual Communications Archives.

Location of this collection:
120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012, US
Contact:
(213) 680-4462
helen@vconline.org
Website