The History of Redress and Reparations with Special Guest Dr. Mitchell Maki

Nov 6, 2023

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 43! Whenever Veterans Day comes around, we think about the different veterans of Asian Pacific Islander descent. Naturally, we reflect on the Japanese Americans who fought for the freedom and ideals of our country during World War II despite the incarceration of so many Japanese Americans during that time. Veterans played a key role in attaining redress and reparations for the thousands of Japanese Americans impacted. This is a time that isn’t covered well (if at all) in school, so we’re glad that Dr. Mitchell Maki joins us for a very special conversation about the Redress and Reparations Movement that led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 signed by President Reagan. 

Dr. Maki is the President and CEO of the Go For Broke National Education Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy and lessons of the Nisei World War II veterans. As a leading scholar on the Japanese American redress movement, Dr. Maki speaks internationally on this topic and its relevance to contemporary socio-political issues. 

He is also the lead author of the award-winning book, Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress, which was a detailed case study of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act. The book documents the Redress Movement in detail from the seed of an idea during World War II to the formal introduction of the idea in the 1970s and all the way to the work with the legislative and executive branches of government in the 1980s and 1990s. 

In our conversation, we discuss the events and people who helped convince legislators and President Reagan to provide redress to Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, the importance of the Japanese American soldiers to the redress movement, the longer lasting impact of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and so much more. Want to make an impact? Then please check out Go For Broke NEC, read Achieving the Dream, find out more about the Torchbearers, and donate to GFBNEC. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [e-mail].