Anti-Asian Flyer Spring Campaign Eggrolls Etc. in Arizona It's not too late to donate. continues to stand by its Help the PC. continue to racist menu even as APA develop its popular Web site. groups protest. COUPON PAGE 2 NATIONAL PAGE 3 Dice-K Who? CITIZEN Okajima makes an sfnce1929PACIFIC unexpected impact as Boston Red Sox reliever. The National Publication of the Japanese American Citizens League MEMORIAL DAY Shock Jocks ~!~~~~~!!_ M~~~~ ~ dep~~~e~:~~M:}n~l=ra=q~a~n=d..,............A_b_r_o_a--,d Dropped Over erans this Memorial Day, Iraq. For the past four months wishes you had." As ian SIu rs these soldiers are proud to Ishikata has been stationed ' in Ishikata's. life be serving their country. Baghdad overseeing the translation now consists of By Associated Press and P.e. Staff of captured documents and media to seven-day . work­ NEW YORK-One month after assist the commanders in locating weeks that often last By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM the firing of radio host Don Imus for insurgents. 16 hours a day. Executive Editor broadcasting sexist and racist gibes, "As a leader, I felt it was impor- Some days there are a pair of suspended New York shock tant for me to have this experience so briefings with his Lt. Col. George Ishikata has 23 jocks have been permanently pulled that I could understand-my soldiers higher-ups, on other. years of U.S. Army experience from the air by CBS Radio for a better, and so they cO,-!ld feel com- days there's the under his belt. For the past few years prank phone call rife with offensive fortable that I had gone through .the occasional visit he's been training and preparing his Asian stereotypes. same hardships as them," said with a team in a Cpl. Mitsuo Satoh battalion soldiers to fight in various ''The Dog House with N and Ishikata, a 44-year-old Sansei from remote area. (above, middle) parts of the world including Iraq, Elvis," hosted by Jeff Vandergrift San Francisco. "But the day is translates for sol­ Afghanistan, and the Balkans. But and Dan Lay, "will no longer be "I'd liken it to any sport partici- basically work and diers in Japan. Lt. lately he felt like something was Col. George broadcast," CBS Radio spokes­ pant ... you prepare to play in the big eat, not much else," missing: he wanted to experience Ishikata (left) is woman Karen Mateo said May 12. game. If you have a successful first-hand what his soldiers were See MEMORIAL currently serving CBS Radio dismissed broadcasting career and never get to the big game, going through. DAYIPage6 in Iraq. hall of famer Imus in April for his defamation of the Rutgers women's Creating a Pan Asian Culture Through Classical Dance basketball team. The cancellation of the show, Ken Kanesaka chased his '[ can help bridge the gap bef',\.'een Japan alld Onstage in Osaka with me to finish my degree because I dreams of breaking into America or even Japan and the rest of the world. full makeup and flow- . only have one or two quarters left," nearly three weeks after the show kabuki. He did it. Now he's ing costume, he's said the 26-year-old Huntington hosts were suspended, was another indication of the increased scrutiny back in L.A. with dreams of known as Nakamura Beach, Calif. native. In 1998 during on radio hosts and the heightened bridging cultures. Gankyo, but on his his sophomore year at the University college campus he of Calif, mia at Lo Angeles Ken management sensitivity to com­ By LYNDA LIN easily blends in with studied abroad in Tokyo and sponta­ plaints in the wake of the Imus fir­ Assistant Editor the young California t­ neously moved to Osaka to attend ing. shirt crowd. kabuki training school where he "This is a victory not only for the BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.­ After all, even a graduated at the top of his class. Asian American community, but for Nearly eight years after becoming professional kabuki "Also when I go abroad for lec­ all communities who find them­ the first American to break into tl).e artist needs his diplo­ tures, people always tend to ask me selves constant targets of racist and cloistered world of kabuki in Japan, ma. sexist programming," said Jeanette Ken Kanesaka is back on native soil. "My father wants See CLASSICAL DANCElPage 5 See SHOCK JOCKSlPage 12 Blazing a Trail on Two Wheels Are AA Males Unwilling Targets of Virginia Tech Fallout? This Sansei's idea of a vacation is retracing the footsteps of Just weeks after Seung-Hui Cho shot 32 in Lee (left) and runaway slaves. On the inaugural ride through the a deadly rampage, media reports show an Meepegama Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, she catches up with increasing number of high school and col­ were taken theP.e. lege age AA males being targeted for hate out of school for alleged incidents and school suspensions. By LYNDA LIN violent and Colleen Assistant Editor By CAROLINE AOYAGI-STOM . aggressive Shino at behavior. Colleen Shino is riding through the start of Executive Editor history - literally. her journey If you're an Asian American male of high school or to a psychiatric hospital for posting a violent image on in Mobile, Perched on her bicycle, she college age you might be feeling a bit uneasy these days. his Web site. And an Illinois high school student was Alabama. travels about 50 miles a day And with good reason. charged with two misdemeanor counts for writing a vio­ through America's winding roads - In the past few weeks there's been a slew of media lent essay. and swamplands on the first-ever ride on the "route to freedom," a new bicy­ reports involving young AA males, and they haven't Although some of the stories involve some question~ cle path thai retraces the approximately 2,100 mile journey slaves took before been flattering portrayals. One was the victim of an able-behavior on the part of these young men, many in and during the Civil War to inhale See BLAZING A TRAILlPage 12 alleged hate beating at Auburn University. One was sent the AA community See FALLOUTlPage 6 PICNIC TIME: Terminal Our Father's Club Island was populated by At its peak, the Terminal the annual event, it's much of the JA fishermen (~/ow). In Islander Club was an active same for old-timers who slap each 1971, the tradition of the social organization of for­ other on the backs and make com­ picnic (left) began. mer friends and neighbors. ments on graying hairs and fading Today, their very existence memories. threatens to fade into the The annual picnic has been going strong since 1971. In the beginning background of history. there were about 1,000 members of the exciusive Terminal Islander club, By LYNDA LIN a contingency of mostly Nisei bound Assistant Editor by a shared history and geography. Most members were born or have The Terminal Islander PICruCS There are only about 300 Terminal Bellis Park in Buena Park, Calif. lived on Terminal Island, once a usually open with the pounding of Islanders left, said Yukio Tatsumi, Every year Yukio, 87, looks out booming Japane.se fishing village, the taiko drums, relay races with club president for the last 22 years. into the crowd and sees fewer faces but now an industrial wasteland in screeching grandchildren running But the traditions go on. This June he grew up with. the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro towards the finish line and the 10, Terminal Islanders· will reunite "It's not a good feeling but that's area. echoes of karaoke performances. At again for their picnic in George See TERMINAL ISLANDlPage 6 2 COMMENTARY /LE'li'ERS PACIFIC CITIZEN, MAy 18-31, 2007 f': PACIAC CmZEN ~ COMMENTARY 2005 WINNERI ~ NfWAMERICA A Memorable Experience: JA Leadership Delegation to Japan V' MEDIA By LARRY ODA cultural America through the experi­ ~ Awards In Writing A JACL Nat') President ences of a diverse group of JAs. Part of the delegation included: PACIFIC CITIZEN Recently a diverse group of Brian Matsumoto, president, Japanese Americans chosen by vari- Resources International, Aurora, 250 E. First Street, Ste. 301 , ous consulate generals of Japan Colorado; Brennon Morioka, deputy Los Angeles, CA. 90012 throughout the United States left on director Hawaii State Department of Tel: 213/620-1767, 800/966-6157 a week-long journey of discovery to Transportation; Albert Muratsuchi, Fax: 213/620-1768 Japan. deputy attomey general, California E-mail: [email protected] I . had the Department . of Justice; Miko www.pacificcitizen.org honor and privi- . Sawamura, chief, Breast and Executive Editor: lege of being Cervical Cancer Treatment Program, Caroline Y. Aoyagi-Stom nom ina ted California Department of Health residence, the U.S. Embassy, and Connecting Past, . Present and Assistant Editor: amongst the 12 Services; and educ~tor Sandra were privileged to have an audience Future." Lynda Lin Office Manager: delegates for Tanamachi, Freeport, Texas. with Her Imperial Highness, This was the most significant jour­ Brian Tanaka this Japanese I was honored to have been part of Princess Takamado, at her residence. ney of my life. I am extremely grate­ Circulation: Eva Lau-Ting A mer i can this delegation. My fellow delegates In Kyoto the visit was more of a ful to Consul General Yamanaka, the Lea d e r s hip were very' influential leaders not cultural 'orientation nature. We saw Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Publisher: Japanese American Delegation by Consul General only locally, but regionally and Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), Japan Foundation Center for Global Citizens League (founded 1929) Makoto Yamanaka of the San nationally.