March 25, 1996
Asian-American political activist John Tateishi lectured on “The Asian American Political Agenda: An Awakening Dragon in the 21st Century?” Appointed chair of the National Redress Committee of the Japanese American Citizen’s League in 1978, Tateishi, who had been interned at the age of three with his parents during World War II, succeeded in 1988 in gaining a public apology from Congress and President Reagan and the eventual disbursement of $1.6 billion in reparations. Reflecting on his experience, he told the audience that “while standing at the barbed-wire fences, I can remember so clearly thinking America was out there.” Katherine Youn ’96, President of the Asian Students’ Alliance, described Tateishi “a living testimony…a role model for what we can believe in and what we can fight for.”
The Miscellany News
Tateishi returned to speak again at Vassar on October 8, 1996.