Recommendations and appropriations have been on the floor of congress since the bill was signed one year ago, on August 10th, 1988. But not one penny has been paid. We have had nothing but broken promises. Japanese Americans were incarcerated three years or more, and have waited forty seven years but have not received one red cent. Are we second-class citizens? It is a slap on the face. I was incarcerated for three years and four months. What has happened to our constitution? When the president signed the bill on August 10th, 1988 I thought that our constitution was more than a piece of paper. Today, the constitution is just a piece of paper. ... We have come a long way, hurdled many obstacles in our struggle. We cannot lose now. We must work together to prevent similar occurrences to happen again to any of us, regardless of origin. We need to emphasize education and support work that will give us strength as Asians. We must unite and work for the freedom of all people. - Yuri Kochiyama i first heard this band during the summer between 8th and 9th grade. i got this lp probably within two years after that and today i listened to it for the first time in a while. theres a track on the record called giving testimony, which features a recording of Yuri Kochiyama speaking (quoted above). every single time i listen to it, i well up with tears. its extremely powerful and i would recommend anyone listen to at least that song, if not the whole record. giving testimony begins around 5:38. theres also some good soundclips of Malxom X speaking later in the record, as well as a cool clip from The Last Poets at the beginning of the record.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 23:04:34 +0000
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