City Honors Japanese-American Activist from El Cerrito

The El Cerrito City Council Monday unanimously adopted a proclamation honoring the contributions of the late Japanese-American political activist , an El Cerrito resident for more than 50 years.

Iiyama, who died in June last year at age 99, co-founded the Oakland Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League in 1934, and in 1942 he was interned with other people of Japanese ancestry in relocation camps during World War II, an experience that led him to become active later in the successful campaign for apology and reparations waged by the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations.

He also "supported the Civil Rights movement, protested against the War in Vietnam, and joined the Contra Costa Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and later was elected president," the proclamation says.

He also served on the Human Relations Committee for the Richmond Unified School District (now West Contra Costa Unified) and on the Ad Hoc Committee, which later became El Cerrito's Human Relations Commission.

Prominent members of the National Japanese American Historical Society, he and his wife, Chizu, spoke many times at schools and universities about their wartime incarceration and civil rights, and in 2009, they received the Clifford Uyeda Peace and Humanitarian Award from the Day of Remembrance Consortium in honor of their lifetime activism.

Several family members and friends attended the meeting, including his wife Chizu and daughter Patti, who both thanked the council and offered remarks.

Chizu Iiyama highlighted some of his civic contributions and passion for civil rights, adding, "He felt his biggest contribution was going to speak in the schools, especially in terms of younger children."

At age 88 in December 2009, Chizu Iiyama spoke on behalf of 42 Japanese Americans who received honorary degrees at UC Berkeley, nearly 67 years after their studies at Cal were halted by Executive Order 9066, which initiated the wartime relocation.

Patti Iiyama said, "I'm very proud of his accomplishments, that he was able to stand up and fight for the things that he believed in to fight for social justice."

But the fight isn't over, she added.

"We should take note of the fact that President Barack Obama on Dec. 31 signed into law the National Defense (Authorization) Act, which now permits the army (or) any military to arrest American citizens and hold them indefinitely without charges, which is exactly what happened to the Japanese Americans," she said. "So I think that the struggles will continue, and we are very proud that my father's example is something that we can look to for the future as well as the past."

The proclamation was approved by Mayor Bill Jones and Councilwomen Rebecca Benassini and Ann Cheng. Council members Janet Abelson and Greg Lyman were absent.

A copy of the proclamation is attached to this article.