JAvoice.com Committee Meets with National Park Service
WASHINGTON, June 22 - Four Representatives of JAvoice.com, Committee for a Fair and Accurate Memorial, met Thursday with John Parsons, Associate Regional Director of Land Use Coordination for the National Park Service, to present a resolution and more than 700 signatures protesting portions of the inscriptions to be placed on the planned Japanese American Memorial.
Parsons opened the meeting by saying that he had been instructed by Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt and NPS Director Robert Stanton to meet with the us and to brief them on what was discussed. A response was to be issued following the briefing, but Parsons could not say when that would be.
The meeting which lasted for 90 minutes, was also attended by Parsons' deputy, Sara K. Blumenthal, and Glenn DeMarr, project coordinator for the Japanese American memorial.
When asked if the inscriptions were finalized, we were given a draft dated March 21, 2000, which was different in some details to a version issued on March 30, 2000 by the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation (NJAMF). A quote from Rep. Robert T. Matsui, for example, had been changed in the NJAMF version to delete specific reference to the 1988 Civil Liberties Act. The NPS officials said they were unaware of this change.
We were told that the NPS received still another draft of inscriptions from the architect two weeks earlier which contained changes which they had not yet approved. This seems to indicate that the NJAMF is making changes to the text without getting prior approval of the NPS.
When asked whether more changes can be made, Parsons repeatedly stated that he did not know.
As for the central question of the inclusion of Mike Masaoka and the "Creed," Parsons tried to justify the inclusion by saying that Masaoka was a historical figure and the creed was a historical fact that helped explain internment. We countered that the manner in which they were presented was not historically accurate and was incomplete and misleading. Parsons only nodded and did not verbally respond to those remarks.
Parsons’ understanding of Sen. Daniel Inouye’s (D-HI) remarks seemed to be that Inouye wanted only his name removed from the memorial. We informed him that Sen. Inouye’s proposal was that all names be eliminated, and there was some discussion as to whether that also included the names of Presidents Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan. This is a point that needs to be clarified with Senator Inouye.
We made it clear to Parsons that our position was that we wanted Masaoka and his creed removed, and if that meant the removal of all names and quotations, we would go along with that.
Our objections, we noted, pertained to Masaoka and his creed, lack of clarity in some of the quotations, and the historical inaccuracies that are scattered throughout the narrative portion of the inscriptions.
The meeting ended amicably, but Parsons gave no commitment other than to brief Stanton and Babbitt on the meeting.