Best of - Daniel Inouye and Norman Mineta: In Defense of Liberty

What It Takes®

Academy of Achievement

Film, Politics, Arts, Self-help, Sports, Society & Culture, Success, Literature, Humanitarian, Military, Social Justice, Technology, Podcast, Achievement, Music, Science

4.6 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2022

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Norman Mineta spent three years in a internment camp for Japanese-Americans when he was a child. But this shameful period in American history did not deter him from becoming a celebrated civil servant, one who broke racial barriers to become a 10-term U.S. Congressman from California and the first Asian-American member of the Cabinet. In honor of Norm Mineta, who died last week at the age of 90, and in celebration of Asian-American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invite you to take a second listen to our episode from 2020. It also features the story of long-serving U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, a veteran of the most decorated regiment in US history, the 442nd. The 442nd was a segregated Japanese-American unit that fought in Europe after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. These two stories stand in stark contrast, and reflect some of the worst - and best - impulses in America. And they are a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. (c ) American Academy of Achievement 2020-2022

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, this is Alice. He was the victim of America at its worst and an exemplar of America at its best.
0:11.0	Norman Manetta was born in San Jose, California, the child of Japanese immigrants.
0:17.8	When he was 11, he was sent with his family to an internment camp in Wyoming, along with thousands of other Japanese Americans.
0:27.1	He spent three years there behind barbed wire.
0:31.0	But Norm Minetta grew up to break racial barriers. He was an esteemed public servant, a 10-term
0:37.5	member of Congress, and the first ever Asian American cabinet member.
0:42.8	Minetta was also a central force in winning justice
0:46.6	and reparations for Japanese Americans
0:49.7	in turn during World War II.
0:52.0	So when Norm Mineda died last week at the age of 90
0:56.3	there was plenty to grieve. We pay tribute to him today and to Daniel Inoue the
1:02.3	long-time US Senator from Hawaii by replaying for you our
1:07.0	2020 episode on these two distinguished Americans.
1:12.1	And because it's Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we doubly celebrate
1:17.6	their contributions to American life.
1:21.2	Thanks for taking a second lesson.
1:23.0	Here are two incompatible tales from our nation's history. They are both true and nearly impossible to reconcile.
1:40.0	They both begin on December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day.
1:45.0	The first is recounted by Daniel Inoue, the former U.S. senator from Hawaii.
1:51.0	I was just 18 at that time and like most young men I wanted to
1:59.7	serve my country put on the uniform and do our business.
2:05.0	Well, about three weeks after the bombing, we got word that we of Japanese ancestry were declared to be 4c. One A is physically fit, mentally alert,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Academy of Achievement, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Academy of Achievement and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.