Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died on Sept. 29 at the age of 90, served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988 and played a role in Japanese American redress during that time.
On Dec. 17, 1982, Quentin L. Kopp, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, introduced an ordinance to provide redress to Japanese American employees of the City and County of San Francisco who lost their jobs in 1942 due to forced removal. The ordinance provided payment for lost wages of up to $1,250 a year for four years. Mayor Feinstein signed the redress bill for San Francisco workers on Jan. 24, 1983.
Similar actions were taken by, among others, the state governments of California and Washington; the counties of Sacramento and Alameda; and the cities of Los Angeles and Seattle. Support for redress at the state, county and city level helped build momentum for the national redress movement that led to the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. (Source: Densho)