Rafu Wire Service and Staff Reports
The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles has named its historic plaza after the first Asian American appointed to a presidential Cabinet.
Commemorating the late Norman Mineta (1931-2022), the museum in Little Tokyo named the plaza “Norman Y. Mineta Democracy Plaza” and held a ceremony on Friday attended by his family — including wife Deni and sons David and Stuart — government officials and others.
Mineta served as secretary of commerce under President Bill Clinton from 2000 to 2001 and secretary of transportation under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. In the latter Cabinet he was the lone Democrat.
Located in front of the museum, the plaza was once a site on which Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced to gather and board buses taking them to camps for the duration of World War II.
“The plaza is hallowed ground, one of the Ground Zero points in the civil rights history of this country. The anchor that gives us a power of place, and the bridge that connects us to the past, the present, and future,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM president and CEO.
The museum was also represented by Chairman Bill Fujioka.
Erika Moritsugu, White House deputy assistant to the president, delivered a message from President Joe Biden that read, “Norman Mineta was one of the finest public servants in the history of our great nation. Like few others, his light will forever endure through the storied legacy he left behind.”
For many years, Biden served in the Senate while Mineta served in the House of Representatives.
Born and raised in California, Mineta and his family were forcibly removed from their home in San Jose and incarcerated along with 120,000 others of Japanese ancestry. The Minetas were sent to Heart Mountain in Wyoming.
Mineta eventually returned, served as mayor of San Jose (1971-75) and represented the city for over 20 years in Congress (1975-1995).
Among his many accomplishments as a public official, Mineta worked tirelessly to have Congress address the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. Through his and many other people’s efforts came the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided redress to Japanese Americans and acknowledged that they were wrongly imprisoned.
San Jose International Airport was renamed in Mineta’s honor in 2001. In 2006, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian award. He died on May 3, 2022 at the age of 90.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at the ceremony that it was symbolic and meaningful to attend and honor an American hero who fought for democracy and the preservation of history.
City Councilmember Kevin de León, whose district includes Little Tokyo, proclaimed “Norman Mineta Day in the City of Los Angeles — a tribute to resilience, dedication, and patriotism.”
Other participating elected officials included Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Mike Fong (D-Alhambra) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
Representatives of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, of which Mineta was an active supporter, were among the dignitaries in attendance. ABC7 news anchor David Ono, who produced a documentary about Heart Mountain, also spoke.
The dedication was followed by the inaugural Norman Y. Mineta Distinguished Lecture with guest speaker Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans and former senior advisor to the president. David Mineta served as moderator.
Many of those present had just attended the unveiling of a statue of Mineta at San Jose Mineta International Airport the day before.
Rafu Shimpo photos by PETER YOON