Roy Nakano Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress Records

Roy Yukio Nakano co-founded the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations—now known as Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR)—as well as its forerunner, the Los Angeles Community Coalition on Redress and Reparations (LACCRR). He also co-founded the Gardena Committee for Redress and Reparations, which later merged with and became a chapter of NCRR. During the congressional hearings before the Committee on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), Roy represented and gave testimony on behalf of the Gardena Committee. Roy was born in 1951 in East Los Angeles to Shigeto and Sumie Nakano, Kibei from Hawaii. His family was incarcerated during World War II at Jerome, Arkansas and Tule Lake, California. The youngest of four siblings, he spent his childhood in Boyle Heights and Gardena, California. Roy attended California State University, Long Beach, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology, and later his Juris Doctor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It was at UCLA, as the Asian American Studies Center’s Coordinator for Student and Community Projects, where Roy initiated his redress activities. In 1985, Roy, along with Robert M. Shoji, founded the publication LA Audio File. In 1997, Roy founded the publication LA Car (lacar.com). Roy currently serves as the Chief Counsel for the SBA’s National Disaster Loan Resolution Center, and resides in Monrovia, California.

NCRR (Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress) emerged as a grassroots movement in 1980, fighting for redress and reparations for Nikkei (Japanese Americans) incarcerated during World War II. Founded by Japanese Americans from across the country, NCRR was first known as the National Coalition for Redress/Reparations. The non-profit organization worked to bring the community together to seek justice for the thousands of Nikkei deprived of their civil rights during World War II. NCRR played a pivotal role in helping former Nikkei incarcerees to testify at the 1981 hearings before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), a Congress-appointed group charged with conducting an official study of the wartime incarceration of Nikkei. NCRR worked together with other Nikkei organizations, individuals, and Congress members towards enacting the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that granted reparations. They also fought to ensure that redress was implemented and campaigned for those that were denied the reparations.

In 2000, the Los Angeles Chapter updated its name to Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress to reflect its ongoing mission. Among the many projects it has undertaken, with the help of grants through the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund (CLPEF), NCRR made available on video, "Speak Out for Justice," the 1981 CWRIC hearings held in Los Angeles. In 2004, NCRR released "Stand Up for Justice," an educational short film of Ralph Lazo, who accompanied his incarcerated Nikkei friends during World War II. In February 2020, NCRR co-chaired and presented in partnership with other organizations the Day of Remembrance 2020, held annually in remembrance of Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans. Today, the organization continues to engage in similar campaigns against injustice and educate the public on wartime injustices.