Relief for Japanese Americans For Japanese Amer-
icans, the decade opened well when on October 9,
1990, the first redress payments were made to Japa-
nese Americans who had been interned by the U.S.
government in 1942 during World War II. When
107-year-old Reverend Mamoru Eto was the first to
receive his check for $20,000 at a ceremony in Wash-
ington, D.C., many Japanese Americans felt that this,
together with the official American apology for the
internment in 1988, provided some closure to a dark
chapter in the treatment of Japanese Americans.
Each surviving internee, some of whom were small
children at the time of the occurrence, received this
symbolic compensation. In April, 1992, the Japanese
American National Museum opened in Los Angeles,
documenting history, suffering, and achievements
of Japanese Americans.
Prominent Role Models Giving Asian Americans
one of their first international sports superstars, on
February 21, 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi won the first
gold medal in figure skating for an Asian American
at the Winter Olympics in France. Yamaguchi
turned professional after the Olympics, joining Stars
on Ice. Asian American Olympic success in that com-
petition was followed at the 1998 Winter Olympics in
Japan, when Chinese American Michelle Kwan won
the silver medal.
The success of some outstanding Asian Ameri-
cans inspired many others to strive for achievement
and recognition despite lingering cultural obstacles.
Nationwide, Connie Chung became a familiar televi-
sion face as the coanchor of CBS Evening News from
1993 to 1995. Actress Lucy Liu broke into main-
stream American television with her part on theAlly
McBealshow from 1998 to 2002. The decade also saw
two Asian Americans cowinning the Nobel Prize in
Physics, Steven Chu in 1997 and Daniel Tsui in 1998.
At the cutting edge of the Internet, Jerry Yang
cofounded Yahoo! in 1995. These examples indi-
cated that Asian Americans became more visible to
mainstream America in the 1990’s.
Prominent Asian Americans appeared in other
fields. During the 1995 murder trial of O. J. Simp-
son, Judge Lance Ito became a popular culture icon.
When General Eric Shinseki became chief of staff of
the U.S. Army in 1999, it signaled that Asian Ameri-
cans could advance to top military positions. While
somewhat underrepresented in the field of politics,
Asian Americans held important public offices as
well. At the top were the two Asian American sena-
tors of the decade, Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel
Akaka, Democrats from Hawaii.
Racial Conflicts Relations of Asian Americans with
other American racial groups were not always har-
monious in the 1990’s. There was a feeling that some
European Americans still stereotyped Asian Ameri-
cans as a “model minority.” Asian Americans were
concerned that there were glass ceilings barring
their access to top echelons of American business,
politics, and society, and that mainstream America
still looked at them as exotic others, not “real” Amer-
icans. There were also hate crimes against Asian
Americans.
A major racial conflict between Korean American
store owners and African Americans living in de-
prived neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles
erupted during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. On
April 29, or Sa-i-gu in Korean, when the riots broke
out in the city, mobs of predominantly African
Americans looted and burned some 2,300 Korean
American and other Asian American stores. Feeling
abandoned by the city’s fire and police departments,
on April 30 Korean Americans armed themselves to
protect their surviving businesses. In the ensuing gun
battles with looters, one young Korean American,
Edward Lee, was killed. Koreatown was essentially
destroyed, total damage to Asian businesses ranging
in estimate from $380 to $500 million. Reconstruc-
tion proved slow, and racial distrust lingered.
The issue of whether affirmative action policies,
especially in higher education, were causing reverse
discrimination against Asian Americans arose in the
mid-1980’s and came to a head in the 1990’s. Asian
American applicants often felt discriminated against
as they had to apply to college on merit alone, while
members of underrepresented groups were often
given a variety of non-merit-based benefits. On July
20, 1995, the Regents of the University of California
voted to abolish affirmative action in admissions and
employment. Instead, socioeconomic factors should
be used to adjust the admissions process toward
gaining a diverse student body. In 1996, voters in Cal-
ifornia passed Proposition 209, which eliminated
state affirmative action programs. This time, Asian
Americans voted six to four against the proposition.
Campaign Finance Scandal As their economic suc-
cess grew, Asian Americans were asked for political
contributions. Asian Americans gave about $10 mil-The Nineties in America Asian Americans 59