DALE MINAMI, ASIAN LEADER IN CIVIL RIGHTS COMMUNITY,
RECEIVES ABA 2003 THURGOOD MARSHALL AWARD

Won Victory Over WWII Japanese American Exclusion Orders

Dale Minami, a leader in the national civil rights community who has challenged discrimination in all forms, was selected to receive the 2003 Thurgood Marshall Award.

"Dale Minami is a hero to all who believe that 'Equal Justice Under Law' is not merely a slogan, but an aspiration worth fighting for," said Mark Agrast, chair of the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, in announcing the selection. "By working to vacate the convictions of Fred Korematsu and the other defendants in the wartime internment cases he helped to right a great historical wrong. And by co founding the Asian Law Caucus, he helped ensure that access to justice is not denied to those who cannot afford an attorney. Through these and other efforts, he has truly exemplified the spirit of Thurgood Marshall that we honor with this award."

The award was presented at the Section's Thurgood Marshall Award Dinner Aug. 9 during the 2003 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

"In a climate that tested the patriotism and civil rights of selected Americans, Dale Minami's work sought, not just reparation for those wronged, but a better course for everyone. His lifelong efforts on behalf of equality are as critical today as they were to Japanese Americans after World War II. He is a role model for all Americans, and has lived the true calling of a lawyer, to seek justice where it has not prevailed." said Georgina C. Verdugo, chair of the Thurgood Marshall Award Committee.

Minami is credited with influencing the selection of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans, as well as Asians, for executive and judicial appointments at both the state and federal levels. He lectures widely on the importance of civil rights and civil liberties, working to ensure that Americans remember the lessons of the Korematsu case as the nation struggles with the conflict between individual rights and the needs of national security since September 11, 2001.

Minami has practiced law in the San Francisco area since 1972, first with the Asian Law Caucus, Inc., and subsequently with a law firm now operating as Minami, Lew & Tamaki. Much of his practice has challenged employment discrimination in class actions, as well as in individual complaints.

Minami co-founded the Asian Law Caucus, Inc., the first Asian Pacific American community legal service organization in the nation, in 1972, and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, the first Asian American Bar Association in the country, in 1976. He was among the founders of the Asian Pacific Bar of California, a statewide consortium of local Asian Pacific bar associations established in 1988.

He also served as a commissioner with the State of California Fair Employment and Housing Commission in 1981-84 and chair of the Attorney General's Asian/Pacific Advisory Committee in 1988-90. In 1994, President Clinton appointed him to a three year term as chair of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund Commission. Minami was a member of the State Bar of California Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation in 1984-87, and a member of Sen. Barbara Boxer's Judicial Screening Committee in 1993-96. He was president of the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans in 1988-92, and has served on the Board of Governors of the Japanese American National Museum since 1993.

A graduate of the University of California School of Law and the University of Southern California, Minami also has been a lecturer on Asian American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, and an instructor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Mills College in Oakland.

Other ABA Thurgood Marshall Award recipients have included former Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif.); Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States; Stephen B. Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights; and William Wayne Justice, senior judge of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

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