Norman Y. Mineta will forever be known as the man who got justice for the people incarcerated by the Japanese internment.
He got reparations passed in a Republican administration. Reparations, the BIPOC holy grail.
After Mineta got it done under Reagan, it’s never been replicated. Looking back, it seems like a magic trick. But it wasn’t. It was just hard work and politicking.
Emil Guillermo
That’s why we all should revere the man who died somewhat appropriately on the first week of May, the month now known as Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Mineta was one of the first Congressional boosters to elongate what was originally a week, and then coined it Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. His passing on May 3rd is an important marker on the significance of diversity and representation at the highest levels of government, politics, and elected office.