WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Mitsuye Endo

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to short stuff. I'm Josh, and there's

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck and there's Jerry over there. So this short stuff

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<v Speaker 1>because it's shorter, that's right. And this is one of

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite kinds of short stuff, kind of tailor made

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<v Speaker 1>for a short stuff when you have a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of information about a great person in history who never

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<v Speaker 1>got their due, but there's not a lot much more

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<v Speaker 1>known about them, right, so you can talk about her

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<v Speaker 1>in this case and twelve minutes or so her and him. Yeah, good,

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<v Speaker 1>it'll be thirteen minutes. That's right. And this is the

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<v Speaker 1>story on the her part of mitsu yi Indo. Nicely done,

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<v Speaker 1>I think so. I'm pretty sure too, Okay. Mitsu Yi

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<v Speaker 1>Endo was born in Sacramento. Wait where was she born Sacramento, California?

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<v Speaker 1>Which is an important point here, Chuck, because from being

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<v Speaker 1>born in Sacramento, California, in he was an American citizen,

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<v Speaker 1>natural born. That's right. She was one of four kids

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<v Speaker 1>to Japanese immigrants. Um, and got a job working for

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<v Speaker 1>the government. She was went to secretary school and then

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<v Speaker 1>worked as a secretary for the Department of Employment. Full

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<v Speaker 1>blooded born American working for the state government. Right, um,

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<v Speaker 1>and she was working for the state government in December

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<v Speaker 1>of nineteen one when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and

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<v Speaker 1>the sentiment towards the Japanese in America turned sharply at

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<v Speaker 1>that point, um so much so that I believe the

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<v Speaker 1>next year UM, the President at the time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

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<v Speaker 1>issued an executive order called Executive Order nine oh six six,

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<v Speaker 1>which we have recorded on before. That's right, we did

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<v Speaker 1>a whole episode on this. But Executive Order nine oh

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<v Speaker 1>six six basically said, anyone of Italian American, German American

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<v Speaker 1>or Japanese American ancestry is basically fair game to have

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<v Speaker 1>their constitutional and civil rights utterly stripped from them during

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<v Speaker 1>this crisis of wartime, just because we're not sure if

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<v Speaker 1>they might do something hinky to disrupt America's wartime effort. Right. So,

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<v Speaker 1>within just a few months of December seventh, nineteen UM,

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<v Speaker 1>the United States dismissed all Japanese American state employees, which

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<v Speaker 1>included Mitsui Indo. UM. Hundreds of people affected, and sixty

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<v Speaker 1>three of those people were brave enough to get together

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<v Speaker 1>and challenge the firings, and they had a little backing

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<v Speaker 1>by the Japanese American Citizens League, and they got together

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<v Speaker 1>and they hired a very cool dude uh an attorney

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<v Speaker 1>named James C. Purcell, Yeah, who was not at all Japanese,

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<v Speaker 1>had no Japanese ancestry, and him whatsoever. He just saw

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<v Speaker 1>that this was not right. He saw something that wasn't right,

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<v Speaker 1>and he decided to take on this case. Um. And

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<v Speaker 1>so the being summarily fired because you are of Japanese ancestry,

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<v Speaker 1>not a Japanese immigrant, but like an American born person

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<v Speaker 1>of Japanese ancestry. That's bad enough. But under this executive order,

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<v Speaker 1>in this kind of wartime hysteria, things got way worse

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<v Speaker 1>for Japanese Americans, especially ones on the West Coast, because

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<v Speaker 1>part of this executive order was basically like, hey, military,

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<v Speaker 1>do what you need to do. In the military said, well,

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<v Speaker 1>we figured we should probably clear the West coast of

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<v Speaker 1>anybody like that. We're going to forcibly remove Japanese Americans

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<v Speaker 1>from their homes and eventually into internment camps. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>the episode we did. Yeah, Japanese in tournament. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a good one. So they're basically incarcerated. Um, she and

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<v Speaker 1>her family, And we should point out that her brother

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<v Speaker 1>was serving in the U. S. Army. That's a huge point.

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<v Speaker 1>It is huge point. Um. Her family was moved. She

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<v Speaker 1>was moved a couple of times. They were at Tuley

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<v Speaker 1>Lake at one point, which is a very famous uh

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<v Speaker 1>internment camp that I think is still around as like

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<v Speaker 1>a living museum. Um. But at what eventually she was

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<v Speaker 1>separated from her family. They started by trying to keep

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<v Speaker 1>families together, and then they just stopped doing that and

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<v Speaker 1>people like mitsui Endo ended up being separated from her family,

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<v Speaker 1>forced into a prison. It was a detainment detention center.

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<v Speaker 1>If that sounds familiar, Yeah, exactly. Um. So Purcel's on

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<v Speaker 1>the case. He's uh gotta be in his bonnet to

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<v Speaker 1>help these people out, and he's trying to build a case.

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<v Speaker 1>And what he needs is to find somebody, just one

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<v Speaker 1>person who will step forward and who was brave enough

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<v Speaker 1>to challenge their incarceration through habeas corpus petition, which is

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<v Speaker 1>to say that basically, hey, I shouldn't be um incarcerated

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<v Speaker 1>and I officially legally challenging my incarceration, right it means

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<v Speaker 1>bring me the body. It's part of the magna carta

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<v Speaker 1>I think, where it's basically says, bring the prisoner to me,

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<v Speaker 1>the judge, and let me decide if they're being held

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<v Speaker 1>illegally or not. We did an episode on that too,

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<v Speaker 1>if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, we definitely did something at

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<v Speaker 1>some point on habeas corpus so. So mitsu Endo was

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<v Speaker 1>a perfect test case or challenge case for this to

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<v Speaker 1>pur sell because she um, she was a Methodist, she

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<v Speaker 1>was a citizen and natural born citizen of the US,

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<v Speaker 1>her brother was in the army, and she'd never even

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<v Speaker 1>been to Japan in her entire life. But there's a

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<v Speaker 1>big part of this, like, despite her just perfect um presentation,

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<v Speaker 1>for a case like this, you have to convince her too.

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<v Speaker 1>And part of Japanese culture is you don't stand out,

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<v Speaker 1>number one. You certainly don't stand out by making trouble

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<v Speaker 1>for the authorities. So it was extraordinarily brave when she

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<v Speaker 1>finally agreed to be the case for all Japanese Americans

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<v Speaker 1>who are being unconstitutionally treated by the US. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 1>that that was what did it. When he said, hey, listen,

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<v Speaker 1>this is not for you, this is for everyone, and um,

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<v Speaker 1>still slightly reluctant, she agreed and saw the bigger picture. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're going to talk about the rest of our

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<v Speaker 1>story and Purcell's right after this. M okay, chuck so

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<v Speaker 1>um Mitsu yi Endo has agreed to have her case

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<v Speaker 1>taken by Purcell on to basically challenge all of Executive

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<v Speaker 1>Order nine oh six six in the constitutionality of it, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And I think in pretty short order this case, um

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<v Speaker 1>was people in government knew what was going on on

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<v Speaker 1>the federal level, and they found out who she was

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<v Speaker 1>and what her story was, and I think early on

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<v Speaker 1>they were kind of like, oh, yeah, this probably doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>look good for us. Wait, she's a methodist. Oh god, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>this doesn't look great for us. So you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>let her out. Um, she'll be fine, and just just

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<v Speaker 1>let her out because she I think we probably did

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<v Speaker 1>the wrong thing here. But she said no, and I

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<v Speaker 1>guess also at Purcell's urging, she stayed and turned um

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<v Speaker 1>and said, this is a societal issue. There's something much

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<v Speaker 1>larger at play, and I want to I want to

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<v Speaker 1>carry this like all the way to the top in

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<v Speaker 1>the court system. Yeah, because the government said if you

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<v Speaker 1>just drop this and go away, we'll let you out specifically,

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<v Speaker 1>and she said, nope, that's pretty pretty cool. Man. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so um, she said no, and they kept uh, they

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<v Speaker 1>kept um the case up all the way to the

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<v Speaker 1>Supreme Court. Supreme Court heard it and just ruled unanimously

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<v Speaker 1>that no, this is totally unconstitutional. What's happened to her? Um,

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't so much that the Supreme Court case that um,

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<v Speaker 1>their decision in the end O case, that it closed

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<v Speaker 1>the Japanese Internament camps, Japanese American Internament camps. That wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>the what happened. What happened was it produced the pressure

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<v Speaker 1>that convinced Roosevelt to shut down the Internament camps. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this is fairly cowardly, I think. Um. In the end,

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<v Speaker 1>they did the quote unquote right thing. But it was

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<v Speaker 1>only because this was looming. Apparently there was inside word

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<v Speaker 1>and they got tipped off that like, hey, the Supreme

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<v Speaker 1>Court is gonna come down against you, Roosevelt basically. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And so the day after I'm sorry, the day before

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<v Speaker 1>the Supreme Court handed down their decision, Um, Roosevelt came

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<v Speaker 1>out and they said, oh, you know what, we're we're

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<v Speaker 1>just gonna end this Internament thing right here, right. And

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<v Speaker 1>then the next day the Supreme Court made like made

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<v Speaker 1>public their decision and end which was Yeah, cowardly, I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's a pretty good word about it. But there's

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<v Speaker 1>no way of getting around that. It was the end

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<v Speaker 1>O case that was the pressure that closed the internment camps,

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<v Speaker 1>and so much so that, Um, there's a law professor

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<v Speaker 1>named Amanda Tyler who's an expert on the case. She

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<v Speaker 1>said that, Um, she's interviewed survivors of the Japanese internment

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<v Speaker 1>camp Japanese American internment camp. Sorry, um, who considered Purcell

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<v Speaker 1>as they refer to him as the man who set

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<v Speaker 1>us free? Pretty amazing. It is pretty amazing. And Endo

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<v Speaker 1>herself is very much regarded as a hero from this too.

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<v Speaker 1>But she kept such a low profile that she um,

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<v Speaker 1>her own daughter didn't even know the impact that she'd

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<v Speaker 1>had until her daughter was well into her twenties. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>She eventually made her way to Chicago, Um, after all

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<v Speaker 1>this washed over. She worked as a secretary for the

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<v Speaker 1>Mayor's Committee on Race Relations. A couple of years after that,

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<v Speaker 1>married a man named Kenneth Sutsumi, and she had met

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<v Speaker 1>him in an internment camp. Like tell me this is

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<v Speaker 1>in a movie waiting to be made. They went on

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<v Speaker 1>to have three kids and she kept a pretty low

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<v Speaker 1>profile after that. Like you said, UM was not a braggart, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was. It was a big deal. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think as like this has come out more in recent years. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>she's definitely like gotten her due in certain corners. I

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<v Speaker 1>wish the story was out wider. That's one reason we're

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<v Speaker 1>doing this. But she lived in Chicago for the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of her life. Eventually, very sadly died of cancer in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and six, and so Shell kept practicing law

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<v Speaker 1>right into his eighties. As a matter of fact. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that's great. UM. So this is this is noteworthy still today.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that UM law Professor man of Tyler points out

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<v Speaker 1>because there's an ongoing debate over whether the executive, the

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<v Speaker 1>president and the executive branch has ultimately absolute power when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to matters of national security, especially during wartime UM,

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<v Speaker 1>or if the courts still have of a check as

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<v Speaker 1>the Constitution suggests that they do, over the executive's actions

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<v Speaker 1>no matter what it is or no matter what the

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<v Speaker 1>situation is, that the executive can't be absolutely right, no

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<v Speaker 1>matter what and unquestioned by the court. Yes, And I

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<v Speaker 1>think by constitution suggest you mean the Constitution clearly lays

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<v Speaker 1>out in demands right, Well, it depends on your interpretation, right,

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<v Speaker 1>So I guess that's it for short Stuff again, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>nice selection. I think mitsuji Endo needs a parade every

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<v Speaker 1>year and her honor agreed. Thanks a lot for joining us.

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<v Speaker 1>Hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, Short Stuff Audios

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeart Radios.

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