Forum Scheduled on Civil Rights Initiative

The Japanese American Citizens League, a leading California Asian American civil-rights group, will hold a panel discussion on the measure supporters call the California Civil Rights Initiative this week in Pacoima.

The forum, scheduled for Friday at the San Fernando Valley Japanese-American Community Center, will include speakers on both sides of the controversial initiative.

The panelists--to include lawyers Dolly Gee and Andrew Cho and businessman Ron Osajima--will address questions about the ballot measure and its potential impact on Asian Americans, women and other minorities should it pass.

Gee and Osajima will argue against the proposition, while Cho, who is a member of the Republican Attorneys Assn., will offer supporting arguments. Proposition 209, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot, would prohibit state and local governments from using racial or gender preferences in hiring, advancement and college admissions.

The measure has been a source of considerable debate in many minority communities. The attitudes toward affirmative action in the Asian American community depend to a large extent, according to panel organizer Phil Shigekuni, on how long a person has been in this country.

“People who have been in the country longer and have encountered discrimination in the workplace tend to favor affirmative action,” Shigekuni said.

“There is a perception that Asian Americans employed in science and technology, though well represented, do not receive the promotions they deserve because of the glass ceiling,” he said.

“When they do encounter it,” Shigekuni said, “it’s often negative, like when their children cannot get into a prestigious college because they are not considered an underrepresented minority.”

The center is at 12953 Branford St. The debate, which is free to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m.