Norman Mineta, political pioneer who fought for Japanese American rights, dies at 90

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta speaks during the 9/11 commemoration at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in 2019. Norman Mineta, the first Asian American Cabinet secretary and a longtime California congressman who fought for recognition and reparations for Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II, died Tuesday. He grew close with Alan K. Simpson when the two met as youths at a Boy Scouts Jamboree; Simpson later became a Republican senator from Wyoming and co- “I don’t think redress would have passed without Mineta,” Tateishi said. In a statement, the former president said Mineta was “a wonderful American story about someone who overcame hardship and prejudice to serve in the United States Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of two presidents. “As I said when presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Norm has given his country a lifetime of service, and he’s given his fellow citizens an example of leadership, devotion to duty, and personal character.” Mineta began his political career leading his hometown of San Jose before joining the Clinton administration as Commerce secretary and then crossing party lines to serve in Bush’s Cabinet.