Baker, Jason Iokona

Yamamoto, Eric K.

ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa

In Remembrance: Chris IijimaEric K. Yamamoto* & Jason lokona Baker"He had that gruff growl ... and yet spoke the kindest words right into you.He had the fiercest lash against injustice... and yet caressed the spirits ofall those in his orbit in that generous, humble way of his.He was bred, educated, and experienced in the hardstreets of New York City... and yet became a Hawai'i local boy-through his music, the local grinds,his sensitivity to the justice struggles of multicultural immigrants' and NativeHawaiians, and his deep love for the law school's Pre-Admission Program andrespect and affection for every one of his students. He would write an incisivelaw review article about the dangers of abusive presidential power in the nameof civil liberties2 while also composing a lyrical song about the featheryhealing "Tuahine Rain" of Manoa Valley.This to and fro, strong and gentle, there and here, is Chris Iijima--ourChris.3 Of course, there's so much more. Everyone knows, how deeply inevery bit of his being he loved Jane (his "rock") and Alan and Christopher (hewas so proud of his boys and happy that they were doing well at the UniversityLab School). Many do not know he grew up in black Harlem, with visionarysocial justice activists parents Tak and Kazu, was a singer, composer andguitarist in the path-forging Asian American folk group Grain of Sand-orthat he once sang a duet on national television with John Lennon (yes, theBeatle). For a full and rich description of Chris' political and musical life andtimes, I encourage your reading of Phil Nash's remembrance.4But there is something else about Chris that is not written about, somethingthat is ours, special just to each of us. Maybe that boost in sagging confidence.* Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawai'i, inremembrance of Chris for his students and for Jane, Alan, and Christopher.J.D. William S. Richardson School of Law 2006.Chris served for many years on the Board of Directors of Na Loio, Hawai'i's immigrantjustice advocacy group.2 Chris Iijima, Shooting Justice Jackson's "Loaded Weapon" at Yasr Hamdi: JudicialAbdication at the Convergence of Korematsu and McCarthy, 54 SYRACUSE L. REv. 109 (2004).' Chris joined the faculty of the William S. Richardson School of Law, University ofHawai'i, in 1998, as the Director of the Pre-Admission Program. Prior to joining the facultyhe was an Assistant Professor at the Western New England Law School and taught in the NewYork University Law School's Lawyering Program. Immediately upon graduation from theNew York University Law School, he clerked for the U.S. District Court for the SouthernDistrict of New York and then worked for a law firm in New York City.4 Phillip Taijitsu Nash, Remembering Chris lijima, AsIAN WEEKLY, Jan. 11, 2006,available at http://news.asianweek.com/news/view-article.html?articleid=cb54893525548182c6ca56a746f8775c&this-categoryid= 169.University of Hawai'i Law Review / Vol. 29:9Or the change in life direction (his voice: "why are you doing that?!"(question mark, exclamation point). Or growing close as a genuine sharinggroup through his study sessions, with ono food. Or reading and arguingabout what is right and just in a complex world. Or hearing him as aconscience of the faculty. Orjust plopping down exhausted in his office couchfor some tender loving care, and rising an hour later that much lighter in spirit.Iokona Baker's spoken words illuminate this special feeling:On the very first day Chris sat us all down and posed to each of us a singlequestion: "Why are you here?" It was a complex difficult question, one all ofus have struggled to answer over these past three years. Chris asked it on thefirst day. But that question was typical of Chris. He was an intense person whowas committed to bringing out of students that which was buried within.That group was the incoming 2003 Pre-Admission class, and that moment wasthe beginning of an enduring friendship we have nurtured. Chris was respectedand loved by many but it was his hard work and dedication as the director of ourPre-Admission program that Chris was most admired for. The program admitsand supports students from historically underserved communities with greatpromise as lawyers and community leaders. Chris embraced this program withall his heart and he gave this school and his students absolutely everything thathe had.I spoke with Chris in October of 2005, just months before he passed away. I hadgone, with a few other students, to visit him at the hospital. Chris, who had beencourageously fighting sickness for three years, was suddenly enlivened andanimated when he saw us he immediately resumed his role as teacher, informingand inspiring us to seek justice, to make this law school, this state, and indeed theworld a better place.'So, in a quiet moment, when we at the law school let our thoughts flow, asIokona did, we sense that special part of Chris within us. And it is that part ofhim within that nurtures, that helps us grow toward who we want to be andhelps us see how we can act together in giving something special to ourcommunities and beyond.On a Sunday in January, in a little black lava cove off of Kealakekua Bay,Kona, beneath keawe trees and a light breeze, food on the picnic bench, afriend brought out two guitars. At first my hands were tired, my voiceshaky-not feeling it. And then in a quiet moment, I remembered hangingwith Chris and Jane and the boys and parents and his sister Lynn in an openair beach house, beneath keawe trees, in south Kohala, watching turtles, eating,laughing-just loving being there. And I recalled too, talking with Chris two' Jason Iokona Baker, 2006 Graduation Commencement Speech at the William S.Richardson School of Law (May 15, 2006) (quotation slightly edited).2006 / IIJIMA REMEMBRANCEweeks earlier, the night a few hours before he lost consciousness, about hisdeep affection for Hawai'i and our law school (and our dean) and his facultycolleagues and students. We shared, he said, as wounded warriors-fromjointly organizing the national Asian American Law Professors conference inKahuku,6 to the awesomely ono Side Street's braised Thai poke, to golfing inMakaha Valley-the richness and fragility of life. He was still "hoping for amiracle," but at peace.So as the sun set in Kealakekua Bay on that Sunday, I realized Chris wouldhave loved just being there too-playing, singing, laughing, talking story.Indeed he was. And that feeling for the music returned.And so our dearest friend and colleague Chris, each of us in our own wayfeels your call to justice and your music for life and gives it right back toyou-with love and aloha.6 Pono Kaulike Me Ke Anuenue, "Justice and the Rainbow," Joint Conference of TheAsian Pacific American Law Faculty and the Western Regional Law Teachers of Color, June2000.I

In Remembrance: Chris Iijima

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In Remembrance: Chris Iijima

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