Sad news out of Chicago.  Judge Sandra Otaka, a true pioneer and clarion voice in the community, passed away this past weekend.  She was 57.

Here's an excerpt from the notice in the Chicago Tribune:

Politically active as a young woman, she campaigned against the Vietnam War, traveled and worked as a waitress before enrolling as an undergraduate at the University of California in Berkeley at age 28.

While at Berkeley, she volunteered as a legal clerk with an Asian-American law firm, where she worked to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American shipyard worker jailed in 1944 for failing to report to an internment camp.

She was present in San Francisco's federal courthouse when the conviction was finally overturned, a moment she later cited as pivotal in her legal career.

"There was the silence after that—you could hear a pin drop in that room," she told the Chicago Reporter. "And I mean I was on the verge of tears. I was choked up. It was one of those moments where justice was done, and it wasn't just done for an individual case—it had so much meaning and value to our community."

Even though Judge Otaka was always careful to maintain her non-partisan position, she was a true progressive.  Judge Otaka was very supportive of APAP, not just coming to many of our events, but more importantly, giving sage advice.  I know a lot of people turned to her for guidance and how to advance the Asian American movement and I know that I would always listen to her closely.  

I spoke to her last month and we made plans to have dinner the next time I was back in the Windy City. Here's a link to a Youtube video.

She certainly will be missed.