MERCED -- University of California, Merced, Trustee John Y. Tateishi, an activist for civil rights, has won this year's Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance, awarded by a committee at the newest UC campus.

The $10,000 award comes from an endowment to the university from Sherrie Spendlove, given in honor of her parents to recognize a scholar, author, artist, or citizen whose work exemplifies the delivery of social justice, diplomacy and tolerance in local and global society.

"In our lives as educators and public servants, we have drawn strength from our sense of responsibility that the injustices of society must be addressed and that our youth must develop an ethic of tolerance," Alice and Clifford Spendlove once wrote. "What is local is now global, and what is global is now local. Social justice, diplomacy and tolerance are relevant concepts for citizens whatever their identity. We hope that the prize will honor those who promote and act on these beliefs."

Tateishi has been involved with Asian American communities for nearly 30 years, gaining national prominence in 1978 when he launched a national campaign to seek redress for Japanese Americans interned in U.S. detention camps during World War II.

"This recognition means a great deal because of the connection between my work with Japanese Americans and the Central Valley where UC Merced resides," said Tateishi. "I look forward to continuing interaction with the campus community and helping to prepare the next generation to take the torch and continue working for justice and tolerance."

As the National Redress Director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Tateishi crafted the legislative and public affairs strategies of the campaign that successfully culminated in 1988 with an apology from the president and Congress, and monetary redress for internment victims.

From 1999 to 2006, he served as national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, the nation's oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, undertaking the challenge of shepherding the 73-year-old organization into the new millennium. The JACL honored him for his years of dedication in a special ceremony in May 2007.

Tateishi's leadership in the redress campaign prompted the BBC to make him the focus of a television special in England, and NHK Television in Japan produced a two-hour documentary on him and his work.

He has appeared before public audiences throughout the country as well as in the media; authored "And Justice for All," an oral history of the World War II internment of Japanese Americans; and served as a contributing author to "Last Witnesses," a collection of essays by the children of the WWII internment camps.

Tateishi was a senior fellow at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research for the 2001-02 academic year and was a founding trustee of UC Merced.

"The injustice of the Japanese-American internment during World War II has lessons to teach us even today as we find ourselves in another unfortunate time of war," Sherrie Spendlove said. "It is my fervent hope that our democratic constitution will never again allow such a travesty of justice to take place within the United States of America."

Spendlove's intention is that John Tateishi will serve as a role model and inspiration for students, faculty and the community surrounding UC Merced.

The prize winner spends one year "in residence" at UC Merced, working on projects that further the goals of the prize, including lectures, publications, demonstrations and exhibitions. In the end, the recipient is expected to produce or provide a legacy that would be retained at UC Merced, such as a publication or an artistic production.

The selection committee is made up of a representative from the Spendlove family or designee; an undergraduate student; a graduate student; a faculty member; and one or two representatives from the UC Merced community.

The first award, given at campus opening in 2005, went to Dr. Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a Merced native who is now a law professor and the founding executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University. He served as the keynote speaker for UC Merced's opening ceremonies.

"We are fortunate at UC Merced to have connections with many individuals who merit recognition for far-reaching social and cultural work," said UC Merced's Interim Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts and Acting Vice Provost for Academic Planning Hans Bjornsson, who served on the selection committee. "However, this year our choice was clear - John Tateishi has demonstrated persistent faith in the triumph of justice and worked toward that triumph in a spirit of diplomacy and tolerance. We could think of no more deserving recipient for the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize."