Groups Hope to Tell Little Known Little Tokyo Story
But a proposed walkway and mural on Azusa Street marking the location of the founding of the Pentecostal Church Movement has faced roadblocks the past decade.
Congested traffic and the hustle and bustle of tourists and residents alike are an everyday characteristic of the four blocks that make up Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. There’s a lot of history here from the first Japanese immigrants in the 1900s, the upheaval of the internment years, and the resurgence of the area in the 1970s and 1980s.
And one little known part of Little Tokyo history can be found here on Azusa Street, a small section that is little more than an alley with the occasional garbage truck or delivery van. This is the location where African American pioneer Pastor William Seymour founded the Pentecostal Church Movement, a movement that now boasts 500 million members.
Today all that stands to commemorate this historical event are a couple of small plaques, a street sign, and a grapefruit tree planted in memory of Pastor Seymour. For the past 10 years the Azusa Street Memorial Committee has been fighting to build a memorial at the location but has faced resistance from some community groups. They are hoping that this year, the 100th anniversary of the Azusa Street founding, they will finally see some progress.
“This is the story of an African American that stood shoulder to shoulder with Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Les Hamasaki, an urban planner and member of the Azusa Street Memorial Committee. “Pastor Seymour brought multiculturalism that today’s Los Angeles is all about, and he brought it one hundred years ago.”
In 1906 Pastor Seymour opened the Apostolic Faith Mission at 312 Azusa Street, holding services for thousands of followers in a multicultural environment, something unheard of in those days. The uneducated son of former slaves, Seymour’s efforts would be the starting point for the worldwide Pentecostal Church Movement, a movement that Life Magazine listed as No. 62 on its list of “The 100 Most Important Events & People of the Past 1,000 Years.” Pentecostals believe that through baptism they can speak in tongues, witness signs and perform miracles.
“Many Pentecostals look at the site as sacred to their history,” said Cecil M. Robeck, professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary. “There is no other site in the world that can lay claim to being the cradle of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements like the Azusa Street Mission.”
In April, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend the Azusa Street Centennial Celebration in Los Angeles. Part of the week-long celebrations will be a visit to the Azusa Street site and Bill Watanabe, chairman of the Azusa Street Memorial Committee, is hopeful that there will be more for the visitors to see than a garbage filled alleyway.
“This is a big time event. The mural will attract visitors, give them something to see when they look for the site,” said Watanabe, who is also the executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center. “This is a great story that still speaks to us. A hundred years ago an amazing thing happened … Yet no one knows about this,” he said.
The memorial committee’s proposed project includes a memorial on the northside wall and an Azusa Street SpiritWalk promenade that will tell Pastor Seymour and the Pentecostal Church’s story. Proponents believe the memorial would bring welcome tourist dollars to the Little Tokyo area and put the ethnic enclave on the map as a “spiritual door to the world.”
The monument is estimated to cost about $250,000 and they have already received a $25,000 grant from the Tom Bradley Foundation and a promised $25,000 in-kind service from the Community Redevelopment Agency. The memorial committee has already garnered the support of the L.A. Human Relations Committee and Councilwoman Jan Perry whose district includes Little Tokyo.
But for the past 10 years the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the owners of the property on which the wall sits, have not given their approval for the mural.
Victor Wong, JACCC director of administration, says a power panel for its entire plaza is contained in the wall and that a mural would not be feasible. He also noted that future development plans for the plaza may necessitate demolition of the wall.
But although the JACCC is not in favor of the mural, Wong notes that the Center is working closely with the Azusa Street Centennial Celebration coordinators in planning several events at the JACCC including a hospitality center, various performances, and prayers. The Center has also given an in-kind contribution to the memorial committee.
“For logistical reasons … the wall does not work for this placement,” said Wong. “But we do honor Pastor Seymour. This is a significant piece of Little Tokyo history. It started here and there is no question it has historical significance in Little Tokyo.”
But Watanabe believes the reasons for JACCC’s reluctance for a mural “are not strong ones.” He noted that if the power panel portion of the wall is a concern, the committee is willing to design a mural that would not affect that area. They also note that a mural does not have to cover the entire north wall, but could take up a smaller portion of it.
Some speculate that the Azusa Street mural is not on the top of JACCC’s priority list right now due to much larger concerns such as the survival of the Center which has been experiencing well-known financial problems the past several years.
“JACCC is struggling for survival … the mural is not on their list of priorities,” said Watanabe.
Ironically, Hamasaki, a former JACCC board member for 20 years, believes a mural would bring needed dollars to the Center since it would become a must-see tourist destination for Pentecostals. He also noted that the Pentecostal Church has offered to buy some of the property but that JACCC has declined the offer.
“Improving the alley would increase JACCC’s property value. We need people coming in through here,” said Hamasaki.
More recently some concerns have been raised by the Nikkei Interfaith Council, a group of various Christian and Buddhist churches in the Little Tokyo area. They believe the values and beliefs of the Pentecostal Church are in direct opposition to their beliefs, especially on ethnicity, diversity of culture, and gender orientation issues.
“The Nikkei Interfaith Council has values we believe are at odds with the values associated with this church,” said Pastor Mark Nakagawa of the Centenary United Methodist Church, who noted that although Little Tokyo may be the home of the Pentecostal Church Movement, Japanese churches and temples have been here even longer.
“We’re not against any organization coming into Little Tokyo based on ethnic background,” said Nakagawa. “Our goal is to facilitate dialogue that provides clarity about every religious organization that seeks to have a presence in Little Tokyo.”
Robeck, who is also a member of the Azusa Street Memorial Committee and author of “The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement,” believes that many people, even in the Christian community, do not know very much about the Pentecostal movement.
“Pentecostalism is not a homogeneous group. There is great diversity within this movement. Historic stereotypes are not adequate to describe the current situation,” he said.
Robeck plans to meet with members of the Nikkei Interfaith Council March 20 to resolve any questions and concerns.
The memorial “is important to Little Tokyo; It is important to JAs. It is a part of a major movement even if you don’t believe in the movement,” said Hamasaki.
“This is good for Little Tokyo,” said Watanabe. “It would be an historic site not only for Pentecostals but for Little Tokyo.”
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