Little Rock, Notting Hill and a JACL office on the move

Vol. 47, No. 12, September 19, 1958. 8 pages. View this issue

Racial conflict at home and abroad led this eight-page issue. An editorial compared the unrest in Notting Hill, England, with the Little Rock school crisis, and a front-page story reported that JACL welcomed the Supreme Court’s order for immediate integration at Little Rock’s Central High School. National JACL Headquarters also announced a move to 1634 Post Street in San Francisco from Oct. 1. Bill Hosokawa described getting his shots before a trip to the Far East.

Elsewhere in the issue, Larry S. Tajiri wrote about the Oriental cycle reaching the New York stage, and Samuel Fuller’s planned film with a Li’l Tokio background was announced. Editor Harry K. Honda asked readers to send postcards explaining why they subscribe. Mike Masaoka explained the new American Committee on Japan, and a Seattle Times editorial on the wartime forced relocation was reprinted. The Fresno JACL announced its 35th anniversary dinner.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Little Rock versus Notting Hill, England, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The editorial compares racial unrest in England, including Notting Hill, with the Little Rock school crisis in the United States. It argues that segregationist thinking and mob violence are wrong in both countries and that the goal must be treating every person as an individual.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Hosokawa describes receiving required inoculations before traveling to the Far East and recalls the difficulty he had obtaining a Formosa visa years earlier. He reports that a visa was granted quickly this time and notes his plans to fly Japan Air Lines to Tokyo.
• Passing Sentence, by Lynn Wells, page 2. A letter writer praises Berry Suzukida’s guest editorial and comments on Justice of the Peace Suyematsu’s sentencing of Kenneth Calkins. The writer suggests the judge’s manner of berating the defendant may be open to question.
• Very Truly Yours: Readership Poll, by Harry K. Honda, page 5. Editor Harry Honda asks readers to send postcards explaining why they subscribe to the Pacific Citizen. The poll is motivated by an expected circulation drop after the 50-cent subscription rate increase.
• Newsletter, by Henry Mori, page 7. Mori discusses Nisei political interest in the November California elections, including the governor’s race between Knowland and Brown. He also describes local Nisei committees supporting various candidates and propositions.
• Washington Newsletter: American Committee on Japan, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Masaoka explains the newly announced American Committee on Japan, an independent organization of Americans, mostly of Japanese ancestry, promoting US-Japan understanding. He clarifies that it has no official connection to the JACL.

National

• JACL hails desegregation ruling, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court unanimously ordered immediate integration at Little Rock’s Central High School despite violent opposition. The Japanese American Citizens League, which had urged law and order in southern integration disputes, welcomed the decision.
• Rep. Yates cites Masaoka newsletter in Congressional Record, by JACL News Service, page 8. Congressman Sidney Yates entered JACL representative Mike Masaoka’s Washington Newsletter into the Congressional Record. Yates discussed the Japanese American evacuation claims program and the wartime injustice of the relocation.
• JACL represented at 13th National Conference on Citizenship, by JACL News Service, page 8. Akira Nose and Tad Masaoka represented the JACL at the 13th annual National Conference on Citizenship in Washington. The conference theme was ‘Citizenship in a Changing World.’

JACL

• National JACL Headquarters to move ’round the block, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL Headquarters will move to 1634 Post Street in San Francisco from Oct. 1, with the same phone number. The new space will also house the Northern California Regional Office, and Tsutomu Uchida of Long Beach joins the staff.
• Central California contestant in JACL oratorical active at Delano Union High, by Thomas Toyama, page 1. Yumiko Jane Kubota, a 17-year-old Delano Union High graduate, represented the Central California District at the national JACL oratorical contest. The article details her extensive record of school, music, and community activities.

Community

• Sessue Hayakawa billed as SWLA guest speaker, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Academy Award nominee Sessue Hayakawa will speak at the first fall meeting of the Southwest L.A. JACL on Sept. 25 at Centenary Methodist Church. The chapter’s Nisei Week souvenir booklet project will also split a $1,500 profit with the Hi-Co Conference group.
• ICCA president returns from UNESCO, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Edward Ide, national JCCA president, returned from a UNESCO goodwill mission to Japan and reported on the country’s low standard of living. He concluded that the Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association remains necessary and encouraged Nisei to visit Japan.
• Long Beach to hold convention postmortem, by H. H., page 1. The Long Beach-Harbor District JACL general meeting will include reports from the recent National JACL convention in Salt Lake City. A dance class party will follow the business meeting.
• 35th anniversary of Fresno JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Fresno JACL will hold its 35th anniversary dinner on Oct. 18 at the Fresno County Fairgrounds, with Saburo Kido as keynote speaker. An entertainment program for the community is set for Oct. 25 at Edison High School.
• Call to Contributors: 1958 Holiday Issue, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Pacific Citizen has borrowed from the JACL Reserve Fund and needs chapters to help make the 1958 Holiday Issue financially successful. Chapters are asked to solicit one-line greetings and advertising, with a 15 percent commission offered.
• Ishimaru heads Leaders Club for 3rd year in row, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Harry Ishimaru, West Coast Life Insurance district manager in San Francisco, was elected president of the company’s Leaders Club for a third consecutive year. Other Nisei members include Ted Yamanaka and Bill Matsumoto.
• Cancer Society exec, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Christian S. Nakama, a Harvard School of Public Health graduate, was named executive director of the Hawaii Cancer Society. He recently completed an internship in health education at the Cleveland Health Museum.
• Minister’s wife reveals secrets of entertaining guests from other places, by Thelma B. Olival, page 3. Mrs. Fujiyoshi, wife of Rev. Donald Fujiyoshi of Hilo, describes life as a minister’s wife and her hospitality tips. She also recounts the simple meals her husband ate while studying with Dr. Kagawa in Japan.
• Pointing Southwestward, by Fred Takata, page 4. Takata recaps the highlights of the recent JACL convention in Salt Lake City, including the King of Siam crowning and various chapter member antics. He also notes visitors to the PSWDC office and a family facing eviction.
• Ex-WRA camp adviser named to CCU top post, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Dr. Helen E. Amerman, a sociologist with WRA camp experience, was named acting executive director of the San Francisco Council for Civic Unity. She succeeds Edward Howden, who became executive director of the city’s Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity.
• Nisei mother, aunt killed in rural intersection mishap, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Rose Shizuko Matsushita and her aunt Yone Nagamoto were killed in a two-car collision near Nampa, Idaho. Seven others were injured, and the coroner found that Mrs. Matsushita failed to yield the right of way.

Arts & Entertainment

• Plan major film with Li’l Tokio background, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Samuel Fuller’s first production under his Globe Enterprises deal will be ‘The White Kimono,’ a story about a Nisei detective on the Los Angeles police force. Fuller will write, produce, and direct the film.
• Oriental cycle hits stage, by Larry S. Tajiri, page 3. Tajiri examines how Hollywood’s Oriental film cycle is influencing New York theater, with several productions including Flower Drum Song, The World of Suzie Wong, and Kataki in development. He profiles actress France Nuyen and notes the scarcity of professional Asian American performers.
• Harry Ayao Osaki, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Harry Ayao Osaki is profiled as a celebrated silversmith whose more than seven hundred commissions include a silver chalice presented to President Eisenhower. He is also recognized for his decades of service in Boy Scouting.

Obituaries

• Iwao Milton Moriyama, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Dr. Iwao Milton Moriyama, Chief of the Mortality Analysis Section at the National Office of Vital Statistics, is profiled as a distinguished statistician. His work on United States mortality data and international statistical efforts is highlighted.

Sports

• Tommy Tamio Kono, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Tommy Tamio Kono is profiled as an international weightlifter who has broken numerous world and Olympic records. He is recognized for his titles, national honors, and public service to others.
• Fresno State grid season opener, by Thomas Toyama, page 5. Fresno State opens its 1958 football season against Brigham Young University, with Nisei back Larry Iwasaki making his college debut. The article highlights Iwasaki’s prep record and speed.

Incarceration & Redress

• Our Unfairness to the Nisei, by Seattle Times, page 8. A Seattle Times editorial reprinted in the Pacific Citizen condemns the wartime forced relocation of 110,442 Japanese Americans as a tragic failure of principle. It notes that no acts of sabotage or espionage were ever attributed to the Nisei.

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