Looking ahead to the 1966 San Diego convention and JACL scholarships

Vol. 62, No. 7, February 18, 1966. 6 pages. View this issue

The 19th Biennial National Convention in San Diego, less than six months away, shaped the front page. Jerry Enomoto’s column “Ole ’66” looked at JACL’s place in a changing era and urged members to sell convention tickets. The issue also announced new JACL scholarships, including a graduate award in memory of Dr. Mutsumi Nobe, and named five chapter newsletters honored with the Jimmie Sakamoto Memorial Award. Columns by Mike Masaoka, Bill Hosokawa and Todd Endo took up laws against interracial marriage, a new civil rights bill and the Vietnam War debate.

Other pages looked at the Japanese farming valleys south of Seattle and at Phil Hayasaka’s account of Seattle’s non-white population. Mrs. Fran Wada asked whether Nisei really raised themselves up unaided. Youth councils from the Midwest and Intermountain districts planned for the convention, and chapter news came from San Jose, Chicago, Richmond and Fresno. Shintare Takagi’s 99th birthday was also noted.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Ole ’66, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. Enomoto reflects on JACL’s place in a changing era as the 19th Biennial National Convention approaches in San Diego. He urges members to engage with controversies, support fundraising, and sell convention tickets.
• Five newsletters merit PC ’65 Sakamoto Award, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five chapter newsletters were honored with the Jimmie Sakamoto Memorial Award for excellence in 1965. Ten other chapters received honorable mention for their publications.
• Mile-Hi JACL scholarship program offers five grants totaling $1,050, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Mile-Hi JACL and Cathay Post 185 announced five scholarships for graduating Japanese American seniors in the Rocky Mountain area. Applications are due April 15.
• JACL to administer 4 new scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL will offer ten high school scholarships and a graduate scholarship this year totaling $2,900. The new program includes a Dr. Mutsumi Nobe memorial award for graduate study.
• Dr. M. Nobe memorial scholarship for graduate work added to JACL awards, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. Catherine Nobe has endowed a $500 annual graduate scholarship in memory of her husband, to be administered by National JACL. Details will be handled by a Chicago committee of friends of Dr. Nobe.
• Credit Union to push loans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. National JACL Credit Union will emphasize member services this year, with $300,000 available for loans. A color TV will be offered as an incentive tied to borrowing.

Community

• Greater participation of Nisei in gov’t urged at San Jose JACL installation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Santa Clara County District Attorney Louis Bergna urged Nisei to take a larger role in government at the San Jose JACL installation dinner. Karl Kinaga was installed as chapter president and the chapter announced upcoming projects.
• South Seattle farming areas may be Boeing’s, by Elmer Ogawa, page 1. Boeing’s planned expansion threatens the long-established Japanese farming communities of the Green and White River valleys south of Seattle. Land values have soared and suburban development is transforming the area.
• The Non-Whites of Seattle, by Phil Hayasaka, page 1. Hayasaka examines Seattle’s growing non-white population and its concentration in the central area. He describes disparities in housing, schooling, and unemployment affecting Negro and Japanese residents.
• Harry Mizuno leads New England Life agency, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Harry Mizuno of Harvey Yudell’s New England Life agency was the leading producer for a second year and qualified for the company’s Hall of Fame. He placed over a million dollars in life insurance in 1965.
• Youth News: Intermountain District Youth Council Quarterly Meeting, by Sharon Mizuta, page 4. The IDYC held its first quarterly session in Salt Lake City, with interest focused on the San Diego national convention where youth are expected to organize. Delegates heard from Alan Kumamoto and planned their participation.
• Chicago Jr. JACL hosts sukiyaki dinner for Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Chicago Jr. JACL hosted an Issei sukiyaki dinner at the JASC building, cooked and served by the youth. Entertainment was provided by the local Japan Students Association.
• Southeast L.A. County JACL forming, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Organizers are working to form a Southeast Los Angeles County JACL chapter sponsored by East Los Angeles JACL, targeting about 800 Nisei families. The effort follows the model of the North San Diego County chapter.
• Ole ’66: Midwest District Youth Council, by Elaine Yamada, page 4. Yamada profiles the young Midwest District Youth Council and its chapters’ activities, membership drives, and planning for the May St. Louis convention. She describes the district’s growing national consciousness.
• Medicare: Venice-Culver JACL forum, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Venice-Culver JACL scheduled a Japanese-language Medicare explanation by a social security administration representative. The talk aims to help Issei understand benefits taking effect July 1.
• Feature Story of 1965: Richmond JACL Commission on Human Relations, by Chizu Iiyama, page 5. Iiyama describes the Richmond Commission on Human Relations, which works on grievances, education, and advisory roles to the city council. She argues that civil rights progress requires both direct action and institutional approaches.
• Best Editorial 1965: Fresno JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Fresno JACL editorial urges Nisei parents to attend Memorial Day services honoring Nisei war dead at the Nisei War Memorial. It argues that honoring the fallen helps teach Sansei about their heritage and the sacrifices behind their status.
• Sumitomo Bank changes top brass, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Isao Yamasaki was elected president of the Sumitomo Bank of California and Makoto Sasaki became chairman of the board. Both have long careers with the bank in Japan and California.
• Chicagoans to fete Rev. and Mrs. Kubose, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Chicago Japanese community will honor Rev. and Mrs. Gyomay Kubose at a farewell banquet before their departure for Japan. Rev. Kubose contributed to Chicago’s cultural growth over 21 years.
• Episcopal dean to address Buddhist parley, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Buddhist Churches of America will hold their general conference in San Francisco, with discussion of audio-visual materials, religious education, and publications. Dean C. Julian Bartlett will speak on Christian views of social progress.

National

• Immigration history of U.S. told in This Week magazine, by P.C. Staff, page 1. This Week magazine devoted a major portion of its February 20 issue to immigrants who built America, including a section on the Japanese. The article traces the wartime evacuation, the 442nd, and the postwar comeback.

Commentary

• Did We Indeed Do It Ourselves?, by Mrs. Fran Wada, page 1. Wada challenges the notion that Nisei raised themselves up without help, citing white allies who fought for returning evacuees. She asks whether Negroes today must struggle alone without active support.
• Vietnam War Debate, by Todd Endo, page 1. Endo responds to Mike Masaoka’s defense of American Vietnam policy by arguing that debate and dissent should continue. He raises a series of questions about the war’s justifications, goals, and conduct.
• Anti-Miscegenation Laws, by Mike Masaoka, page 1. Masaoka examines state laws that still prohibit interracial marriage, prompted by a Baltimore case involving a Samoan. He explains JACL’s strategy of pursuing court challenges to strike them down.
• Congressional Labor Falls and New Civil Rights Bill, by Mike Masaoka, page 1. Masaoka reports Senate failures to invoke cloture on repeal of Taft-Hartley Section 14(b) and the introduction of a bipartisan Civil Rights Protection Act of 1966. He also notes passage of a new GI Bill.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa reflects on strong-minded Japanese women, including Dewi, Sukarno’s Japanese-born wife. He also notes how Japanese American classified ads now reveal improved job and housing opportunities.
• Dr. Nobe memorial scholarship and Flavored Rice recipes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A household column offers recipes for flavored rice dishes including aburaage meshi, shrimp barazushi, and crab and egg rice. The column suggests simple ways to vary everyday rice meals.
• Personality Sketch: 1965 Downtown L.A. JACL profile of Ich Takahashi, by Tats Kushida, page 5. A personality sketch profiles Ichiro Takahashi, a mechanical engineer who serves as sergeant-at-arms for Downtown L.A. JACL. It covers his wartime schooling, career in air conditioning, and recovery from heart surgery.

Incarceration & Redress

• Commodore Perry’s second expedition to open Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese American Research Project recounts Commodore Perry’s 1853-54 mission to open Japan after two centuries of isolation. The article draws on archival materials and Japanese accounts of the expedition.

Obituaries

• Shintare Takagi celebrates 99th birthday, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Shintare Takagi of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, one of the oldest JACL members, celebrated his 99th birthday with chapter members and his church. He first came to the United States in 1885 and helped found Highland Park Methodist Church.

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