The campaign to repeal Title II, and the Backtown rent strike

Vol. 70, No. 8, February 27, 1970. 8 pages. View this issue

The push to repeal Title II, the Emergency Detention Act of 1950, ran through this eight-page issue. National JACL President Jerry Enomoto wrote about a busy Southern California weekend spent with Congressman Spark Matsunaga on the repeal campaign. The California Senate and Assembly unanimously urged Congress to repeal the law, while House Internal Security Committee chairman Richard Ichord announced hearings and defended it at length. Aaron Epstein reported on 42 Japanese American families in Walnut Grove’s Backtown who ended a two-year rent strike by buying the land under their homes.

Other pages looked at Los Angeles school busing and what it meant for about 22,000 Asian American pupils, and at Berkeley’s new Asian American Task Force. Mike Masaoka’s civil rights column, a Shiro Kashiwa article on the Indian Claims Commission, a review of The Spoilage, and Utah’s Issei pioneer tribute are also inside.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• So. Cal. Weekend, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. National JACL President Jerry Enomoto recounts a busy weekend in Southern California spent supporting the Title II repeal campaign alongside Congressman Spark Matsunaga. He describes chapter installations, a fundraising banquet, and the momentum building behind repeal legislation.
• Civil Rights Outlook, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka describes a discouraging week for civil rights, including Senate approval of the Stennis amendment on school desegregation and the forced resignation of HEW civil rights chief Leon Panetta. He also notes the Judiciary Committee’s favorable report on G. Harrold Carswell’s Supreme Court nomination.
• Compulsory Sterilization, by Gima, page 2. The column discusses a Hawaii state senator’s bill requiring sterilization of women after a second living child. It critiques the proposal as a response to population concerns.
• Enomoto: Mutual Aid, by Jerry Enomoto, page 6. Enomoto urges JACL to accept diverse views among Nisei and Sansei and to work together, criticizing middle-class standards and rigid thinking. He calls for mutual respect between generations.
• ‘Spoilage’ reissued, by Allan B. Uyeno, page 7. Reviewer Allan Uyeno discusses the reissue of The Spoilage, a University of California study of Japanese American evacuation and resettlement during World War II. He notes it is more suited to scholars than general readers.
• Butokukai in U.S., by Barry Saiki, page 7. Barry Saiki responds to Karl Yoneda’s letter about the Butokukai and Black Dragon Society, arguing that few Nisei were ideologically influenced. He defends Issei and Nisei loyalty and the complexity of wartime conditions.
• Nisei the Quiet Americans, by Dr. Joseph D. Sasaki, page 7. Dr. Sasaki argues that the quiet, patient character of most Americans parallels Nisei values and defends the book title. He describes his own wartime and postwar contributions to national service.

JACL

• Rules announced for Inagaki chapter prize, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL announced rules for the George J. Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award, which now includes cash prizes for chapters and district councils. Chapters and district councils must submit program chairman names and materials by April 1 for judging.
• Salt Lake JACL earns chapter of biennium plaque, by Alice Kasai, page 4. The Salt Lake JACL was named Intermountain District Council chapter of the biennium for its outstanding 1968-69 programs. Raymond Uno was honored as Nisei of the Biennium at the district convention in Ontario, Oregon.

Community

• Nisei parents of 22,000 pupils in L.A. schools ponder bussing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Following a Superior Court ruling ordering full integration of Los Angeles schools, Asian American parents are weighing the impact of mandatory busing on roughly 22,000 Oriental students. Officials plan to appeal, and community leaders voice mixed views on the decision.
• Sac’to hears Judge Warren Jr., by S. J. Sugiyama, page 1. The Northern California-Western Nevada District Council held its quarterly meeting in Sacramento, adopting its 1970 budget and hearing a panel on Asian American studies programs. Judge Earl Warren Jr. was the featured speaker at the evening installation banquet.
• Berkeley appoints 32 to task force on Asian studies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Berkeley Board of Education appointed 32 Asian Americans to an Asian American Task Force charged with developing Asian American studies and assessing needs of Asian students. The group aims to implement programs by fall 1970.
• Cortez chapter installs Masuda as president, by Mae Kajioka, page 2. Selo Masuda was installed as president of the Cortez JACL chapter at a banquet in February. Awards were presented to chapter members for long service.
• 200 join in tribute to Utah pioneers, by Murray Hoki, page 4. Over 500 people attended a Utah Japanese Centennial dinner honoring Issei pioneers, where Governor Calvin Rampton presented certificates and read a proclamation. Each Issei over 80 received a Wakamatsu Colony centennial medallion.

Incarceration & Redress

• 42 Walnut Grove Japanese families of ‘Backtown’ stick together to buy tract, by Aaron Epstein, page 1. Forty-two Japanese American families in Walnut Grove’s Backtown section ended a two-year rent strike by purchasing the land they had built their homes on. Their cooperative purchase was made possible by unity against landlords and legal assistance.
• Calif. legislature unanimous in support of Title II repeal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California Senate and Assembly unanimously passed resolutions urging Congress to repeal the Emergency Detention Act of 1950. Governor Reagan had also expressed opposition to the law.
• Counter-attack on Title II repeal seen in Ichord’s lengthy salvo, by P.C. Staff, page 1. House Internal Security Committee chairman Richard Ichord announced public hearings on repealing Title II and argued at length in defense of the Emergency Detention Act. Repeal supporters viewed his remarks as a strong counterattack to the campaign.

In-Depth

• Walnut Grove Japanese families end rent strike by buying tract, by Aaron Epstein, page 1. The Backtown families formed a cooperative to purchase the land they lived on after a two-year rent strike. The purchase was financed through a bank loan and a trust account for withheld rent.
• Indian Claims, by Shiro Kashiwa, page 3. Assistant Attorney General Shiro Kashiwa explains the history and work of the Indian Claims Commission, comparing Indian land claims to the Evacuation Claims Act. He outlines key cases and the Commission’s mandate to resolve disputes over treaties and land valuation.

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