The Nisei Week parade and the affirmative action debate

Vol. 85, No. 11, September 9, 1977. 8 pages. View this issue

Nisei Week led the news. Some 60,000 people watched the ondo parade in Little Tokyo, with Sen. S. I. Hayakawa as grand marshal and 442nd veterans carrying the colors. Affirmative action ran alongside it: Jerry Enomoto defended his hiring policy for state prison staff, the Carter administration backed the Bakke brief, and JACL sent a letter of endorsement signed by Karl Nobuyuki.

Other pages looked at Japanese investment in Hawaii, a hot lunch program for elderly Issei and Nisei, and Charles Mouratides on how a Chicago Japanese American recalled August 1945 and the camp at Manzanar. Bill Hosokawa and Bill Marutani wrote columns, and a 1945 collection of leaflets dropped over Japan turned up in Tokyo. The sports page covered Sadaharu Oh tying Hank Aaron’s home run record.

What’s in this issue

Community

• 60,000 Witness L.A.’s Nisei Week Parade, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Some 60,000 spectators watched the Nisei Week ondo parade in Little Tokyo on Aug. 28, with Sen. S.I. Hayakawa serving as grand marshal. Floats, marching units, and ondo groups took part in the festive procession.
• Little Tokyo’s Hot Lunch Program Serves 200 a Day, Now in 2nd Year, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Koreisha Chushoku Kai program in Little Tokyo serves about 200 Issei and Nisei elderly meals each weekday, with funding under Title VII of the Older Americans Act. Director Emi Yamaki says the program also offers bilingual nutrition information, cultural classes, and social connection.
• Hawaii Leaders Stay Cool to Japanese Investment, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese investment in Hawaii has exceeded $340 million since 1972, prompting some local apprehension, though most business and political leaders accept it as part of the modern economy. Observers note that lingering World War II resentment fuels some opposition.
• Issei Church Set for Centennial Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The article recalls that ten Issei formed the Fukuin Kai (Gospel Society) in 1877 and that Kanichi Miyama was baptized and later ordained for the Methodist Japanese mission. The church marks its centennial with a celebration.
• Retired State Auditor Heads Contra Costa’s Sakura-Kai, by P.C. Staff, page 2. William Waki, a retired California state employee, was introduced as the new coordinator of Sakura Kai, a senior citizens group in West Contra Costa. He succeeds June Sakaguchi, who retired after four years.
• Noontime Luau Set for WLA Lunchers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kapualani hula dancers and singer Phyllis Budzyn will entertain at the West Los Angeles United Methodist Church senior hot lunch program on Sept. 16. The project serves five hot meals a week.
• San Mateo JACL Gets CETA Funds, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The San Mateo JACL announced two one-year CETA-funded positions for a Japanese historical researcher and a clerk-typist. The project will produce a graphic, tabular, pictorial and written report on the Japanese community in San Mateo County.
• Hawaii Leaders Stay Cool to Japanese Investment Continued, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hawaii business and political figures say opposition to Japanese investment stems largely from World War II prejudices. Leaders argue that Hawaii must court multinational investment to become a regional business center.
• Nisei Week Continued: Parade Route and Viewer Reactions, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The longer Nisei Week parade route dispersed crowds over eight blocks, though viewers grew impatient with gaps between units. Gloria Carter Spann, sister of President Carter, watched from the Parker Center parking structure.
• Ex-Poston Worker at Detroit Festival, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Detroit City Council member Maryann Mahaffey, a former Poston II recreation worker and JACL member, greeted visitors at the Far Eastern Ethnic Festival. JACL booths and queen Cathy J. Hironaka were featured.
• Houston Nisei Lass: From PCYA to Girls State, by P.C. P.C. Staff, page 6. Anita Hall, a Houston JACL-selected junior, attended the Presidential Classroom for Young Americans and then Bluebonnet Girls State. She was elected County Tax Assessor and Tax Collector in the mock government.
• YPCC’s 50th Reunion Draws 350, by P.C. Staff, page 7. About 350 Nisei gathered in Berkeley on Aug. 28 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Northern California Young People’s Christian Conference. Speakers recalled the movement’s early years and the wartime period.
• New Jersey Asian Americans Hold First Awareness Workshop, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The New Jersey chapter of Pacific/Asian Coalition held its first Asian American awareness workshop with about 30 participants of diverse Asian ancestry. Participants discussed stereotypes, historical events, and 1970 Census data.

National

• Enomoto’s Affirmative Action Plan for Prison Staff Overturned in Lower Court, Case Now on Appeal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Jerry Enomoto, director of the State Department of Corrections, defended affirmative action in hiring and promotion at a San Francisco forum. A lower court ruled against the department in a reverse discrimination suit, and the case is now on appeal.
• CETA Amendment Aids Hawaiians, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate unanimously accepted an amendment by Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga to the 1973 CETA act that includes native Hawaiians in programs previously earmarked solely for native Americans.
• Atty. Gen. Bell to Sign Brief Opposing Bakke, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Carter administration decided to support affirmative action in the Bakke case before the Supreme Court, with Attorney General Griffin Bell signing the amicus brief. The case involves Allan Bakke, who alleges he was denied admission to UC Davis Medical School because he is white.
• Bakke Continued: DeFunis Supports Bakke Brief, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Marco DeFunis authored an amicus brief for Young Americans for Freedom supporting Allan Bakke, arguing the Constitution is color-blind. The brief contends no compelling state interest justifies race-based admissions.

Commentary

• A Drink a Day May Keep Heart Disease Away, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A six-year Honolulu Heart Study of 7,705 Japanese American men found that coffee and moderate alcohol use do not cause heart attacks and may help protect against heart disease. Dr. William Kannel said the findings are encouraging, though heavy drinking remains harmful.
• Enomoto’s Affirmative Action Policy at Prisons Endorsed, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The JACL sent a letter endorsing Jerry Enomoto’s affirmative action policy at the California Department of Corrections and saluted Secretary Mario Obledo for supporting equal opportunity. The letter was signed by National Executive Director Karl Nobuyuki.
• Bilingual Education, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reviews the federal Bilingual Education Act’s nearly $500 million in appropriations and debates over whether it is effective. It argues bilingual instruction can bridge language minorities into American society while noting teacher-training shortages.
• Nikkei Influence, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Letter writer Tomo Morikawa criticizes Barry Saiki’s article on Buddhist temple architecture for overlooking Buddhist philosophy. The editor responds that the article was meant to address temple architecture only.
• The Nisei Novel, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A non-Nikkei writer responds to Moonray Kojima about writing a novel on the Evacuation experience, describing her two-thirds-finished manuscript about a wasp nurse who marries a Nisei farmer. She explains her research and the story’s focus on the camp experience and family.
• Wandering Thoughts (While Clipping the Hedge), by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani reflects on yard work, his changing attitudes toward manual labor, and his wish to move into a townhouse. He contrasts his own upbringing as a Nisei with his children’s reluctance to help with chores.
• August: A Month of Memories for Nisei, by Charles Mouratides, page 5. Chicago Japanese American Lillian Kimura recalls the fear of wartime incarceration at Manzanar and the outrage over the atomic bombings in August 1945. She describes how the camp experience still shapes Japanese American identity and fears of discrimination.
• Pun, Books & Mail, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa reviews a Vincent Valentino biography by Tajiri and a book on Iva Toguri, and responds to reader mail on reparations and veterans’ histories. The column mixes book commentary with personal notes.
• In Lieu of an Ombudsman, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The writer argues JACL has become top-heavy and has no ombudsman to ensure individual members are heard. He reiterates support for a federated plan and stresses the value of full-time, experienced regional directors such as Tom Hibino.
• Numbers 42 and 13, by George Yoshinaga, page 8. Columnist George Yoshinaga explains the Japanese superstition that the number 42 is unlucky because it sounds like death. He contrasts this with the American superstition about the number 13.

Incarceration & Redress

• OWI Parachute News Found, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A complete collection of U.S. Office of War Information leaflets dropped over Japan in World War II has surfaced in Tokyo with Morikazu Akitake. The article recounts how Nisei MIS linguists and Japanese prisoner journalists produced the Rakkasan News in Manila in 1945.

Sports

• Sadaharu Oh Ties Home Run Mark, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh hit his 755th career home run on Aug. 31 to tie Hank Aaron’s record. The Yomiuri Giants first baseman’s feat was widely celebrated.
• Althea Tome Wins USGA Girls National Junior Golf Title, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Honolulu’s Althea Tome, 17, won the USGA Girls National Junior Golf tournament in West Virginia by defeating Melissa McGeorge. The Japanese American golfer will attend the University of Hawaii on a golf scholarship.

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