Ethnic studies disputes at SFSU, UCLA and Stanford, and three Nisei physicians

Vol. 108, No. 20, May 26, 1989. 8 pages. View this issue

Fights over ethnic studies and academic jobs led the front page. Steve Nakajo’s grievance against San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies department was denied a second time, and he said arbitration was his last step. Professor Don Nakanishi said he would pursue other legal means if UCLA denies him tenure. About 60 Stanford students staged a sit-in for more minority faculty, and UC Berkeley’s faculty senate voted 227-194 for an American cultures requirement. L.A. school board member Warren Furutani also revealed details of a proposed settlement in the teachers’ strike.

Inside, an in-depth package honors three Nisei physicians: Fred Fujikawa, Sakaye Shigekawa and James Yamazaki. Bill Hosokawa’s column visits a small museum in Chino, Japan. Little Tokyo preservation awards, a San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden fund drive and an oral history project on Japanese American women are also covered, and page 4 carries letters and an editorial on community scholarships.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Nakajo’s Grievance Against SFSU Denied a Second Time, page 1. Steve Nakajo’s grievance against San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies department was denied for a second time by the CSU Chancellor’s office. Nakajo says he will pursue arbitration as his last available step after losing his teaching assignment reinstatement bid.
• Stanford Students Sit-in for Ethnic Studies, page 1. About 60 Stanford University students staged a sit-in at the president’s office demanding more minority faculty and ethnic studies centers. Demands included hiring another Asian American professor and creating a task force on Asian American studies.
• UC Berkeley Approves Ethnic Cultures Requirement, page 1. UC Berkeley’s faculty senate voted 227-194 to require entering freshmen beginning in 1991 to take an ‘American cultures’ ethnic studies course. Ethnic studies professor Ronald Takaki called the vote positive and predicted other colleges would follow suit.
• Preservation Awards Made for Enhancement of Little Tokyo Buildings, page 2. The Community Redevelopment Agency received the 1989 Preservation Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy for its work preserving the Queen Hotel and Sindorf Building in Little Tokyo’s Historic District. The Queen Hotel now provides low- and moderate-income housing above the Far East Cafe.
• Omaha Councilman Takechi Reelected, page 2. Richard Takechi won a third term on the Omaha City Council, defeating Walter Powell in the general election. He plans to focus on road upgrades and increased police protection in District 5.
• Center Establishes Criteria for Awards, page 2. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California announced criteria for its 1989 Awards Dinner honoring individuals for Distinguished, Cultural, and Community contributions. Nominations from Bay Area organizations and individuals are due by June 9.
• Summer Reunions Slated in La Jara, North Platte, page 2. Reunions for former and current residents are scheduled this summer in North Platte, Nebraska, and Alamosa-La Jara, Colorado. Registration details were provided for both events.
• City Observes Asian American Heritage Month, page 2. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley proclaimed May 1989 as Asian American Heritage Month, following a tradition begun by previous city leaders. The proclamation provides additional time for programs and reflection on Asian American heritage.
• Nikkei Widow-Widower Group Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Now Umbrella for 200, page 3. The Nikkei Widowed Group celebrated its 10th anniversary with a banquet at the New Otani Hotel attended by 300 people. The group, sponsored by Little Tokyo Service Center, now has about 200 members with two outreach subgroups in Southern California.
• San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden Fund Drive Launched, page 3. San Diego’s Nikkei community has been challenged to raise $200,000 toward the $1,000,000 needed to develop the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Groundbreaking is scheduled for summer near the Charles C. Dail Memorial Gate, with the garden designed by landscape architect Takeshi Ken Nakajima.
• Japanese Gov’t Honors Four Angeleno Nikkei, page 8. Four Los Angeles Nikkei community members were decorated by the Japanese government for promoting better U.S.-Japan relations. Honorees included Tomio Hayashi, Fred I. Wada, Nobuko Kamimura, and Tokiko Tsuchiya.

National

• Furutani Reveals Offer on Teachers’ Strike, page 1. L.A. school board member Warren Furutani and colleague Julie Korenstein broke a news blackout to reveal details of a proposed settlement in the L.A. Unified School District teachers’ strike. The board’s package calls for a 24% pay increase over three years as fears grow the strike could last the rest of the school year.
• Nakanishi May Pursue Other Legal Avenues, by By Sophia Kyung Kim, Korea Times, page 1. Professor Don Nakanishi says he will pursue other legal means if UCLA Chancellor Charles Young denies him tenure, after winning two internal grievances. Faculty voted strongly in his favor and numerous community and academic groups have rallied to his cause, alleging racial discrimination in the process.

Incarceration & Redress

• Museum Embarks on Oral History Project as Backdrop for Photos from 3 Generations, page 2. The National Japanese American Historical Society’s Women’s Exhibit, opening at the Oakland Museum in 1990, is collecting oral histories from Japanese American women across three generations. The project aims to document the untold stories of Issei, Nisei, and Sansei women, from immigration struggles to camp hardships to redress activism.
• Museum Project: Lost History of Japanese American Women, page 8. This continuation details fictionalized composite narratives representing Issei, Nisei, and Sansei women’s experiences, from a bride’s journey to America to a mother’s hardships in camp to a Sansei’s discovery of her family’s incarceration history. The National Japanese American Historical Society’s Oral History Committee seeks volunteers to interview women and preserve these stories before they are lost.

Obituaries

• Little Tokyo Pioneer Mitsuhiko Shimizu, 100, page 3. Mitsuhiko Shimizu, a 100-year-old Little Tokyo Issei pioneer who founded the Asahi Shoe and Dry Goods Store in 1912, died May 16 in Los Angeles. He was interned at Manzanar during WWII and later served as president of several Japanese American community organizations, receiving Japan’s 4th Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1965.
• Rev. Kenryo Kumata, 80, page 3. The Rev. Kenryo Kumata, minister emeritus of the Buddhist Churches of America, died May 6 in Kyoto. The Seattle-born Nisei began his ministry in 1939, was interned at Topaz during WWII, and served congregations in several West Coast cities.

Commentary

• Scholarships: A Grand Tradition, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial praises the long tradition of Japanese American community scholarship programs, begun by Issei who valued education highly. It argues that community scholarships are both a reward for achievement and an investment in the future of Japanese American youth.
• A ‘Frying Pan’ Fan, by T.R. Saito, page 4. A letter writer praises Bill Hosokawa’s column on Japan’s post-war success and the Nisei connection. The writer plans to share the article with his brother, a WWII POW now retired in Japan.
• AJAs Forever!, by William Wetherall, page 4. A letter responds to Bill Marutani’s column about AJA surnames, arguing that defining Japanese American identity by race or ethnicity is problematic. The writer contends that deracializing the definition of Japanese American would allow the community to grow through intermarriage rather than disappear.
• Senior Alternative, by Tamio Nishizaka, page 4. A letter responds to a senior’s complaint about Pacific Citizen subscription costs by suggesting family members gift subscriptions to elderly relatives. The writer also proposes a JACL fundraiser to subsidize subscriptions for indigent seniors.
• Camaraderie, Not Blame, page 4. A letter writer reflects on the camaraderie observed among Nisei in Tokyo and at Japanese American camp reunions and Jewish holocaust reunions. The writer notes there is no blame at these reunions, only healing from shared historical trauma.
• Archeology Versus Amaterasu, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa’s ‘From the Frying Pan’ column describes his visit to a small museum in Chino, Japan, housing artifacts from a settlement dating back 20,000 years. He reflects on the ancient civilization predating Japanese creation myths involving the gods Izanami, Izanagi, and the sun goddess Amaterasu.

In-Depth

• Nisei Physicians: Fujikawa, Shigekawa, Yamazaki Honored for Quality Medical Care Despite Hardship and Race Prejudice, page 4. Three pioneering Japanese American physicians—Fred Fujikawa, Sakaye Shigekawa, and James Yamazaki—will be honored at a gala dinner for bringing quality medical care to the Southern California Japanese American community despite wartime internment and racial prejudice. The article details Fujikawa’s medical career in Missouri after internment, including a legislative debate over his right to practice.
• The Two Views of War: Dr. James Yamazaki, page 5. Dr. James Yamazaki served as a battalion surgeon with the 106th Infantry Division during WWII, was captured during the Battle of the Bulge, and later conducted groundbreaking research on atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He went on to a distinguished pediatrics career and continues researching radiation’s effects on children.
• One Woman and 20,000 Babies: Dr. Sakaye Shigekawa, page 5. Dr. Sakaye Shigekawa delivered over 20,000 babies during her obstetrics career spanning decades in Los Angeles, overcoming gender and racial barriers to become one of few women in her medical school class. She was the first woman elected president of Queen of Angels Hospital’s medical staff before retiring from obstetrics in 1986.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.