A 12-page January 1978 issue: a beauty pageant, a court win and a year in review

Vol. 86, No. 1, January 6, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

Questions of citizenship and fair treatment ran through the first issue of 1978. Pacific Northwest JACL leaders conceded that their fight to reinstate Vietnamese-born Phoeng-Ngoc Davis as Touchet Valley Junior Miss had likely failed. The Illinois appellate court reversed a Cook County decision in the Okubo-Yamada case, and Spokane JACL filed a discrimination complaint against Washington State University. Bill Hosokawa’s column recalled Christmas 1942 at Heart Mountain, and Sachi Seko wrote about New Year traditions.

Page 10 carries a chronology of December 1976 through December 1977, and page 11 a memorial list of people who died in 1977. The 1978 JACL scholarship applications were announced, the traveling Executive Order 9066 exhibit returned to the Bay Area, and Little Tokyo street improvements were approved. Four pages carry holiday greetings from chapters including Lodi, Berkeley, Marin County and Milwaukee.

What’s in this issue

National

• Jr. Miss Pageant Bars Alien Aspirants, page 1. Pacific Northwest JACL leaders concede their fight to reinstate Vietnamese-born Phoeng-Ngoc Davis as Touchet Valley Junior Miss has likely failed because she is not a U.S. citizen. JACL officials are urging Jaycees statewide to amend pageant rules to include legally admitted permanent residents.
• Okubo-Yamada Appellate Court Victory, page 1. The Illinois appellate court reversed a Cook County decision in the Okubo-Yamada case against Hilton Hotels Corp., which had alleged breach of warranty and negligence related to inadequate security. National JACL legal counsel Frank Iwama said the news should boost the ongoing fundraising drive to cover attorney fees, of which about $3,500 has been raised to date.
• JACL Headquarters Backs Spokane: Wash. State Charged With Anti-Asian Bias, page 1. The Spokane JACL Chapter filed a discrimination complaint against Washington State University with HEW, alleging the university failed to establish an Asian American studies program despite years of effort and documentation, and discriminated against Asian American students, faculty and staff. WSU administrators deny insensitivity but have resisted entering a written agreement with JACL, while PNWDC chapters have voted to support Spokane’s complaint.
• U.S. Again to Ask Race and Sex Data for Jobs, page 1. With President Carter’s approval, the Civil Service Commission will again require job applicants to provide race, sex and ethnic data, reversing a 1960s-era policy change prompted by civil rights group complaints about discriminatory use of such data. Civil rights groups now argue the data is needed to help recruit minorities and monitor their career advancement under affirmative action.

Community

• 1978 JACL Scholarship Applications Available, page 2. Application forms for the 1978 National JACL scholarship program were distributed to local chapters and high schools, open to persons of Japanese ancestry graduating in June. Awards averaging $500 will total over $10,000 this year, with an April 1 submission deadline.
• EO 9066 Display, page 2. The traveling ‘Executive Order 9066’ photograph exhibit returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, showing at the De Young Memorial Museum and University Art Museum in Berkeley. The exhibit runs through February.
• Three Authors to Give Readings, page 2. Authors Maxine Hong Kingston, Hisaye Yamamoto, and Momoko Iko will give readings of their works at UCLA on January 13, followed by a reception at the Sunset Recreation Center.
• Asian Firefighters Workshop Slated, page 2. An Asian Firefighter Workshop for persons interested in becoming firefighters will be held January 21 at the Dept. of Water and Power building in Los Angeles. The workshop is sponsored by the city and County Employees Asian American Association.
• Diablo Valley JACL Officer Tabbed Oakland’s Teacher of 1977, page 3. Masaye Nakamura, an English teacher at Frick Junior High School, was named 1977 Teacher of the Year among more than 3,000 Oakland teachers for her inspiring work with students. She is Vice President of Diablo Valley JACL and is married to architect Noboru Nakamura.
• An Unforgettable Christmas Eve: Sansei Thwarts Robbers at Market, page 3. Mark Sawasaki, a Safeway checker in Los Angeles, helped foil an armed robbery attempt on Christmas Eve by alerting police while robbers held employees hostage. SWAT units eventually arrived and the ordeal ended around 3:30 a.m. with no injuries.
• Little Tokyo Street Improvements OK’d, page 3. The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency approved two contracts totaling over a third of a million dollars for public improvements in the Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project. The funds will finance storm drains, street lighting, and the first phase of a cultural and community center mall.
• Chapter Pulse: Hollywood, Las Vegas, Livingston-Merced, San Francisco, Selanoco, Tulare County, page 6. This roundup covers various chapter activities including Hollywood JACL’s sponsored gallery tour of Japanese woodblock prints, Las Vegas JACL’s new leadership and upcoming district council meeting, and Livingston-Merced’s installation dinner featuring National Executive Director Karl Nobuyuki. Also noted are San Francisco JACL’s re-election of president Mike Ito, Selanoco’s donation of Michi Weglyn’s book to a school district, and Tulare County’s membership recruitment efforts.
• Lodi JACL Installs New President, Announces Fishing Derby Winners, page 6. Lodi JACL installed Jim Ishida as 1978 chapter president during a New Year’s party featuring a Chinese dinner and dance. The chapter also announced winners of its first annual striped bass fishing derby.
• People Column: Business, Crime, Education, Government, Health, Honors, Politics, Sports Notes, page 12. This roundup column covers various community news including promotions at California First Bank and JAL, crime cases involving several Asian Americans, educational appointments, and the naming of Thomas Kadomoto as honorary Japanese consul in Phoenix. Sports notes include Wally Yonamine’s new coaching role with the Yomiuri Giants and several high school athletic honors.

JACL

• Denver to Host JANBA Pinfest, page 2. The Denver Nisei Bowling Association will host the 4th annual Japanese American National Bowling Association tournament March 5-11 at Celebrity Lanes. JANBA continues a tradition nurtured by National JACL since the late 1940s of gathering Nisei bowlers nationwide.
• Five Midwest Chapters Slate January Inaugurals, page 6. Chicago and Cincinnati-Dayton JACL chapters held their installation dinners in December featuring guest speakers George Wakiji and Dr. Roger Daniels, while Milwaukee, St. Louis, Twin Cities, Detroit, and Hoosier chapters have scheduled their inaugural dinners for January. Speakers will include Father Daniel Sharman, Judge William Marutani, and others discussing topics from Japan to US-Japan trade.

Obituaries

• Yoshiko Ishimaru, page 2. Yoshiko Ishimaru, 59, of Harbor City, died December 11 of a brain hemorrhage. She was survived by her husband Haruo, a onetime JACL regional director, and had herself served as JACL regional office secretary in Los Angeles during the early 1950s.
• 1977 Memorial List, page 11. This annual memorial compilation lists prominent Japanese Americans who died in 1977, including National JACL co-founder and president Saburo Kido, dentist and first JACL president Dr. Thomas T. Yatabe, and community leader Edison T. Uno. Other notable deaths included pathologist Dr. Ryojun Kinoshita, farmer and JACL vice president Jack Noda, and actress Kinuyo Tanaka.

Commentary

• Will History Repeat?, by K.K.N., page 4. This editorial draws parallels between the racial hysteria of WWII-era anti-Japanese sentiment and growing public reaction to current U.S.-Japan trade tensions, citing a satirical Journal of Commerce column as an example. The writer questions whether Japanese Americans will again be unfairly conflated with Japan and warns 1978 may bring more such rhetoric.
• Holiday Issue – Letters on East West Players Coverage, by Norman Cohen, page 4. The administrator of East West Players thanks Pacific Citizen for coverage of their new show but notes that many additional company members deserve recognition beyond the artistic director and executive producer mentioned. He lists numerous actors and contributors who have supported the 12-year-old professional Asian American theater company.
• Letter on Inter-Racial Marriages History, by Karl G. Yoneda, page 4. Responding to a prior PC article on interracial marriages, the writer details historical examples of Issei men who married Caucasian women, including Jokichi Takamine, Kanichi Asakawa, Hideyo Noguchi, and poet Yone Noguchi. He also notes tragic cases like the lynching of Shigezo Yoshida and calls for continued research into mixed marriages and their descendants’ experiences.
• On Method of Redress – Part Eight, page 4. This installment of a continuing series on reparations discusses combining individual and trust fund payment methods, debates over per diem payment schemes, and the question of who should be eligible beneficiaries including those from Alaska, Hawaii and South America. The piece argues reparations are needed not to price freedom but to discourage future government abrogation of civil rights.
• Letter on Military History and POW Surrenders, by Don Estes, page 4. The writer rebuts claims made in a previous letter by T.S. Shiraki about military history regarding German and Japanese troop surrenders, citing specific historical examples including mass surrenders to Soviet forces. He challenges several of Shiraki’s assertions as factually incorrect.
• Letter Requesting 442nd RCT Information, by Gail Tsujimoto, page 4. A student seeking information on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for a class project writes asking for additional source material beyond Hosokawa’s book. The editor responds recommending Orville Shirey’s ‘Americans’ and offers to send relevant past PC articles.
• Subscription Service Letter, by Betty F., page 4. A reader disputes a Postal Service claim that her address had moved, stating she had not relocated. The editor explains the Postal Service’s records showed an apartment number change that justified the forwarding fee charged to the publisher.
• And a Happy New Year, by Sachi Seko, page 5. In this From Happy Valley column, the author recalls childhood New Year traditions from her grandparents’ household, including elaborate food preparations, house cleaning rituals, and superstitions about omens for the coming year. She reflects on the fading of these traditions and wonders if her sister’s ‘year of the horse’ will bring the old magic back.
• The Holidays at Home, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. In this From the Frying Pan column, Hosokawa describes a lighthearted family holiday gathering in Denver featuring grandchildren’s parlor games and adult children reminiscing about their upbringing. He reflects fondly on how conversations have matured from mundane household topics to ideas, business, and politics.

Incarceration & Redress

• When the Grayness Left Heart Mountain, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. In a letter to his son reprinted from the Denver Post, Hosokawa recounts Christmas 1942 at the Heart Mountain concentration camp, describing the bleak, gray isolation felt by incarcerated Japanese Americans. He recalls how an outpouring of gifts from sympathetic Americans across the country, delivered via a makeshift Santa Claus, brought warmth and reminded them they were not entirely forgotten.

In-Depth

• Chronology: December 1976 – December 1977, page 10. This extensive chronology recaps major events affecting the Japanese American community over the past year, including S.I. Hayakawa’s Senate appointment, Wendy Yoshimura’s conviction, President Ford’s pardon of Iva Toguri, and the JACL’s reparations campaign launch. It also covers political appointments, legal cases, deaths, and community milestones throughout 1977.

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