Asian American issues in 1972: mental health, immigration, JACL funds

Vol. 74, No. 12, March 31, 1972. 4 pages. View this issue

A four-page issue that looked at what Asian Americans were organizing around in the spring of 1972. A national conference on Asian American mental health, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, was set for April 28-29 in San Francisco. The front page also covered protests against HR 2328, a bill to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, and JACL planners ranking education and membership services as priorities for the 1970s. Barbara Egbert reported on the protests around S.I. Hayakawa’s speech at the San Francisco JACL installation dinner, and Cherry Tsutsumida wrote about the 1972 National JACL Convention in Washington, D.C.

Other pages carry a debate over the JACL Endowment Fund and reparation awards, a letter on the roots of the Nisei, and a study of suicide among older Japanese men in Hawaii. News briefs cover Little Tokyo redevelopment and Min Yasui’s work on a Denver crime council.

What’s in this issue

Community

• NIMH Confab Set April 28-29 in S.F., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The first Asian American mental health conference, sponsored by NIMH and Asian American Social Workers, will be held April 28-29 in San Francisco. Delegates from communities nationwide will set priorities on needs such as senior citizens, youth, women, and discrimination effects.
• Min Yasui Heads Effort to Reduce Street Crimes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Denver will form a 27-member coordinating council and five task forces to advise on a federal crime impact grant. Min Yasui leads the effort to reduce street crime.
• J-Town Skyline Blooms, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sakura Square, a $4 million development in Denver’s Japanese community, will include apartments, a Japanese retail and cultural center, and a remodeled Tri-State Buddhist Temple. Restaurant Kyoto and other firms have signed to open there.
• Six Bidding for S.F. Festival Queen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Six Bay Area young women are competing for the 1972 Cherry Blossom Festival queen title at Japan Center. The festival culminates in a grand parade on April 23.
• Interviewing Techniques Initial Course for Univ. of Utah Asian Studies Class, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A University of Utah Asian studies class began training in interviewing techniques to document the experiences of older Issei across Utah. Community representatives and volunteers participated in the initial course.
• Buddhist Services Count Toward Parole, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a Texas prisoner may earn parole credit by attending Buddhist religious ceremonies, as inmates of other sects already could for church services. Justice Rehnquist dissented, calling the case frivolous.
• Encampment for Citizenship Seeks Asian Applicants, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Encampment for Citizenship announced scholarships reserved for Asian American teenagers to attend its summer programs focused on public affairs and social problems. The programs combine volunteer work, speakers, workshops, and recreation.
• Yale Students Help Recruit Asian Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Yale’s Asian American Students Association assisted the admissions office in West Coast recruitment trips during spring break. The effort aimed to encourage Asian American high school juniors to apply for fall 1973.
• Social Worker Opens for Private Practice, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Satoshi T. Hayashi, MSW, announced the opening of his private practice as a licensed clinical social worker and marriage and family counselor in Los Angeles. He has previously worked with several Japanese community agencies.
• Dr. Kitano to Speak at San Gabriel Recognitions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. UCLA sociology professor Dr. Harry Kitano will speak to the San Gabriel Valley JACL at its Student Recognition Night. His talk will address the Japanese American World War II relocation camp experience.
• Pasadena JACL Lining Up Spring-Summer Slate, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Pasadena JACL board planned programs through summer, including a Japan Week in May with other groups and a possible merger with the Greater Pasadena chapter. The chapter also discussed membership drives and its Nisei Week activities.
• Fifth Postwar Delano Reunion to Honor Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Delano JACL will host a reunion over Labor Day weekend honoring former Issei residents of Delano. Organizers requested addresses of former residents by May 15.
• Librarians Organize Clearinghouse for Asian American Cultural Material, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A task force of the American Library Association established a clearinghouse for Asian American materials at the Library of Congress. It seeks information on cultural centers, publications, bibliographies, and organizations.
• Issei Suicide, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A study by Lum discusses the high suicide rate among older Japanese men in Hawaii. It attributes this to the changing family system regarding the aged and the loss of social belonging.
• Local Scene: Los Angeles Community News, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Brief items cover an Asian American contingent in an April 22 anti-Vietnam War march, a petition for Japanese medical treatment of atomic bomb survivors, and plans for a Lotus Day festival at Echo Park Lake. Other briefs cover Issei Pioneer Projects’ Hanami trip and a Riverside International Festival.
• News Capsules, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Brief news items cover Little Tokyo redevelopment, Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights project with minority contractors, a Honolulu grand theft case, Hawaii Democratic Party caucus results, a new U.S. ambassador to Japan, music and education honors, and a courtroom bail setting. Each item reports developments affecting Japanese Americans.

National

• HEW Community Advocate Informed of Local Needs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. Toyo Biddle, HEW coordinator for Asian American affairs, told a Los Angeles audience about federal attention to Asian community needs. She reported on bilingual personnel shortages, possible Civil Service Commission investigations, and an HEW information kit.
• L.A. Bunker Hill Complex Impresses Tokyo Execs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Japanese market-research mission was impressed by the Bunker Hill Towers complex in Los Angeles, noting rents would command three times as much in Tokyo. Prof. Shigeo Tani spoke for the mission’s interest in high-rise development.
• John-Yoko Lennon’s Face Deportation from U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 1. John Lennon and Yoko Ono plan to fight deportation after their visas expired, with a hearing postponed to April 18. Lennon is attempting to have a 1968 British drug conviction expunged from his record.
• Asians Protest Penalties Proposed for Employers Knowingly Hiring Illegals, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Demonstrators in New York protested HR 2328, a House bill penalizing employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Opponents argued the bill would create a police state and that existing laws suffice.
• Illegal Alien Hiring Repeal Bill Deferred, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California State Assembly labor committee declined to advance a bill to repeal the illegal alien hiring law. The law had been declared invalid by a Superior Court judge, and that ruling is under appeal.

JACL

• JACL Planners Cite Priorities for ’70s, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL Planning Commission ranked education and membership services as top priorities for the 1970s, followed by funding and public relations. District council planners met in Burlingame to prepare recommendations for the National Board and Council.
• Leave Your Worries to Us, by Cherry Tsutsumida, page 1. Convention planners address concerns that crime fears in Washington, D.C. may keep people from attending the 1972 National JACL Convention. The article argues crime rates are comparable to other major cities and that the Shoreham Hotel site offers security and appealing surroundings.
• Endowment Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 2. JACL explains that ten percent of reparation awards were contributed to the JACL Endowment Fund, intended for emergencies affecting Japanese Americans. The writer urges members to vote against proposals allowing expenditures without approval of three-fourths of member chapters.

Commentary

• Foreign Minister of Japan Invited to Address JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Japanese Foreign Minister has been invited to speak at the Congressional Dinner during the 1972 JACL Convention in Washington, D.C. The event aims to strengthen Congressional relations and honor legislative leaders.
• Roots of Nisei, page 2. A letter writer responds to Miyo Morikawa’s column by arguing that most Japanese Americans descend from peasant and working classes rather than samurai. The writer criticizes glorifying samurai culture and urges celebrating peasant traditions instead.
• Interviewing Techniques Initial Course, page 2. A short note announces an ad hoc committee meeting for a Utah interviewing project. Progress was expected by the next meeting.
• Asians vs. ‘S.I.’: Hayakawa Speech Controversy, by Barbara Egbert, page 3. Barbara Egbert reports on the San Francisco JACL installation dinner where S.I. Hayakawa spoke amid protests by Concerned Asians. She criticizes both the demonstrators for personal attacks and Hayakawa for a propagandistic speech on Vietnam.

Incarceration & Redress

• Japanese Americans Reparations and Endowment, page 2. Reparation payments were discussed in relation to the JACL Endowment Fund. The article outlines how the fund was solicited and proposals to spend principal.

Arts & Entertainment

• Homecoming Game, by P.C. Staff, page 4. UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center announced a 21-minute documentary by Kwan Chung Yen about Asian American ex-convicts, addicts, and rebels forming an alternative life. The film is available for purchase or rental.

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