Student strikes, Hayakawa and a new JACL civil rights coordinator

Vol. 68, No. 10, March 7, 1969. 6 pages. View this issue

Campus strikes and the debate over how Japanese Americans should respond filled this six-page issue. Ray Okamura reported Dr. Paul Takagi’s argument that Sansei strikes at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State were efforts to gain ethnic identity. The paper also covered Dr. S. I. Hayakawa telling a San Francisco dinner that Japanese Americans could serve as intermediaries between blacks and whites, and the picket line of about 135 demonstrators outside it. On the cover, National JACL President Jerry Enomoto welcomed Raymond Uno as a part-time civil rights coordinator for JACL.

Mike Masaoka outlined a JACL campaign to repeal Title II of the Internal Security Act of 1950, which authorizes detention camps. Elsewhere are Rep. Spark Matsunaga’s bill to raise the federal income tax exemption, Rep. Patsy Mink’s coming visit to a Nisei bowling tournament, tear gas used on strikers at a Colorado farm, and columns by Patti Dohzen, Art Kameda and Bill Marutani.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Perspectives: Raymond Uno, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. JACL National President Jerry Enomoto welcomes Raymond Uno as a part-time civil rights coordinator for JACL. He notes Uno’s narrow loss in a Utah Senate race and suggests JACL may benefit from more than one individual covering the position.
• Sansei Slant: It Happened at the Sensitive Snowtrip, by Patti Dohzen, page 4. Patti Dohzen, chairman of the National Youth Council, describes a Pacific Southwest District snowtrip where youth shared hidden feelings and showed concern for one another. She suggests these experiences can help strengthen individual chapters.
• Why This?, by Karen Sumida, page 4. Karen Sumida of Santa Barbara reflects on the oil-slicked beaches and birds struggling in the water after a spill. She questions why such destruction must happen.
• Knights Honored, by Frank Sakamoto, page 5. Frank Sakamoto congratulates Gardena Chapter members recognized for years of 1000 Club financial support. He urges chapter 1000 Club chairmen to pursue recognition and pins for longtime members.
• Jr. JACLer Quits Post to Highlight Lack of Concern, by Art Kameda, page 5. Art Kameda resigns as Junior JACL vice-president, saying the club is not doing enough in race relations and civil rights. He describes his experience growing up near predominantly Black communities and his commitment to human relations work.
• Student Unrest in Japan Blamed on Pampering, by Jim Henry, page 6. Jim Henry argues that Japan’s escalating student radicalism stems from postwar education emphasizing entrance exams and from parents who overindulge their children. He links this pampering to self-centered, wayward university students.
• Letters: Ethnic Concern’s Scope, by Martha Suzuki, page 6. Martha Suzuki urges the JACL Ethnic Concern Committee to expand its scope beyond minority races to other races, arguing that improving majority relations is essential. She says limiting the committee’s focus reduces its effectiveness.
• East Wind: Showa Is…, by Bill Marutani, page 6. Bill Marutani discusses the difficulty of calculating years under the Japanese imperial Showa calendar and the complex formula for Easter. He also contrasts the flower money spent on Easter with a proposed charitable use for rebuilding a burned church.

National

• LA Civic Group on Junior College Biased, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Council of Oriental Organizations charged that racial slights occurred at a Concerned Citizens for Community Colleges meeting that cut short their candidate selection process. COO says the lone Oriental candidate, attorney David Woo, was found highly qualified but was not supported.
• Matsunaga Seeks Raise on Income Tax Exemption, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Spark Matsunaga introduced legislation to raise the federal income tax exemption from $600 to $1,000. The increase would apply to all taxpayers, including exemptions for spouses, dependents, old age, and blindness.

Community

• San Joseans to Hear Patsy Mink at Bowling Fete, by Phil Matsumura, page 1. Rep. Patsy Mink will be guest speaker at the awards dinner-dance of the 23rd annual JACL Nisei Bowling Tournament in Santa Clara on March 8. Mink, the first woman of Asian ancestry elected to Congress, was honored as Nisei of the Biennium in 1966.
• S.F. Students Strike for Identity, by Ray Okamura, page 1. Dr. Paul Takagi told a Berkeley audience that Sansei strikes at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State are efforts to gain ethnic identity benefiting all Japanese Americans. He argued that Japanese Americans have suffered loss of self-esteem from deferring to whites.
• San Francisco Japanese Pickets Hayakawa Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 135 demonstrators picketed outside a February 21 San Francisco dinner where Dr. S.I. Hayakawa spoke to about 300 diners. The demonstration was organized by an ad hoc committee opposed to Hayakawa’s stance on the San Francisco State strike.
• Pranksters Fly Hinomaru Up School Flagpole, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pranksters hoisted the flags of China, Japan and North Vietnam on the flagpole of Washington High School in San Francisco and cut the halyard. Sansei students said the prank would drive a wedge among minority students.
• San Franciscans Initiate Research of Nisei Ethnic Concern, by P.C. Staff, page 4. San Francisco State faculty, JACL and AAPA members outlined a plan for a continuing study of the local Japanese American community. The project would include research, joint student-community programs, and a community meeting place.

Incarceration & Redress

• Hayakawa Sees Nisei as Racial Intermediary, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. S. I. Hayakawa told a San Francisco dinner audience that Japanese Americans have an opportunity and obligation to serve as intermediaries between blacks and whites. He recounted his background, his interest in semantics, and his views on the San Francisco State College strike.
• JACL Campaign Against Concentration Camps, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka outlines a JACL national campaign to repeal Title II of the Internal Security Act of 1950, which authorizes detention camps. The campaign combines a public education program by an Ad Hoc Committee with a congressional legislative drive.
• Gas Disperses Strikers at Kitayama Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Weld County deputies used tear gas to disperse women picketing the Kitayama Brothers flower nursery near Brighton, Colorado, during a farm workers’ strike. The National Farm Workers Organizing union ended the strike afterward and shifted its fight to the state legislature.

JACL

• JACL Members Urged to Report Anonymous Letters, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Washington JACL representative Mike Masaoka reported on anonymous intimidating letters sent to JACL leaders. He advised ignoring such letters and submitting them to postal authorities or the FBI rather than publicizing them.

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