Chuman’s $2,500,000 challenge and the Intermountain convention

Vol. 65, No. 23, December 8, 1967. 6 pages. View this issue

Frank Chuman’s call for JACL to act on behalf of disadvantaged Americans led this six-page issue. At the Intermountain District Council convention in Salt Lake City, the past national president proposed that each of JACL’s 25,000 members give $100 to fund a $2.5 million task force. The convention also elected Ronald Yokota governor, and Rupert Hachiya wrote two pieces about it. Elsewhere, Long Beach JACL heard Jack Jones describe the decay of south central Los Angeles, and Mike Masaoka wrote about the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report.

Other pages carry news of a Santa Barbara judge striking down a state ban on aliens in public jobs, and the Dr. Mutsumi Nobe Memorial Scholarship going to Howard Henjyoji. Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Jim Henry, Ken Kuroiwa and Jeffrey Matsui fill the inside pages, with several writers urging closer ties between JACL and Junior JACL.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Portland Med Student Wins Dr. Nobe Memorial Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Howard Henjyoji of Portland, Oregon, a first-year medical student at the University of Oregon Medical School, was unanimously selected as the 1967 Dr. Mutsumi Nobe Memorial Scholarship winner. The scholarship honors Dr. Nobe, whose widow established the foundation to support Japanese American men pursuing graduate studies in the sciences.
• Intermountain Elects Yokota Governor, Hears Chuman Beckon All-Out Effort to Help Disadvantaged, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ronald Yokota of Pocatello-Blackfoot JACL was elected Intermountain District Council governor at the biennial convention in Salt Lake City. Past national president Frank Chuman delivered a keynote calling on JACL to launch a domestic Peace Corps-style program to help disadvantaged Americans.
• ‘What Now — JACL?’ Chuman’s $2,500,000 Ante Challenge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Frank Chuman proposed that each of JACL’s 25,000 members contribute $100 to fund a $2.5 million task force to help disadvantaged Americans through chapter-level programs. He framed the effort as a response to urban riots and a way for Nisei to demonstrate their commitment to social justice.
• JACL Japan Tour Reunion Date Set, by Tad Hirota, page 1. A reunion of the JACL Japan Tour members has been scheduled for August 25 at San Francisco’s Miyako Hotel, the day after the national convention in San Jose. The hotel is located in the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center and is expected to open next spring.

National

• Santa Barbara Judge Overturns Anti-Alien Ban in Public Jobs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Santa Barbara superior judge struck down a 62-year-old state law barring aliens from city, county, or state jobs, ruling it unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision, citing the Takahashi fishing case, protects 17 resident alien city employees who had been fired last September.
• Sak Yamamoto Runs for Carson-Dominguez Council; Other News Capsules, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The news capsules report multiple community milestones, including a candidacy for the proposed Carson-Dominguez city council and a Sansei named Los Angeles Japanese American Republicans president. Business, medical, and arts achievements by Nisei and Sansei are also noted.
• Mike Masaoka’s Washington Newsletter: U.S. Civil Rights Commission Report, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka discusses the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report, which challenges the notion that Negroes can rise from ghettos as other immigrant groups did. He argues that the report correctly identifies slavery’s legacy and structural barriers, and that preventing violence requires attacking those conditions.
• Antarctic Mountain Range Named for Young Japanese Scientist, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A mountain range in Antarctica has been named the Morozumi Range after Masakiyo Morozumi, a 30-year-old scientist who led a 36-man U.S. Antarctic winter research program in 1963. Morozumi studied auroras and earned his doctorate at Stanford.
• Unintentional Discrimination Affects Hiring of Mexican-Americans and Negroes, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A UCLA Mexican-American Study Project report finds that schooling requirements for manual labor jobs screen out disproportionate numbers of Mexican-Americans and Negroes without predicting job performance. The study also concludes that job competition between the two groups is exaggerated.

Community

• Oregon Sansei Named Director of Berkeley City Youth Council, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Joan Yasui, a 25-year-old social worker from Hood River, Oregon, was named youth programs coordinator for the Berkeley Youth Council. She will plan activities for Berkeley young people aged 13 to 21 through a one-year foundation-funded position.
• Long Beach Hears Story on Watts, Challenged to Help Stem Deterioration, by P.C. Staff, page 1. At the Long Beach JACL installation dinner, Los Angeles Times writer Jack Jones described the decay of south central Los Angeles and challenged the 200 attendees to join community efforts to rehabilitate the Inner City. Dianne Shimitsu was installed as chapter president, with Dr. David Miura as installing officer.
• Watsonville JACL Elects Kay Miura, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Watsonville JACL elected Kay Miura as chapter president for 1968 at a Quarter Century After dinner-dance. The chapter also pledged $1,000 over three years to the Pajaro Valley Youth Foundation building fund.
• Philadelphia Forms Jr. JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Philadelphia youth met in October and unanimously decided to form a Junior JACL chapter, later applying for and gaining admission to the EDYC. The new chapter has begun fundraising through a fortune cookie sale and a Christmas party, and elected its first officers.
• Nisei Week Festival Chairman for ’68 Named, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Takeo Taiyoshi, proprietor of Rafu Shoten, was elected chairman of the 1968 Nisei Week Festival, which will mark the centennial of the Meiji Restoration. He will be assisted by an executive committee of officers.
• Intermountain Convention Impressions, by Rupert Hachiya, page 3. Hachiya recounts the Intermountain District Council convention, including a serious car accident that injured a Rexburg family en route and the success of the Issei Appreciation event and youth-led programs. He credits organizers and notes the growing transportation challenges of delegate travel.
• Christmas Cheer Program Continues for 20th Year, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Christmas Cheer program, which provides monetary gifts to needy Japanese ancestry persons, will continue for its 20th consecutive year under the Pacific Southwest District Council. Solicitation letters were mailed late this year, and organizers are working to raise the needed $2,500.
• Issei Honored at Fowler JACL Testimonial Dinner, by Thomas Toyama, page 4. At Fowler JACL’s 35th annual Issei testimonial dinner, national JACL first vice-president Tom Shimasaki praised Issei dedication to education and its legacy for Nisei. The event drew nearly 175 attendees including local officials and honored Fowler’s older residents.
• Intermountain District Council Recognition Banquet Highlights, by Rupert Hachiya, page 4. The IDC convention recognized Jim Mitsunaga as the Japanese American of the Biennium and Mt. Olympus as Chapter of the Biennium. Youth programming, a fashion show, and a queen contest also marked the convention’s highlights.

Military & Veterans

• Hiro Kato Named Linn County Veteran of the Year, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Hiro Kato, an Albany, Oregon Japanese American who won two Purple Hearts with the 442nd RCT, was named Linn County Veteran of the Year. His family was interned in a Utah relocation camp while he fought overseas.

Commentary

• A Mixed Up Place, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa describes Taiwan’s complicated history and its people, including a Chinese government information officer whose Taiwanese-Japanese wife embodies the island’s mixed cultural heritage. He reflects on the uncertain future of families caught between competing political and cultural loyalties.
• School Integration, by Jim Henry, page 3. Henry examines sex integration in Japanese high schools, where coeducation introduced after the war has faltered under the pressures of competitive college entrance exams. He describes schools with overwhelmingly female enrollment and the difficulties faced by the few boys who attend.
• Programs, by Jeffrey Matsui, page 4. Matsui reflects on the vitality of JACL chapter programs, arguing that active youth participation breathes life into faltering chapter activities. He concludes that the growing strength of the Junior JACL reflects the organization’s good sense.
• A Guide for a Married Man Interested in Youth, by Kats Arimoto, page 4. Arimoto offers guidance to adult JACLers on serving youth, encouraging them to learn young people’s language, music, and values. He uses the Little Engine parable to urge a positive, can-do attitude toward youth work.
• Show Some Steam, by Alan Kumamoto, page 4. Kumamoto urges JACLers, young and old, to take up leadership roles as chapters hold elections for 1968. He encourages members to bring enthusiasm to chapter offices.
• Lunching with a Big Leaguer, by Cherry Tsutsumida, page 4. Tsutsumida describes a lunch with Jackie Robinson at the National Institutes of Health, where Robinson was serving on a committee. She reflects on his role as a symbol of the American belief that hard work makes a difference.
• Mare Contemplativa, by Ken Kuroiwa, page 5. Kuroiwa reflects on crossing the Pacific lagoon near Truk and the wartime and historical sites that come to mind, from Pearl Harbor to Monte Cassino to Verdun. He ponders whether such violence and destruction represent the human condition.
• Letter: A ‘Finer’ Whing-Ding, by Gilbert Furusho, page 6. Furusho, a Chicago 1000 Club member, supports criticism of the 1000 Club whing ding’s corny jokes and music. He urges younger JACLers to offer concrete ideas rather than only complaints.
• Question of Vietnam, by William Hohri, page 6. Hohri responds to Yosh Hotta’s West Wind column, arguing that Vietnam opposition is grounded in moral and legal objections rather than pacifism alone. He cites refugee and civilian casualty figures to challenge the war’s justification.
• Adult-Youth Relationship, by Russell Obana, page 6. Obana argues that the relationship between JACL and Junior JACL should be a partnership rather than a top-down hierarchy. He urges adults to let youth set their own programs and to avoid using youth merely as labor.

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