Civil rights and open housing in the news, September 1963

Vol. 57, No. 13, September 27, 1963. 4 pages. View this issue

Civil rights ran through this four-page issue. Mike Masaoka wrote about the Birmingham bombing that killed four Negro girls and the silence of Southern moderates, while Key K. Kobayashi reported from the 18th National Conference on Citizenship. National JACL President Patrick Okura urged President Kennedy to secure meaningful civil rights legislation. Open housing was a second thread: Seattle’s Human Rights Commission was asked to educate the public on a proposed ordinance, and Terry Tall reported a warning that housing industry interests were preparing to challenge California’s fair housing laws. On the front page, Dr. James Takao of Cincinnati was elected chairman of the Midwest District Council board.

Elsewhere, the JACL Pacific Citizen Board named its Sakamoto award winners for chapter newsletters, and the National JACL joined the council backing the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation. Community pages cover a Lodi parade float, a Japanese American Community Service fund drive that raised $10,089.68, and a Nisei woman who trains her own racehorse.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Five doctors named to fill MDC board posts, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. James Takao of Cincinnati was elected chairman of the Midwest District Council board, joined by four others including two doctors. The new board members are expected to take office at the start of the new year.
• Urban Leaguer to address Chicagoans, page 2. Ronald Stewart of the Chicago Urban League will speak at the Chicago JACL annual meeting on civil rights. The meeting will also elect new chapter board members and trustees.
• Hollywood JACLer hopeful for new bank in area, page 2. A new independent national bank, the Los Feliz National Bank, has applied for a charter in the Los Feliz area of Hollywood. Arthur T. Ito, a prominent Nisei florist and Pacific Citizen board member, is among its organizers.
• Anti-miscegenation law in Georgia explained, page 2. Georgia Attorney General Eugene Cook explained the state’s law defining white persons and prohibiting interracial marriage. He stated that such laws remain enforceable while unrepealed.
• Lodi float wins Grape Festival honors, page 2. The Lodi Nisei Civic Society’s float, Urashima Taro, won first place in the Grape Festival parade. The float was built in colonial costume to celebrate Constitution Day.
• Sacramento JACL cites civic activity, page 4. Sacramento JACL members took part in a citizenship parade sponsored by the city recreation and parks department. The article also notes Mamoru Sakuma’s role on the Camellia Festival committee.
• JACS fund drive ends first phase successfully, page 4. The first phase of the Japanese American Community Service campaign raised $10,089.68 toward its $14,090 budget. JACS president Tosh Terasawa said the remaining funds will be raised through a Gardena Valley drive and other projects.
• Midwest golfers eye Calif. Nisei Open, page 4. The 13th California Nisei Golf Championship will be held November 23-24 at Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz. Organizers noted the course is challenging and that Midwest golfers are expected to enter.
• Nisei woman trains own horse for tracks, page 4. Sumi Paris became the only licensed Japanese American female owner-trainer in the United States, working on racing circuits across the country. Her colt Dawes Abbey won a race at the Prescott state fair.

National

• Human rights commission to campaign for open housing ordinance slated for Seattle, page 1. Seattle’s Human Rights Commission was charged by the City Council with educating the public on a proposed open housing ordinance. The commission recommended an emergency clause so voters could observe the law in practice while it is placed on the ballot.
• Weak textbooks charge recalls anti-Nisei passages, page 2. State Superintendent Max Rafferty criticized California textbooks for poor writing and inaccurate portrayals of minority groups. The controversy revived JACL concern over a textbook, The Golden Road, containing passages that repeated wartime falsehoods about Japanese Americans.
• JACL urged to press for stronger rights bill, page 2. National JACL President Patrick Okura urged President Kennedy to secure enactment of meaningful civil rights legislation. Okura also backed the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in calling for fair employment and expanded public accommodations provisions.
• Atomic bomb casualty in Hiroshima said to have been exaggerated by Washington, page 2. Former Brig. Gen. Crawford F. Sams claimed U.S. investigators were instructed to exaggerate Hiroshima bomb casualties as a deterrent. He argued that most later deaths were preventable and that radiation caused a small share of fatalities.
• Fair housing law may be pushed, by Terry Tall, page 3. The California Committee for Fair Practices warned that housing industry interests were preparing a constitutional initiative to nullify California’s fair housing laws. The group cited a secret memorandum from a Home Builders Association official as evidence.
• Federal job bias bill passes test, page 4. A Senate labor subcommittee tentatively approved a fair employment practices bill to end job discrimination in private industry. The bill would create an administrator in the Labor Department to receive and investigate discrimination complaints.

JACL

• Sakamoto award for newsletter, page 1. The Pacific Citizen Board selected outstanding chapter newsletters for awards in memory of the late Jimmie Sakamoto. Three winners repeated their honors from the 1962 contest.
• National JACL joins organization council for Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, page 2. The National JACL accepted an invitation to join the National Conference of Organizations supporting the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation. JACL cited Mrs. Roosevelt’s wartime help to Japanese Americans as the reason for joining.

Commentary

• Birmingham murders, by Mike Masaoka, page 3. Washington columnist Mike Masaoka discusses the September bombing that killed four Negro girls in Birmingham and the silence of Southern moderates. He reprints an Atlanta Constitution editorial that condemns the bombing and the climate that allowed it.
• Citizenship showcase for freedom, by Key K. Kobayashi, page 3. The author reports on the 18th National Conference on Citizenship, where astronaut John H. Glenn and Dr. Raymond J. Seeger spoke on individual responsibility and freedom. The conference theme linked civil rights with the broader duties of American citizens.

Arts & Entertainment

• Oriental kick dies out, page 3. The column reviews how Broadway shows with Oriental themes, such as Flower Drum Song and The World of Suzie Wong, featured Nisei actors. It notes that by this season no such roles were being cast.

Obituaries

• Takeshi Ohno, page 4. Takeshi Ohno, a Seattle-born Nisei and former editor of the Kashu Mainichi, died of lung cancer. He had taught English in Japan and was an instructor at the Presidio’s Military Intelligence Language School.

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