Housing discrimination and a Nisei Week in Los Angeles, August 1960

Vol. 51, No. 7, August 12, 1960. 8 pages. View this issue

Housing discrimination and Nisei Week shared the front page of this eight-page issue. A story by James Peck told how Jack Yamashiro, a JPL research engineer, had his $500 deposit returned by a Glendale-Tujunga builder who said he could not sell to a minority buyer. Beside it, the paper noted a Los Angeles Examiner feature on Nisei Week. JACL joined 35 other groups in asking Congress for meaningful civil rights legislation, and Mike Masaoka and Harry K. Honda wrote about the special session and voting rights. Henry Mori described the festival’s new mikoshi shrine from Nagoya.

Also inside: the Hawaii Tidal Wave Fund, which reached $34,405.22 after Rep. Dan Inouye delivered JACL checks, and a Milwaukee luau that raised over $1,000 for it. George K. Iwashita received JACL’s Nisei of the Biennium citation, and he served in the 442nd Infantry Combat Team. Bill Hosokawa wrote on repealing Washington State’s alien land law, and sports and chapter news fill the later pages.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Nisei Week and Housing Discrimination, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Citizen notes that a Los Angeles Examiner feature on Nisei Week ran alongside a front-page story on housing discrimination in Glendale-Tujunga, and the parallel is telling. JACL has long fought anti-Nisei discrimination in housing and elsewhere, and publicizing both stories is timely.
• Civil Rights on Voting, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. The editor compares Democratic and Republican civil rights planks on literacy tests for voting. He surveys state voting requirements and urges JACL chapters to support both get-out-the-vote and intelligent-vote efforts before the November election.
• Public Relations a Constant Task, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. The editor reflects on anti-Nisei movies from the war years and argues that maintaining good public relations is a constant job. He cites the Italian American group UNICO’s campaign against stereotyping in media as an example worth considering.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Bill Hosokawa discusses a campaign in Washington State to repeal the anti-alien land law in the state constitution. He argues the law is obsolete since Japanese immigrants became eligible for naturalization, and urges voters to approve Senate Joint Resolution No. 4 in November.
• Northwest Picture: A Busy Seafair Week Ends, by Elmer Ogawa, page 4. Elmer Ogawa recounts the Seattle Seafair week, including the selection of Nancy Ann Sawa as the Japanese community’s candidate for Seafair royalty. He describes the JACL float’s parade participation and the team effort that kept it running.
• Chapter Youth Group Meets With Church Club Leaders, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Young people from local churches met with the San Francisco Youth Group JACL to discuss the cultural history of Japanese Americans. The evening featured a film, Challenge, and a talk on the role of Japanese American youth in JACL’s future.
• Washington Newsletter: Philip B. Perlman, by Mike Masaoka, page 7. Mike Masaoka remembers Philip B. Perlman, former Solicitor General, who died recently. Perlman argued civil rights cases before the Supreme Court and authorized the government’s amicus brief in the Takahashi Fishing Case, backed by JACL.

National

• Keep Partisan Politics Out of Civil Rights Bill, JACL Asks, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL joined 35 other organizations in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in urging enactment of meaningful civil rights legislation at the special August session of Congress. The organization asked that civil rights legislation not become a political football and that it reflect planks adopted by both parties’ conventions.
• USIA Director Believes June Riots of Tokyo Students Not Typical of Basic Attitude of Japanese Toward America, by Jean Storke Menzies, page 3. Mark Peattie, former director of the American Cultural Center in Sendai, says the June student disturbances do not reflect Japan’s basic cooperation with America. He discusses trade, defense, and the political threat of Red China trade.
• Chuman Urges JACLers to Be Proud of Own Organization, Asks Excellence, by P.C. Staff, page 4. National JACL President Frank Chuman spoke at the Pacific Southwest District Council meeting in Montecito on JACL’s philosophy. He urged members to affirm the Declaration of Independence, pursue human rights for all citizens, and aim for an organization of excellence.
• Challenge to JACL: Developing Young Political Leaders, by Joe Kadowaki, page 5. Joe Kadowaki, MDC chairman, argues that a new generation of younger, skilled politicians is emerging in both parties, and that JACL must develop its own leaders. He urges leadership training from chapter to national level and a past-presidents’ club to mentor new officers.
• Special Session Objectives, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Mike Masaoka outlines the 22 legislative proposals President Eisenhower wants Congress to pass in the special August session. He compares the session to Truman’s 1948 do-nothing Congress and discusses the civil rights measures on the agenda.

Community

• Milwaukee JACL Luau Adds $1,000 to Tidal Fund, by Samuel Shinozaki, page 1. The Milwaukee JACL and Hui-O-Hawaii club held an authentic luau at Estabrook Park that drew about 600 people and raised over $1,000 for the JACL-Hilo Tidal Wave Fund. The event featured island food, flowers, and music flown in from Hawaii.
• Rep. Inouye Hands Four JACL Checks for Hilo Tidal Wave Victims to Newspaper Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL’s Hawaii Tidal Wave Fund neared its $17,000 goal after a Milwaukee luau raised over $1,000. Rep. Dan Inouye delivered four checks totaling $6,040.50 to the Hilo Tribune-Herald’s disaster fund.
• Glendale-Tujunga Tract Builder Returns $500 Deposit to Nisei Who Can’t Be Sold To, by James Peck, page 1. Jack Yamashiro, a JPL research engineer, had his $500 deposit returned after builder Richard Krotz said he could not sell a house to a minority buyer for business reasons. The story details the discrimination and the reactions of both men.
• Nisei Market Employees Victimized by Bandits in $15,000 Robbery, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Three masked robbers held up a Pico Boulevard supermarket on a Monday morning, tying up employees and escaping with about $15,000. Two Nisei employees were among the first to be accosted.
• Nisei Appointed Security Chief at XV Corps HQ, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Fred F. Suzukawa, a 16-year veteran of the armed services, was named chief of the security division at XV Army Corps headquarters in the Presidio of San Francisco. He previously served in the Luzon campaign and as an assistant civil affairs officer in Korea.
• Nisei Foreign Correspondent for UPI Reassigned from Tokyo to London Post, by Tooru Kanazawa, page 3. Akio Konoshima, a Nisei United Press International correspondent, is being reassigned from Tokyo to London. The article covers his background, his family, and his wife’s impressions of New York.
• Crenshaw Square Site of Oriental Summer Festival, Aug. 22-27, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The first Oriental Summer Festival will take place at Crenshaw Square in Los Angeles with exhibits of art, bonsai, tea ceremony, and dance. Organized as a nonprofit venture by the Southwest L.A. JACL, it runs for six days.
• Long Beach JACL’s Role in International Relations Enviable, Aids in Beauty Pageant, by Aiko Sakamoto, page 3. The Long Beach JACL has supported the International Beauty Congress, which is dedicated to international goodwill and features Japan’s representative, Michiko Takagi. Local members have helped with the Oriental garden display, hair and makeup, and welcoming activities.
• Juniors Edit Newsletter, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Contra Costa JACL monthly newsletter for July was devoted largely to its youth group. Carol Yasuda, the chapter’s nominee for the 1960 national JACL scholarships, edited the special edition.
• TB Rate Rises Among San Francisco Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Community groups including San Francisco JACL organized a chest X-ray campaign after tuberculosis cases among the city’s Japanese rose to 10 this year, compared with five in all of 1959. The campaign is run in cooperation with the San Francisco Tuberculosis Association.
• Idaho Falls JACLers Go Caravan-Style on Mountain Lake Outing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An 11-car caravan of Idaho Falls JACL members traveled to Red Fish Lake in the Salmon River country for a two-day outing. The men caught enough trout for a meal and the group plans a three-day outing next year.
• Gardena Valley JACL to Sponsor Election Forum for Issei Voters, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Gardena Valley JACL will hold a September 10 forum on American politics aimed at Issei naturalized citizens who will vote in November. Speakers include National JACL President Frank Chuman and Gongoro Nakamura.
• French Camp JACL Bazaar Opens Tomorrow, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The annual midsummer French Camp JACL bazaar will be held Saturday at the local Japanese Hall, the chapter’s only fund-raising activity of the year. Bob Ota and Fumio Kanemoto are the cochairmen.
• Implications of Sacramento National Conclave to Local Chapters to Be Aired at NC-WNDC, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Delegates from 25 chapters of the Northern California-Western Nevada JACL District Council will review actions from the 16th biennial national convention in Sacramento. Reports will cover items including the Hawaii Tidal Wave Fund, the alien land law repeal, and national planning.
• Nisei-Owned Market Biggest in Fresno, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Continental Market, a Nisei-owned supermarket of 40,000 square feet, opened in Fresno in a building owned by Dr. George Miyake. The total investment exceeded $1,000,000 and the store employs about 100 workers.
• 157 Teams Compete in Nisei Week Bowling Tournament, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A record 197 teams entered the Pacific Coast Nisei Bowling Tournament at Holiday Bowl, held over three weekends in August. Leaders in the first week were Herbie’s team in the men’s division and Allan Lum’s team in the women’s division.
• 20th Annual Nisei Festival, by Henry Mori, page 7. The 20th annual Nisei Week Festival will feature a portable mikoshi, a six-foot shrine received from Nagoya, the first such object owned by an American city. The mikoshi will debut in the festival ondo parade, carried by members of the Seinen Kai.
• Beauties and the Boys: 1960 Nisei Week Queen Candidates, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The 1960 Nisei Week queen candidates posed with JACL leaders Eiji Tanabe, George Fujita, and Fred Takata. The queen will be crowned at the Beverly Hilton the following night.
• Japanese Language Disappearing Among Nisei in Canada, Researchers Report, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A University of British Columbia study found that the Japanese language is fading among the roughly 10,000 Japanese Canadians in British Columbia. Researchers also found that attitudes toward marriage and family have changed as the community assimilated.
• Hopes First 50-Star Flag to Fly Over U.S. Capitol Will Be Saved for Posterity, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Congressman Dan Inouye brought back the first 50-star flag flown over the Capitol for presentation to the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. He hopes it will be preserved rather than burned when it wears out.
• U.S.-Japan Trade Boom in San Francisco Bigger Than Pre-War, JCC Survey Shows, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A Japanese Chamber of Commerce survey found that Japanese companies in San Francisco now employ about 400 people, surpassing prewar levels. Japan Air Lines has the largest staff among the offices.
• Tidal Wave Fund Reaches Over $34,000 After Inouye Delivers Checks, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Congressman Inouye delivered JACL checks to the Hilo Tribune-Herald’s disaster fund, which has now reached $34,405.22. The fund’s growth reflects strong community generosity in relief efforts.
• Harry Osaki Entries Win State Fair Prize, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pasadena silversmith Harry A. Osaki won two prizes at the 1960 California State Fair for a pearl and silver ring and a sterling place setting. The entries are on display at the Arts Building.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Awardee Holds 36 Patents on Air Conditioning, by P.C. Staff, page 1. George K. Iwashita, a Hawaii Nisei industrial engineer holding at least 36 patents on air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, received JACL’s Nisei of the Biennium citation. He also served in the 442nd Infantry Combat Team and on General MacArthur’s intelligence staff during World War II.

Arts & Entertainment

• Things Are Inching Up, by Fred Takaoka, page 2. Fred Takaoka profiles photographer Harry Shigeta, who judged the Nisei Week queen contest. Shigeta’s career, from his early painting studies to his commercial studio success in Chicago, is traced in detail.

Sports

• Coaches Swimmers, Berkeley Nisei Coach Sees Team Compete in Olympic Tryouts, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tatto Yamashita, who has coached the Berkeley Y swim team for a year, saw his swimmers compete in the U.S. Olympic tryouts in Detroit. Carolyn Schuler qualified for the women’s 200m butterfly team after he adjusted her stroke.
• Ne. Calif. Baseball Champions Heading South, by Thomas Toyama, page 6. The Fresno Nisei baseball team, managed by George Omachi, will compete in the State Nisei baseball tournament in Los Angeles over Labor Day weekend. The team lost two games at the Western Regional tournament but received the sportsmanship trophy.

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