A national campaign to end the racial bar in naturalization

Vol. 24, No. 2, January 18, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

Plans for a national campaign to repeal racial barriers in naturalization law led the news. A New York meeting of JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee supporters completed preliminary plans, and Delegate Joseph Farrington of Hawaii introduced HR 857 to open citizenship to roughly 75,000 resident Japanese aliens. An editorial backed the bill. The same pages followed the Oyama case over the Alien Land law, Venice JACL’s new Legal Defense Fund, and a Berkeley fight against a racial restrictive covenant. Columns by Larry Tajiri, Togo Tanaka and Bill Hosokawa fill the commentary pages.

Other items include Captain Kurlan’s remarks on prejudice against Nisei veterans, Earl Finch’s drive for a 442nd clubhouse in Honolulu, and an Army call for Nisei to serve in the occupation of Japan. Utah’s civil rights bills, Wat Misaka’s basketball win, and a profile of Mari Sabusawa by John Kitasako also appear. This eight-page issue carried 43 items.

What’s in this issue

National

• National Campaign Discussed for Action to Repeal Racial Barrier in Naturalization Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A New York meeting of JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee supporters completed preliminary plans for a national campaign to repeal racial barriers in naturalization and immigration law. The group formed a temporary committee to recruit members and launch the effort.
• Farrington Introduces Bill to Ban Bias in Naturalization, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Delegate Joseph Farrington of Hawaii introduced HR 857 to remove racial restrictions from naturalization and immigration laws. The bill would make roughly 75,000 resident Japanese aliens eligible for citizenship.
• Jewish Group To File Brief In Oyama Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The American Jewish Congress will file a friend-of-court brief arguing the Alien Land law discriminates on racial grounds. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Expected to Back JACL’s Program, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A resolution supporting the JACL legislative program on naturalization rights is expected at the Northern California Civil Rights Defense Union meeting. It also calls for support of JACL public education efforts.

Community

• Minnesota City Starts Survey On Race Bias, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Volunteer interviewers in Minneapolis will survey Negro, Indian, Japanese and Jewish families about the effects of racial prejudice. The survey runs through March 1 as part of a community human relations self-survey.
• Seattle Youth Dies in Gun Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tsutomu Nakagawa, a Franklin high school student, died after accidentally shooting himself with a rifle. Funeral services were held at the Buddhist church.
• Japanese Canadians Refused Entry to U.S. for Sports Tilt, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Canadian students of Japanese ancestry on a basketball team were denied permission by U.S. customs to cross the border. The article notes the ban was dropped after the war but a Nisei player was barred from a Victoria game.
• Prejudice Against Nisei, Other Groups Cited as Utah Senate Gets Two Civil Rights Bills, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Utah Senator Sol Selvin introduced two bills prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations and employment. The committee report found varying degrees of prejudice against Japanese, Chinese, Negro and Mexican Americans.
• Wat Misaka Stars As Utah Defeats Colorado State, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Wat Misaka returned from army service to lead Utah past Colorado A&M 58 to 37 in the Big Seven opener. He played the full game and scored a field goal and three free throws.
• Last Big Strike in Hawaiian Sugar Industry Settled on Maui, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Twenty-five members of an ILWU local were convicted on assault charges stemming from the sugar strike, most of them of Japanese ancestry. The settlement sent eleven discharged workers’ cases for review.
• Nisei Student Wins Hearst Essay Award, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lilyan Takahashi, a Roosevelt high school senior, won third prize in the Hearst Examiner Bill of Rights essay contest. She wrote about the Bill of Rights from her family’s wartime experience at Poston.
• Minneapolis Labor Group Await Governor’s Action on Race Prejudice in Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Minneapolis Central Labor Union tabled a resolution authorizing work stoppages against discriminatory construction projects. It deferred action pending Governor Youngdahl’s human relations program.
• Chicago Japanese American Year Book Published, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A directory of over 5,000 Issei and Nisei names and addresses in Chicago has been published. It also lists Japanese American businesses and includes many photos.
• Ogden Chapter Slates Installation Service, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Ogden JACL will hold an installation banquet on January 25 at the Hotel Ben Lomond. Newly elected officers will be installed at the event.
• Oakland JACL Holds Dinner to Initiate 1947 Activities, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Oakland JACL will open its 1947 program with a dinner featuring former Navy chaplain Karl Justus. Ruth Kingman is also scheduled to speak.
• Decline in Population of Japanese Ancestry in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Stainback’s annual report notes the proportion of persons of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii has declined. Their share of the population is now given as lower than the peak reported earlier.
• Plan Mass Meet To Protest Suit Against Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Berkeley Interracial Committee and Oakland Council for Civic Unity will hold a mass meeting to protest the expected restrictive covenant suit. The meeting is set for January 21.

Arts & Entertainment

• New York Group Presents Play on Momotaro, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Japanese American Committee for Democracy presented a Japanese-language staging of Taro Yashima’s Momotaro adaptation in New York. An English script was distributed to the audience.

Incarceration & Redress

• Seek Removal of Alien Land Act Case to Federal Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorneys for Toshiye Hirata and her husband sought to move their Alien Land law case to federal court. They argue the state courts would not give them a fair hearing.
• FOR Group Asks For Indemnification Of Evacuee Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Pacific Southwest Fellowship of Reconciliation urged Congress to fund restitution for financial losses from the 1942 evacuation. The statement acknowledges spiritual losses exceed financial ones.
• Plans Drawn to Fight Expected Restrictive Covenant Action to Oust Nisei From New Home, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Berkeley groups organized opposition to an anticipated suit seeking to evict the Utsumi family under a racial restrictive covenant. Joe Grant Masaoka reported 23 similar covenant cases pending in California courts.
• Nisei Woman Regains Citizen Rights Through Court Action, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hanako Hatakeyama regained her American citizenship in a Denver federal court after losing it through marriage to an alien in 1931. She is the first Japanese woman to reacquire citizenship in that court since the war.

JACL

• Legal Defense Fund Started By Venice Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Venice JACL launched a Legal Defense Fund with a $1000 pledge from national vice-president George Inagaki. The fund will finance legal action defending constitutional rights of Japanese Americans.
• Shijo to Head Twin Cities JACL Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Twin Cities JACL chapter elected Sam Shijo as its first permanent president and adopted a constitution. The group plans a joint social with the St. Paul AVC.
• Noboru Honda Is Honored by JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chicago JACL honored retiring president Noboru Honda with a gold-inscribed gavel at a dinner. Jack Nakagawa was introduced as his successor.

Military & Veterans

• Captain Kurlan Raps Social and Economic Prejudice Against Nisei War Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A former 442nd officer told a Pennsylvania Kiwanis club that Nisei veterans deserve equal treatment as first-class citizens. He praised their courage and willingness to die for fellow soldiers.
• Earl Finch Initiates Drive for 442nd Clubhouse in Honolulu, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Earl Finch announced a quarter-million dollar 442nd Veterans’ Memorial Clubhouse in Honolulu open to all races. Donations can be sent to his Mississippi address.
• Army Seeks Qualified Nisei For Occupation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Military Intelligence Service Language School at Monterey is recruiting Japanese-speaking Nisei to meet a critical shortage for occupation duty in Japan. Enlistment incentives and promotion paths are outlined.
• Nishimoto Leads Hawaii to Victory, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Joe Nishimoto led the Army’s Hawaii team to victory in the Pacific army intercommand swimming meet. He won both the 200- and 400-meter events.
• First All Nisei VFW Group Elects Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sacramento’s Nisei VFW post elected Dr. Yoshizo Harada as commander and other veterans to its officer slate. The post is named Nisei Post 8985 and has 65 charter members.
• Army Hospital Aides Seek Home for Wife, Child of Veteran, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Staff at Birmingham general hospital appealed for housing for the wife and child of wounded Nisei soldier Kay Terao. The family faces eviction from their Sherman Oaks home.
• MIS Graduates Sought for Japan Occupational Duty, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Captain Byron Athan is recruiting former Military Intelligence Service linguists for reenlistment to fill vacancies in Japan. Qualified men will be assigned at their former or higher rank.
• Gold Star Mothers Honored By Orange County Citizens, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Orange County JACL honored Gold Star mothers and Nisei veterans at its installation dinner on Jan. 11. Ralph Smedley of Toastmasters spoke at the event.

Commentary

• Native Fascists Foiled, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri argues that American fascist groups, though defeated in several campaigns, remain a threat and deserve to be called fascist. He traces their anti-Nisei activity and the public repudiation that followed.
• On Saburo Kido, by Togo Tanaka, page 4. The Colorado Times honor naming Saburo Kido among twelve outstanding labor and civil liberties figures of 1946 is recognized as significant. The editorial praises his perseverance after being attacked in an Arizona camp.
• Farrington Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial supports the Farrington bill as a step toward equal naturalization rights for resident aliens. It argues the Japanese ancestry group’s wartime service justifies the legislation.
• Utah’s Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Utah veterans’ organizations asked the legislature to repeal the 1943 Alien Land law. The editorial praises this as recognition of Nisei soldiers’ service and of shifting public opinion.
• Tomorrow’s Heirs: On Death, by Sachi L. Wada, page 5. Wada reflects on her early experiences with funerals and wonders what death holds. She describes reading obituaries and imagining the lives of those who died.
• Tomorrow’s Heirs: Thoughts, by Sachi L. Wada, page 5. Wada reflects on a visit from Willie Campbell and the work of Ken Tanaka in Minnesota. She urges Nisei to speak out more and use their freedom of speech.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa notes a small Washington town needs a dentist and describes a New Year’s gambling session among Nisei businessmen. He reflects on how far the Nisei have come economically.
• Jimmy, by Rex Bison, page 5. Bison recalls a young Nisei named Jimmy he met while working in an orchard before the war. He reflects on the evacuation and asks Jimmy to write in.
• Mari Sabusawa Carries on, by John Kitasako, page 5. Sabusawa, a race relations worker, is described as a pioneering Nisei professional. She argues that Nisei should cooperate with other minorities on racial issues.

In-Depth

• Mari Sabusawa Carries on Work in Race Relations Field, by John Kitasako, page 5. Mari Sabusawa, assistant director of the American Council on Race Relations in Chicago, is profiled as a pioneering Nisei in the field. The article urges Nisei to work alongside other minority groups on racial issues.

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