1947: Soldier brides, school segregation repeal and fair employment

Vol. 24, No. 24, June 21, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

Legislation and civil rights ran through this eight-page issue from June 1947. The House passed an amendment to the Soldier Brides Act allowing Japan-born and Canadian Nisei wives of American servicemen to enter the United States, and Mike Masaoka called it a first step toward further gains. Governor Earl Warren signed a bill repealing California’s separate-schools law for children of Asian ancestry. Masaoka also testified before a Senate subcommittee on fair employment, and Larry Tajiri wrote on the sixty-year-old school law and on the Teamsters’ exclusion of Japanese Americans in Seattle.

Elsewhere, Edwin Dickinson, dean of the University of California law school, called the 1942 mass evacuation a sad mistake. Junco Asakura described life as a marginal Nisei, and a news piece traced Nisei migration to Chicago. The front page also carried the crowning of Esther Hiyama at a Chicago Nisei festival, and the sports pages covered a Northern California track meet and Hawaiian boxers.

What’s in this issue

National

• Law on Soldiers’ Brides Amendment Passes House, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Soldier Brides Act permitting entry of Japan-born and Canadian Nisei wives of American servicemen. JACL-ADC director Mike Masaoka called it a first step toward further legislative gains.
• Chicago Chapter of ADC Will Open Financial Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Chicago JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee has raised over $300 toward its fund drive, which runs through July 15 with door-to-door canvassing. Secretary Dick Yamada said a full list of contributors will be published.
• CIO Auto Workers Head Urges Passage of Anti-Bias Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. UAW president Walter Reuther told a Senate committee that a federal anti-discrimination employment law is the only way to guarantee equal opportunity for minorities. He backed a pending bill modeled on New York’s law that would create a permanent fair employment practices commission.
• Favorable Action Seen for Bill to Give Citizen Rights to Parents of Soldier Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Committee reported out Representative Gossett’s naturalization bill, now HR 3555, which as amended covers parents of any race whose children died in World War II service. Advocates hope it will reach the House consent calendar before July adjournment.
• Palo Alto School Students Give Lesson to United Nations, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Students at Palo Alto’s Jordan Junior High elected minority-group students as student managers in three consecutive elections by large margins. Staff said the results reflected leaders chosen for ability and citizenship rather than race.
• Esther L’Ecluse Will Assist ADC Official in Washington, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL-ADC appointed Esther L’Ecluse as publicity and public relations advisor on its Washington staff. She will assist legislative director Mike Masaoka with publicity and congressional liaison.
• Housing Dilemma, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Eiji Tanabe reported that 80 percent of Los Angeles residential areas are covenanted against non-Caucasian occupancy. The editorial calls for courts to declare restrictive covenants contrary to public policy and for intervention in the Winona trailer camp crisis.

Community

• Honolulu Receptionist Wins Veterans Club’s Queen Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Miss Jikaku, a Honolulu receptionist, was crowned queen of the 442nd Veterans Club’s carnival and wins an all-expense trip to the West Coast. Two of her brothers served with the 442nd, and one was killed in action in Italy.
• Arizona City Appoints Kajikawa As Recreation Chief, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Bill Kajikawa, head baseball coach at Arizona State College, was named Tempe’s summer city director of recreation. He will oversee the Tempe Beach recreation area and coordinate activities.
• Issei at Seabrook Gets First Papers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fukuji Sasaki, unofficial mayor of Seabrook Village, became one of the first Issei in New Jersey to receive first citizenship papers. He had filed his questionnaire the previous November.
• Nisei Promoted After Cincinnati Test, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Stogie Toki was promoted to senior clerk in the Cincinnati civil service department after a competitive examination. He outscored nineteen other applicants.
• National Legion Leadership Takes Stand Against Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 2. At a Stockton American Legion meeting honoring Nisei GIs, leaders disavowed the wartime race-baiting statements of a California legionnaire. City Attorney Bill Dozier praised the combat record of Japanese American soldiers.
• Two Nisei Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Toshiko Sagamori Yoshida and Shigeyo J. Hayashi were among 66 Bay Area students elected to Phi Beta Kappa at the University of California. The honor society recognizes scholastic achievement.
• Salt Lake Issei Ask Congress for Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A petition signed by 141 Issei in the Salt Lake area asks Congress to extend naturalization rights to resident aliens of Japanese ancestry. The Servicemen’s Family League forwarded it to the JACL-ADC for submission.
• New York JACL Delegates Attend Anti-Bias Conference, by Ina Sugihara, page 2. New York JACL representatives joined more than 350 delegates at a conference supporting federal fair employment legislation. Representative Jacob Javits argued that treatment of minorities at home affects U.S. diplomatic standing.
• California Issei Contribute to Citizenship Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Kikaken Kisei Domei of Northern California sent $10,000 to the JACL-ADC national headquarters for legislative work on naturalization. Its executive secretary said further remittances were forthcoming.
• Japanese Language Film Will Be Shown at Chicago Hall, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The prewar Japanese sound film Shina no Yoru will be shown free in Chicago on June 24 and 25, sponsored by the JACL and Resettlers Committee. Recent films of occupied Japan will accompany it.
• Exeter High Names Hirayama as Year’s Outstanding Athlete, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Fibber Hirayama, a Nisei four-sport star at Exeter High School in Lindsay, California, was named the school’s best athlete of the year. He lettered in basketball, football, baseball and track.
• Hood River Minister Honored at Dinner by Portland JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne, who received a Thomas Jefferson award for fighting intolerance in Hood River, was honored at a Portland JACL dinner. He credited the award to evacuees and the 442nd and urged Nisei to join the JACL.
• Nisei Girl from Honolulu Attends Red Cross Confab, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rachel Asato, a 15-year-old Honolulu delegate, attended the National Junior Red Cross convention in Cleveland. She hoped to encourage more students to take part in Junior Red Cross projects.
• Abe Hagiwara Will Take Post with Chicago Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Abraham N. Hagiwara, former Cleveland YMCA boys work secretary, was named full-time recreational director of the Chicago Resettlers Committee. He has also been active in the Cleveland JACL.
• Ikuo Oyama to Speak at Denver Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ikuo Oyama, a former Japanese political leader who fled Japan for his pro-democratic views, will speak in Denver on June 26. He plans to return to Japan in July.
• Nisei Instructor Awarded Ph.D. at University of Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 3. James Sugihara, a chemistry instructor, received the first doctor of philosophy degree in chemistry ever awarded by the University of Utah. The degree was conferred at June 14 ceremonies.
• Plan Formation of ADC Group in Motor City, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Issei leaders in Detroit met to form an ADC chapter at the request of the Detroit JACL president. Taizo Kokubo was elected chairman of the new group.
• Nisei Will Take Part in European Quaker Project, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The American Friends Service Committee announced that twelve young volunteers, including one Nisei, will work in Quaker international service camps in Europe.
• Tanaka Will Discuss Relocation at Chicago Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Togo Tanaka will speak to the Chicago JACL on post-relocation Nisei activity and organizational trends. His talk draws on personal interviews with more than two thousand resettlers.
• Take Maruyama Will Attend Encampment for Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Takuya Maruyama, a World War II veteran and University of Utah student, was named a recipient of a National JACL scholarship to the Encampment for Citizenship at Fieldston School. He has been active in the American Veterans Committee.
• Denver Mother Fatally Injured in Truck Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Mrs. Tsurue Muramoto died after a truck struck her and two other women in a safety zone in Denver. The driver was charged with reckless driving and speeding.
• Kawakita, Charged with Act of Treason, Will Demand Trial Be Held in Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Tomoya Kawakita, accused of treason for abusing American POWs, will demand trial in Tokyo according to his attorney Morris Lavine. Lavine argued that the crime should be tried where it occurred.
• Appoint Takeno As Tri-State JACL Official, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Takeno was appointed to succeed Min Yasui as Tri-State regional representative effective July 1. His territory covers Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.

Incarceration & Redress

• Gov. Warren Signs Measure Repealing California Law on Separate Schools for Orientals, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Governor Earl Warren signed a bill repealing the California education code provision allowing separate schools for children of Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian ancestry. The law had been on the books for more than sixty years.
• Repeal Mattoon Refuses Bid to Withhold Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Deputy Attorney General Everett Mattoon rejected requests to suspend Alien Land law escheat proceedings pending the Supreme Court’s Oyama test case. He told a JACL delegation that halting prosecutions would waste his staff’s preparatory work.
• Coast Evacuation Labeled Mistake by Dean Dickinson, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Edwin Dickinson, dean of the University of California law school, called the 1942 mass evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry a sad mistake. He said the FBI could have identified actual subversives without incarcerating the innocent.

Military & Veterans

• Uyeda Enters National AAU Track Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Uyeda of the University of Hawaii entered the National AAU track and field championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 4 and 5. He is a contender for the broad jump title and a possible Olympic team spot.
• Nisei Soldier One of Last to Leave Duty in England, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. T. T. Toyama, son of Maui parents, was transferred to Bremen when his small AACS detachment in England was closed. He will be reassigned to an AACS unit in the U.S. occupied zone of Germany.
• Nisei War Veteran Wins Art Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Veteran Warnahe was awarded the Pro Art Club scholarship for excellence in painting. He is a student at the Rhode Island School of Design.
• Sase Honored, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Joe Sase, a 442nd Combat Team veteran, received the Silver Star for gallantry in Italy at Ogden Depot, Utah. His mother attended the ceremony.
• California VFW Votes Down Resolution Supporting Rights for Parents of Nisei GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California VFW encampment rejected a resolution supporting naturalization for Japanese alien parents of Nisei servicemen. It did pass a resolution seeking amendment of the Alien Land law to protect veterans’ property rights.
• Nisei War Veterans Face Job Discrimination Upon Return to Civilian Life, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mike Masaoka told a Senate subcommittee that Nisei veterans have been rejected from jobs and schools on the Pacific coast despite their skills. He urged passage of federal fair employment legislation.
• Quarters Arranged for Male Guests at MISLS Open House, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Quarters and mess facilities will be provided for male guests attending the Military Intelligence Service Language School open house at the Presidio of Monterey, July 1 to 3. Organizers are investigating housing for women visitors.
• Open House, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial highlights the role of Nisei in Military Intelligence Service and urges an open house at the Monterey language school. It also calls for a full public report on MISLS and its graduates’ contributions.

Commentary

• Legislative Deadwood, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. California’s repeal of its sixty-year-old separate-schools law removes a remnant of anti-Oriental legislation. The editorial urges repeal of the Alien Land law as the next step.
• Land Law Analysis, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial discusses two March 1947 California Law Review articles analyzing the Alien Land law. Edwin Ferguson concludes the law is unjust and violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Skeleton in Dave Beck’s Closet, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Teamsters leader Dave Beck and the AFL Teamsters Union have barred Japanese Americans from membership in Seattle, obstructing their reintegration. The column traces the union’s anti-Nisei campaigns and its move into Hawaii.
• From the Frying Pan, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. The column recounts how Japanese cannery workers returned to Alaska salmon canneries after a long history of labor contractors and union struggles. It also profiles Denver photographer Hikaru Iwasaki and comments on the Tomoya Kawakita case.
• The Marginal Nisei, by Junco Asakura, page 5. Asakura reflects on growing up in the Los Angeles ghetto, incarceration at Santa Anita and Heart Mountain, and later college life. He describes himself as a marginal Nisei who admits it openly.
• Job Situation Best in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Employment opportunities for Nisei are considered best in Chicago, with higher salaries and some promotions. Japanese-owned businesses are concentrated around Clark and Division streets.

In-Depth

• Nisei; Issei Migration Patterns, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The article traces the westward and then eastward migration of Nisei after evacuation, with Chicago becoming a major destination. It notes that scholars are beginning to study postwar Nisei readjustment.

Sports

• The Story of the Horse Called Banzai, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Banzai, a filly owned by the late H. T. Kuwahara, raced at Santa Anita and Pomona about fifteen years ago. Her son National Park has recent victories, and Japanese followers of racing are increasingly visible.
• Miyamura, Hanagami Wins Bouts with Mainland Stars, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Hawaiian boxers Yoshi Miyamura and Mokey Hanagami won against AAU mainland fighters, though the mainland team led overall. Several other Hawaiian boxers lost their bouts.
• Monterey Minatos Win Track Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Monterey Minatos won the first postwar Northern California Nisei track and field meet at Kezar Stadium. Mits Sakaniwa was the triple winner.

Arts & Entertainment

• A Day for the Nisei, by Esther L’Ecluse, page 7. Mike Masaoka’s testimony before a Senate subcommittee on fair employment impressed legislators and defused tension. Senator Ellender praised his presentation, which emphasized Nisei patriotism.

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