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TI: Now, before we get there, I'm curious; is it common for a pastor to have so much education? I mean, you mentioned going to University of Washington and getting a degree in sociology, and then later on, I think he even got a teaching diploma.

EBA: Right.

TI: And things like that.

EBA: Yes.

TI: Is that a pretty common occurrence?

EBA: Nowadays it is. Back in those days, probably rather unusual to have that much education. If you were gonna be a preacher, usually it was, if you're gonna be a pastor or preacher, you have the call of God on your heart and you went out and started preaching. But he did have a lot of education, which I assume was unusual for that time.

TI: So he had the education and also the focus on minority groups.

EBA: Yes.

TI: Earlier the Hispanics --

EBA: Exactly

TI: -- and then later on Chinese and Japanese. I mean, was that common or how was that, would that be perceived back then?

EBA: Probably would be perceived as somewhat unusual. 'Cause if you've gone to seminary and you have other education that you would assume, because you're Caucasian, you would just go into a Caucasian church setting of some sort. So I'm sure it was very unusual for him to, for anyone at that time to, to be involved with the Asians, especially with the, the feelings toward minorities in those days, such as the Chinese and the Japanese. I'm sure... it was very much a prejudiced time, era, in the U.S.

TI: And I would imagine, because of your father and mother's sort of background with the church, his education, that he had other opportunities available to him within the church, I mean, to perhaps get congregations that were perhaps more, perhaps thought of as more traditional, maybe, with more Caucasian or white congregation and do that. But he chose, actually, to work with minorities.

EBA: He did; he actually chose to do that. And again, all I can say is it probably was, he felt that's where God called him to, to minister.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.