<Begin Segment 15>

TI: So earlier we were talking about your schooling. And so you went through elementary school, up until right before high school in Scott. And then for high school, you went to Little Rock High School. And so I want to ask you, so what was Little Rock High School like?

MS: Well, at that time it was, of course, all white. It was a few years before the (nine) black children were allowed to attend. So I just thought it was just such a special place, I just loved the school, very high standards, excellent teachers, there was all the amenities of high school. Football team, band, choral groups, stage productions, it was a wonderful experience for me.

TI: Now, so Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.

MS: Yes, and it was, at that time, the only school. It was called Little Rock High School in those days, now it's called Little Rock Central, because there are a couple of other high schools.

TI: But so being the only high school in the state capital, did, was, like the town the town elite, did they send all their kids to Little Rock?

MS: I think so. I think...

TI: So like if the mayor had a child, they would go there, or the governor, people like that?

MS: I would presume so, but I wasn't aware of people with special titles, kids of special people. I had a few friends who were really nice, and made me feel at home. And so I ate lunch with them and had my, we had clubs, so I was able to join a club. The second year, I didn't commute. I don't know who found me this job, but I did a schoolgirl job where I lived in and helped this elderly couple clean the house, did the ironing, and walked the dog and things like that.

TI: And so you did this pretty much to get room and board so that it would be a lot easier for you to attend, attend high school.

MS: Right.

TI: I'm wondering, there were other Japanese families back in Scott, but were you the first Japanese to go to Little Rock?

MS: Well, I learned at the reunion a few years ago that there was someone ahead of us that attended Little Rock High School and graduated. I did not graduate from Little Rock High School because we came back in my senior year to California. But we were definitely a few of us there.

TI: Yeah, so that's what I wanted to ask. In addition to you, were there any other Japanese during the time you were there?

MS: No. My sister came in the year after, my stepsister. There were just two of us and then Bob Yada was about, I think he came in the year I left. He was a couple years younger.

TI: I'm curious, do you know if there were any Japanese there when they integrated the school in terms of having African Americans?

MS: They did. Bob Yada's younger brother, I forgot his name. But anyway, he said that during that time that things were so volatile that they transferred to North Little Rock High School for a year.

TI: Oh, so that year they actually did the integration, they transferred?

MS: Uh-huh, and then came back. So they graduated from Little Rock, but it was just too volatile.

TI: Did, so when they did that, volatile, was any of the like in terms of hostilities directed towards the Japanese?

MS: I don't think so. I think it was just against the black children, and they just didn't want to be in that kind of environment. I'm sure it affected the classrooms also.

TI: So a huge distraction, the media, the police and everyone there, the protesters. So you mentioned that you weren't the first Japanese American there. Do you know who was?

MS: I should know this, but I don't remember the name. My sister remembers all these things, so she would know.

TI: But this was one of, not from one of the seven families? This was a different family?

MS: No, it was one of the... but they didn't live right nearby, they farmed in another area, so we didn't know them very well. I think their name might have been Oshiro or something like that. But she apparently was the first non-white person to attend Little Rock Central High School.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.