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TI: But the other thing that was, I wanted to mention was to work with the schools, you formed a new chapter of the JACL. Why a new chapter and not just work through the existing chapter?

MS: Well, the existing chapter didn't want to really offend people and do these sort of way out things. They were comfortable doing what they always did. So we felt we could move faster and still have the backing of the national organization to implement some of the plans that we had come up with. And at that time, we had some really incredible people in our community that were part of this new chapter. So we wanted to just move right along and not have to explain everything and try to convince everybody that this is the thing to do.

TI: And so it sounds like, yeah, the existing chapter wasn't very receptive. How was national? Was national JACL receptive to your efforts?

MS: Yeah, I think so. And, of course, a lot of things that we did, we didn't have to consult with them. But we used the national chapter with so many thousands of members as part of our, part of our ulterior motives. [Laughs]

TI: So your group was pretty savvy politically.

MS: Oh, yes. We had some incredible people who have contributed in their own ways to doing good.

TI: Do you want to mention any of them in particular?

MS: Well, we have, one is Harry Kawahara, who is still active in the community. He is the head counselor at PCC until he retired a few years ago. We had Dr. Bob Suzuki, who was at MIT, and then he became the vice president at Cal State Northridge. And then president of Cal Poly Pomona. We have Rae Osaki, who was the first woman who graduated from, in law from, I believe, the University of Idaho. And she was a tough lady, never really practiced law, but she used all the knowledge that she gained in law school to, she just was so articulate and spoke about her experiences, that she could convince anybody of anything. She was really a savvy lady.

TI: But it sounds like -- go ahead, I'm sorry.

MS: Yeah, so there were people like that. And then others who have been like my brother-in-law, the Uchida family has been in Pasadena since the early 1900s. So then they had a nursery, or have a nursery still, that had the respect of the community. And so all these things just kind of wove itself together, and so we were able to develop the curriculum for the Pasadena Unified Schools. And then we also started the Asian American Studies at Pasadena City College, and Harry was one of the main teachers where we would all come in and help out.

TI: That's a good story.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.