<Begin Segment 18>

KU: And could I just ask you a little bit about your family life?

BS: Uh-huh.

KU: When you fell in love and got married and started a family?

BS: Yeah, well, we met at Berkeley, as you know, and we had our first child there. And that was when I was studying for my master's degree. Then we moved to Seattle, Washington.

KU: Can you say what your wife's name is and where she was from?

BS: Oh, you mean Agnes? Agnes Tsunako. As she transferred from the University of Hawaii to Berkeley in her junior year, I think. And her father was a minister, a Baptist minister, and she helped him write an autobiography of his life, which was self-published. I think she rebelled against his religiosity, because she no longer attends church. It doesn't help that she's married to me because I've never been that much of a religious person. I don't know what else you want to know. [Laughs]

KU: How many kids did you have?

BS: We had three. Our oldest is a boy, and he's fifty-eight now. And our second son is fifty-six, and then our daughter is fifty-three. They all live outside of this area. Our oldest son is living in San Mateo, our second son is in Fresno, and our daughter is in Portland, Oregon. And then we have five grandchildren, two with our daughter in Portland, Oregon, and one with our son in San Mateo, and two with our son in Fresno.

KU: And then we always ask a question that's kind of more reflexive, which is if you had to name two or three of the most influential people, events or ah-ha moments in your life, what would those be?

BS: I think Obama would be one of them. A lot of people out there.

KU: Or events, or just ah-ha moments that helped shape who you are?

BS: I think it's a coin toss between, on the one hand, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. They both influenced my life a lot, I think. I'm trying to think of an Asian American that also had that kind of influence.

KU: That's okay. What was influential to you about Martin Luther King? In what ways did they influence who you feel you came to be?

BS: Well, I think the fact that they really fought for the freedom of oppressed individuals really influenced me strongly. The one Asian American that I can think of that really influenced me is Bob Takasugi, the federal judge. He and I were very close friends, and I was definitely influenced by him. But I think Malcolm X was also influential because he stood up against the white man, and that was not common back in those days. And I think that rang a lot of bells for me.

KU: Is there anything else you want to share?

BS: No, I think I've overshared myself. [Laughs]

KU: Okay, great.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2018 Densho. All Rights Reserved.