<Begin Segment 9>

MN: Now, when your family first moved into, back into Little Tokyo, you mentioned it was all African Americans --

SH: Yes.

MN: So who were your parents' customers?

SH: Blacks.

MN: How did your parents interact with the African Americans?

SH: They got along really good. I mean, they'd come into the cleaners and, "Hi, Mama," says, "I brought my cleaners again." And you know, the black people, they were always having fights (...) with their (...) girlfriends, (...) and my mother did alterations. (...) I hate to brag, but she did a beautiful job -- and they would come in, say, "Mama, my girlfriend cut me and my pants or my jacket up. Can you fix it for me?" (...) She got along really good with them, and we were never robbed (or never) burglarized. (...) They looked after us and they really liked us. And there was a shoeshine place right next door, and they're open until two o'clock and the men would be all standing out there, listening (to) bebop music, (and) we felt very safe. We never had any problem with any black people (...). They kind of watched over us, and we were the only Japanese around there (...). Everybody else was black, so (...) I associated with (...) black girls. (My friend took me to) to Amelia Street School, she would walk me and she'd say, "I'll protect you." So I said okay, so I stuck with her all the time.

MN: Let me go back to the shoeshine place. You said two o'clock, you're talking two o'clock in the morning?

SH: (Yes). They're open 'til two o'clock in the morning, and (...) they never close.

MN: You know, I've read in John Anson Ford's papers, he was a supervisor at the time. A lot of these shoeshine parlors were places to pick up prostitutes.

SH: (...) I don't know that because I'm so young, and it was a real, real narrow place (...), but I never saw a lot of women hanging around there. It was all men. (...) And then right next to that was a Chinese market (owned by the Fongs), and then upstairs was Nikko Low Chinese restaurant.

MN: And now, you mentioned this African American girlfriend you made. Where did she live?

SH: (...) She lived across the street (with) her and her mother, brother and father.

MN: And did you go over their house and did she come over to your place?

SH: I used to go, mostly (...) to her place 'cause they lived (...) in a home. Ours was a business (behind the cleaners). (...) Everybody lived in the back of their business when we first came out of camp. (...) That's what their living quarters were.

MN: So what did you do when you went over to their house?

SH: I played with her toys. [Laughs] I don't know if I had any toys (...). Her mother would really treat me good, and she'd braid my hair 'cause they're very fast (...). And she'd make cornbread (for me). I never had (any) fear of living in J-town among the blacks (...). We wouldn't be running around all over, but (...) kind of stayed confined (...) in the (back of the) cleaners (...) to play. (...) I was playing with this black girl for (...) how many years. (...) Then all of a sudden they all disappeared like a wind (...) overnight (...). I kind of vaguely remember her saying they're gonna be moving, but no, she didn't say why they were moving (...), and I never questioned it. (...) After that, naturally, all the Japanese came out of camp, and before I knew it I had nothing but Japanese friends (...).

MN: So this transition from African American community called Bronzeville back to Little Tokyo, did you sense any tension at all?

SH: No, nothing. (...) To me, it was very smooth. I mean, it was like a wind just came and blew them away and another wind just brought (the) Japanese. And I knew they were coming out of camp (...), but at that age we (didn't) talk about camp that much. That's all we were doing, was playing again.

MN: So there weren't instances where African Americans refused to leave the area?

SH: As far as I know. I didn't hear about it. I was probably too young and maybe didn't hear or... I mean, I wasn't involved, so I didn't know anything.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.