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EK: So why don't we actually go back a bit. Could you tell us a little bit more about where you were born and raised and your educational background?

KO: Yes. I was born in San Diego and raised here as well. Grew up primarily... the Japanese Americans, of course, lived in the lowest economic areas after World War II, and so we lived in what is now known as Barrio Logan. And I went to Luther Burbank elementary school, which was primarily African American. And by the '50s, we were able to, my parents, scrape together a down payment on this house in which we sit today, as their first home and their only home, really. And this is where I grew up, in Chula Vista, California, which is a small city -- well, it's a large city now, in San Diego county. It was a wonderful small town upbringing in the '50s and '60s, and I always reflect how lucky I was to grow up at that time. My parents were Kibei-Nisei, they were born here but raised in Japan. And so the experience was very, very different from other Nisei families. And I have a very large Japanese cultural influence as well as, sort of, the traditions of Japanese culture and history, for which I'm very grateful. The only thing I do regret is that they did not teach me Japanese, to speak Japanese. And it could have been the fact that they were so busy working to feed four girls and also that after the war I think there was sort of a hesitation to speak a lot of Japanese, especially in public. At home, they spoke Japanese to us and we spoke English to them. And stayed in San Diego or Chula Vista all the way through college and left after I got my B.A. at California Western University, graduated in 1968. My major was an interdisciplinary major with an English emphasis and an art minor. Left and went to UCLA to get my teacher's credential and stayed there. So from 1969 approximately through, oh, 2010, I was in Los Angeles, and that is really important to the story because the activism in Los Angeles was at a very high level relative to other communities such as San Diego. And I met the most amazing people there, so that was a continuing part of my education. Of course, being in Los Angeles, being around a lot of Japanese Americans, which was eye-opening and enriching, and to learn from a lot of the people that became my friends at NCRR. So I see that as my education.

EK: And then professionally, what were you doing at that time?

KO: Yes, I got my teaching credential, I began teaching in middle school, junior high school. Started in South Central, which was a very rough way to start my teaching career, and then I got to go to Hollywood area middle school, which was Le Conte middle school. And that was a wonderful experience because it was so diverse. We had children from, who spoke eighty different languages, it was a real port of entry, and it was a beautiful place to work. And stayed in that area, moved towards West Hollywood towards the end of my career at Fairfax High School, and also very diverse economically, ethnically, religiously. One of the nicest gifts I got from a student there, it was probably the late '90s, was a book on the Muslim religion. And there was a Muslim club at Fairfax High School, and this book I have to this day was my introduction to Islam, and that kind of interesting... since it was before September 11, 2001, it was like a little ahead of the curve, so it was a wonderful gift.

EK: Did your community activism influence you at school and your teaching?

KO: By the '80s when I got involved with NCRR, I was a real novice with activism. Meaning I was an ordinary person, I had no roots in activism, protests, I don't think I marched in any protests before NCRR. I was always interested, I always was on the periphery, especially at college, 'cause it was the '60s. I was at all the rallies, but I was not one of the leaders. But in the '80s, I believe that, not so much of my teaching, because I think that I always tried to raise the awareness of students also, about what was going on the world and we would have those discussions. But I certainly didn't bring a lot of information in about my personal perspectives, that would not be too professional. But I would say that in my career, by the '80s, I was involved with the teachers' union, I became the chapter chair at my middle school, and then I became a representative at UTLA, United Teachers Los Angeles, and we'd go to their House of Representatives meetings. Met a lot of wonderful people there, a lot of activists, very progressive. Got involved with school board campaigns and worked on the campaign for Jackie Goldberg, worked back in the '80s for her, and even more recently, she went on to the state legislature and lots of important things in education. But she was a big influence on me, too, because she was a very strong woman. And that's a side note in my personal life, I gravitated towards strong women because I don't think we were allowed that privilege when I was growing up, and weren't encouraged too much. So throughout my adult years, I reflect back that I really, some of my best friends were, and still are, very, very strong and mostly outspoken women. It was great.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2020 Emi Kuboyama. All Rights Reserved.