Densho Digital Archive - Fred Hirasuna Interview (denshovh-hfred-02-0006)

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FC: What is the JACL?

FA: Can you, for those, for those who don't know, and there are a lot of people watching this program who don't even know what the JACL stands for. What does JACL stand for, Fred? The initials "JACL"?

FH: Japanese American Citizens League.

FA: And in your own mind, what does that mean to you? The idea "Japanese American Citizens League"?

FH: Let me give you a little history. Around 1922, '23, in the Bay Area, a group of the real old Issei, like Dr. Yatabe, Sim Togasaki, Saburo Kido, they felt that because of the discrimination of that time, unless Japanese Americans got together and made themselves felt in American society, in business, in politics, everything else, that we would never gain our rights in American society. In 1923, Dr. Yatabe came from San Francisco --

FA: Could you put the paper down on the floor? Thank you very much.

FH: In 1923, Dr. Yatabe, who was a dentist, came from San Francisco to Fresno and established a dental practice there. He established the American Loyalty League in Fresno in 1923. The other American loyalty leagues died along the way. But Dr. Yatabe kept the American Loyalty League alive clear through until in 1929, it became a part of the Japanese American Citizens League. And in 1930, I attended the first National Convention for the JACL in Seattle. And I attended that because I was only a year in JACL, 'cause I was -- in 1929 I was only twenty-one years old.

FA: How did you feel, as a young man, going to Seattle and being there among all these JACLers in Seattle, founding the JACL? How did that, how did you feel?

FH: I felt it was time that we got together. It's time that we asserted our rights. It's time we tried to rectify some of the wrongs that were committed against us. You remember in World War I, Tokie Slocum, you know him? He was a veteran of World War I. But he could not get American citizenship, because he was -- he was born in Japan -- but he was of Japanese descent, and Japanese were not eligible for naturalization. But other, other races who went into the army and got served, they immediately got their naturalization rights. So Tokie Slocum came -- he came to Seattle in 1930. And I met him there for the first time. I was very much impressed with him, but he insisted that he be sent to Washington to lobby for citizenship rights for Asian veterans of World War I. And after many years and the Nye-Lea bill, he succeeded in doing that. So all Asian veterans owe him that. 'Cause they served in World War I and would not have been eligible for citizenship unless he had done that. There was another delegate there, Sue Masugi, a woman. At that time, a Japanese citizen woman who married an alien Japanese was not, had her citizenship taken away from her, and she was sent to Washington, and in time, bill was passed for these Japanese women, married to alien Japanese, were restored their citizenship. Those are the two main items in that particular JACL meeting. But I met a lot of the leaders at that time, Jimmy Sakamoto, the Japanese-American Courier, the prime editor. I met Sim Togasaki, Mutual Trading Company, Saburo Kido, Walter Sukamoto. I met those -- those people you have to, you have to believe that they had the interests of the Nikkei people at heart. They wanted our Nikkei group to become a part of American society on an equal basis with anybody else, which I think was good. And Dr. Yatabe was the leader in Fresno. He was bilingual, good in Japanese, good in English, and a good speaker. He went out and joined these so-called American societies, and talked to them. And he kept us together, and I think under his leadership, we became more a part of -- may I have some water? -- of American society than before. My idea of the Japanese American Citizens League is that we were fighting mainly for our rights to be, you know, to be full American citizens and a part of American society. We didn't always succeed.

FC: What is the role of the JACL in the Japanese American community?

FH: What's the role of the AOC?

FC: I don't know. You tell me.

FH: Well, you're Chinese American. Association of -- wait. Chinese --

FA: OCA.

FH: OCA.

FA: No, the idea is for you to tell us, so that we can get it on camera. I don't need Frank telling us what it is, I'd like to hear what you say.

FH: Well, I don't know. He asked me about what JACL does, well, I'm asking what a Chinese American organization --

FA: Okay.

FH: He doesn't seem to know anything about Chinese Americans.

FA: Frank, sit down, please. Just sit down, thank you very much. Seriously, Frank. Fred, as a Sansei, what is the role of JACL in our community?

FH: Sansei?

FA: What is the role of the JACL in the Japanese American community then?

FH: Right now, you mean?

FA: Then and now. Then or now. Then, back then.

FH: Role is to continue to fight for Japanese American rights. There's still prejudice, discrimination. It's a lot better than it used to be, but there still is.