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Journal of the Northwest Asian American Communities
Four Decades of Life, Politics, Activism, Arts and Culture in the Asian Pacific American Community
International Examiner Press Seattle, Washington
IE Editors 1974–2014 George Cox, Tessie McGinnis, Rita Brogan, Mayumi Tsutakawa, Ron Chew, Sue Chin, Maxine Chan, Dean Wong, Ken Mochizuki, Bob Shimabukuro, Danny Howe, Jeff Lin, Holly Smith, Eric Hsu, Chong-Suk Han, Nhien Nguyen, Diem Ly, Christina Twu, and Travis Quezon
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Copyright (c) 2015 by the International Examiner Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 978-0-692-59786-6 Published by International Examiner Press 409 Maynard Ave. S #203 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 624-3925 editor@iexaminer.org www.iexaminer.org
Established in 1974, the International Examiner (IE) is the oldest and largest nonprofit, pan-Asian American publication in the Pacific Northwest. Named after the historic and thriving multi-ethnic International District (ID) of Seattle, the IE aspires to be a credible catalyst for building an inspiring, connected, well-respected, and socially conscious Asian Pacific American (APA) community. Our mission is to promote critical thinking, dialogue, and action by providing timely, accurate, and culturally sensitive coverage of relevant APA matters. We are a multi-media informational, educational, arts, culture, and heritage organization. We produce a semi-monthly newspaper and publish a literary supplement, “Pacific Reader,� devoted to the critical reviews of APA books. The IE provides opportunities for APA youth, professional, and community members. Cover by Ryan Catabay Layout by Travis Quezon Proofreading by Ko-Ting Chang, Sharon Maeda 162
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This book is dedicated to the multitude of readers, activists, and community leaders who have supported, contributed to, and been a part of the International Examiner family over the last 40 years.
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Table of Contents International District...................................................................................1 Local........................................................................................................39 National...................................................................................................95 International...........................................................................................113 Arts.........................................................................................................137 History...................................................................................................161
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Acknowledgements
Introduction
The “Friends of the International Examiner”—Emma Catague, Ron Chew, Doug Chin, Frank Irigon, Gary Iwamoto, Michelle Kumata, Sharon Maeda, Maria Batayola, Bob Santos, Dick Woo, and Jacqueline Wu—deserves a lot of credit for establishing and guiding this project as well as for sharing their involvement with the Examiner. Much appreciation also goes to the City of Seattle’s Neighborhood Matching Funds Grant Program for funding the preparation and publication of this book. This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods:
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Editor’s Note The International Examiner community newspaper began in 1974 and was the only non-profit publication primarily aimed at Asian Americans in the country. While it initially began as a newspaper for the Chinatown/International District of Seattle, it quickly evolved as a newspaper for the Asian Pacific Community in King County. Its birth and evolution coincides with the emergence and growth of the pan-Asian American phenomena in Seattle.
The development and growth of the paper primarily lies with a group of local Asian American college students and those who had recently graduated from college. Their goal and that of the International Examiner was Asian American empowerment: To provide the local Asian American community with news and articles about important issues and events relevant to their lives. That is, to control, dictate, and self-determine what issues and events were important and relevant for the Asian Americans. It provided Asian Americans an avenue to identify, write, and convey issues that affect the Asian American community from their own perspective, and the ability to define, and thus control, what was relevant. Indeed, the existence of the Examiner is an act of empowerment as well as a process of building a unified Asian American community with an evolving identity.
Over the last four decades, the International Examiner captured the major events and issues in the Asian Pacific American community as well as the emerging arts and culture scenes. In doing so, the paper has played a significant role in the process of building a unified Asian American community with establishing its evolving identity. This book contains stories, articles, and photos covering an array of significant events, commentaries, issues, arts, and culture in that community during this period.
The articles highlighted within this book represent only a portion of the great journalism, storytelling, arts, culture, heritage, and history that were captured in the pages of the International Examiner over the last 40 years. The following collection of articles were painstakingly selected by a steering committee comprised of Asian Pacific American community historians, educators, media/communications persons, professionals, activists, business persons, and students who reviewed 40 years of our newspaper page by page. Their selections were further narrowed due to space considerations. While not every contributor who has ever worked with the International Examiner appears in these pages, this book represents the spirit of the overall and longstanding contributions made by and for the community through our newspaper.
Sincerely,
Travis Quezon
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Elaine Ko, Sissy Asis, Rick Furukawa, Shari Woo, Ken Mar Wong, and Al Masigat at meeting of the International District Housing Alliance, 1978. Photographer unknown. From the IE Archives.
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June 1976 (VOLUME 3, NO. 6)
File Image
The Stadium Impact Story
By Mayumi Tsutakawa
Bower, a native of New York with a New England arts education, traveled in Europe and Asia studying art, architecture and graphics. She studied urban planning after she moved to the West Coast with her husband, Ted, an architect. Before the stadium project, she worked on Model Cities parks, Central Area housing programs and city transportation planning.
“Why should we give way graciously to the County’s misallocation of public funds to build a sports stadium?” perhaps summarizes the three years Diana Bower spent on the Stadium Impact Project which recently lost its funding.
Bower, a long-time International District supporter, was contracted by the City and County to implement the 21 Stadium Impact Resolutions passed by the City to mitigate the adverse impact of the Domed Stadium on the surrounding Pioneer Square, Skid Road and International District area.
Early in 1973, the Citizen’s Action Force, a citizen’s group formed to discuss how the Stadium might affect people in the area, persuaded the County to hire someone to implement the 21 Impact Resolutions passed by the City Council during Fall, 1972. The resolutions dealt with various social services and physical improvements in the I.D. and Pioneer Square.
Although the job is far from completed, funding for the Project ran out. Bower served as liaison between the City and County governments and planned social services concentrating mainly on the International District. The Pioneer Square and Skid Road areas had agencies to deal with such matters at that time, Bower said.
The project was contracted to Ted and Diana Bower, Architects and Planners, and Diana served as principle consultant on a half-time basis for three years. The salary was paid by the County and the work space and secretarial staff provided by the City.
Looking back now, Bower sensed that, ironically, the reason for her contract was to try to mitigate the effects of what she calls the misallocation of public funds for the Stadium. She says misallocation because the basic needs of the poor and elderly in the surrounding areas remain unmet.
“The funny thing is,” Bower said, “that that County was, in essence, paying for someone to oppose it, since the Stadium was built by the county and the person was to deal with the problems caused by the Stadium.” 2
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Bower had been involved with the International District earlier, notably in conjunction with the Model Cities program as member of a citizen’s task force and also as a staff member of Model Cities.
She continued that because of the stadium, some District people have gotten into the mindset of accepting the burden the County has placed on them, even though the quality of life in the district is threatened.
She traces her interest in Asian people and culture to the years she lived in India, Southeast Asia and Japan.
Bower feels the Stadium impact will continue, despite the end of the Stadium Impact Project. However, the Special Review Board and the Public Corporation have been formed to deal with various development and planning aspects. “No single half-time person could deal with all of it,” she said. Housing is an unsolved dilemma, says Bower. Housing, basic to survival is not adequately provided for all people.
“Any artist on the West Coast, especially one who has travelled in Asia, can’t help but have an interest and relationship to Asian art, thought, and design—the influence of Asian art and people on the West Coast is very important,” she maintained.
“Perhaps this is a reflection of the state of American society,” she said.
Looking back over three years, Bower sees a few major successes in the District, notably in social services: the health clinic, the community center plan which became the impetus for formation of the public corporation, street trees and the children’s small park. She points to those with whom she worked to make these project come about—Bob Santos, Tomio Moriguchi, Susie Chin, Maxine Chan, Doug Chin, Frankie Irigon, Angel Doniego, Donnie Chin, Glenn Chinn, and many others.
The best solution for the District, Bower said, are those which involve the cooperation of all people—business-people, residents, and others.
“Economic growth should not be the only goal in life, even though I know some business people and people who build stadiums think this way,” Bower said. She also thinks District people would start relying more on themselves, not federal funding. She likes the idea of workers owning their own means of production. The Cicada Arts and Crafts Cooperative, which she helped initiate, is one example.
“The Inter*im Social Welfare Task Force, chaired by Doug Chin, got things started,” said Bower, “and we made plans for comprehensive social services needs in the District, wrote proposals and looked for funding. The community center proposal is a good example of our efforts.”
“Housing, garment factories and lots of projects could be run as consortiums or cooperatives with people putting in money and running the project cooperatively,” she said. Commenting on the women working in garment factories under poor working conditions, Bower asked, “Why can’t we have our own factory, maybe on a small scale, and arrange it so the people doing the sewing own the factory?
Bower sees negative aspects to the stadium project. “This big mistake is the cause of a lot of problems, a lot of bad things flowed from that,” she said. “District people have been forced into a situation for which there is no fair or equitable solution.
“I have an educated mistrust of federal funds as a source for District project,” Bower remarked. “Just look at the failure of Ray Chin’s low income housing project utilizing (Department of Housing and Urban Development) Section 8 funds. These HUD programs do not work out partly because of the tons of federal regulations put on people who accept the funding. In addition, the reporting and monitoring procedures are
“People have been pushed into a situation opposing each other or trying to decide who is expendable—the residents, the businesses, and so on. The parking problem is a good example of this. We are trying to decide whether Kokusai theatre-goers or residents who own cars are more important, and the answer is that everyone is important.”
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terrible unless you have a big corporation to deal with it.”
“Small people, even poor people, can create an economic base,” Bower said. She pointed to China as a good example of small units of individuals working together and joining to make a large movement.
The secret, Bower says, is to think small. She offered this quote from E.F. Schumacher: “I would suggest that the possibilities for any real change, can only come from small groups of people… the dinosaurs will collapse under their own weight… If any of us still expects any real help from big, powerful organizations, I suggest they are wasting their time.”
“We have a tremendous asset in the smallness of the I.D.,” she said. “If we want to, we can communicate with each other three times a day, in person.”
August 1976 (VOLUME 3, NO. 8)
Filipino History: Surviving a Depression and a World War
By Nancy Ordona Koslosky
Here is the third and final article on Filipino Immigration History taken from the Washington State Oral/Aural History Program. The Examiner would like to thank Nancy Ordona Koslosky for coordinating the articles. For parts I and II, please see June and July, 1979 issues of the Examiner. During the Depression years, Filipinos had to settle for any kind of employment they could get. Discrimination made it hard enough to find jobs, which paid livable wages.
Often, living conditions were communal; the early families shared food and residence with single Filipino males. Brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles and friends shared the same residence.
Slept on Floor
File Image
“The boys have their own bed rolls-they slept on the floors and, in the morning, left and came back again in the evening.
Fred C. Floresca said the Depression was “terrible.” “Our Filipino town-mates,” he said, “those without jobs came and lived with us in our apartment. They came in the evening, had their meals.
“I bought groceries for them and took care of them until they were able to get jobs.”
Salvador Del Fierro says he was fortunate enough to have a job during the Depression. Other he knew, however, were not so lucky. He said he had a dozen Filipino friends living in his residence. 4
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“Well, you can’t turn them down,” Del Fierro said. “They are your friends and they were up against it.”
To the Balcony
“Even going to the movies, they segregated you. You cannot go to the main hall. You go to the balcony. You go to restaurants, they don’t serve you.”
$100 a Month
Mrs. Maria A. Beltran said she was earning $100 a month during the Depression. She would come home from the market with plenty of food.
John Castillo said that when he was attending St. Martin’s College a fellow student asked him where he was from. He replied, “Manila, Philippines, one of the greatest countries in the Orient. Next to China and Japan, there’s no comparison. It is a democratic country, the show-window of democracy in the East, as far as the United States is concerned.” The other students just laughed at him, Castillo said. “The first thing that came to their minds is that Filipinos were nothing but headhunters— they were savages. I was very much surprised to hear that.”
“We had much to each,” she said. “We always cook more because you didn’t know who was coming, you know, Filipinos who didn’t have any.”
Those who were single pooled resources for food and shelter, traveling the roads looking for employment. For those who stayed in the city, there were the soup lines. There was fishing in the Sound. Outlying farms provided vegetables; slaughterhouses gave away discarded portions of pork and beef.
From the Tribe?
Eddie Acena recalls trips to the Frye Slaughterhouse. The slaughterhouse did not sell the legs, head or liver of slaughtered pigs, so they were given to him. He went down to the waterfront and got salmon heads. “You got to the farms where Filipinos work,” Acena said, “and get lots of vegetables, all kinds, celery, lettuce, spinach and everything.”
“They said, ‘Did you come from one of those tribes? I said, ‘Yeah, so you better watch out.’ One of the best ways to scare them to death. They keep away from me, I’m telling you.”
Discrimination Present
Many fought because they could not find jobs in this country. Some also believe they were fighting for their country—the Philippines.
With the arrival of the Second World War, many Filipinos found a new kind of acceptance from the American government. Many who entered the military became citizens.
Discrimination, though was never far away. It was present in the jobs, on the streets, in schools and even in church.
“Before the war,” said Mariano Angels, “the U.S. government didn’t give us (Filipinos) the privilege of citizenship except to those who are in the military service.”
Angel Quintero said, “During the Depression, the American people were against us. They hate all Filipinos around here in Seattle.
Angeles enlisted for military service, because his country, the Philippines, was involved in the war. When he was in the army, people tried to force him to become an American citizen.
“If they see you on the street,” Quintero continued, “they say ‘Monkey,” and they even spit in your face, or else walk by holding their noses. We get mad but we can do nothing especially if they are all in a group.”
Resented It
Mariano Angeles said Filipinos were not allowed to assemble in the church. “They send us to the basement where Filipinos met to have devotional meetings,” he said.
“I resented it,” Angeles said. “I refuse to become an American citizen. I say, ‘Why now that they would like to us to become 5
Fred Floresca was married, with two children; therefore, the only way he could enter the military was to volunteer. He was holding a job essential to the war effort, he said, so the draft board did not think of making him volunteer for the service.
Americans? Why that privilege now? Why do they give it only to the soldier and not to all?’
“They mean to say that my future is to die; and that is the time they give me the privilege to become an American. I said, ‘Hell, no!” Angeles said he eventually did become a citizen before his discharge because he wanted his family to come to this country.
Salvador Del Fierro said the government was building naval bases in Alaska, but Filipinos were not allowed to work on projects such as these because they were not citizens.
Emiliano A. Francisco was drafted by the Army. During the training period, he and others forgot about being afraid. “You are there to fight and save your country,” he said. “We were all determined—those of us in the First and Second Filipino Regiment.
Filipinos Dying
“I wrote articles in the papers telling our side of it,” he said. “I said, ‘Filipinos are dying by the thousands in the Philippines. Filipinos have volunteered to go to war. Do you mean to tell me that is not good enough to fight for Uncle Sam, to give their life? And here we are not allowed to earn a decent living? How would you feel if you were in the Filipino shoes?
“Sign Right Here”
“I got my citizenship in the army, in the field. The judge came down there and said, ‘Okay boys, Sign right here.’ You were then American citizens.”
John Mendoza could have gotten a deferment because he was attending a university, but he decided to go into the army because his friends were going. His training was in Camp Cook and Camp San Luis Obispo, California. After his training, he became an American citizen.
“I wired Quezon, the exiled governor from the Philippines in Washington, D.C. The next day a wire arrived stating that Filipinos were allowed to work on all federal public and private jobs in the United States.”
October 1976 (VOLUME 3, NO. 10)
Garment Union Okays Funds for Chinese Contracts By Ron Chew
request of two Chinese Media Committee members for $212.50, $100 for translation and $112.50 for xeroxing. October 4, the union membership voted to accept the Executive Board’s recommendation.
The United Garment Workers Union last month approved over 200 dollars for translation of its new three-year contract into Chinese and the printing of 300 copies for distribution to its Chinese workers.
Bertha McVay, the union’s business agent, said about six or seven Chinese garment workers have already approached the union about getting a copy of the translated contract. McVay said she told them it would be several
The Executive Board of the United Garment Workers Union, Local 17, at a September 29 meeting, voted unanimously to approve the
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weeks before the contracts would be ready for distribution.
not reach all the Chinese garment workers because many would be reluctant to come to the union. The Media Committee wanted to distribute the Chinese contract themselves to all the Chinese.
McVay said the contract would be made available to the garment workers in the various shops as they paid their dues.
At the same time, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), a community organization of Chinese, has set a conference for garment workers on November 14, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Chinese Information Center, 410-7th Ave. S. The conference, organizers say, will attempt to encourage Chinese workers to begin speaking out on various complaints they have about working condition.
The United Garment Workers Union represents approximately 800 Seattle workers, a sizeable number of whom are Chinese nonEnglish speaking women.
The Chinese Media Committee, in a June 23 letter to the garment union, requested a copy of the newly approved contract so the organization could translate it and distribute it to the Chinese workers.
An Asian attorney will be present to inform the Chinese women of their legal rights. Several garment workers will be featured as speakers and there will be a slide show about garment shops.
Margaret Rogers, union president, told the Examiner in August that the Chinese copies of the contract would only be distributed to those who came to the union requesting one. The Media Committee felt that this approach would
November 1976 (VOLUME 3, NO. 11)
Alaska Cannery Workers Await Court Ruling on Historic Discrimination Suit By Ron Chew
Suit on Behalf of Labor
ACWA’s suit is the first class action case ever brought on behalf of a seasonal, migratory labor force. It is also the largest case ever brought on behalf of Alaskan native and Asian American workers, potentially affecting 1,000 cannery workers.
Court testimony in the class action discrimination suit brought against the largest cannery company in North America ended November 10, but Federal District Judge Gus Solomon is not expected to rule on the case until sometime in January.
The suit went to trial November 8, after negotiations between ACWA and NEFCO attorneys fell through. The negotiations failed when agreement could not be reached on an affirmative action requirement for skilled positions in the canneries.
The Alaska Cannery Workers Association (ACWA), a Seattle-based organization fighting employment discrimination in Alaska’s canneries, brought the suit against the New England Fish Co. (NEFCO) in 1973, charging that Alaskan Native and Asian American workers were relegated to the lowest-paying, menial cannery jobs, dined in segregated mess halls and slept in segregated bunkhouses.
Approximately 50 per cent of the company’s employees are non-white, but the vast majority of those working in the lowest cannery position are non-white. There are no non-whites in the 7
top administrative category, and few in other skilled positions.
One witness, a white woman, testified that the mess hall at Chatum was partitioned into two areas, one for whites and one for non-whites. The non-whites, the woman testified, receive no bread, butter, coffee or potatoes.
Nemesio Domingo, ACWA representative, told the Examiner after the surprisingly short three-day trail, “At the heart of anything we want is a 50 percent affirmative action requirement for the skilled positions. That is the cornerstone of any kind of settlement we would accept.”
No Bread?
Judge Solomon asked, “If it wasn’t on the table, were you able to get it elsewhere in the dining room?”
During the trail, NEFCO attorneys argued that the percentage of minorities applying for skilled positions was less than six or seven per cent.
The woman replied no.
NEFCO had witnesses prepared to testify that non-whites and whites received comparable food, but Solomon said their testimony wasn’t necessary.
Michael Dundy, NEFCO attorney, told Judge Solomon during the opening arguments November 8 that the company has no legal obligation to train and promote employees.
“I want to tell you now that I believe they served bread and butter,” the judge said shortly before court testimony ended.
“The people must be able to perform when they arrive,” Dundy said. “There’s no promotion. If someone’s got the skills and we know they got the skills, we give them the job.”
“I would agree on the bread and butter, but don’t press it too far,” the judge cautioned Dundy.
Ivan Fox, superintendent at Uganik Bay since 1963, testified that hiring was done strictly according to ability. People have to have the “desire” to become a machinist, Fox said. Is the desire asked the judge, stronger among whites than it is among non-whites?
Nepotistic Hiring
Michael Fox, ACWA attorney, said the company engaged in nepotistic hiring practices and that there were separate hiring channels for whites and non-whites. The absence of written job qualifications can lead to the imposition of illegal and racially discriminatory practices, Fox told the judge.
Fox said no.
Solomon, who began questioning Fox, then asked about the different food served nonwhites. Do Filipinos want to be served “ethnic food?” asked Solomon.
“We contend,” Fox continued, “that some of the opinion offered by some of their (the company’s) witnesses are ideal job qualifications rather than actual job qualifications applied on those in the industry.”
“Yes,” the superintendent replied. “Rice and pork and ginger beef and that kind of thing.” He added, however, that whites and non-whites ate at both mess halls. And he said the food at both halls was comparable.
Fox said that before ACWA filed suit in 1973, as many as 16 non-white cannery workers were housed in one room. Fox called attention to the deposition of one worker who said his bunkhouse floor was so warped he could roll a stone down it. Even today, Fox said, non-whites continue to receive inferior housing.
Solomon brought up the testimony of plaintiffs Nemesio and Silme Domingo who said the food they received was of poorer quality.
Too Late to Change
Dundy retorted, “Most of the housing is not good for anyone.” The NEFCO attorneys added that, recently, the company has upgraded the housing.
“Didn’t you tell him (Nemesio Domingo) it was too late in the year to change the food?” asked Solomon. 8
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Fox said he could only “slightly recall” the incident.
company should be required to reserved a certain number of those jobs to minorities in the future. Had there not been discrimination in certain classification, Fox argued, there would be significant numbers of minorities in those positions today.
“He was a troublemaker,” the judge said. “He asked for better food, didn’t he?”
Fox denied that was the reason Domingo was fired. He said Domingo was fired for other reasons.
One of the NEFCO attorneys said, however, “What the plaintiffs are asking for can be described in two words: quota system” What is fair, the attorney said, is to hire based on qualifications and skill which, he said, NEFCO has always done.
Solomon asked Fox to comment on the contention many, many people were housed in one room. “We had dormitory-style rooms,” Fox replied.
Judge Solomon, at one point, said, “I believe that the New England Fish Co. is not required to hire any non-white because he is non-white. They should hire on qualifications, Solomon said.
Solomon asked about the statement of the plaintiffs that, out of four toilets in the bunkhouse, two or three were never working. “I have read their statement,” Fox said, “and I don’t agree with it.”
However, the judge added, looking at the statistical absence of non-whites in the skilled, higher paying jobs, the burden can be placed on the defendants to show non-discrimination.
Asked if there were fewer dresser and chairs in the Filipino bunkhouse, Fox replied, “They (the workers) move them around, so it’s pretty difficult to say where they’re going to be.” The judge noted testimony that there are very few minorities requesting work on tenders, the boats carrying the fish back to the canneries.
Hesitancy about Ruling
“Compatibility” is a quite important qualification of those who work on tenders, Fox said.
During the next two months, attorneys for both sides will submit briefs and rebuttals to Judge Solomon. Sometime during the 15 days following the two month period, Solomon will come out with his decision.
Solomon cautioned that “court decree” will not solve the problems of the case. He expressed hesitancy about ruling that there have to be written job qualifications. If he did so, to what extent he should spell them out, Solomon asked.
Fox said there were probably six or eight Alaskan natives on the 17 tenders. There were no Filipinos, Fox added.
Badge of Discrimination
ACWA representatives feel that if they win this case, they will be in a much better position to negotiate favorable settlements with the several other cannery companies against which they have also filed.
The judge told Fox the U.S. Navy once used the test of compatibility as a qualification, but the Supreme Court struck it down, ruling it was “a badge of discrimination” used to keep “Negroes” out of the navy.
Michael Fox argued that minorities have been kept out of entry level jobs and that the
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July 1977 (VOLUME 4, NO. 6)
Time is Running Out: Inter*im Seeks Site for a Children’s Mini-Park By Mark Mano Three years ago, $90,000 of Forward Thrust funds were set aside to build a mini-park in the International District. Time is running out on the children’s playground. But now, some formal action is finally taking place, spearheaded by an International District Improvement Association (Inter*im) planning committee.
“We feel we have only until the end of the year to pinpoint a site and come up with plans or face re-allocation of the money,” said Inter*im Board President Dennis Su.
The Inter*im Physical Development Task Force was formed early this year following a warning from James Mason, International District Manager, that the City Council was considering other uses for the mini-park funds. The group headed by Vera Eng, decided it could no longer wait for assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. On its own, it set out to solve the main problem of locating a feasible site. Inter*im’s prime site up until this time has been on two streets bordering Hing Hay Park, South King St. and Maynard Ave. The problem was that building here would require vacating the streets and removing store-front property.
Illustration by Anne Mori
any opposition would take six to nine months and the businessmen are bound to oppose.”
At the end of March, the task force asked the park department for help in drawing up a proposed sketch of the park. This was an attempt to show the area’s business people what the playground would look like to convince them to vacate the land.
“It was then that we decided we’d better do something, that we’d better look for alternative sites,” he said. At its latest meeting, the task force went back and examined a 1976 study and came up with three other site possibilities.
“That’s when the park department came back and told us that they would not help and take any responsibility in the street-vacating procedure,” said Su.
Two of the proposed locations are on land currently owned by the Tsue Chong noodle factory at 8th Ave. and Weller. The first is the grassy area adjacent to the factory, where a loading dock once was. The other possibility is
The group was also pressured by time. According to Su, “Vacating the street without 10
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the northern half of Weller Street that extends east to the freeway
that he “has been committed to a park in the district” and as far as he is concerned, “that commitment still stands.”
The problem with both sites is that Tsue Chong is in the midst of expanding its plant and is reluctant at this time to sell the property.
“I don’t think the funds are in jeopardy as long as there is movement on the project,” he said. “If the community insists on it, and come up with a location and plan, we will go ahead.”
The third site is the alley separating Bush Hotel and the United Savings and Loan building.
“The main reason why this site is being considered,” said Elaine Ko at Inter*im, “is because it is close to the day-care center planned for the remodeled Bush Hotel.”
He also said the department did not give more assistance in drawing up a sketch for the businessmen situated around Hing Hay Park because “it’s just not good business to pay for a design that may not be used.”
Throughout the year, the task force has maintained that the park department has held an uncooperative and negative attitude toward the mini-park project. But Walt Hundley, department superintendent, told The Examiner
“I think the park department feels that there is no need for a children’s play ground and that the community is not together enough to plan it,” stated Su.
Despite the most recent letter from Hundley that all but leaves the park up to the community, the task force is still convinced that it must pick up the pace to beat its informal deadline set at the end of the year.
The obstacle here is that the Bush Hotel and its adjoining land is under going a change of ownership and, until that transaction is finalized, little planning can be done on the site.
July 1977 (VOLUME 4, NO. 6)
A Mural for all Seasons By Dean Wong This mural, which overlooks Hing Hay Park was designed by graphic artist John Woo. He is presently doing work in New York.
The mural was dedicated at the June 18 International District Summer Festival. The mural’s theme is “Asian pioneers in America.” The mural depicts: cannery workers, agricultural workers, railroad workers, concentration camp internees and an Asian festival scene. A dragon is the central image. The dragon surrounds the International District, with the Domed Stadium in the background.
Photo by Dean Wong
Communication, through the Downtown Seattle Development Association. The project’s funding included: $1500 from community groups and individuals, and another $1500 from the Seattle Arts Commission.
The 22 ft. by 60 ft. mural was painted on the south side of the Bush Hotel by Ackerly
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The jury which selected Woo’s design from among 15 entries was made of: Ed Louie, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce; Joey Ing from the Wing Luke Museum; Lawrence
Imamura, International District Economic Association; Bea Kiyohara, Asian MultiMedia; Cynthia Mejia and Yin Wah Aston from the Seattle Art Museum.
October 1977 (VOLUME 4, NO. 9)
Judge Reverses Earlier Decision: Community Volunteers Keep Milwaukee Hotel Open By Gary Iwamoto
What followed has been well publicized in the local media. The International District community responded to the judge’s three-day deadline in droves. Up to 75 people, volunteers and residents, went to work—hauling away approximately 20 tons of debris, boarding up the access to the west portion of the hotel, scraping walls, taping walls, putting up exit signs, and relocating tenants from the closed portion of the hotel Residents and volunteers worked together.
Thanks to community support and the resistance of the Milwaukee Hotel residents, Municipal Court Judge Barbara Yanick ruled on September 23 to keep the Milwaukee Hotel open. The International District Housing Alliance, which has spearheaded the effort to keep the hotel open, praised the unselfish support of volunteers and contributors without whose efforts the hotel would have been closed.
The well-coordinated community effort was prompted by a ruling from Judge Barbara Yanick on September 12 to officially close the Milwaukee Hotel. The ruling was based on a complaint filed by the Seattle Fire Department, charging one of the owners of the hotel, Donald Louie, with 60 fire code violations. The judge gave the residents seven days to move out of the building.
On September 19, in a hearing before Judge Yanick, the Fire Department recommended closure of the hotel because only 80 per cent of the required repairs had been completed by the three day deadline. Judge Yanick agreed with the Fire Department, but granted a fiveday extension time to appeal the judge’s ruling. Yanick fixed a final deadline of September 23.
On September 15, Inter*im and the International District Housing Alliance, represented by attorneys Anthony Lee, Diane Wong, and Rod Kawakami, met with Yanick. The judge gave three days to remedy the major violations or the hotel would close. The hotel owners did not contest the closing.
In the three days that followed, volunteers and residents worked around the clock to remedy the remaining required violations. Through the co-ordination of the Housing Alliance, tenants who had to be relocated found space in other hotels in the International District, such as the Alps, the Publix and the Terrace View.
For the hotel to remain open, the Fire Department required the hauling away of debris, closing off of the west portion of the hotel, the relocation of several tenants, and the maintenance of a 24-hour fire watch.
An impossible task
By the September 23 deadline, the required violations had been erased. The Fire Department made an 8:30 a.m. inspection. In 12
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recommending that the hotel stay open, the Fire Department, in a letter to Yanick, stated:
residents and volunteers. Bob Santos read off a list of volunteers and contributors, which included such groups as I.D.E.A. (the International District Economic Association) and the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Residents Mrs. Louie, Mr. Wait, and Mr. McDonald, praised the support of the community and criticized the lack of support by the owners. Shari Woo and Greg Della of the Housing Alliance emphasized that work remained to be done. Judge Yanick placed a one-month deadline for remedying all the violations which remain or the hotel will be closed. Twenty violations of the Fire Code, although not essential to keeping the hotel open for the initial deadline remain.
“The Fire Department applauds the International District Improvement Association (Inter*im) and the International District Housing Alliance for their superior effort at what had to be a most impossible task. In a period of 8 days, they were able to complete the requirements which (required) the removal of 20 tons of debris. We believe that the owner, who was ultimately responsible, has benefitted considerably, although he has not helped in any way.” The Fire Department noted that it takes about ten years for a building to get in as bad a condition as the Milwaukee Hotel. In one week, the volunteers and residents worked to undo the damage of years of neglect. Volunteers noted the damage caused a fire in the hotel in 1976; the walls were still visibly charred. Cockroaches, fleas, and spiders of varying shapes and sizes fled as the legions of volunteers and residents tramped up and down the floors and through rooms.
Why did the community work so hard to keep the Milwaukee Hotel open?
According to the many volunteers, the residents, Inter*im, and the Housing Alliance, the Milwaukee Hotel struggle dramatically demonstrates the need for low-income housing and the lack of such housing existing in the District today. Action by the Community groups, the volunteers, and especially, the residents themselves in refusing to move, prevented the Milwaukee Hotel from becoming the 30th hotel in the International District to close.
The owners, Jordan Wong and Donald Louie, and the former manager, Joe Banda, were conspicuous by their absence. Negotiations were underway between the International District Housing Alliance and the owners to undertake management of the hotel. Judge Yanick has ordered the owners to cooperate.
But there is another deadline to meet and as those involved in the Milwaukee Hotel fight emphasize, “The struggle for low income housing continues.”
A celebration
To celebrate the initial victory, the Housing Alliance sponsored a potluck and rally for
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May 1978 (VOLUME 5, NO. 4)
Chris Mensalvas: Daring to Dream By Gene Viernes A little man supporting himself with a cane was speaking to a crowd in Hing Hay Park. It was May Day, International Workers Day, 1975. He was the same man who had spoken at a University of Washington Asian American Studies class, the 1976 Filipino Peoples Far West Convention labor workshop, and many other community events. This man’s name was Chris Mensalvas. He captivated the audience with his projecting voice and unique style. He captivated them with what he had to say. He was only 5 feet tall, barely able to stand, but as sharp as any of the spectators in the crowd.
Illustration by Jeff Hanada
To the manongs in the crowd he was more than the man who told those stories. To the manongs, he was an inspiration: one of their kababayan, one of their former leaders. He symbolized everything they had lived through and fought for.
Chris would often tell stories of the cultural barriers the manongs faced when they first arrived in this country. He told of an encounter he and his friends had with an American restaurant menu written in English. What were these American foods: hash browns, sunnysideup eggs, pork chops, mashed potatoes, meat loaf, and hotcakes. Chris and his friends chose hotcakes. For dinner, still afraid, still intimidated by the awesomeness of America, they chose hotcakes again. Then again, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Soon, Chris said, “the cook quit. Too many hotcakes.”
But this man, Chris Mensalvas, died on April 11 of smoke inhalation suffered from a fire in his Downtower Apartments room.
He was born in San Manuel, Pangasinan on June 24, 1909. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Juan Mensalvas, named him Christopher Delarna Mensalvas. He was the third youngest son in a family of seven.
The Philippines, at the time, had just ended an eight year war: two years against the Spaniards and six years against Americans. The United States was the victor, the Philippines the spoils. The U.S. soon set up the Philippines as an American colony with American rulers, an American political system, and American schools.
First Encounters
Chris told of the manongs’ first encounters with American hotels. They had slept on the floor the first night. In the morning, Chris had complained to the manager about the lack of beds. The manager laughed at the newly-arrived immigrants. The beds, the manager said, were wall beds, to be folded down when they were needed.
Chris was raised in such a school. He attended Lingayen, the only school in the province of Pangasinan. He grew to hero-worship George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Patrick Henry. He dreamt of success and riches. He became an excellent student, possessing exceptional oratorical skills.
Young people will remember this man for his stories of hotcakes and beds.
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International District
He also found it futile to pursue a career in law.
His father, a small landowner who farmed for a living, shared Chris’s dream of success. And America, at the time, seemed an answer to their mutual dream. Chris’s father sold a small plot of land and a caraboa. With the money, Chris boarded a steamship bound for America.
In America, Filipinos could not practice law or medicine. Filipinos could not own land and, because of anti-miscegenation laws, Filipinos could not marry whites.
Chris found himself in the steerage section along with 300 other Filipinos, many of whom had been recruited as stoop labor for America’s farm factories. They were answering the call of contractors: “Let’s go to the U.S. Come on, there’s good life over there. You people have no good life here.” And the contractors were right; the Philippines had no stable economy and unemployment flourished. Unlimited job opportunities were available in America.
Disenchanted with the “American Dream,” Chris returned to the fields. He brought with him a new belief, a new dream that he had acquired in Los Angeles. While a student at UCLA, he had ventured into a bookstore owned by the International Workers of the World (IWW). He soon became a frequent customer, asking many questions, getting many answers. He joined other Filipinos and formed the “Committee for the Protection of Filipino Rights.” The committee was concerned with the denial of rights to fellow Filipinos. One right the committee targeted was the right for Filipinos to organize.
On their trip, they were fed “slop.” Occasionally they received fish. Of the 300 Filipinos riding in steerage, 30 died. The bodies of those who died were dumped overboard. Chris was one of the many survivors who experienced only seasickness.
Times were rough for Filipinos. They had just survived a series of pre-Depression racist attacks: Wapato and Kent, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Stockton and Watsonville, California. Whites had attempted to rid America of its brown “invaders.”
Chris’s ship arrived in Seattle in 1927. A 30day voyage. Once on the docks, they were met by labor contractors who led them to the fields of California and the Yakima Valley, or the canneries of Alaska. Chris worked as a stoop laborer for two years, patiently waiting for the chance to pursue his dream.
The Depression hardships came in additional forms. Filipinos were forced to work for pennies an hour; they had to live collectively to survive. Many were eating in soup lines and sleeping in all-night movies. Victims of an exploitative society. Worse yet, victims of their own countrymen.
Chris enrolled at UCLA in Los Angeles. He maintained a part-time job as a “school boy.” This provided him room and board and some spending money.
Chris studied hard, hoping to become a lawyer, yet he found time to participate in community events. He founded the Pangasinan Association of Los Angeles and was its first President. He was also elected as president of a multi-organization sponsored “Jose Rizal Day.”
Some of their countrymen were contractors, the very same men who had met Filipinos on the docks, led them to the fields, paying them only a fraction of what they were supposed to get, and sometimes stealing even this.
Workers forced to work out of necessity were divided and, therefore, helpless. It was men like Chris Mensalvas who began the change. Using the knowledge he had acquired from the IWW and working in conjunction with the “Committee for the Protection of Filipino Rights,” he began organizing in the fields. Mounting lettuce crates,
Hard Times
Hard times came upon the United States with the stock market collapse of 1929, the year Chris had started school. By 1932, he left school, not having enough money to pay for tuition.
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he gave speeches on the need for organization, preaching the principle: “With unity comes strength.”
Another union leading the struggle for workers rights was the Filipino Labor Union Incorporated. It was chartered in 1934 and shortly thereafter re-affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Carlos Bulosan
He called for meetings in deserted barns or anywhere else the owners weren’t apt to find them. It was during this period that Chris spent a lot of time with Carlos Bulosan, the famous Filipino poet and author. Together, they published a newspaper in Pismo Beach.
The Filipino Labor Union Incorporated led the way in creating 10 branches, with several thousand members. Together with white and Mexican workers unions, the Filipino Labor Union Incorporated led strike after strike. Sometimes the strikes were successful. Sometimes growers recruited strikebreakers and forced strikes out of town and the Filipino Labor Union Incorporated was forced to give in.
With their efforts and those of men like them, Filipino workers began forming unions. The unions were founded by men who had come to America to share a dream, but who only found poverty and racism.
In 1936, during a Salinas shed packers strike, the Filipino Labor Union Inc. began favoring a policy of racial exclusion, opposing co-operation with other labor organizations.
The farmers responded. Chronicled in Carlos Bulosan’s book, America is in the Heart, are many examples of vigilante action against the Filipino farm workers. In the book, Chris Mensalvas was portrayed as Jose, experiencing many beatings, shootings and near death experiences. Chris carried a scar to his grave: his leg was amputated as he tried to evade a vigilante group.
Chris Mensalvas, Sr., the secretary, led a movement to oppose such a stand. When the leadership refused to listen, Chris and his backers split from the Filipino Labor Union Incorporated and formed the Filipino Labor Union. It was this union led by Chris, Sr., that joined CWFLU unions in forming UCAPAWA-CIO.
Filipino workers responded by organizing even more workers, not only Filipinos, but workers of all races. The working class concept was not new to Filipino organizers.
At the founding Congress held in Denver in 1937, Chris was appointed one of UCAPAWA’s staff organizers. His life for the next following years consisted of following the migratory path of farm workers up and down the West Coast. He organized the unorganized and assisted unions involved in strikes, negotiations or re-affiliations.
Some of the unions practicing this concept were the Cannery Workers and Field Laborers locals on the West Coast—Seattle (Local 18257), Portland (Local 226), and San Francisco (Local 20565). These three American Federation of Labor Unions led the way toward re-affiliation with the more progressive international unions, the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
To Portland
During World War II Chris moved to Portland. His brother Julio had been President of Local 226. Chris found work in a Portland hospital, but he quit in 1944 to become the business agent of Local 226.
The American Federation of Labor still had racial and skill barriers which kept workers divided. The Cannery Workers and Field Laborers union saw the need to go beyond those barriers. They led the way in forming the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packinghouse, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA). Between the three cannery workers locals and their 6,000 members, they provided up to one-half the funds to create UCAPAWA.
During the War the employer-employee relationship was confined to non-wage issues. The War Labor Board created no-strike, noraise-in-wages restraints. It was also a time during which the United States was pushed toward equalizing conditions between minorities and whites. In the early 1940s, a Black man had 16
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taken his challenge of the anti-miscegenation laws to the Supreme Court. He won. His victory led to the legalization of minority men marrying white women.
At the first meeting of 1947, the growing conflict between the rank and file and leadership erupted. The vice-president shot at a member of the rank and file.
Chris remarried. (He had married a Mexican woman during the Depression. They had a son and, soon after, acquired a divorce.) He married a Caucasian, Margie Leitz and they gave birth to Patsy in January, 1945; Chris, Jr., in September, 1946; and Michael in August, 1947. Margie Mensalvas was ill during her pregnancy with Michael; and she lost her life shortly after giving birth to Michael.
Luckily no one was hurt, but it made the workers more determined to gain justice. It also spelled the end to the reigning leadership. Soon after, the international officers intervened. The leadership was transferred to a temporary administrative committee.
McCarthy-era
Dual unionism flourished for the next two years. To complicate the internal struggle taking place an external force began making its presence known. It was the McCarthy Era. Ernesto Mangaoang, the business agent of Local 7, was placed under arrest, charged with being a member of the Communist Party, which the government said advocated the overthrow of the government by force or violence.
The war ended and once again employers insisted on lowering wages. The conditions in the canneries remained exploitative.
With the return of the Filipino War veterans came a new pride, new expectations. For those returning to the life an Alaskero, reality shattered any expectations of being treated differently. Filipinos were paid lower wages, forced to do the harder jobs. They were Filipinos, and Filipinos road in steerage passage, while whites traveled first class.
Chris Mensalvas, editor of Local 7 News and also an admitted member of the Communist Party, was also arrested. Local 7 cannery workers stood behind their officers. Meanwhile, Local 7 re-affiliated with the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union, becoming Local 7-C ILWU. Chris Mensalvas was elected president in 1950. He remained president for the next nine years. Hindered by the Immigration and State Departments, Chris began plans to move to the Philippines.
SS Santa Cruz
It was on one such ship that Chris Mensalvas, Sr., again rose to lead workers against exploitation. The SS Santa Cruz had run aground, leaving 1,200 cannery workers in Alaska. They were already mad because of crowded conditions, filth, and inadequate living facilities. The workers began complaining.
(During this period he married Irene Mensalvas. She is presently residing in Equador.) In 1956, they sent their daughter, Patsy and son, Chris, to stay with Julio, now living in Binoloan, Pangasinan. Chris, warned of the possible danger in returning to the Philippines, instead moved to Hawai‘i. There he participated in the Longshoremen’s Union as business agent and staff organizer.
When they finally boarded ship, they found their possessions had been ransacked, their valuables stolen. They formed a rank and file committee to take their complaint to the union.
The union was based in Seattle; the Portland and San Francisco locals had been phased out in an amalgamation move during the war. The Seattle rank and file committee led by Leo Lorenzo, Mario Hermosa, and Chris Mensalvas presented its demands to the union in fall of 1946.
While in Hawai‘i, Chris sent for his kids and returned to Seattle. He settled down in Seattle’s Chinatown, running for various offices in the Cannery Workers Field Labor Union. He served as trustee as late as 1976.
Fall turned to Winter, Winter to Spring. Nothing was done to satisfy the workers’ anger.
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January 1987 (VOLUME 14, NO. 2)
Dan Woo: The Passing of a Community Leader By Ron Chew
International District Improvement Association (Inter*Im), said.
About 300 people attended a funeral service in Seattle last Saturday to pay last respects to Dan “Danny” G. Woo, International District property owner, restaurateur and community leader, who passed away on January 6 after a long illness.
Woo’s involvement in the commercial development of the area extended beyond his own private ventures: he was a founding member of Seattle Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and helped initiate the idea of the Chinatown Seafair parade.
Woo, 73, owned and operated two major restaurants in the International District: the New Chinatown restaurant, the largest nightclub in the area, from 1940 to 1975; and the Quong Tuck Co. Restaurant, a meeting place for Asian American community activists and the only District restaurant serving American cuisine, from 1977 to 1985.
In 1975, Woo donated a plot of land on the hillside between Washington and Main Streets for development of the International District Community Garden, where approximately 100 elderly, low-income residents grow their own vegetables. Bob Santos, former Inter*Im director, said Woo agreed to lease the property to Inter*Im for one dollar a year.
In 1985, he and a partner purchased the old Kokusai Theater, developing plans to renovate the structure into a new six-story arcade, office and residential building. His proposal included creation of a new Chinese language movie theater to replace the vacant Kokusai, which had, for many years, provided a unique mix of films from China, Japan and the Philippines. At the time of Woo’s death, the development had not yet moved forward.
“It was a very simple negotiation when he found out it was for the elderly people of the District,” Santos said. “I don’t even think he ever collected the one dollar.”
Woo, born in 1914 in Kong Tung, China, came to Seattle in 1927 and worked in his grandfather’s import-export business in Chinatown, the Quong Tuck Company. The business also served as an information and service center for Chinese immigrants, who faced discrimination and financial hardships in America. Woo graduated from Franklin High School and studied dentistry at the University of Washington, where he also served as the first present of the Chinese Students Association.
In recent years, Woo, as president of the board of the Kong Yick Investment Corporation, which owns two adjacent buildings on South King Street, the Freeman and the Kong Yick, had explored several possible scenarios for renovating the structures into middle- and lowincome housing. Although businesses operate on the street level, the housing units on the upper floors have been vacant for years.
Woo was the great nephew of Chin Gee Hee, one of the most prominent early Chinese pioneers in Seattle. Chin came to Seattle in 1875 to establish the Quong Tuck Company. Chin served as a labor contractor for the Northern Pacific Railroad and later returned to China to supervise construction of the first railroad there: the Sunning Railroad, centered in his native area of Toishan.
“He was one of the few community elders who had a vision of the future—that rather than just holding onto what they had, they could do something with it,” Sue Taoka, director of the
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International District
“Danny was very proud of Chin Gee Hee’s accomplishments,” Kit Freudenberg, director of the Wing Luke Museum, said. “He would show me articles about him, and he was very proud when they put up a statue to honor him in China.”
many artifacts from the old Quong Tuck Company story in the design of the new restaurant, including empty cans with Chinese calligraphy, Chinese scrolls and a large herb chest. “The restaurant would have been a true museum if Danny hadn’t been so magnanimous as far as giving away and selling so many of the items from the store,” Ing said.
Woo donated many priceless artifacts to the Wing Luke Museum, including a huge apothecary chest, tea cups, rice bowls, winnowing baskets, family trunks, family photos and clothing items.
Among his other activities, Woo served multiple terms as president of the Seattle Chapter of the Gee How Oak Tin Family Association and the Hop Sing Tong. He was also national vice president of the West Coast Gee How Oak Tin Family Association.
“He gave the Museum many, many bales of Chinese workers’ clothing left over from the old days,” Freudenberg said. “A lot of people will say, ‘Big deal.” But it’s important because everybody saves the good stuff—George Washington’s uniform—but we don’t have the items of the common people.”
Woo is survived by his wife, Wilma, and children, Trina, Curtis, Teresa and Clinton.
Joey Ing, one of the architects for the Quong Tuck Co. Restaurant, said Woo incorporated
September 1990 (VOLUME 17, NO. 8)
The Pig Roast Tradition By Vera Ing
To the west was the magnificent Seattle skyline, Puget Sound and Olympic mountains. The tilled hillside stretched from Washington Street to Kobe Park and I-5. It was a idyllic scene of old and new activities residing in harmony.
At the last INTER*IM pig roast, I thought how the International District has evolved much like the Danny Woo Community Garden.
The hillside property was donated for a community garden by Wilma Woo, in memory of Dan, who hailed from one of Chinatown’s pioneer families. The former blackberry patch and slide area has blossomed through the labors of volunteers and from city, community and corporate donations.
There were also signs of encroachment and failure from the observation point. A high rise luxury apartment is being built adjacent to the garden. Above the park was the Nippon Kan Building looking as deserted as Ed and Betty Burke must feel about losing it.
I wandered through the rows of Asian vegetables up to the new observation/vegetable washing pavilion. Used to interlopers, the elderly Asian/Pacific gardeners continued washing their vegetables in the new NW/Asian designed structure. I had a great view in all directions.
The Nippon Kan rehabilitation was completed after the Burkes expended years of sweat equity and money into the building. Taking my first tour of the Burkes’ snazzy architectural office and apartment with it’s great views and in-city convenience, I thought they had it made.
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The Nippon Kan was the I.D.’s community center in the seventies. I.D.E.A., the I.D. business group, threw its first Christmas parties there. N.W.A.A.T, the Asian American theater group, used it for all their plays. Unfortunately, Ed learned that there is little appreciation or money for private community projects.
Former director Bob Santos, now the District’s public development authority director, and Sue Taoka, presently an aide to Mayor Rice, have moved on. Former staff member Dan Rounds now works for El Centro de la Raza. Like Sue, Elaine Ikoma Ko is a mother of two. She now manages the Women’s Program for King County, and is completing her MBA; Sheri Woo now works in television and radio. But their support and association with INTER*IM continues.
The happy sounds of the I.D. activists enjoying the fruits of their labor disturbed my lamenting. The INTER*IM pig roast is a Bob Santos tradition.
Walking down to rejoin the party, I saw the parallels between the community garden and the I.D. in the efforts to make the areas flower.
The occasion for this pig roast was to try out the new pit and thank the University of Washington architectural students who designed and build the new structures with the help of donations from McMillian-Blodel Lumber Company and Safeco Insurance.
It took activism and dedicated volunteers to get the necessary community donations and public grants. Volunteers move on, but there is a continuity.
There were failures along the way. The nonprofits must support community businesses more and suspect them less.
The new pig roast area has gone high tech. With the help of INTER*IM director Ken and staff member Cliff, Bob roasted the big in the new flagstone pit with its stainless steel rotisserie earlier that afternoon. It used to take 24 hours to roast a pig. Bob and staff would dig a deep pig pit and would spend the night tending the roasting pig.
Encroachment is a constant worry. The Garden and the I.D redevelopment is still not complete or secure. But the District and the Garden is being used by the intended clients and users, the Asian Pacific elderly and/or immigrants. What more can one ask?
The slow cooking of the pig was a great excuse for a party for the volunteers before the community function. It’s a good thing Bob has a new pig roast area; many of the INTER*IM volunteers have moved on to other positions. Most have also married or become young parents and can’t party all night.
Like the pig roast, we will just find better methods to continue the tradition.
July 1994 (VOLUME 21, NO. 13)
District BIA passes City Council By Dean Wong
of 65.6 percent of ID business and property owners.
An eight-month petition campaign to support the creation of a BIA (Business Improvement Area) plan for the international District has been successful. The Seattle City Council voted the BIA proposal into an ordinance unanimously on June 6, after a 12-member Interim Rate Payers Board obtained the required signatures
A BIA will provide funds for such projects as cleaning up area streets and alleys, security, marketing and improving parking. Similar plans in Pioneer Square, Broadway, West Seattle and other neighborhoods have also been established. 20
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Businesses in the ID will be assessed a tax, based on fair-share plan which will determine the rate structure for individual businesses and property owners. Two methods will be used to assess the amount of tax, based on size (square foot measurement) or gross income.
throughout the summer, the youths will be using brooms provided by the BIA for one and one-half hours of clean up.
“What the BIA plan does is provide more services,” say Michael Chu, owner of Hoven Foods. Chu would like to see garbage picked up twice a week, rather than once a week.
Owners in the ID can expect to be taxed in August or September. Most businesses will contribute $100 to $150 each year, providing approximately $138,000 for BIA projects. A special tax of $75 for family associations and an optional tax of $100 for non-profit organizations has also been included in the BIA.
The effort to gather signatures from 65.5 percent of the 400 registered business and property owners was not easy for BIA organizers. JoAnne Yoshimoto, project manager for the BIA study and petition drive was hired to assist in establishing the plan. Her contract expired in February this year.
The BIA was first proposed three years ago, after a group of owners began working with the Interim Community Development Association to come up with the plan.
“As time progressed, it became more difficult. We went back to people who were reluctant. Those who were sitting on the fence were more difficult to convince,” Louie said.
The Interim Rate Payers Board will continue to run the BIA until a new 20—member board is formed in early August. Anyone owning a business or property in the ID is eligible to be on the board. The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce will act as fiscal sponsor of the BIA.
Now that it has been passed, Louie says he would like to see the BIA “up and running.” After the board is formed, the by-laws need to be approved and an executive director must be hired.
Cliff Louie, a planner at the International District Improvement Association who is serving as an interim director of the BIA, says he would like to see an ethnically diverse board which also represents the different types of businesses in the area.
The BIA will contract with the City to collect the taxes. The City will not, however, take a percentage for administering the tax.
“We invite anyone interested to participate and come to a meeting.” Wan said. “They should bring ideas and concerns to the meeting so we can set priorities.”
A BIA will help preserve and promote the area to make it a better place for businesses and visitors, said May Wan, branch manager of Norwest Mortgage.
The BIA will be sharing office space in the basement of the Bush Asia Center with the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and a new Seattle Police Community Storefront operation. Grand opening for the combined offices is on July 8, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The first noticeable result of the BIA will be cleaner streets. Fourteen Summer Youth Employment workers recently began sweeping sidewalks in the ID. Each Wednesday,
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November 1994 (VOLUME 21, NO. 21)
A Place to Call Home In January, Inter*im and the PDA will reopen the Rex Hotel, on Maynard Avenue South and South King Street, to provide 30 more lowincome residential units in the area. Just around the corner from the Rex, the Bush Asia Center will also get a facelift. In a couple of years, the International District Village Square will break ground at Eight Avenue and Dearborn Street to provide even more housing, store fronts and social services.
By Carina A. Del Rosario Peter Wu is taking a break. He has been moving his things into his new room at the NP Hotel and now paper bags filled with dishes, clothes and linens cover his mauve carpet. Wu, who asked not to use his real name, had lived in another low-income apartment in the International District for four years.
“Down there, it was a pretty old place,” says the 59-year old. “It had a steamheater and only comes on one time in the evening. Here, they have continuous heat. At the old place, the owner, to save money, they sometimes don’t turn on heat at all.”
“It’s been one long development process,” says Bob Santos, former director of PDA and now regional representative for the Office of Housing and Urban Development. “It started 20 years ago and we never let up. … We’re now seeing tangible results of many hours of struggle.”
Wu’s old room was bigger, but more expensive and in shabby condition. Now for $225 a month, he can live in a building that has undergone a $5.8 million renovation. The structure is reinforced to meet fire codes. The cream-colored walls gleam with newness. The carpet smells like it has come straight from the factory.
Santos says that for him, the driving force behind these projects came from personal experience.
“My dad used o live in the NP in room 307,” says Santos. “He lived in a 9-by-13 room and all his possessions were crammed in there. On weekends I would visit him. He had a radio, a hot plate, two chairs and visitors sat on the bed. He shared the toilet and bathtub with everyone on the floor.”
And he can stay warm during the coming winter months.
Providing a decent home for people like Wu has been the purpose of many activists in the International District. Since the late 1960s and 1970s, these individuals have staffed the International District Improvement Association (Inter*im) and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority—more commonly known as the PDA—in order to meet the housing needs of people in the area.
The NP that Santos’ father lived in was similar to Wu’s old apartment. And it was seeing his father live in those kinds of conditions that made Santos want to commit his life to rehabilitating the housing in the International District.
“Growing up in this environment, I knew that there was something better out there,” he says. “It was our motivation, that our parents, our grandparents, our aunts and uncles be allowed to live out life in dignity.”
While other apartment buildings have been refurbished over the past 30 years, the reopening of the NP (Northern Pacific) Hotel on 306 Sixth Ave. S. marks the most intense wave of development.
Inter*im, a private, non-profit development organization, bought the NP two years ago, after the building had been closed for 20 years. In those two years, the company replaced all the 22
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plumbing, electricity, heating, ventilation, airconditioning and sprinkler systems. It installed a security system and reinforced the structure to meet seismic standards. All that plus a new paint job—inside and out—carpeting and a rainbow-colored sign to replace the old blackand-white one.
opening of the NP) is the concretization of our dreams.”
While the revitalized hotel is a life’s work realized for activists, it is simply a nice place to call home for Wu. “I feel much better here,” he says.
The refrigerator isn’t installed yet. In fact, contractors are still touching up the paint job in his room. And outside in the hallway, the carpet still needs to be put down.
Sue Taoka, current director of the PDA, says that seeing residents’ faces as they move into their new home was in many ways more touching than watching the renovation take shape.
But Wu says he doesn’t mind.
“It was very moving,” she says. “Watching people’s faces when they walk into the building, you can see their excitement. In some way this symbolizes years and years of struggle.”
“Monday, they’ll clean everything,” he says as he points to the bits of plaster sprinkled on his floor. “Piece by piece, I’ll put everything in place. I just feel much better being here.”
“During the 1970s, we all had this idealism,” says Dionnie Dionisio, construction coordinator for the NP. “We didn’t know that any of that would materialize, but now it has. This (the
The NP Hotel (306 Sixth Ave. S.) will host an open house, Thursday, Nov. 17, from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
January 1999 (VOLUME 26, NO. 2)
I.D. Vice
Community and police struggle to control a boom in gangs, drugs and prostitution in the International District By Lisa Charlie Ritts
And local residents, employees and business owners are convinced the dealing are far from innocent.
Tuesday. 10 p.m. Six youths are huddled together across from the International District post office on Sixth Ave. S. A security officer employed by the I.D. Business Improvement Association (BIA) shakes them down. The group scatters. But 10 minutes later, they’ve regrouped across the street.
Observers say loitering and illegal activity, especially drug dealing and prostitution, have reached their highest levels in recent memory. The activity peaks at night and in the early morning, but many say it’s been happening more frequently in broad daylight.
Around the corner two men watch the traffic from Hing Hay Park. A Cadillac pulls up. One of the men walks over to the car, and shakes hands with the driver. The car drives off.
From Bad to Worse
Homeless people and public inebriates have always been a part of the neighborhood scene, but people say the current situation is entirely different in scope and impact. Donnie Chin,
Since October, scenes like this have become increasingly common in the neighborhood.
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who has been patrolling the streets of the I.D. for decades with the International District Emergency Center, said drug dealing is the biggest problem. Hot spots are the neighborhood parks, parking lots and the alcoves of public hotels like the Bush and NP Hotel.
In the first half of last year, the West Precinct of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) conducted “emphasis” operations that seemed to effectively control flare-ups in the District. Five-person squads targeted street-level narcotics in the I.D., Pioneer Square, Belltown and the Pike-Pine Street corridor. The SPD also augmented patrol cars to these areas and added a second anti-crime team in the West Precinct. But when the SPD needed to trim its budget last July, extra coverage was the first to go.
Chin has also seen a rise in the number of gang-affiliated youths hanging out up and down Jackson Street. “Most of them don’t live here, have never lived here, and won’t ever live here,” said Chin. Many come from Pierce County, said Chin, while others hop from Belltown to the I.D., taking advantage of the free bus zone. Aileen Balahadia of the Community Action Partnership, a neighborhood policing organization, said the kids are a mix of Asians, Blacks, and Caucasians.
Current coverage consists of two foot beats during the day. A “third watch patrol is active from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. that covers a combined area from I.D., Pioneer Square and downtown. Honey Court restaurant, which draws a large teenage clientele in the early morning hours, has hired an off-duty Seattle Police officer to work a late-night shift on weekends.
In November, postal workers complained of obvious drug dealing and loitering around the post office. Private security officers report that convicted prostitutes and drug dealers regularly frequent the area.
But SPD spokesperson say fiscally, their hands are tied, and they have no plans to bring in emphasis patrol units in the near future.
Security guard John McClurg, who walks the District three nights a week from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., said it’s fairly easy to identify the drug traffickers. “Usually you’ll see one or two guys walking around by themselves, and then alternative groups or individuals will approach them,” he said.
“It’s not cost-effective,” said Dick Schweitzer of the West Precinct. “While emphasis patrol cars do increase the perception of safety, all they do is make people feel better. It does little to suppress most types of criminal activity— [criminals] will move inside, move elsewhere or are more careful about how they go about their business.”
McClurg says he can only do so much. “They know we’re coming because someone will tip them off. They know our schedule just as well as we do,” he said. In December, McClurg was inside Seattle’s Best Karaoke, a popular hangout in the International Center on King St., during a drive-by shooting in which no one was hurt.
Still, the police seem to have more clout than private security officers. For starters, they’re armed. Police are also able to make drug busts (if narcotics are seen), and can arrest on the spot. Recently, McClurg saw a patrol car crawl by the park after hours, announcing that all wouldbe dwellers upon its return would be arrested for trespassing. When the police came back, everybody was gone for the night.
Calling in the Cavalry
Community improvement groups are asking the SPD for expanded service, especially during the early morning hours after private security patrols go home. “The District needs intense emphasis patrol for longer periods of time,” said Aileen Balahadia, of the Community Action Partnership.
Police coverage is also indexed to the number of calls and reported incidents in an area. “We receive no where near the number of calls from the I.D. that we receive from Pioneer Square or Belltown,” said Lieutenant Schweitzer. Balahadia speculates cultural and language 24
International District
barriers may prevent some I.D. residents from calling 911. Schweitzer assured, “If the call count does go up, you’ll see more officers.”
What You Can Do About Street Crime
Citizens can take numerous actions against illegal activity in public areas and open spaces. The Seattle Police Department uses citizen complaints as a factor in distributing patrols. Reporting individual incidents can lead to long-term change. Proactive, grassroots efforts, however, leave noting to chance. Notify landlords or poor conditions, volunteer for block watches or attend Community Action Partnership meetings (621-1815). Public safety officials discourage citizens from directly confronting offenders.
Pulling Together
Neighborhood improvement groups like the BIA, CAP, and the Chinatown I.D. Preservation and Development Authority, which manages many of the district’s hotels, have been working to turn a worsening situation into an opportunity for pro-action. Agencies are urging people to call 911 if they see any suspicious activities. CAP has tried for many months to organize a volunteer neighborhood watch patrol, but has had difficulty recruiting people for the evening hours. Tenants and residents are encouraged to participate in letter-writing campaigns to the SPD, and inform building management of persistent problems.
Call 911 regarding any suspicious, observed or on-going criminal situations. This includes possible drug transactions, public drinking of alcohol, and descriptions of suspicious cars.
Officer Tom Doran (pager 969-9257) and Officer Hugh “Pat” Wallace are the I.D.’s two foot-beat officers. They work from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tenants and neighbors of the Alps Hotel petitioned the police department by documenting the activity outside their windows: “Many of us are awakened at night by the yelling, cars driving by. … We’ve seen gathering of anywhere between 5-25 people hanging out on the Park’s benches. … We can tell that there are obvious prostitution and drug trafficking rings occurring in our back and front yards.”
Sergeant Steve Wilske is the nighttime watch, 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., that covers parts of the I.D., Pioneer Square and downtown. He can be paged at 680-4419. His 3rd wach supervisor is Lt. JJ Jankauskas and can be reached at 6848905.
Call the postal police (or 911) regarding any suspicious activity around the post office at 442-6300.
Residents of the NP Hotel on Sixth Ave. S. have also been complaining about the large number of people who loiter outside their building. Frank Kiuchi, executive director of InterIm Community Development Association, located next door to the NP, often checks up with the residents. Kiuchi is fairly certain at least one tenant is facilitating or partaking in some kind of illegal activity. Residents have found the back entrance propped open by a block of wood, and they’ve heard excessive noise in the hallways. Kiuchi wants to see the NP tenant council organize and educate its residents so “our streets won’t get taken over.”
Letters of concern are encouraged, especially the I.D. business community. Address letters to Captain Tag Gleason and cc: copies to Norm Stamper, Lt. JJ Jankauskas, Sgt. Steve Wilske, Sgt. Mike Brady. You may also want to direct letters to the Narcotics/Vice Unit and the Gang Unit and cc: as stated. Be specific in your letters about actual instances of crime, patterns, times of day, and types of crime. Seattle Police Department, 610 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104. A community meeting with the Seattle Police Departmen-3rd Watch is slated for Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Union Gospel Mission, American Hotel, on 6th and King.
“The police will say that crime in I.D. isn’t that bad, said Balahadia, “but it’s still something we don’t want to live with.”
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February 2000 (VOLUME 27, NO. 3)
Golden Arches at the Gateway: Fear of a McDonald’s in Chinatown By Melissa Lin
location already suffering from problems with crime, people fear it will only make the situation worse. Some have even called it “colonization.”
On Jan. 24, at a meeting of the ID Forum, several community members voiced their concerns about the possibility of a McDonald’s setting up shop within the District. Michael Chu, owner of the Buty Building at Fifth and Jackson, recently confirmed that he has been talking to the McDonald’s corporation for “a couple of months” about locating a restaurant there.
Sue Taoka, director of Seattle Chinatown International District Public Development Authority, comments, “As a property owner we are very concerned about the impact of a business like McDonald’s on the businesses and residents of this district.”
Alton Chinn, former program director of the Chinatown Community Development Center in San Francisco, provides his perspective as a community planner. McDonald’s opened up a location in San Francisco’s Chinatown sometime in the mid-1980s, and community members originally expressed some of the same concerns. Chinn admits that McDonald’s was responsive to some concerns; for example, the restaurant scaled down its signage so as to be less obtrusive, and agreed to expand their garbage pick-up. However, notes Chinn, Seattle’s International District is dealing with a different set of circumstances. San Francisco Chinatown is a more heavily touristed area, with the tourist base concentrated on Chinese business; therefore, McDonald’s impact on Chinatown was not as great. In Seattle, the District lacks the same strong base of tourism, and is already reeling from the impacts of the two new stadiums. “A business like McDonald’s may cause commercial rents to go up [in Seattle’s Chinatown],” says Chinn.
Chu (who was not at the meeting) emphasizes that negotiations are “not final” and that McDonald’s is just one of “over ten parties” he has had discussions with about the property. He maintains that McDonald’s has promised to hire local youngsters to cooperate with community members on factors like design and menu, and has offered “to support community activities.” Chu also asserts that McDonald’s would not compete unfairly with the small family businesses, as several Asian run businesses in the ID already offer cheaper prices. Finally, says Chu, it is unfair to blame McDonald’s or any one individual for public safety problems common to the South Downtown area. “It’s a complicated issue,” says Ron Chew, director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum and previous long time resident of the District, who is against the McDonald’s in principle. “A lot of the low-income residents might be happy that they could get a 99-cent cheeseburger. I don’t think there’s any easy answer to this question.”
“Because CAP focuses on creating an environment that discourages crime for the neighborhood, we are concerned with the public safety implications of situating a McDonalds at Fifth and Jackson,” says Aileen Balahadia of Community Action Partnership, a community based public safety non-profit. “Currently, that
Many believe a McDonald’s will compete with the small family businesses that have been the neighborhood’s heart and soul. A McDonald’s will increase the amount of garbage dumped in an area already trying to cope with a large volume of waste. And in a 26
International District
is our most fragile corner in terms of drug trafficking, loitering, and prostitution.
Doug Chin, long-time community activist. “He needs to clean up what he has there now, and it’s irresponsible of him not to do so. I don’t think that he has a commitment to the preservation of the historical character of the area and obviously he doesn’t have a commitment to improving the public safety down here.”
Miebeth Bustillo-Hutchins, director of the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, which rents its office space in the Buty Building, agrees: “It is no secret that fast food franchises attract vagrants and questionable characters. I’m further afraid that clients served by the tenants of this building will be dissuaded in accessing the building services for fear of unfriendly and uncomfortable confrontations.”
The International District has come up in the world lately. After years of struggle to preserve and reinvigorate the neighborhood, large corporate conglomerates such as McDonald’s will no doubt continue to be attracted to the I.D. On the plus side, such interest in locating business here is a sign that the District’s economic vitality is strong. But there are many potential drawbacks, and many fear they will be realized.
“This property owner needs to get the prostitutes, pimps, and drug dealers off the property, the appearance of the building and the existing businesses attracts them,” comments
April 2000 (VOLUME 27, NO. 7)
Development in the International District By Melissa Lin
most diverse communities in Seattle, and a community that has had to confront change at every step of the way, although change does seem to have speeded up of late. The original construction of Interstate 5 cut down the center of the District, creating a haven for crime and vagrancy underneath the Jackson Street overpass. Then there was the Kingdome, which brought increased parking and traffic pressures. Now that the Kingdome is gone, Safeco Field already towers over the skylight, while the Seahawks stadium will be built literally on the rubble of the imploded Dome. At every step, community members have protested, and then been forced to compromise when it was clear that their concerns accounted for little. And despite these hardships, the community “changed” and “adapted.” In the process, they managed to maintain the vibrancy and vitality of this neighborhood.
As Seattle says goodbye to the Kingdome, the mainstream press talks nostalgically about baseball, rock concerts, and tiles falling from the ceiling. Meanwhile, International District residents view the Kingdome implosion with a mixture of relief and concern: relief because the Dome was often a burden rather than a blessing for the neighborhood, and concern because two (not one, but two) new stadiums are taking its place. Small business owners felt that their businesses suffered because of Kingdome traffic. Baseball fans would drive in on game days and take up precious parking space, while customers and employees of ID businesses struggle to find parking. Now with the two new stadiums, and a slew of other new developments, the problem will only get worse.
A recent Seattle Times article labeled the International District as an “enclave” that is only just “on the verge of change.” The truth is just the opposite: the ID is one of the
Now the neighborhood is facing new trends that will test our ability to cope with rapid development while still maintaining a livable 27
environment for everyone. Seattle is in the midst of a growth spurt, and housing is bearing the brunt of it. Downtown development is fueling a rapid rise in costs. The Union Station renovation, the two new stadiums, and Paul Allen’s investments have created a market dynamic in which downtown development is moving south. This new trend affects Pioneer Square as well as the International District. Mainstream office development is moving south, mainly because Amazon.com moved into the old PacMed, this neighborhood became a corridor of high-tech development.
pretty safe to assume that the offer is motivated primarily by the profit potential in the resale value of the property.
Ironically, the very economic vitality we worked so hard to create is creating new problems for the neighborhood. Now that residents, small businesses and community organizations have succeeded in making this a vital economic area, large multinational conglomerates are trying to move in and reap the benefits. Recently community members have been concerned about the possibility that a McDonald’s franchise may move into the Buty Building at 5th and Jackson. Many are actively opposing the franchise, citing public safety and sanitation problems at other downtown McDonald’s locations as well as the impact on the cultural and historical nature of the district. Regardless of whether the McDonald’s does move at the corner of 5th and Jackson, the corporation’s interest in the property is a sign of things to come. Other large corporations will surely follow, and how we deal with McDonald’s is a good indication of how we will deal with those others.
Throughout the ’90s, most of the development was community-based, initiated by non-profit community agencies. Ten years ago not much was happening: there is a mix of views from within the community about the new trend. On the positive side, there may be some benefits to local restaurants and stores. Maybe not all will benefit—for example, Little Saigon has less proximity to the area of high development. The white-collar workforce is less likely to go to the smaller restaurant, preferring the larger, more established Asian restaurants. Also, the ID has wanted to have more diversity in housing— more market rate housing and even a few condos are not necessarily bad for the District. But in the momentum created after the first project goes up, other condo developers will become interested. Once the market takes off, balanced development is far less likely to happen. Even worse, there are signs that some companies may be speculating in ID property—property owners all over the district have received form letters from one company offering to pay “all cash at closing,” even when the owner has shown no signs of wanting to sell. InterIm Community Development Association, a nonprofit agency that owns property in the District was one of the recipients of these letters. The letter sent to InterIm contains these words in bold face and underlined across the top of the page: “We want to buy your property. We are not brokers. We are apartment builders.”
What many don’t seem to understand is the unique history of this District as an Asian Pacific American neighborhood—not just Asian, and not mainstream (that is, white) American. The common misperception is that we are an “enclave” of Asian “exotica.” (When Hollywood celebrity Sylvester Stallone recently filmed part of an upcoming movie in the ID, set designers spread extra garbage around our alleyways to make it look more “realistic.”) This District has a unique history that is an integral part of American history—that of Asian immigrants who were forced to live where no one else would, and who nevertheless build a community of which they could be proud. It goes much deeper than “Asian exotica,” and it goes much deeper than not wanting burgers and fries. There are few alternatives to this downward spiral. Partnerships between property owners and non-profits like ICDA and SCIPDA though time-consuming, are worthwhile in terms of
While such a letter does not conclusively prove that a company is speculating in land, it is
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International District
the benefit to the community at large. Ken Katahira of ICDA says, “New developers should be talking to the community that they develop in. We try to find out what their view is of the community—for example, is the ID a minority ghetto or is it a real estate investment in a vital Seattle neighborhood?”
neighborhood to develop, corporate interests can and will go ahead with large new developments which will impact the community in numerous ways. Some members of the ID community have already put in a great deal of time and energy to create the Chinatown/International District Strategic Plan, a 41-page document issued in June 1998, detailing a comprehensive plan for healthy, controlled development in the International District. The plan was based on earlier planning efforts and extensive community outreach to ensure that a variety of voices were heard in the planning process. The plan covers the areas of cultural and economic vitality, housing, public spaces (including public safety), and transportation accessibility. The recommendations in the neighborhood plan are currently in the process of being implemented by community organizations and city government agencies. While the jury’s still out on the future of the ID, many are working overtime to make sure that the neighborhood continues to become a healthy one for all its residents, employees and visitors.
Other options include such tactics as inclusionary zoning and NIMBYs (“Not In My Backyard” groups). Inclusionary zoning programs, in which new developments are required to have a certain percentage of affordable housing, have been successful in other areas including Boston and Montgomery County, Maryland. NIMBYs are the urban planner’s term for grass roots community groups who band together to keep out unwanted developments, much like the current opposition to the potential McDonald’s franchise at 5th and Jackson. Unless community members are willing to put in the time and energy to pay attention to and share their vision of how they want their
June 2000 (VOLUME 27, NO. 11)
The Eastern Hotel: Then and Now By Nhien Nguyen
Hotel was below standard housing with 92 single rooms with only three toilets for every 40 tenants. It is one of the earliest examples of the typical multi-story apartment hotel found in the District and was one of the earliest properties of the Wa Chong Company. The renovation of Eastern Hotel began in 1997, when InterIm Community Development, a non-profit housing developer in the International District, became interested in an upgrading historic building with more spacious units for couples and families. In the process of the renovation project, InterIm relocated the existing businesses in the Hotel and worked with the owners on securing loans that were difficult for them to receive as limited English speakers. Andy Mizuki, director of Project Management at Seattle
The Eastern Hotel, designated a historical landmark and located in Seattle International District, recently won a distinguished award for affordable housing from the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects. With painstaking detailed preservation of the original building and additional physical improvements, Eastern Hotel is now an affordable, high quality place for low-income workers to live in the everinflating costliness of Seattle’s housing market.
As one of the earliest buildings in the International District, Eastern Hotel dates back from 1909 to 1911. Built by David Dow, a prominent contractor in the 1900s, Eastern 29
Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDPDA), emphasized the importance of affordable, decent housing for the community. Mizuki said, “Just because you have a low-paying job as a security guard or cook, doesn’t mean you have to live in a dump. You should be able to live in decent housing.” Every effort was made by Robert Hale, the architect of the project, and other community agencies to preserve the beauty and historic nature of the building. For example, much of the woodwork was restored with a high quality finish, the original brick was cleaned, and metal cornices repaired. Because the design of the building was so good, the workers on the renovation project began to compete with each other on the aesthetic quality of their work.
infrastucture for the District. New sidewalks were made with waterproof membranes and sturdy enough for fire engines to drive on, whereas many sidewalks in the District are hollow and leak water. A new electrical vault was installed to fix the problems with blackouts a few years ago, which interrupted the business of restaurants and stores.
The Hotel houses a cross-section of the population: from newborn babies to the elderly, African and Asian immigrants, Caucasians, females and males. Many of the current tenants are workers in the International District and downtown. Mizuki explained the renovation of the Eastern Hotel boosts the economic activity of the District by providing area businesses with a labor pool of stable workers.
Since the completion of the project in 1998, several tenants were able to move out of the complex into houses of their own. Development agencies such as InterIm and SCIDPDA have brought millions of dollars into the District for capital improvements that help low-income residents and the wider community. Mizuki said, “It is important for people to know why historic structures are important and why we need to keep them in the International District.”
To commemorate the historic nature of the Hotel as a place for laborers, a Carlos Bulosan Memorial Exhibit is on permanent display showing the contributions of Filipino laborers, local union leaders, and others in the social and cultural development of the District. The exhibit was named after Bulosan, a prolific writer and activist, who lived in the Hotel in the 1930s. Various photos and documents of cannery workers and farmers decorated the lobby of the Hotel. Artist Eliseo Art Silva painted an elaborate mural with symbols of Filipino and laborers experiences in Seattle. The mural was made to match the décor of the building. Mizuki described the renovation project as new
On Sunday, June 11, there will be an open house and reception at the Eastern Hotel, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information call Inter*im at 624-1802.
March 2001 (VOLUME 28, NO. 5)
International District Loses a Living Legend Friends and Family Say Goodbye to Florence Eng By Connie So
To the youths of the Seattle Chinese Baptist Church, she was “Auntie Florence,” a woman who exemplified kindness, inspired reverence and personified integrity. To her younger siblings, Mayme, Ray, Winston and Byron Chinn, she was
On Feb. 12 Seattle’s Chinese American community lost one of its pioneering members. Florence Eng died at the age of 91 of a heart attack. 30
International District
the “matriarch” who raised them while tending the family shop. And to many in the Chinese American community, Florence Eng, one of the first Chinese female merchant store owners, was the embodiment of its pioneers—loyal, family oriented and strong.
age of 30, Florence was left to care for her three younger brothers and a younger sister, ranging from 9 to 15. Meanwhile, she married and had four children of her own (Nancy, Shirley, Donald and Darrel). Unfortunately, by 1949, her husband Howard also passed away.
Commented sister Mayme, “She always taught us the importance of integrity, and how important it is not to lose it.”
Mayme remembered how “very determined, strong” her sister was. “There weren’t any women merchants back then. Right after my father died, people around gave us six months before we’d fold. She was really distressed. I remember her talking to Ray and I, the older children, and asking, ‘What are we going to do?’ Then we said. ‘We’re going to keep the shop.’”
Added brother Ray, “She also taught us to work hard, be fair to each other and to everyone else.”
Long-time friend and admirer, Ron Chew, executive director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum, recalled growing up in the International District and chatting with Eng about all sorts of information. “She seemed to know everyone and everything. She was a lot of fun to talk to. We are really going to miss her.”
Eng became the shopkeeper, the accountant and the salesperson. At the time, it was uncommon for a Chinese woman to head a shop, especially since there were not many Chinese women around Seattle or other parts of the United States because of various immigration laws and other historical circumstances.
In many ways, noted Chew, she was the “eyes and ears” of the Chinese American community in Seattle.
As Florence Eng once reflected to Seattle Times writer Paula Bock in 1994, “If God helps me, someday, when the children grow up, we can say we stayed together—at least we have a family, But if I can’t do it, if I fail, then Dad knows at least I tried.”
Florence Chin Eng was born Aug. 12, 1909 in the Hoy Jew Village of Toisan, China. After her grandfather had settled in the U.S. in 1894, her father, Hugh Chinn, obtained a visa to study in the United States in 1909. Like many Chinese students at the time, her father, upon arrival, could not afford to attend school. Instead, he worked in the lumber camps and later moved to Portland, Ore., where he worked at a restaurant.
For a period of time, beyond working for the shop in the day, Eng also took public transportation to work at the Wa Sang Restaurant at Eight and Pike in the evenings. Even while her mother was alive, when she returned home, Eng was the person who took care of the family. Said Mayme, “Our mother was not very strong in her later years. So Florence changed all our diapers and her children as well. This was before disposable, diaper services. She took care of all of us.”
In the 1920s, her father inherited her grandfather’s merchant business. As a merchant, he was allowed to sponsor his family to the U.S., despite the existence of exclusion acts. In 1923, 14-year-old Florence arrived in the U.S. with her mother. The Chinn’s Wa Sang Company opened in 1928. Since the first day it opened, Florence worked at the Wa Sang Company. The shop sold mostly Chinese goods, ranging from lotus roots to rice cookers.
“She’s our sister, and she’s been our mother; she raised us up when my mother died,” reflected Ray. “Later she became my business partner. But always, she was my mentor and my friend.” Meanwhile, Eng and her family lived in Maynard Alley in a 1,200 square foot home. Through hard times and easier times, Eng took care of the family and the shop.
In 1940, her life changed dramatically when her father died in a car accident. This was followed soon by her mother’s passing. At the
31
Although it sounds unusual, agreed Mayme, “In all our years, she never had any strong words. And we (the children and siblings) never argued. We had many disagreements, but we never argued.”
to attend college. “It was for my brothers, but [Florence] convinced my mother to let me go to college.” From that moment on, Mayme was “privileged to do the things that I wanted to do; to travel, get educated,” because her older sister helped her.
As time passed, Eng and Wa Sang became nearly synonymous. The shop was popular, not only for the goods it sold, but as a place to “hang out,” and “catch up on the news of Chinatown,” recalled Chew. But most of all, it was a place to listen and be entertained by all of Eng’s stories of Chinatown, its history and its people.
But by 1970s, like the children of other pioneering merchants, many of Eng’s youngest generation were not as interested in retail work.
In contrast, for more than 66 years, Eng worked at Wa Sang and refused to retire. Even in her late 80s, she continued bagging 10 pound sacks of rice. She finally retired in 1997, at the age of 88, after Wa Sang was sold to the Washington State Acupuncture Clinic.
“She had an uncanny memory,” added Chew.
Chew credited Eng with having provided much of the inspiration and details for the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s exhibit and publication, Reflections of Seattle’s Chinese Americans and its 1998 documentary, Kong Yick: Finding Home in Chinatown.
Eng and her brothers struggled over the future of Wa Sang. For years, they resisted selling the site. Instead, she and her brothers sought to renovate the building which housed Wa Sang. Instead, they envisioned a building for elderly who wanted to live a nice, simple life.
People were also attracted to Wa Sang by Eng’s generosity and sincerity. “Whatever she says, she meant from the heart,” noted Mayme.
In 1994, the Chinn family began renovating the empty floors above Wa Sang Market into nice, clean apartments for low-income tenants. The project is considered to be monumental in a neighborhood caught between the pressures of economic struggle and the soul-less gentrification.
“People came to her to talk about cooking, personal problems, and she would make herself available to them. She helps others and doesn’t talk about it; she does it just because she wants to, she’s very generous.”
Even as Eng helped nurture people like the young Ron Chew, she remained most devoted to her shop and family. Eng’s hard work would more than pay off.
Although she had retired, local Chinese Americans did not forget Eng and her brothers’ devotion to the community. This past January, the local chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans honored Eng with its “Golden Circle Award.” The chapter nominated Eng for her exemplary and selfless duty to the community.
In the 1960s, after restrictive convenants eased up, Eng and other Chinese Americans could finally live outside Maynard Alley. Other changes came as well. Opportunities that had once been out of reach for many Chinese Americans of the 1940s all became a part of the family’s younger generation. The family now included a nurse, University of Washington graduates, a photographer, a Harvard graduate, an aerobics instructor and an Eagle Scout member, among other occupations.
According to the local Organization of Chinese Americans’ president, Wang Yung, “She’s one of our pioneers, and provides a model that many of us should want to follow.”
But Mayme recalled that the ever-humble Eng had questioned why she would be “deserving” of such an award. She even wondered if she should attend. “Why me?” she had asked, “I guess it’s because I’m oldest, because so many people have done so much more than I did.”
Sister Mayme recalled how “broad-minded” Florence was. Considering the roles of women at the time, their mother had not wanted Mayme 32
International District
Eng is survived by her four siblings, Mayme, Ray, Winston and Byron of Seattle; a son, Darrel of Seattle; and two daughters, Shirley of Seattle and Nancy Cox of Lafayette, Calif. Her oldest
son, Donald, died last year. A memorial service for Eng was held on Saturday, March 2, at the Chinese Baptist Church in Beacon Hill.
September 2004 (VOLUME 31, NO. 17)
Main Street Housing Project to Accommodate Low-Income Families By John Wu & Nhien Nguyen
who grow up in this community have their own bedrooms. It gives them a chance to have their own life and privacy.”
InterIm Community Development Association will build a new family townhome-style project in the heart of the original Nihonmachi (Japantown) area of Seattle’s International District. The Main Street Family Housing Project, soon to have an official name, will begin construction in September 2004 with anticipated completion by November 2005.
The site will be located on South Maynard Avenue and Main Street, across the street from Kobe Terrace Park and the Danny Woo Community Garden, the latter operated by InterIm for elderly from the community. This project serves important community needs including immigrant and refugee groups with large and extended families, disabled individuals/families who are able to live independently and transitional housing for homeless families.
The project will offer 50 units for low-income families with incomes up to 60 percent of area median income. There will be 10 studios, six one-bedrooms, 19 two-bedrooms, 10 threebedrooms and five four-bedrooms.
Key funders for the project include City of Seattle, King County, WA State Housing Trust Fund, Seattle Housing Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank, Sound Families/Gates Foundation, Impact Capital, WA State Housing Finance Commission, and numerous individuals and foundations.
“We want to bring families back to the ID and to accommodate those who may be living in crowded, substandard housing right now,” says ICDA, which was started by its sister organization, International District Improvement Association in 1979. The building will be six stories with an interior courtyard with protected play space for children and a community room/computer lab for residents. Parking and commercial office space will also be part of the project.
On Aug. 2, the InterIm Community Development Association received a Neighborhood Business District Grant from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in the amount of $10,000 to fund the street scaping design on Main Street.
Bob Santos, executive director, says that as a child growing up in the ID, he lived in “very poor conditions” in single room occupancy (SRO) units.
“The Main Street Family Housing Project is a perfect example of how InterIm Community Development Association is truly making a difference in people’s lives,” Nickels said. “Projects like this create stronger, more vibrant
“Too many kids grow up in SRO units,” Santos said. “We want to make sure that kids
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neighborhoods and help meet the growing demand for high quality affordable housing.”
InterIm Community Development Association’s mission is to promote, advocate and revitalize the International District and Asian Pacific communities in the Pugent Sound area for the benefit of low- and moderateincome residents and community business owners.
The project has been years in the making and has involved the hard work of many individuals. Santos says, “The ID welcomes more low income and affordable housing for families in our community to meet the special needs of the very low income, disabled and homeless households.”
The groundbreaking ceremony takes place Thursday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m.—12:30 p.m. at South Maynard/Main Street in Seattle’s International District. The program features Taiko drummers, Mayor Greg Nickels, Council President Peter Steinbrueck, State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos and other funders and supporters. RSVP’s are appreciated. Call (206) 624-1802 for information.
Santos is pleased about the groundbreaking that kick-off on Sept. 9. He said, “This project stands as one more success in our 35-year effort to preserve and revitalize the ID. It is an ‘anchor’ for revitalization of Japantown and complements the Seattle Chinatown/ ID Presevation & Development Authority’s recently completed ID Village Square II project located at the south end of our neighborhood.
March 2013 (VOLUME 40, NO. 5)
Preserving History Through Food: Phnom Penh Noodle House By Minh Nguyen It is often the case that when people migrate and acculturate to America, the first thing they lose from their native culture is the language, the last the food. Sam Ung, owner of Phnom Penh Noodle House in the International District (ID), offers a cultural and historical education of Cambodia through its authentic dishes. Phnom Penh provides us with a different way to remember—not through words, but through flavor.
Sam Ung showcases one of his artistic creations. • Photo by Dawn Cropp.
Ung has always taken deep pride in the quality and authenticity of his food, often going back to Cambodia to do what he calls “research eating.” “My food is better,” Ung laughs smugly. Cambodian cuisine is hearty with flavors, mainly from fermented fish, and heady with herbs and spices such as galangal, star anise, and turmeric.
When you walk into Phnom Penh, however, the first thing you’ll notice is the wall of mounted photographs, all of which feature Ung and a public official, including Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, former Mayor Greg Nickels and Al Gore. For many, Ung’s story 34
International District
is not one of mere business success but evokes something much larger. Ung grew up in the midst of the Khmer Rouge, one of the most brutal massacres in history, and immigrated to America to eventually become a highly successful restaurant owner with a big reputation. Contextualized in Cambodia’s tumultuous recent history, Phnom Penh Noodle House becomes much more than a restaurant, but it’s the epitome of the “American dream” narrative. While the “American dream” is a heartbreaking myth for most immigrants, Phnom Penh is a kind of proof that it is possible, proof that once in a while, good things happen to good people, and that America holds possibilities—especially for immigrants of war—for a drastically new life.
popular dish is Battambang’s favorite noodle, but another definite dish to try is the “sagnao jruok ktiss meurn,” a brothy soup that is reminiscent of Thai tom ka, flavored with coconut milk, lemongrass, generous chunks of galangal, chili tamarind paste, mushrooms, cilantro and fat, juicy shrimp.
With the incredible success of Phnom Penh and Ung’s recent book, “I Survived the Killing Fields,” many are speculating about his next steps. Rumors have been circulating, perhaps wishfully, about a second restaurant. However, Ung states that this won’t be the case, and that he plans to retire from the restaurant business and involve himself with humanitarian work in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge left Cambodia’s land and people in devastation, and Ung plans to go to Cambodia to train people in what he calls “permanent life skills” to generate a source of income and achieve financial independence. Ung differentiates his humanitarian aspirations from those of current nonprofits who travel overseas to do the same work because he has known firsthand what they’ve gone through.
To the right of the photographs is a display of artifacts from the Khmer Rouge. On the display hang the quotidian—the shoes the villagers wore in the fields—to the macabre—the blades that people used to cut villagers’ throats during the massacres. The confrontation of these artifacts in the restaurant remind his patrons that food is inseparable from history, and Sam’s direct relationship to these items teaches us that massacres like this are not past-tense, but present all around us, in the people we encounter every day.
“They need to see me,” Ung says. “I could be inspirational to them. I could show them somebody that achieved something.”
When Ung retires, the restaurant will be taken over by his two daughters. His daughter, Dawn Cropp, says the restaurant business is much harder than she originally thought.
There is a very small Cambodian population in Seattle, and Ung intends for Phnom Penh— named after the capital city of Cambodia—to be a strong representation of the country’s culture among few. While many know Sam’s restaurant as a paragon of authentic Cambodian cuisine, few know that Ung has an even longer history of cooking food than his 25 years of restaurant ownership shows. Before his success in America, Ung cooked at his parents’ restaurant in Cambodia, in the city of Battambang, where he grew up.
“My dad used to say, ‘You’re female, you can’t run this business on your own,’ and I used to think he was being sexist,”Dawn laughs. “But now I know how much manual labor is involved. It will take the both of us [daughters] to fill his spot.” Sam Ung and Dawn Cropp will return as vendors this year to support the ID Spring Roll because they believe in the importance of participating in the betterment of their own community.
The cuisine is heavily influenced by Cambodia’s adjacent countries, which is why you’ll find on Phnom Penh’s menu familiar dishes such as phad thai, tai pak lov (Chinese herb duck), and Vietnamese-style rice and skewered pork with fish sauce. Ung says that a
“Plus, when you do good for the community,” Cropp says, “it’ll come right back around.”
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Photo by Ryan Catabay
January 2014 (VOLUME 41, NO. 1)
665 S. King St. fire: Salvaging the past, rising from the debris By Travis Quezon
get ready for holiday festivities with his family.
At 3:57 p.m., multiple 911 calls report flames coming from the roof of the building located at 665 S. King St. Before arriving, responding engines report a large column of black smoke coming from the old building. It’s suspected that the fire began in the vacant apartments that made up the second and third floors of the three-story building.
It’s 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24— Christmas Eve in the International District. Steve Wu, owner of Palace Décor and Gifts, is making the last preparations in his store before the holidays. He heads down into the basement to restock the shelves. The basement is where he stores a large cache of imported toys from Asia. Palace Décor and Gifts is one of the biggest imported toy stores in the area, supported in part by an active Transformers collectible community throughout Seattle.
The building is owned by the Woo family. Street level tenants included Palace Décor and Gifts, Mon Hei Bakery, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Yuan Sheng Hang herbal shop, Sea Garden Seafood Restaurant, Pacific International Co., Seattle Gospel Center Bookroom, and Liem’s Pet Shop.
In the basement, Wu notices a charred smell. The neighborhood’s network of old underground tunnels has brought strange smells down there before. He thinks Won Hei Bakery next door might have simply burned something in one of its basement ovens. Wu heads home to
Just after 4:00 p.m., Wu arrives home and hears that there is a fire in the 665 S. King 36
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St. building. He rushes back to the building but isn’t able to get within a block of it. Emergency vehicles have sealed the area. Due to signs that the building walls could potentially collapse, firefighters shut down South King Street between Maynard Avenue South and 7th Avenue South. Residents living in two apartment complexes located directly across the alley and west of the building are evacuated.
The ceiling tiles had fallen. There was so much debris, I couldn’t get to the basement.”
Wu said he is still in the process of dealing with his insurance company and hasn’t made any concrete plans yet for the future of Palace Décor and Gifts.
“Our ultimate goal is we want to restart and rebuild our business here,” Wu said. “My family and I will discuss what we can do. It’s only been a week and it’s still settling in.”
Firefighters battle the flames using several 1,000 gallon-a-minute ladder pipes along with multiple hose lines. The fire is declared under control at 10:23 p.m. Firefighters continue to pump water into the building until about 4:00 a.m. on Christmas morning. There are no reported injuries due to the fire.
Wu’s memories of the building go beyond the 20 years his business has operated out of there. He said the site of his store used to be a newspaper stand and grocery store where he would buy snacks and comic books as a child. Wu said the store provided him a way to connect to the community and stay active with his own language and heritage.
Weeks later, the building remains sealed off from the rest of the International District neighborhood. Fire investigators are not able to complete their investigation due to the structural damage and risk of the building’s collapse.
“When we moved in there, this was a way that allowed us to share the Chinese and Asian culture with everyone,” Wu said. “For me it’s been an honor and a pleasure. It’s allowed me to connect with my culture. Working at that gift shop allowed me to continue to use Cantonese so I don’t lose it.”
Salvaging the Past
For business owners affected by the fire at 665 S. King Street, the damage to their livelihoods has been devastating. Business owners are going through financial procedures with their insurance companies before they determine if and how they will open up shop again. But the real devastation comes to business owners and their families through the loss of their generations-old memories in the building, and their connections to the neighborhood.
The weekend after the fire was the first weekend in 15 years that he wasn’t in the store working, Wu said.
Rising from the Debris
Also located on the western corner of the building deemed most at risk was Mon Hei Bakery—where it’s been for over 30 years. Mon Hei Bakery established itself as the first Chinese bakery in Seattle in 1979.
On Friday, December 27, business owners were allowed to re-enter their stores for a short period of time to gather what they could. Because Wu’s store was located on a western corner of the building, an area that posed the greatest risk of collapse due to water damage, he was given only five minutes to be inside his store.
Aaron Chan, whose family runs the bakery, said they were initially given only five minutes to retrieve what they could from the bakery. It wouldn’t have been enough time get three wooden plaques in the shape of a phoenix, a dragon, and a business crest that were bolted to the wall. The plaques held great sentimental value to his family, Chan said. His grandfather put the plaques up when he opened the bakery in 1979. Chan said he corresponded with city
“Five minutes is not a lot of time,” Wu said. “I really went in and tried to just assess the damage. There was so much debris everywhere.
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officials, who agreed that the plaques were historic artifacts.
neighborhood’s cultural identity carried signs that said “Hum Bows, not hamburgers.”
When the time came to reenter the bakery on the Friday after the fire, the fire marshall gave them a full hour to go back into the bakery.
“Ethnically, people come to Chinatown because this is where people can call home,” Chan said. “It’s a place where Asian people can be a part of the community. It shows how important a simple institution like a bakery can be to the community.”
“It was a blessing in disguise,” Chan said of the unexpected extra time.
Upon entering the bakery at street level, Chan said there was major water damage and the ceiling tiles had fallen. He was not able to enter the basement, which was flooded and posed an electrical hazard. All the baking was done in the basement, where they housed their mixers, ovens, and stoves. Chan was, however, able to salvage the plaques in time.
It’s a notion that rings true particularly for those who have grown up in the neighborhood. Seattle photographer and journalist Dean Wong shared his memories of the 665 S King St. building.
“The old buildings in Chinatown are more than just brick and mortar,” Wong said. “They represent the history of the community through the people that have lived there, early immigrants who helped establish the community. When I was growing up in Chinatown in the 1960s, I frequented the Palace Pool Room right at the corner of King Street and Maynard Avenue. They had a great selection of comic books and generations of Chinatown kids would sit there reading for hours. There was a gambling joint mid-block. My mother sent me to the store on the corner to buy groceries and I had friends who lived in the upper floors of the building.”
Chan said the rebuilding process has been particularly tough for his parents, who currently run the store. “They’re tired and exhausted,” Chan said. “That’s all my parents know what to do is be bakers. Now, going out, what can you do?”
Chan said his family is currently looking at the possibility of opening up another storefront in Chinatown, but that it’s going to cost them about $200,000 or more to start over.
“Hopefully, they’re able to start over again, and in the process we might need some community support in one way or another,” Chan said.
The Seattle Fire Department has since turned the building over to the Woo family, who has had to erect fencing and build scaffolding on the King Street and Maynard Alley side to protect pedestrians from falling debris. There is still a risk for collapse. A structural engineer must determine the long-term status of the structure.
For the community, the Chinese bakery represents something that can’t be quantified in numbers, Chan explained. He pointed to the year 2000, when about a hundred people demonstrated outside the downtown Seattle McDonald’s to protest efforts to bring the fast food chain into the International District. He said protesters fighting to protect the
“It would be sad to see this building come down,” Wong said.
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Greg Della (center), Susan Robb (left), and Mike Kozu (right) are arrested during a protest of the Marcos regime in the Philippines. The group, representing the Anti-Martial Law Coalition, briefly occupied the offices of the Philippine Consul General, Mariano Landicho, in downtown Seattle in 1978. Della presented the demands of the group to Landicho, including the immediate lifting of martial law in the Philippines, but, in his words, “He just passed it off and kept saying he had to go to lunch.” From the International Examiner, May 1978 issue. • Photo by John Stamets, April 13, 1978.
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April 1978 (VOLUME 5, NO. 3)
The Community’s Way of Saying, ‘Thanks, Denise’ By Gary Iwamoto
children. Tentative hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The reason for the early opening hours is to accommodate garment workers who must go to work in the early morning. The child care Denise Louie • File Photo program is intended to reach children and families who have had little contact with child care programs. These specifically include Asian immigrant children, Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese.
They’ve just named a childcare center after my friend, Denise Louie. It’s rare that anything is named after someone who died at such a young age of twenty-one but Denise was a rare individual. Denise had gotten more out of life than many of us will ever have even if we live to 100. Rather than sit back and do nothing, Denise got involved. For many people, Denise’s name probably doesn’t sound familiar except, perhaps, for the grim fact that she died in a San Francisco restaurant. But for those of us who knew what she did for the community or what she tried to do, having something named after her eases the pain of knowing she is not with us.
The center plans to offer programs in health care, developmental assessment, and child care guidance. Meals and snacks will be provided. Tentative plans also include bilingual programming.
Many of her friends feel as I do that naming a child care center after Denise is appropriate. Kids have a lot of energy, with a tendency to get into mischief. Denise was a lot like that. She’d probably have fit right in with the kids.
Having Denise Louie’s name associated with such a needed program is a tribute to an unsung heroine. Denise donated many hours of her time to community service without expectation of glory. She volunteered her help for the community garden because she wanted to do it. She helped clean up the facilities at the Chinese Information Center for the Chinese Nutrition Program because she felt good about doing it. She worked on political campaigns for candidates supported by the community because some one had to do it. She participated in demonstrations because Asian voices had to be heard.
A child care center has been needed in the International District for a long time. Donnie Chin of the International District Emergency Center once said: “When their momma’s away, the kids will play.” And what Donnie means by “play” is kids playing in garbage cans, fighting in alleys, and just getting into trouble because there is nothing else to do when their parents are away working. People often think of the International District as a place where only the elderly live. But immigrant families do live here. Next time you’re in the District, look in the grocery stores. You’ll probably see some kids hanging out.
Naming the child care center “the Denise Louie Child Care Center” is the community’s way, belatedly, of saying, “Thanks, Denise.”
The center will have programs designed to accommodate approximately 17 low-income
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Local August 1978 (VOLUME 5, NO. 7)
It Could Be a ‘First’
Dolores Sibonga Tries for City Council By Gary Iwamoto
Too many decision makers offer solutions without explanations. When I make decisions, I try to explain why. Sometimes, you have to compromise, but I can’t compromise issues affecting minority interests.
Dolores Sibonga wants to be first.
Her name has been tossed around, among several others, as possible candidate to replace Phyllis Lamphere who has left the Seattle City Council to take a federal job. There has never been a Filipino American or minority woman on the City Council. Sibonga, if appointed, would be the first in either category. Currently Deputy Executive Secretary of the Washington State Human Rights Commission, Dolores is considered by many to be the most likely appointee.
She is apparently willing to plunge right into the middle of controversy. She has definite views about two issues which have attracted much publicity: homosexuality and use of police firearms.
She favors retaining the ordinance respecting homosexual rights in employment antidiscrimination. Her belief is that “once you start removing sanctions guarantee that other civil rights can not be stripped away.
Sibonga believes she is qualified for the City Council position because of the issues currently before that body.
Her opinion on the use of police firearms is equally strong. She said, “there is substantial evidence that the use of firearms by the police have a tremendous impact on people of color. There has to be a way to control the subjective determination made by the police of who they decide to use firearms against. There must be limits.”
Her background includes experience in both the communications media and the legal profession. She has edited newspapers, wrote and produced television documentaries for KOMO-TV (receiving an Emmy nomination), graduated from law school, passed the bar, and worked as attorney for Public Defender. In addition, she somehow found time to raise three children.
At this point, Dolores Sibonga is not well known in Seattle. The City Attorney has given the opinion that a general election will be held for Lamphere’s seat, probably in November. Sibonga has neither the notoriety or the money to compete with well-heeled candidates. Thus, for the time being, Sibonga intends only to seek the interim appointment to the vacated seat and not run for elections.
Another reason for her desire to be on the City Council is to expand the visibility of Asians in decision-making positions. She feels Asians are not getting appointed or elected to positions of power in government and that it’s about time that “the Asian potential” be recognized.
As a minority person, Sibonga wants to make it clear that she intends to be an unequivocal advocate for minority interests. “Of course,” she said, “solutions to the problems affecting Seattle should be in the public welfare. The decision making process involves solutions that should be effective and should be explained.
If she is appointed, Dolores will probably resign from the board of Inter*im of which she is currently Chairperson. Inter*im Director Bob Santos said, “One thing that Dolores can contribute to the City Council is her insight on some of the issues affecting the International District. She’s been active enough down here to 41
know what’s going on around here. As Chair of our Board, she has helped steer our direction by supporting and advocating for our activities. By the way, she also happens to be a nice person, if that counts for anything.”
As the Examiner was going to press August 24, the City Council had unanimously approved on the first ballot the appointment of Sibonga.
December 1978 (VOLUME 5, NO. 11)
Port Shelves Union Station Proposal By Vicki Woo and Ron Chew
study. That would be enough votes to block passage of funds for the study. Seven of the nine Council members would have to vote for the appropriation, since the $25,000 would come out of emergency funds.
The Port of Seattle earlier this month shelved its plan to construct a $17 million intermodal transportation terminal at the old Union Station site adjacent to the International District. The Port cited the unwillingness of Greyhound Bus Lines to participate in the terminal project.
The City Council’s transportation committee had scheduled a public hearing on the transportation terminal appropriation November 22, but the hearing was rescheduled to early December, then postponed at the request of the Port. Some observers pointed out that it was a politically wise decision by the Port to shelve the transportation terminal project at this time, rather than risk defeat by the City Council.
Jim Dwyer, Senior director of planning and port relations, told The Examiner that “Trailways was ready, willing and able” to participate in the terminal project, but that Greyhound “indicated the site was not adequate to meet their needs.”
The Port had planned a complex which would house Greyhound, Trailways, Airport Bus Service, Greyline Tours and Evergreen Cascade Trailways. Amtrak would be hooked up with the complex by tunnel under 4th Avenue, under Port’s proposal.
The International District improvement Association (Inter*Im) had spearheaded opposition to the conversion of Union Station into a transportation terminal, pointing to the traffic congestion, pollution and potential detrimental effect on housing the terminal would cause. Inter*Im had heavily lobbied the City Council.
Since Greyhound Bus Lines has a large share of the market in bus travel, said Dwyer, its participation was essential.
“It’s a community victory,” stated Bob Santos, director of Inter*Im, following the Port’s announcement. “The support of the business community, residents and groups outside of the District” was a key factor in Port’s decision, he said.
But The Examiner has learned that the President of Greyhound notified the Port, by letter, of its decision not to participate in the Union Station scheme on November 16, about one month before the Port made its public announcement to shelve the Union Station project.
Asked if the opposition from International District community had anything to do with the Port’s decision, Dwyer replied that the Port had earmarked money for community participation in the planning process. Art Yoshioka, another Port representative, responded, “I don’t think so.”
According to Seattle City Council insiders, there were at least three Council members prepared to vote against appropriation of the money the Port had sought for its planning 42
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Asked if the Port will formulate a different proposal for a transportation terminal, Dwyer replied, “I don’t foresee that occurring in the near future.” Yoshioka added, “It’s kind of a lost opportunity.” But, Yoshioka added, “the basic problem won’t go away—the needs of public transit.”
opposition, had argued that it would study alternative uses for the Union Station site as well as alternative sites for the transportation terminal. However, according to Whitehead, the Port made the recommendation to Greyhound that the terminal be built at Union Station. “We have not closed the door on the notion (of a transportation terminal),” said Whitehead. “But that particular site we will not participate in because, as a bus terminal, it is not acceptable.”
A local Greyhound official declined to comment on the decision not to participate in the Port scheme. But Lee Whitehead, director of public relations for Greyhound in Phoenix, said, “Our people looked at the site and determined it was not suitable because of the amount of traffic congestion.” The proximity of Union Station to the Kingdome would hamper access to and from the terminal, Whitehead said. He said the Union Station site could not be altered to meet the needs of Greyhound. “We decided that it was not going to be feasible at some later time,” Whitehead said.
Dan Dingfield, consultant to the Port of Seattle, suggested that competition between Greyhound and Trailways might have played a role in Greyhound’s decision to stay out of the Union Station terminal project. Shigeko Uno, vice-president of the International District Economic Association (IDEA), said Greyhound handles 60 per cent of the bus traffic and 995 other bus companies handle the other 40 per cent. It has been suggested that Greyhound wants to control the market. “Fanciful speculation,” responds Whitehead.
Whitehead’s response raises a question. The Port, in its attempt to defuse community
November 1979 (VOLUME 6, NO. 11)
Sibonga and Hara Win City Positions By Ron Chew
to defeat the former Police Officers’ Guild president.
Two Asian Americans, backed by wellfinanced campaigns, captured a Seattle City Council seat and the office of City Treasure in the November 6 election.
Lloyd Hara defeated Assistant City Treasurer George Cooley in the race for City Treasurer in a bitterly contested election, 63,450 to 56,178. Hara, outspending Cooley two-to-one, said he attacked his opponent as a representative of “hand-me-down government who had the support of the old hands around City Hall.” Hara noted that, of all the candidates running for office this year, he had the second highest number of contributions, next to Sibonga.
Another Asian City Council candidate lost his bid to unseat a long-time Council member.
Dolores Sibonga, as, expected, defeated Seattle police officer Bob Moffett in the race for the City Council seat vacated by Tim Hill. The Filipino attorney and former State Human Rights Department deputy secretary defeated Moffett 71,337 to 58,347, becoming the first minority woman ever elected to the City Council. She effectively utilized a television blitz during the last part of the campaign
In another less publicized City Council race, Paul Horiuchi, a well-known Seattle singer, was overwhelming thwarted by incumbent Sam Smith, 93,072 to 34,715. Horiuchi had campaigned on the need for fresh approaches, 43
which he said Smith, seeking a fourth term, could not provide.
defeat the Assistant City Treasurer in the final election.
Sibonga, confidently awaiting announcement of election returns at her campaign headquarters downtown, told The Examiner that she would focus on basic priority issues of “employment, shelter and health” when she begins her term on the Council. “It is inexcusable that, in this day and age, anyone should go hungry,” she said. “In the International Year of the Child, there should also be an emphasis on children and single parents.”
“Asians should become more politically active,” said Hara. “The time is now. Besides business, politics is a very important way for Asians to ensure their rights.”
He encouraged Asians to get involved in politics at the grassroots level. “If you’re not involved, you’re not going to count,” he remarked. Sibonga was the first Filipino American ever to pass the Washington State bar exam. Now she is the first minority woman City Council member. She said she feels good about the accomplishment. “But I wonder why it hasn’t happened before,” she said. “Here I am at 48. There should have been others before.”
Sibonga had been expected to win handily over the more conservative Moffett, after she finished solidly ahead of a field of candidates in the September primary. Hara pulled in only 37 percent of the vote in the primary against Cooley, but came back to
May 1982 (VOLUME 9, NO. 10)
Jury Convicts Dictado of First Degree Murder By Ron Chew
of his “soldiers,” Pompeyo Benito Guloy, Jr. and Jimmy Bulosan Ramil, to execute cannery union reformers Gene Viernes and Silme Domingo last June.
A 12-member King County Superior Court jury deliberated 10 ½ hours before returning to the courtroom to pronounce Fortunado “Tony” Dictado, the man accused of ordering the execution-style shooting of two local cannery union reformers, guilty on both counts of aggravated first degree murder.
Maida said Viernes, who refused to dispatch Tulisan members to an Alaska cannery for the 1981 season, prevented the gang from setting up profitable high stakes gambling in Alaska, angering Dictado.
John Henry Browne, Dictado’s attorney, commented as he left the courtroom, “I’m disappointed.” The short amount of time the jury took to reach a verdict, Browne said, “seems to me that it wasn’t thought out.” Asked if he plans to appeal the decision, he responded, “Sure.”
The Committee for Justice for Domingo and Viernes, lauding the jury’s decision, called Dictato’s conviction “an important step toward justice,” but also called for the prosecution of ousted cannery union president Constantine “Tony” Baruso for his alleged role in the murders.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Joanne Maida contended that Dictado was the leader of the Filipino gang, Tulisan, and that he ordered two
Baruso is the owner of the murder weapon, but he claims the gun was stolen from him. 44
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Baruso was toppled from power in a recall election last December.
day after they occurred, San Pablo, trembling, took Van Bactor aside and said, “My God, my God, it’s true! They told me they would do it, but I didn’t think they would do it.” San Pablo looked like “he had seen a ghost,” Van Bactor said.
Last September Guloy and Ramil were convicted of aggravated first degree murder in the shootings and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Later that same day, Van Bactor testified, he and San Pablo looked over a crew list. Van Bactor said he circled the names of Ramil and Dictado after San Pablo told him, “They did it.” Van Bactor said he put an asterisk by Dictado’s name when San Pablo told him Dictado was the “mastermind.”
Viernes and Domingo were elected union officers in 1980, campaigning on a pledge to rid the cannery union—Local 37 of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union—of corrupt practices such as bribery in the dispatch procedures.
Viernes and Domingo were also prominent International District community activists and outspoken critics of the martial law regime in the Philippines.
However, Browne questioned whether Dictado had a motive for the killings. Under crossexamination by Browne, San Pablo conceded that Dictado and some of his friends believe they were going to Alaska in the second crew.
The Dictado trial, which featured over 40 witnesses, lasted almost three weeks, ending last Thursday when the jury returned the relatively swift verdict against the 29-yearold Dictado. The jury, ordered sequestered by Presiding Judge Terrence Carroll, found Dictado guilty the day after closing arguments by Maida and Browne.
Brown called defense witness Goven Roy, who worked with San Pablo in Dillingham. Roy charged that San Pablo pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot him because Roy wanted to withdraw from the gambling at the cannery. Roy’s credibility was damaged, however, under cross-examination. Roy denied visiting Dictado in jail, but when Maida confronted him with a jail slip bearing his name he said he couldn’t remember whether he had visited Dictado. Then he finally conceded that he had visited Dictado.
Earlier in the trial, Robert San Pablo, a foreman at a Dillingham, Alaska cannery and a key prosecution witness, said Dictado had told him on several occasions that he was going to kill Viernes. San Pablo testified that, last May 26, he witnessed an argument between Dictado and Union Dispatcher Viernes. Viernes angered Dictado by refusing to dispatch Tulisan members to Alaska, San Pablo testified. “Mother, I’m going to get rid of you,” San Pablo quoted Dictado as saying to Viernes in Illocano, a dialect the American-born Viernes did not understand.
The most prominent defense witness was Dictado himself, taking the stand on May 11 to testify that he did not order or help in any way in the shootings of Domingo and Viernes. He admitted that he had lied at the earlier trail of Ramil and Guloy when he had testified that the two were with him at an International District gambling club when the shootings took place. He lied to protect his family who have been threatened, Dictado said. Dictado said he knows who ordered the killings, but can’t reveal that information because of what might happen to his family.
San Pablo also said that, on May 31, the day before the shootings, Ramil told him at the Hong Kong Restaurant in the International District that Dictado was going to kill Viernes the next day.
Norman Van Bactor, San Pablo’s immediate supervisor at Dillingam, testified that when the cannery crew was informed of the shootings the
Dictado, who denied that he was the leader of Tulisan and denied that Tulisan controls gambling in Seattle’s International District, 45
broke into tears near the beginning of his testimony when he told of his three children in the Philippines. He denied threatening Viernes and said he first learned he wasn’t going to be dispatched to Alaska after the shootings had happened.
Baruso,” and that Dictado and Baruso “stood to acquire profits” from the gambling in Alaska. Tulisan shares common “selfish interest” with Baruso, Maida said. Browne, in an emotional closing arguments, reiterated that his client fears for his family’s safety if he tells what he knows about the killings. The prosecution, Browne charged, had no proof of motive on the part of Dictado. If a motive was proved, it was a motive for Baruso, Browne argued. Brown said he believes Dictado genuinely fears that his family might be killed if he talks. “There is no question that Mr. Baruso is very dangerous,” Browne said.
Interestingly, both Maida and Browne during the trial implicated Baruso in the killings, although Baruso has not yet been charged with any crime. When Baruso was called to the stand by the prosecution, he invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 31 times and refused to answer questions about the murders, similar to what he did in the trail of Ramil and Guloy.
San Pablo also testified that a Tulisan member told him Baruso was to pay Dictado $5,000 for killing Viernes.
In her final arguments to the jury, Maida said Dictado ordered the killings “at the behest of
October 1982 (VOLUME 9, NO. 19)
Cannery Union Elects First Woman President in its History By Ron Chew The membership of Cannery Union Local 37, of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union has elected the first women president in the Union’s history with a vote which overwhelmingly went to reform slate candidates, Union officials announced last Friday.
Each of the reform candidates who ran on the Rank and File Committee platform coasted to easy victory, including Terri Mast, who defeated Emma Lawsin 391 votes to 135 for the President/Business Agent post. Mast, widow of slain local 37 reformer Silme Domingo, was one of the founding members of the Rank and File Committee, which for the past several years has pushed for greater accountability by Union officials to the membership and elimination of long-standing corrupt practices such as bribery in the dispatch procedures.
Ballots counted at Local 37 in 1982. • Photo by Greg Tuai
The Seattle-based union represents 1200 to 1500 workers at 16 Alaska canneries. Domingo and Gene Viernes were murdered at the Union hall June 1, 1981. The turmoil that followed included a membership vote to oust Union President Constantine “Tony” Baruso 46
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after it was revealed that Baruso was the owner of the gun used as the murder weapon and other allegations surfaced that Baruso was involved in voting fraud and embezzlement of union funds. To date, Baruso has not yet been charged with any crime.
component of all previous contracts negotiated since the inception of Local 37. “It’s going to take competent leadership not to become sold out,” she said, “We have to move off the petty squabbles and internal bickering and pull the membership behind us and take on the industry.”
The other newly-elected officers are: VicePresident Leo Lorenzo; Secretary-Treasurer, David Della; Dispatcher Glenn Suson; Trustees Nemesio Domingo, Sr., Emma Catague and Bernardo Taclay; and Members At Large, Lynn Domingo, Angel Doniego and Myrna Bumlag.
Both Mast and Della said they will make efforts to organize more canneries and expand the membership. The union is supported by membership dues.
The union, Mast said, will also look at providing year-round employment and attempting to organize workers in the bottomfish and seafood processing areas. Della also pointed out that many canneries are moving to provide fresh, frozen fish which is package whole, much of which is shipped to Japan.
Della, who defeated former Secretary/ Treasurer Ponce Torres, pointed out that every single reform slate candidate won election. “This is a clear mandate from the membership to continue the reform work of the last five years of which Silme and Gene were an important part,” Della said.
Mast, elated over the margin of victory by Rank and File candidates, however, said that next year’s contract negotiations will be critical, as the industry looks at possibly doing away with the seasonal guarantee in wages, a
Della said efforts will be made to educate the membership about the purposes of a union and “clearly define our membership as part of a broader labor struggle on a national level.”
June 1983 (VOLUME 10, NO. 12)
A History of Asian Community Media By Mayumi Tsutakawa
Community media has been with us since the early immigrants arrived at these golden shores. The foreign language press quickly followed the path of immigrant settlements. Not only the Swedish, Russian and German communities, but virtually every ethnic group had its press, working tirelessly to cover events and meet the expectation of their readers. The early Afro-American communities also had what whites termed “the race press,” offering literature and news written by Black America’s greatest writers.
The International Examiner, like many other alternative and homespun community media (our comrades of paste-up tables), have thanklessly persisted. While some have gone under (temporarily ceased publication), others have weathered the storms, even matured and improved. Some have transformed themselves from print to electronic media or vice versa.
Gone are the Filipino Forum, Bayanihan Tribune and Northwest Indian News. New are Seattle Chinese Post and Kingstreet Mediaworks. And still chugging along with us are the Asian Family Affair, Filipino Herald and North American Post.
The ethnic press usually printed practical information for immigrants. But sentimental vignettes, community social and sports news,
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as well as news of the old country always made their way into its pages.
activist of the early Asian American movement called the most progressive newspaper. It offered opinions often running counter to the Marcos regime which was beginning to strangle civil rights in the Philippines. Publisher was Ely U. Orias.
At the turn of the century, the Japanese community in the Northwest supported, at times, five Japanese language dailies. In fact, all the Asian American communities here featured active presses, reflecting the high level of literacy among immigrants. In the early Japanese community, besides newspapers, publications of every type flourished. Leftist political diatribes, literary journals and women’s/home magazines were written and printed with fervor.
Emilano “Frank” Francisco’s Filipino American Herald has been the longest lasting of these newspapers and has been published monthly since 1968. His has been called the most conservative Filipino community newspaper, often featuring pro-American and pro-Philippine government news prominently in the newspaper, although the publication had its roots in the early Cannery Workers Union, founded in 1934.
James Sakamoto’s Japanese American Courier, the first English language paper published in the Northwest, helped to develop the fledgling Japanese American Citizens League and aided in the Americanization process for the second generation Nisei.
In the 1970s, in the early days of the Asian American movement, Nemesio Domingo and Sabino Cabildo published Kapisanan. After about a year, the newspaper was changed to Asian Family Affair (AFA), a monthly which still continues to publish. The founders of AFA were Diane Wong, Norman Mar, Al Sugiyama and Frankie Irigon, the latter two still involved with the newspaper. The paper continues to present news of the Asian community and the paper is distributed free and is supported by ads, subscriptions and donations.
Here is a review of the current community media:
The North American Post, our surviving Japanese language newspaper, began after the war’s end as a weekly and later became a daily. The current editor, Takami Hibiya, has been with it under several publishers, having joined the staff in 1956. Now published three times a week, the paper is making the transition from hand-picked type and letter press printing (both very slow and painstaking operations) to photographically typeset and offset printed methods. H.T. Kubota is now the publisher.
As outlined in another article in this issue, the International Examiner was founded in 1974 to publish monthly news of the International District. Since then, however, under editor Ron Chew’s steady editing pen, the newspaper has become a biweekly, and covers wider issues of importance to Asian Americans in the entire region.
The Filipino community has had a proud heritage of newspaper publication, drawing upon the democratic desires and fight for independence the country underwent. In the 70s at least three Filipino newspapers vied for attention in Seattle. Martin and Dolores Sibonga published the Filipino Forum from 1977 to 1978. A monthly paper, it urged others to take part in “united minority action” and the often militant, civil rights movement of the time.
Dat Moi (New Land) Newspaper, in Vietnamese language, has been published since 1975. A biweekly publication, now under the leadership of Giang Van Nguyen, it is sold for $1.25 a copy and sponsored by a nonprofit corporation. According to Nguyen, there are other publications in the growing Southeast Asian community here, but none which have established regular publication schedules.
The Bayanihan Tribune, edited by Dione Corsilles from about 1974 to 1979, was a biweekly newspaper which many of the young
The Kingstreet Mediaworks is mentioned here not because it is a regular publication 48
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or program, but, as an organization, it has provided training and backup media work for many community agencies. Begun in 1978 by Dean Wong, John Harada, Jeff Hanada and Mark Mano, the group has provided workshops in photography and video. Through a benefit presentation of the film, “Hito Hata” by Visual Communications in Los Angeles, the group raised enough money to buy video equipment with which the current group is producing video programs for the community.
of the community media by using them, but not actively supporting them. Too many Asians, like the general population, have been lured into the mindset that the major media have the market on glamour and excitement. Just seeing the ripple of excitement that passes through a community meeting when television cameras are present or an Asian television news person agree to participate in some community event is an example of this unfortunate thinking.
The community media representatives need to be included when sending out press releases, announcing press conferences and handling out complimentary tickets; and their presence should be thankfully acknowledged, for the community media people are the most hardworking and loyal supporters of the community.
Our newest neighbor, The Seattle Chinese Post, is a Chinese language weekly, the first in that language since before the war. Prior to the Post’s founding by publisher Assunta Ng a year and a half ago, the Chinese community was served by radio programs, principally on KRAB-FM. The Chinese programs, produced by two different groups, are still presented on alternate weeks. Vietnamese and Filipino programs, however, have suffered a worse fate and have been cut off the air of that community access station. There seems to have been a lack of support and perhaps understanding of the programs by the station’s board and staff.
Moreover, the community needs to see its community media workers as professional journalist, as people who need to work for a living and who are not just volunteering their time for the community. We don’t ask dentists to work for free, yet this often happens with photographers, designers and writers in the community.
Why does the community press continue to play an important role while community members, individually and collectively, are making steady and sure inroads to representation, jobs and political clout in established government, education and business circles? I think four factors can be pointed out:
At the same time, journalists need to ascribe to the accepted canons of journalism as much as anyone. Accuracy is paramount. Timeliness is nice, as is interesting presentation of the news. But fairness and ethical reporting are two factors by which we are ultimately judged. We need to write stories about more than just our friends and business associates. It’s usually faster and easier to write about someone we know, but does it serve the reader? We don’t need to be completely unbiased to the point that there is no advocacy, after all. We are alternatives to the establishment media. However, if in the course of covering a community issue we find there is more than one point of view within the community, don’t we have the responsibility and obligation to seek out representative of all sides of the argument?
• Self-Determination—We can make it on our own.
• Truth and Accuracy—We know best what happens and how it happens in our community.
• Realistic Outlook—We present a picture of ourselves that is neither all crime and violence, nor all sugar-coated kimono-clad dolls. • Communication Network—Community cohesion and a sense of pride, is boosted by the community media.
For that matter, single-source stories (only interviewing one person on a particular topic) are never as interesting or compelling to a reader
It is unfortunate that the majority of community members seem to take advantage 49
as multi-source stories. Sure, the interview with a single, fascinating individual is something you can’t pass up, but when a general topic such as dance or social services or business crops up, it’s worth it to the reader to see more than one expert’s opinion.
Asian American literary crowd. Now I’m happy to see such outstanding writers as Lonny Kaneko and Alan Chong Lau contributing stories (usually art related) to our pages. And local and national Asian community media are including much more cultural and literary material in their pages, as in East Wind or Bridge Magazine.
In my opinion, Asian community newspapers have always had the corner on high quality design and production. Perhaps the Asian graphic and technical penchant shows up here. But these characteristics should never take the place of dynamic and well edited writing on the week’s important subjects.
Some forms of community media have seed as effective training grounds for those who have found good positions in the major radio and television and newspapers in this region or have formed successful graphic arts businesses. Some have gone onto legal or political work. Mark Mano is in production at KING-TV, Terri Nakamura and Victor Kubo are successful graphic artists, Dione Corsilles has a printing company and, of course, Dolores Sibonga is a City Councilmember.
In the editorial department, I notice some Asian community papers are hesitant to take advantage of the editor’s privilege of spouting off on various topics in editorials. But by the same token we don’t see many letters to the editor from readers. Are we still too shy to air our opinions? Many in the community welcome a biased interpretation of a complicated issue or recommendations on who to vote for.
As we community members become more sophisticated in political lobbying, grantwriting, social service delivery and publishing, let our community media continue to improve and to help improve the community, but let’s not outgrow our need for each other.
The community media movement (thank goodness) has taken on new dimensions. There was once the feeling that community journalist were not bonafide writers, as defined by the
September 1983 (VOLUME 10, NO. 17)
Willie Mak goes on trial By Ron Chew King County Persecutors will argue that Kwan Fai “Willie” Mak, scheduled to go on trial next Monday for his role in the robbery and murder of 13 persons at the Wah Mee Club last February 19, masterminded the robbery and fired one of two murder weapons used in the International District gambling club.
File Photo
Mak, 22, meanwhile, is expected to take the witness stand in his own defense and claim, as he has in the most recent statement, that he left the Club prior to the shootings. Mak’s defense attorneys, Donald Madsen and James A.
Robinson, will argue that robbery was not the motive behind the crime.
On August 24, a King County jury, after deliberating only slight more than two hours, convicted Benjamin King Ng, 20, of 13 counts 50
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of aggravated first degree murder and one count of first degree assault, the same charges filed against Mak.
Seattle police have been unable to recover either murder weapon.
During the Benjamin Ng trial, prosecutors argued the Ng, Mak and Wai Chiu “Tony” Ng, the third suspect who remains at large, carried out a plan, discussed as early as 1981, to rob a gambling club in the International District. Murder was “part and parcel” of the plan to rob the Wah Mee Club which had re-opened last fall for high stakes gambling. Senior Deputy Prosecutor William Downing told jurors, because “dead men tell no tales.”
To gain conviction on the charge of aggravated first degree murder, the prosecution was only required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ng was an accomplice in a premeditated murder scheme, whether or not he did any shooting. The 13 middle-aged and elderly victims were: Gim Lun Wong, Chong L. Chin, John Louie, Hung Fat Gee, George Mar, Jack Mar, Lung Wing Chin, Wing Wong, Dewey Mar, Henning Chinn, Moo Min Mar, Jean Mar and Chinn L. Law.
John Henry Browne, Ng’s attorney, attempted to portray Mak as the “leader” behind the premeditated robbery, bringing in 20-year-old Sze Ming Ng to testify that Mak had talked at a planning meeting one or two weeks before the Wah Mee murders of robbing a gambling club in Chinatown and killing the victims. Sze Ming Ng testified that he was “pretty sure” Benjamin Ng was not at the meeting.
Wai Yok Chin, a 61-year-old dealer at the Club, was the only survivor of the slayings, suffering bullet wounds to his neck and jaw. Chin recovered and came into court to provide dramatic eyewitness testimony of the crime during Ng’s trial.
After finding Ng guilty as charged, the eightman, four-women jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Relatives of the victims and most persons in the Chinese community expressed anger and disappointment that the jury did not vote unanimously to impose the death penalty. Five jurors voted to spare Ng’s life, apparently, in part, because they were not certain that Ng had fired one of the murder weapons.
However, two prosecution witnesses place both Ng and Mak at discussion meetings about committing a robbery. Yen Yin Lau, 22, a cook in a Chinese restaurant, testified that Mak and Ng, in 1981, had discussed robbing a gambling club in the International District and shooting the victims. And Wai Chung Tam, 21, testified that Mak and Ng, at a meeting at Denny’s Restaurant shortly before the Wah Mee murders, discussed robbing a gambling club in Chinatown, possibly the Wah Mee Club “because it probably got more money,” and talked about shooting the victims to prevent them from identifying who had committed the robbery.
Michael J. Grubb, a ballistics expert from the Washington State Crime Lab, testified that two guns—a .22 caliber Ruger semi-automatic and a .22 caliber Colt revolver—fired a total of 32 bullets at the Wah Mee Club.Prosecutors argued that Ng fired 26 shots from the semi-automatic. In Mak’s trial, prosecutors said, they will argue that Mak fired the other six shots from the Colt revolver.
In his opening statement in the Ng trial, Browne had said he would call Bon Chin, a friend of Willie Mak, to testify that one month prior to the murders, Mak attempted to recruit him to participate in a robbery of the Wah Mee Club. Brown said Chin would testify that Mak had stated, “If these people resist me, I, Willie, will kill them. If the people with me, robbing these people, won’t shoot them, I’ll shoot them all.”
Grubb testified that Jack Mar and Jean Mar were shot by both weapons. Chong Chin, Chinn Law, Wing Wong and Gim Wong were shot by the semi-automatic, Grubb stated, and John Loui was shot with the revolver. Grubb could not say positively which weapon fired the bullets that killed the other victims.
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However, Browne chose not to call Bon Chin as a witness after defense attorneys learned that Chin would also implicate Ng in the robbery scheme. Chin would have testified that Mak had told him, in a phone conversation, “I need three people to do this. Benjamin and I are two. We’re asking you to be the third.”
Madsen and Robinson say they disagree with the prosecution contention that the kills were committed to cover up robbery. A sizeable sum of money and jewelry was left at the Club. Madsen said, adding that if the motive was robbery, the crime would have been committed at a later hour when there would have been more money available in the Club.
Downing said Bon Chin will be called as a prosecution witness against Mak.
Defense attorneys have subpoenaed International District leaders, who angrily note that they have nothing at all to do with the crime, and members of the Hop Sing Tong, of which Ng and Mak were members.
Downing and Robert Lasnik, the other prosecutor handing the Wah Mee case, said that many of the prosecution witnesses who testified in the Ng trial—such as the Seattle police, the King County medical examiners and a ballistics expert—will also testify in the upcoming trial against Mak.
Robinson, noting the complaints of people who have been subpoenaed to testify, said no one volunteered to testify as a defense witness: “ Everyone was subpoenaed. If you’re subpoenaed, the choice is either jail or testifying. We’re not asking people to take sides; all we’re asking is that people testify truthfully.”
“The big difference will be the civilian witnesses.” Downing said, “the people with Mak before and after the crime took place. There will be more youth witnesses.”
Defense attorneys are expected to argue that a possible motive for the crime is competition over control of high stakes gambling in the International District, a motive that the Seattle police, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, explored shortly after the killings, but dismissed as unfounded.
When Mak was first arrested by police for the murders, he told Seattle Police Sergeant Joe Sanford, “I did all the shooting.” He also refused to identify the third suspect, stating, “There is no third man.” Although King County Superior Court Judge Frank D. Howard blocked introduction of those statements as evidence during the first portion of Ng’s trail Brown and co-defense counsel David Wohl brought them up during the sentencing phase when the rules of evidence were relaxed, attempting to cast doubt on whether Ng had done any of the shooting and sway the jury against voting in impose the death penalty.
All 13 victims, except Henning Chinn, were members of the Bing Kung Association. Wai Chin, the sole survivor of the shootings, was not a member of Bing Kung.
People have speculated that rivalry between Hop Sing and Bing Kung members may have been behind the murders.
However, Mak has since repudiated his statements to Sanford. According to a more recent statement, Mak said he left the Wah Mee Club before the shooting occurred. He left, he said, “because Benjamin Ng was acting strangely and appeared to have abandoned the plan which we made prior to entering the Club.
Madsen said Mak is prepared to testify “about the involvement of individuals in the tong who had an impact on the plan” to enter the Wah Mee Club the day of the murders. He would not elaborate. Prosecutors are skeptical Mak will be able to corroborate charges of tong involvement in the murders.
“I was concerned that he might shoot someone, but I did not interfere because I was frightened that he would turn on me and shoot me. I left the Club and heard what appeared to be gunshots as I was leaving.”
But community leaders fear the lasting impact of such charges on the general public’s image of the International District, an image they say is 52
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already tarnished by relentless media coverage of the Wah Mee tragedy.
Chin said he was hit in the first volley of shots, blood coming from his mouth. Before he blacked out, Chin said, he heard either Mak or Benjamin Ng say, “Is that all the bullets?”
Major Dale Douglass, head of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Seattle Police Department, said police “thoroughly” explored evidence of organized involvement by the tongs in the murders, but found none. “We didn’t see any significant difference between the tongs and a group like the Elks Club,” he said.
Chin said he regained consciousness when he heard someone banging on the door of the Club. He said he took two or three minutes to work free of his bonds, which had not been tied very tightly “otherwise I can’t get out,” then struggled to the door to call for help.
Douglass said police are “tickled pink” that defense attorneys are pursuing the theory of tong involvement because it has caused Hop Sing members to come forward to cooperate with police.
Browne attempted to discredit the testimony of Wai Chin by pointing out that Chin has told a police officer, while he was still at Harborview Medical Center, that Benjamin Ng, Mak and Tong Ng all fired their weapons. When Wai Chin testified on the stand, he said he saw “at least” two guns fire. Police believe only two guns were used in the murders.
Madsen said defense attorneys anticipate that, because of publicity generated by the Ng trial, jury selection will take longer than the previous trial. But he added that a move for change of venue is “unlikely.”
Lasnik said Ng’s conviction was “a tribute to the courage of Wai Chin” and showed that the jury believed Chin’s story.
As in the previous trial, the centerpiece of the prosecution case will be the eyewitness testimony of 61-year-old Wai Chin, the sole survivor of the shootings. Chin, ushered into court under heavy police guard, testified that Benjamin Ng, Mak and the third suspect, whose name he did not know, robbed and hogtied the persons in the Club at gunpoint.
Lasnik and Downing said they were aware that relatives of the victims and members of the Chinese community were unhappy that Ng will not be executed, but they say they are “satisfied” with the conviction and the sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Chin, who remains under heavy guard awaiting Mak’s trial, said Benjamin Ng and the third suspect took money from the victims and tied them up, while Mak, who acted like the leader,’ stood on the upper level of the Club, pointing his weapon.
“Benjamin Ng will die in prison,” Lasnik said. “The only question is when. That’s a real severe punishment.” And Downing noted that “false hopes” were raised that Ng would receive the death penalty, when, in reality, the odds of a jury voting to unanimously to impose the death penalty are very small.
Chin said Dewey Mar told the robbers, “You guys want money? Take it from John Loui.” Loui, who recruited Chin to work as a dealer at the Club, managed the finances of the Club. Mak told Mar to shut up, Chin said.
Lasnik noted that, contrary to stereotype, “we didn’t run up against the so-called traditional silence of Chinatown.” Witnesses were cooperative, including the younger Chinese who stuck to their stories, Lasnik said. The case shows, Lasnik concluded, that people in the Chinese community “are not so far away from our world after all, that they are a part of our world.”
Chin said he waited, face down on the floor, for the three robbers to leave. As he turned his head to see why the three had not yet left, Chin testified, he saw all three pull on gloves, then begin shooting, fire coming from the guns, bullets spraying the room, the sound of firecrackers.
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February 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 4)
‘While we must forgive, we must also remember’ By Ron Chew
Lai said many Chinese Americans have moved outside of Chinatowns and have entered a range of different professions, leading to the rise of a “more assertive” Chinese American middle class that has become politically active.
Chinese Americans, after fighting for their rights for 130 years, are finally accepted in this country, but anti-Asian sentiments still persist, a prominent Chinese American historian said last weekend at a University of Washington symposium
A “more politically sophisticated” Chinese American population, learning from history, will have to combat the new “groundswell of anti-Asian violence” and ensure that American democratic principles are realized, Lai said.
Him Mark Lai and two other historian from San Francisco—Judy Yung and Phillip Choy—were among the speakers who came to the February 15 symposium to describe the history of discrimination against Chinese Americans and provide a vision of the future.
Phillip Choy, founder of the Chinese Historical Society, called the concept of American melting pot “a mistake.” Because of white racism, “the melting pot rejected us,” he said. A more accurate concept is salad bowl, where the separate ingredients are tossed up and mixed together, Choy said.
Bettie Luke Kan, whose grandfather and granduncle were among Seattle’s early Chinese pioneers, organized the symposium— and a February 8 commemorative march—to educate the public about the contributions of Chinese pioneers and to recognize the 100 year anniversary of the expulsion of 450 Chinese from Seattle.
Judy Yung, director of a research project on Chinese American women from 1834 to present, gave a slide presentation highlighting the accomplishments of Chinese women pioneers, including Tye Leung Schulze, the first Chinese American woman to vote in 1912, and Polly Bemis, a Chinese woman who escaped slavery to become a pioneer in nineteenth century Idaho.
At the symposium, Him Mark Lai, currently working on a history of Chinese Americans, told the audience gathered at the UW Ethnic Cultural Theater that the history of racism against Chinese Americans has included restrictive immigration law, anti-Chinese violence, segregated public facilities, and lack of access to certain jobs. This discrimination, he said, has “eased up,” particularly for the younger generation.
Bemis was the subject of “Thousand Pieces of Gold,” a 1981 biographical novel by Ruthanne Lum McCunn, who last year published “Sole Survivor,” the story of Poon Lim, who survived 133 days on a raft in the open sea.
World War II, he said, was a “significant turning point” for Chinese Americans. Because China was an U.S. ally, Chinese Americans were finally permitted to become naturalized citizens and began to move into the mainstream, working in shipyards and airplane factories, Lai said.
McCunn, an Amerasian born in San Francisco’s Chinatown, came to Seattle for the symposium and autographed copies of her books.
Benson Wong, an attorney and member of the International Special Review District 54
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Board, described his vision of the future of Chinese Americans in Seattle. He said the International District, the historic core of the Chinese community, faces the prospect of greatly increased activity and development in the next 10 to 20 years.
community—gathered in Hing Hay Park in the International District to retrace the steps of the pioneers who were forced out of town by the mob of angry white vigilantes.
Wong noted, however, that the Chinese community has become much more diversified in recent years: immigrants coming from different areas of China, speaking different dialects, living in many areas outside Chinatown and holding different political affiliations.
State Representative Gary Locke noted that the Chinese were made scapegoats for the state’s economic depression 100 years ago. Today, he said, Southeast Asian refugees, labeled as “cheap labor,” have also been made scapegoats and have been targets of violence.
Seattle Mayor Charles Royer told the gathering that “diversity and tolerance” should be the “foundation of the city.” State Supreme Justice James Dolliver and Superior Court Judge Liem Tuai called for active participation in the political process to lessen the likelihood that incidents like the expulsion would happen again.
Proposals to build a Metro transit terminal and a new city hall at Union Station, on the east side of the District, could create one million square feet of space at that site, resulting in a “tremendous number of new patrons and tenants” in the area, Wong said.
In 1984, he said, Chinese American community leaders, recognizing the need “to speak as one voice,” formed the Chinese Community Coalition Committee to “heal the wounds” caused by factional splits between difference Chinese community organizations.
“While we must forgive,” Locke told the crowd, “we must also remember.” Kan noted that the Chinese expulsion occurred in the same year as the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, the Statue had its “back turned” to the Chinese in 1886, Kan said.
The Chinese Nursing Home Society, an offshoot of the Committee, hopes to follow the lead of the Japanese community and develop a nursing home to meet the language and dietary needs of the Chinese elderly, Wong said.
The marchers walked to the site of the original Chinatown at Second Avenue and South Washington Street and then to waterfront, near the spot where, 100 years ago, the mob forced many of the Chinese onto a steamer bound for San Francisco.
The symposium concluded with the staged reading of “Expulsion,” an original twoact play by Maria Batayola, recreating the expulsion of over 1,200 Chinese from Seattle and Tacoma 100 years ago.
Steve Goon, whose grandfather was Goon Dip, one of Seattle’s pioneer Chinese entrepreneurs, said, “Going on the march gave me a chance to indirectly trace the steps of our pioneers. It’s important to continually keep later generations aware of the some of the past history.”
On February 8, about 150 persons— including descendants of the pioneers, public officials and members of the local
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January 1990 (VOLUME 17, NO. 2)
Judge rules Malabed, Baruso liable in Domingo, Viernes Case By David Takami
that linked Baruso directly to the murders: his promise to pay $5,000 to the killers; his ownership of the murder weapon; his meeting on the day before the murders with Tony Dictado, one of the convicted killers; his conversation soon after the shootings with Ade Domingo, Silme’s mother, in which he asked her whether Silme was alive and talking.
Two men accused of being the middlemen in a plot to murder Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes were found liable for the killings and ordered to pay $8.04 million to the victims’ families. In a strongly worded verdict issued earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein ruled that former Alaska Cannery Workers Union president Constantine “Tony” Baruso and San Francisco physician Leonilo Malalbed were key members of a conspiracy that led to the shooting deaths of Domingo and Viernes on June 1, 1981. Both of the victims were cannery union officials and well-known members of the anti-Marcos movement in the United States.
Rothstein was equally scathing in her judgment of Malabed, who allegedly ran an intelligence slush fund under the cover of the Mabuhay Corporation for his friend Ferdinand Marcos. “Malabed vacillated between a total lack of memory and outright fabrication,” Rothstein wrote. “Rather than appearing at trial to clarify these matters [his testimony took the form of several depositions], Malabed presented the testimony of ... witnesses whose testimony the court singularly unbelievable.”
Last month, a jury found Imelda Marcos and the estate of Ferdinand Marcos liable for the crime and awarded damages of more than $15 million. Baruso and Malabed had waived their right to a jury trial.
Rothstein also concluded that both Baruso and Malabed were part of a Philippines intelligence network set up to harass, intimidate and silence U.S. opponents of the Marcos regime.
Plaintiffs in the landmark civil trial hope Rothstein’s decision will bolster their attempts to prosecute Baruso in criminal court, said Cindy Domingo, Silme’s sister. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has agreed to review the case and make a decision by early March whether to charge Baruso for the murders, she said.
‘The court concludes that plaintiffs have provided clear, cogent and convincing evidence that the Marcos created and controlled an intelligence operation which plotted the murders of Domingo and Viernes and that Mabuhay funds were paid to Baruso and used to perpetuate the murders.”
Rothstein written judgment left little doubt as to Baruso’s role.
She awarded $6.7 million to the family of Silme Domingo and 1.7 million the Viernes family.
‘’Plaintiffs presented overwhelming evidence regarding Baruso’s involvement in the murders’ she wrote. Baruso, however, offered almost nothing to contradict this evidence.”
In other trial news, Marcos attorney Richard Hibey has officially filed an appeal to the recent jury decision against his clients. Michael Withey and the Domingo-Viernes legal team are investigating plaintiffs’ chances of recovering damage awards from the Marcos estate.
She characterized his testimony in court as “evasive and wholly unbelievable” and “utterly implausible.”She cited four pieces of evidence
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Local May 1990 (VOLUME 17, NO. 10)
‘Big hitters’ sought for nursing home fund drive By Dean Wong
project. ... So everything was stacked against us. In spite of that, as of this date, we raised over $700,000,” Chin said. The community has been overwhelming in its support.”
A fund raising drive to build a new Kin On nursing home by July of 1994 was announced last week by the Chinese Nursing Home Society (CNHS).
“Our strategy this time is still to rely on individual contributions,” commented Chin. Fifty-five percent of the money raised in the first fund drive were from individuals compared with only seven percent from the business community.
The CNHS wants to raise $500,000 by August 11, the date of a Building Campaign Fund Kickoff and third Anniversary dinner. “We want to announce the degree of support that we already have,” said Ark Chin, chairman of the fund drive.
Only about 20 businesses made donations during the first fund drive.”1 counted in the phone book 440 to 450 Chinese-owned and operated businesses. Even if we have 40 of them, that’s not even 10 percent,” said Chin.
To do this, the campaign will target “big hitters, the people we think can contribute $2000 or more.”
A new home would cost five to six million dollars to build. “Our capital fund raising campaign will aim for about two million in cash from the community, said Dr. John Lee.
CNHS has also received money from the Seattle Foundation and the Boeing’s Good Neighbor Fund. “They like to contribute to success,” Chin said.
The three-year-old facility admitted its first patient in 1987.1t’s the first bilingual Chinese nursing home in the Pacific Northwest. Now Kin On is a big success and is operating at capacity with 59 residents.
“We have been exceptionally successful running a brand new facility,” said Fred Yee, director. “This credit goes to the staff members and volunteers, not to me.” The operation of the nursing home has to be very solid in order for the community to support it. Kin On has satisfied all the state requirements.
“We have filled up this nursing home ... the facility currently is totally inadequate as far as space is concerned. We have no air conditioning, our roof leaks,” said Dr. John Lee, President of CNHS.
“We’ve had two comprehensive surveys on everything from nursing care to house keeping and maintenance,’” Yee said.“We have not missed one standard yet. It was beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Our community needs the new facility very badly.”
“We’ve had nothing but commendation from the folks in Olympia having to do with the state accreditation program,” said Lee.
The planning committee is considering an 80bed home with the ability to expand to 100 beds. “This would be most economically feasible,’ said Lee. Ark Chin, chairman of the fund drive, said “there was an act of faith,” in establishing Kin On three years ago because the group had no experience operating a nursing home and (the Chinese community) had never raised more than $50,000 in any given year on any given
“The state not only audited the operation, but audited us financially. We passed with flying colors,” Chin said.
“Their main concern was, we can’t find anything wrong with them.” CNHS has learned a great deal about the business from the Nikkei 57
Concerns, the parent organization for the Seattle Keiro Nursing Home which is leasing the building to Kin On.
“We would like to stay in the International District or South Seattle,” Lee said. ‘This is where the immigrant Chinese live.” A CNHS subcommittee will finalize details about the location and acquisition of a site before the year ends.
“We have been fortunate to get the hard cost data from Keiro on the construction of their new facility,” said Chin. “Keiro has been absolutely 100 percent supportive of our effort.”
“We would like to attract more volunteers to come to Kin On,” Yee said. Last year, 1800 hours of volunteer work was done at Kin On. However, the numbers don’t reflect the work of outside volunteers and the work of board members.
Kin On’s success is also attributed to the uniqueness of the operation, the support of the community, the enthusiasm of board members and the commitment of the staff.
November 1992 (VOLUME 19, NO. 21)
Velma Veloria first Asian American woman in state Legislature By Soya Jung What was it like for Velma Veloria, running in her first political race? “In one word—hard” she said yesterday afternoon. With victory almost in the bag, she percolated a contagious mix of confidence, excitement and nervousness over the phone. Having won as state representative for Washington’s 11th District hours later, she declared, “This is not only my victory. This is the victory of the community.
Referring to her new position aside returning state legislators Art Wang, of the 27th District, and Gary Locke, of the 37th District, Veloria said, “It’s going to be different...I used to be their assistant, and now I’m going to be their colleague!”
Supporters look on as Velma Veloria celebrates early election returns on November 23, 1992. Veloria was elected state representative in the 11th District, position no. 2. • Photo by Dean Wong
community ... especially to the Asian/Pacific Students Union, Filipino Students Association and Filipino Law Students Association,” Veloria said. “The students corps has been really good, and I hope that they have learned from me as much as I have learned from them.”
High on Veloria’s priorities are health care reform and education, and she has big plans to work hard. “We shouldn’t rest on our laurels. We need to continue to organize.”
Veloria is the first Asian American woman to win a seat in the Washington State legislature, and the first Filipina to run for such a seat.
As a historic pioneer, Veloria has had a fitting backdrop in this landmark year for Asian American candidates.
“I extend my deepest, deepest gratitude to all the folks in the Asian/Pacific Islander 58
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Other Asian Americans running for local office include Republican candidate for state legislature Terry Roberts, 32nd District, and Tim Gojio, 34th District; Democratic candidates for state legislature Gary Locke, 37th District, Art Wang, 27th District, and Paull Shin, 21st District; and Linda Lau for Seattle District Court Judge.
“But I’m pleased that Asian Americans are becoming the actual candidates, instead of just staff people who work with the candidates.”
Locke, returning as state representative for the 37th District, said, “Washington is leading the country in terms of Asian Americans in elected office from public schools all the way to the state legislature.” Wang, also said that Washington was especially notable with four Asian American legislators., “given that there were only half a dozen Asian legislators outside of Hawaii [prior to the elections].”
“It’s really been amazing, the number of Asian Americans running for office this year. And that’s true on a national basis,” said Wang, who won in the 27th District. “One of the great things has been the diversity of candidates,” he said, citing Veloria, Filipina, and Shin, Korean. “And it’s about time that we had an Asian woman in the legislature,” he said.
But as with all candidates, the real test for Asian Americans does not end with the elections. Rather, it begins at taking office. “With Velma, Art and Paull...we’ve got a big challenge in front of us with the huge deficit. But with that challenge comes the opportunity to re-establish priorities and develop good public policies,” said Locke.
Gojio, who ran in the 34th District, also hailed the number of Asian American candidates. “I’ve always see been a large involvement by the Asian community in politics,” he said.
November 1993 (VOLUME 20, NO. 21)
Gary Locke is new King County Executive
Locke becomes most powerful Asian American official in state By Carina A. Del Rosario The race for King County Executive wasn’t as close as both Democrat Gary Locke and Republican incumbent Tim Hill thought it would be. At 11:15 p.m. on election night, Locke declared victory when Hill officially conceded the race, becoming the first Asian American ever to win such a high-ranking post in Washington. At the time, Locke had already garnered 58 percent of the vote to Hill’s 42 percent.
Gary Locke announces his victory over Tim Hill for King County Executive at the Pacific Brewing Company in 1993. • Photo by Dean Wong
Locke increased his lead throughout the night. With 45 percent of the ballots counted, Locke had 59.64 percent (188,661) of the votes to Hill’s 40.36 percent (127,658).
people gathered at Pacific Northwest Brewing Company restaurant in Pioneer Square. “If Tim Hill has conceded, I think we can declare victory!” said an exhausted but jubilant Locke.
Locke had just finished a speech when his campaign staff yelled the news over the 200 59
Minutes before the official announcement, however, Locke felt confident about the outcome. “We look forward to four years of aggressive leadership, addressing the tough issues before us because this is going to be and always be the best place to live, work and raise a family and enjoy the outdoors,” he announced as he held his nephew Matthew in his arms and his family gathered around him
candidate to undertake King County’s merger with Metro, which takes effect Jan. 1, 1994. The merger brings Metro’s transportation and sewage under county jurisdiction. It will also make the King County Executive the second most powerful position in the state, next to the governor. Former Washington Gov. Albert D. Rosellini said, “I’ve been impressed with him over the 10 to 12 years that I’ve known him. He is a dedicated, honest public official who has the intellectual ability to do the type of job and provide the leadership that we need in King County to get things done.”
From Tim Hill’s campaign headquarters at the Belltown Billiards pool hall, a dejected Hill announce his concession to his supporters and the media instead of calling his opponent, which is customary in most electoral races.
Seungja Song agreed. “He has been doing such a good job through the state. I think he is sensitive enough to find out all the problems of King County. It’s not going to be easy but he has potential. He is a people representative, not just someone in the office all the time, bureaucratic,” said Song, a 30-year resident of King County.
“I want to congratulate Gary Locke and I believe that if the trend continues, he’s going to be the next King County Executive,” said Hill, who held the position for two consecutive terms. “If the voters give him the same opportunity they gave me for eight wonderful years, I think this county will continue to prosper and grow as it should.
Seattle City Councilmember Martha Choe said, “Gary stands for things I care about. He’s a champion for people of color, people with disabilities, human services, education, women. But, he’s also been fiscally conservative. He’s made tough decisions, and I’m just excited because his county has just languished under the last leadership.”
Despite his criticisms of Hill’s management of King County during the past eight months, Locke acknowledged his opponent’s campaign and past service.
“I want to thank Mr. Hill for putting on a clean campaign. His aggressive style helped focus the issues, but in the end we are proud of the fact that despite some of the distortions, the voters of King County saw through it,” Locke said.
Locke said he doesn’t profess to have all the answers to the many issues he will be facing in his new position, but he pledged his commitment to serve county residents.
Locke, a Chinese American born in Seattle, will now resign his position in the state’s House of Representatives, to which he was first elected in 1983. Locke has been a key player in the legislature’s budget writing, serving as chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
“We have a very special county with a diversity of people, and lifestyles and geography. We have to nurture that diversity and respect those special qualities and we have to empower those parts of the county. I call upon all of us—Democrats and Republicans, suburban, urban and rural—to come together and move our county forward.”
It was Locke’s performance on the state level that convinced many voters that he was the right
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Local September 1994 (VOLUME 21, NO. 18)
Kip Tokuda wins state legislative bid, Paull Shin loses Congressional try By Carina A. Del Rosario It was a night of mixed emotions for the Asian American community as primary elections results rolled in with Kip Tokuda winning the Democratic nomination for state representative in the 37th District, position 2, but Congressional hopeful Paull Shin losing in this bid to replace retiring Rep. Al Swift. While there were a total of 13 Asian Americans vying for elected posts, Tokuda and Shin garnered the most attention.
Democrat Kip Tokuda runs away with the 1994 primary race for 37th District, position 2. • Photo by Dean Wong
Election watchers expected it to be long night for Tokuda, but by 10:30 p.m., it was certain that he snatched the race from Rep. Vivian Caver. The final tally showed Tokuda with 5,373 votes (44.9 percent) to Caver’s 3,419 votes (28.6 percent). Tokuda will face Republican Dan Ellis in the November elections.
County Executive. In spring, Rep. Art Wang (D-27th District) was appointed by Gov. Mike Lowry to the state Personnel Appeals Board. And now Shin, whose term expires this year, is out since he ran an unsuccessful bid for the House of Representatives.
While the general elections are still to come, Tokuda is almost a sure bet since the district is a strongly Democratic one.
“With Art, Gary and Paull gone, we need Kip there to represent us and our concerns,” said Arlene Oki, a longtime community activist and political watcher. “But he’ll be good for all communities in the area. He was born and raised there. His roots are there.”
In addition, the number of Asian American representatives on the state Legislature has been dwindling. In the past year, three out of five left the Legislature. Last year, Locke (D-37th District) was elected to be King
“That’s how politics runs,” said a disappointed Shin last night from his campaign party at the West Coast Everett Pacific Hotel. “There’s no place for No.2, so you have to accept that gracefully and exit gracefully.”
“I expected it to be close to the very end,” said an elated Tokuda.
Shin conceded to his main opponent Harriet Spanel at 11:30 p.m. Spanel racked up 23 percent of the votes (22,158) and Shin came in second with 18 percent (17,131). John Sandifer trailed behind with 9 percent (8,997) of the votes. Spanel will face Republican Jack Metcalf in November.
For Asian Americans, a Tokuda win is vital. The 37th District is where Seattle’s Asian American population is concentrated. According to the Seattle Planning Department, Asian Americans constitute 27 percent of that area’s population while the group’s city-wide total is 12 percent.
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July 1995 (VOLUME 22, NO. 13)
Spokane Democrats settle with community By Scott Watanabe An accord has been reached between the Spokane County Democratic Party and the plaintiffs in a civil suit filed against it in U.S. District Court stemming from racist actions on the part of some of the party’s members. In a statement made on June 28, current Washington State Democratic party chair Paul Berendt expressed his regret over the incident and his conviction against similar happenings in the future.
Denny Yasuhara. • Photo by Dean Wong
“As long as I am chair of the Democratic Party in this state, I will not tolerate bigotry of any kind,” Berendt said. “And I want to extend to every Asian Pacific American in this state my own apology, on behalf of the Washington State Democratic Central Committee for this matter.”
Convention, the development of a grievance procedure to address affirmative action issues in the future, and a full apology on behalf of the Party Central Committee. As of this writing, two of the officials involved in the controversy are no longer in party positions, while a third has stepped down as a result of the proceedings.
The incident in question occurred in November 1992 at a meeting of the Spokane Democratic Party Executive Board, where a state committee member allegedly used a racial slur in reference to the owners of the historic Davenport Hotel. When asked about the remark later, the same committee member allegedly refused to apologize and said “I’d do it again.”
In response to the Central Committee’s actions, Denny Yasuhara, national president of the JACL and one of the plaintiffs in the suit, emphasized the positive results of the incidents.
“What began as a racial...incident has culminated in a process which allows the Democratic Party to be more inclusive toward participation by people of color,” he said. “We appreciate the leadership of the Spokane County Democratic Central Committee who decided to work with us for a resolution of our grievances.”
The incident and its subsequent handling by the Spokane County Affirmative Action Committee led to the suit filed on Nov. 16, 1993, by the Spokane Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and five other individual plaintiffs against the State Democratic Central Committee, its chair, the state vice chair, the state committee member and the assistant legislative district leader.
Karen Yoshitomi of the Pacific Northwest District Office of the JACL in Seattle expressed the feelings of the chapter, “We’re happy for the apology,” she said, “but not satisfied. There is still more to be done.”
Although the suit itself is still pending, the plaintiffs and the Party Central Committee have reached an agreement on steps to help resolve the conflict, including: the adoption of an affirmative action plan for selection of state delegates to the 1996 Democratic National
The proposed affirmative action plan for the Democratic National Convention is to be implemented on Sept. 15 of this year.
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Local November 1996 (VOLUME 23, NO. 21)
Making Asian American history By Paul Dudley
said he felt his election signified a greater acceptance ethnic diversity in Washington. “We can share this day with all the ethnic groups across America,” Locke said. “What this shows is that more and more member of ethnic groups are taking office and participating in the government of this great country. My victory is testimony that the great American dream can still be achieved.”
King County Executive Gary Locke stood with his wife and other family members in front of hundreds of supporters at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle last night to accept his election as Governor of Washington. Sixty percent of the state’s voters cast their lots with Locke, making his election a decisive victory over his opponent, Republican Ellen Craswell. Locke, who took the stage at about 10:30 p.m. , more than two hours after his victory had been announced to the crowd, told constituents that it was their night to celebrate.
Ken Alhadeff, a member of the steering committee for Gary Locke’s campaign, did the majority of announcing at the event. In a moment when he wasn’t on stage, Alhadeff expressed his enthusiastic support for Locke’s victory. “I think the people’s passions are becoming a reality, Alhadeff said.
In his acceptance speech, Locke reaffirmed his commitment to the development of education, which has been top priority in his campaign. He repeated his slogan, “Education is the great equalizer,” even having the crowd say the words with him. He also emphasized that he feels Washington voters and politicians should lay aside their political partisanship in order to more effectively deal with the issues facing Washington today.
Supporters in the crowd praised Locke after his victory was announced. Seattle banker Jesse Tam said, “He won’t restrict the potential of this state. He said he predicts Locke will be a champion of all ethnic groups and cultural groups, observing, “He will not only represent Asian Americans groups, but he can and will accept diversity. Washington is becoming a very diverse state.”
“We must lower our rhetoric and raise our commitment to Washington,” he said. “The issues facing our state have nothing to do with partisan politics...Let’s make this a time of bipartisan cooperation.”
Tam also said he thinks Locke sets a good example for young members of ethnic minorities, stating I think he’s always been a role model for young Asian Americans.” When asked if he would support Locke’s possible bid for the presidency, Tam said, “Absolutely. I’d like to see him go all the way.”
Locke read statements written by children which listed actions they would take if they were governor, say, “These children’s’ words are much better than mine.” Locke highlighted the needs of Washington children in his acceptance speech. “Our children make it our social and economic duty to improve our public schools,” he said. “Nine-year-olds should not have to worry about guns in the classroom.”
About 50 of Locke’s family member, mostly from California, came to Seattle to support him during the election. Diane Locke, his aunt, was at the celebration rally. She said she hopes Locke can relax for a little bit after a long campaign. “I think he’s a little bit tired,” she said. “But he always gets his energy up,” she added. “We’re excited, and we’re very proud of him. We know he’ll live up to all his promises.
Before he closed his 15-minute acceptance speech, Locke spoke about the importance of his ethnicity. As an Asian American, Locke
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July 1998 (VOLUME 25, NO. 13)
Pike Place Board overrules Hmong farmers Showdown with the City Council?
By Lisa Charlie Ritts Angered by the recent turn of events at the Pike Place Market, Asian flower vendors and craftspeople have vowed to take their concerns straight to City Council.
During the last month, attention has focused on a proposal made by the staff of the Preservation and Development Authority that would give fresh produce farmers first dibs on extra tables at the Market.
On June 23, before a crowd of nearly 200, the Pike Place Board approved the PDA proposal by a vote of 7 to 4. Public testimony before the Board came mostly from those opposing the changes, and reiterated the demands of those who participated in the Market’s first-ever strike two days earlier.
Tony Xiong, Pike Place Market Hmong farmer. • Photo by Dean Wong
The exact language of the PDA amendment approved by the Board is,” Farmers shall be assigned a standard space of two farm tables. Farmers selling a diversity of edible produce may be assigned three farm tables.”
“There should have been an extended time for the Hmong community [to review the changes],” said David Della, Executive Director of the State Commission on Asian American Pacific Affairs. And the agreement should put in writing a guarantee that tables will not be granted to fresh produce farmers at the expense of another farmer.”
John Turnbull, Director of Property Management, insists the intent of the language is clear and has been well documented through various public hearings and market meetings.
“The difference between ‘shall’ and ‘may’ is clear,” said Turnbull. “’May’ means that only if space is available will a third table be granted to fresh edible produce farmer.”
In principle, the PDA’s amendment to the Hildt agreement, which contains the governing rules of the market, would help preserve the market’s fresh produce atmosphere. It would seem to be a reaction to the proliferation of vendors who sell primarily crafts and nonperishable goods.
But Andrea Okomski, Vice President of the Daystalls Tenants Association, believes the wording leaves room to abuse the system for allocating market tables.
In reality, however, the new amendment could be used to undermine the status of nonfresh produce vendors—in particular a large number of Hmong flower vendors.
“The difference between ‘shall’ and ‘may’ is at someone else’s discretion. Under what circumstances a farmer may be given a third table is unclear.” 64
Local
Others, like Charles Williston, who believes the PDA’s decision “won’t change things for the Hmong farmers,” still voted against the proposed changes.
which was negotiated between the PDA and City Council in 1983—would become null and void.
In a recent letter sent to Mayor Paul Schell and City Councilmembers, PDA Executive Director Shelly Yap stated, “...the PDA has determined that the Hildt Agreement should not be renewed without certain changes,” and, “...the PDA is committed to renewal of the Hildt Agreement if the specified changes are made.”
“The process was somewhat short. And to make these changes [when] the craftspeople are at the height of their season seems somewhat unfair,” he said. Virtually all those who opposed the PDA Agreement challenged the limited amount of time given to review the proposed changes.
The City Council has until Aug. 1 to decide whether or not it will accept the new changes.
Now, the non-fresh produce vendors are hoping the City Council will intervene.
Said Licata, “Since there’s so much opposition, why go forward? I don’t think the merits gained outweigh the rupture in good relations in the constituency of the Market.”
If the City Council seeks to reject the PDA’s proposed changes, the Hildt Agreement—
August 1998 (VOLUME 25, NO. 15)
Boycotting Wolfgang Puck Betting on the power of word-of-mouth
By Erika Hayasaki
“We don’t want her [Lazaroff’s] actions, in her refusal to take the poster down, to go unchallenged,” Yee said. “We will maintain this boycott until she takes the poster down.”
Seattle’s ObaChine restaurant strives to please with gourmet Asian cuisine and decor with an Asian flare. But there may soon be a conspicuous absence of one thing: Asian patrons—at ObaChine and any of the other upscale restaurants owned by the husband-wife team of Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff.
JACL has 110 chapters nationwide with over 100,000 members, according to Yee. Each chapter will be responsible for educating their communities about the issue through publicity and education events.
The national boards of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) recently passed resolutions urging a national boycott of all Lazaroff and Puck-owned products until a controversial poster is removed.
The Organization of Chinese Americans passed the resolution at its national convention held July 17 in Washington D.C. OCA has 41 chapters and 30 college affiliates nationally, with a membership of approximately 10,000. “The national OCA passing this resolution recognizes the poster’s negative impacts,” said Wang Yung, past president of the OCA Seattle chapter. “And it puts to rest those characterizations of Seattle as overly-sensitive.”
The first step towards a nationwide boycott was taken at the JACL national convention in Philadelphia, Pa. over the July 4th weekend. Janice Yee, president of the Seattle JACL chapter, proposed a resolution supporting the boycott that passed with overwhelming support.
Five months ago, Asian Americans in Seattle urged Lazaroff, the interior designer 65
for Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants, to remove the print of a Chinese man that they considered a racial caricature. After meeting with community members to discuss the issue, Lazaroff declined to take the picture down. A spate of local media coverage ensued when crowds of Asian American community members and students twice picketed in front of the restaurant.
Asia.
Lazaroff has said she is not a racist, even though she continues to display the poster. She has pointed to her Jewish background and Chinese American goddaughter as evidence of the diversity in her life. Ron Chew, director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum, met with Lazaroff last March to try to persuade her to remove the controversial poster. He said Larzaroff showed him other pieces of her collection of art from Asia.
Seattle’s Asian Pacific Directors’ Coalition hatched the idea of a national boycott after it became clear that Lazaroff had no intention of removing the poster. Al Sugiyama, director of the coalition, said they are also planning to inform NAACP and the National Jewish Federation about the boycott.
“Most of the images she collects were created in the period of the late 1800s to 1900s. A lot of them were European depictions of Asians. She has quite a collection,” Chew said. Seattle artist James Leong said the poster should not be confused with art.
The main purpose of the boycott, according to Frankie Irigon, Admissions Director at the Center for Career Alternatives, is to use networks of local chapters to carry out awareness-raising efforts about the existence and impacts of racist stereotypes.
The Frenchman who drew the poster intended to use it for a tea company advertisement. Over 10 years ago, Lazaroff took the original drawing and made a copy of it. The copied version is the one that now hangs in her restaurant.
“Not Art”
“It has nothing to do with art whatsoever,” Leong said. “It is a commercial piece that was made at the expense of the Chinese.”
The poster hanging in the Seattle restaurant is taken from a tea advertisement painted by a Frenchman in the 1920s. The poster has the restaurant’s name emblazoned above it and greets patrons at the reservation desk.
Rising Stars
Puck and Lazaroff, the famous couple whose claim of trendy upscale restaurants made them millionaire-celebrities beginning with Hollywood’s “Spago” in 1982, own 30 restaurants around the world, including one in Kuwait. They plan to open two new restaurants in Melbourne and Tokyo.
Critics have objected to stereotypical exaggerations of the Chinese man’s features, particularly the appearance of slanted eyes, jaundiced skin, and feminized posture and hands. Asian American scholars have stated it is the type of colonial depiction that fostered “Yellow Peril” conceptions of the Far East around the turn of the century.
The multi-million dollar restaurant empire includes 18 casual dinning cafes, such as Spago, Chinois and Wolfgang Puck Pizza Cafe, as well as three ObaChine restaurants and one package foods division. Their restaurant can be found in Las Vegas, Florida, Arizona and throughout California.
The same poster that is causing controversy in Seattle hangs in the Phoenix ObaChine restaurant, as well as the Santa Monica Chinois restaurant. Lazaroff claims it has been a good luck charm in the Chinois restaurant since she began displaying it there 15 years ago.
The name “ObaChine,” was coined by Lazarofff. “Oba” was derived from the Japanese Oba leaf, while “Chine” is the French word for China.
Lazaroff’s collection of art, which decorates ObaChine, is worth more than $100,000 and comes from her extensive travels throughout
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“Ultimately we wanted a name that would inspire people’s imagination,” Lazaroff told the Puget Sound Business Journal. “ObaChine sounds like a magical land I’d like to visit.”
in California. Trejo then went on to teach the Seattle ObaChine staff.
Rick Noguchi, a member of the Arizona JACL chapter said there has not been a lot of controversy surrounding the artwork in the Phoenix restaurant.
John Trejo, the praised former-chef at Seattle’s ObaChine, is half Italian and half Spanish. He worked at ObaChine for nearly two years, but left the Seattle ObaChine about eight months ago.
“There’s no critical mass of Asian here in Arizona, so it is pretty hard to do any kind of demonstration,” Noguchi said.
Trejo had no experience cooking Asian food, so Wolfgang Puck put him through a three-month crash course in Asian cooking
“It’s an easy matter for her just to take the pictures down. In that sense, this is silly,” said Wang Yung.
November 1998 (VOLUME 25, NO. 12)
Four Asian Pacific Americans prevail in legislative races By Lisa Charlie Ritts
At his election watch in Lynnwood, Shin said, “This is a victory for American values and a victory for Asian Americans. It shows we can assimilate into mainstream society. On a personnel level, it means a lot to me, because I have an opportunity to serve the people.” Shin, who owns a small business and teaches, immigrated to the United States from Korea. He previously served as a state representative from 1992-94.
Voters will send four Asian Pacific Americans to the Washington State Legislature next year, after an election that is likely to give Democrats a majority in both houses.
Voters returned Kip Tokuda, a two-term Democratic legislator from the 37th District, in a landslide victory over Muhammad S. Farrakan (R) and Guerry Hodderson of the Freedom Socialist Party. Velma Veloria, a Democrat, embarks on her fourth-term representing the 11th District with 82 percent of the vote.
This is Tomko Santos’s first experience as an elected official, though she has been active in grassroots organizing for 20 years, particularly within the Asian Pacific American community. Together with Tokuda, she represents the most diverse legislative district in the state. “There are important issues that affect the African American communities that may not affect or involve the APA community. I intend to be just as out there on those kinds of issues,” she said.
Joining Tokuda and Veloria in Olympia will be Sharon Tomiko Santos and Paull Shin, both Democrats. Tomiko Santos took the second slot in the 37th with 88 percent of the vote. Paull Shin secured the position of state senator in the 21st District in Snohomish County, beating out Republican incumbent Jeannette Wood by 10 percentage points.
“Her heart is with the people,” said Veloria of Tomiko Santos. “She has strengths that I don’t have. She’s very articulate and cites 67
facts just like that.”
out of the legislature unanimously. And Veloria’s work to make the Seattle Housing Authority more accountable resulted in the addition of two board member positions to represent the residents of Seattle housing projects.
For Veloria and Tokuda, it has sometimes been a tough and lonely road as the only Asian American legislators in Olympia. Last year, when 1,500 Asian and Pacific Islanders descended on the state capitol, it gave Veloria “a real sense of power”—she felt like she was “at home.”
The senior legislators expect particularly strong threats to bilingual education and English as a Second Language programs in the coming session. As has happened in other states, legislation making English the “official state language” could open the door to tighter restrictions on multilingualism.
But each year after everyone leaves, there is a void, said Tokuda. It doesn’t help matters that Republicans have run the state legislature for the last two years.
Veloria wants to see the state legislature take an active position on bilingual education. “We should assess where a child is, and then develop a program to facilitate his/her learning of the English language. Americanborn kids receive 16 years of English, but we want immigrant children to learn English in three.” Increasing the funds for low-income housing will also be a priority for Veloria, and Tokuda will co-sponsor “Juvenile Justice Reform” legislation for the third straight year.
This past legislative session proved “strenuous” for Veloria, “frustrating” for Tokuda. Veloria recalls the immigrant bashing. Tokuda saw his legislation for juvenile justice reform die just hours before the 1998 session came to a close. “Everything that we fought for, we got attacked on,” said Veloria. “We got attacked vehemently.”
Echoing the words of Tokuda, Rep. Veloria expressed that she has high hopes for the Asian Pacific community. But said, “We’re still here—Kip and me—but we won’t always be. I want people to become more active, to show their faces in Olympia, and not just on APA legislative day—so we won’t be so lonely.”
But after three terms in office, Veloria has learned that the state legislature can be “very incremental,” and that the survival of a bill often depends on the reinstitution of its sponsor.
Washington was the first state to provide equal protection for legal immigrants threatened by the 1996 federal welfare reform bill. English as a Second Language and bilingual education programs were saved from several attacks. Tokuda’s “Special Needs Adoption” bill, serving the needs of developmentally disabled children, passed
Added Tokuda, “We are still a community where politics isn’t cool—not legitimate or necessary, almost dirty. There’s an element to that I can’t understand, but we absolutely have to be involved. We can’t cry about inequalities and not be.”
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Local October 2000 (VOLUME 27, NO. 19)
Queer in Asian America By Chong-Suk Han
something that was all consuming of me, but yeah, in some small way, I know I was gay. I was the little boy who never grew out of the stage where we think that girls are gross.” Cho was lucky in some aspects. He never really had bouts of emotional trauma over his sexual identity. Sadly, he is the exception among preadolescent gay youths. Nationwide, an unimaginable number of gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender (GLBT) youths suffer emotional angst over their identities.
Sliding comfortably into a chair on the sidewalk at Starbucks, Jimmy Cho pulls a cigarette out of its box then offers me the pack. When I decline, his eyebrows rise slightly as if he’s reconsidering if he should have one as well, but then he lights it up. “I’ve never been interviewed before,” he says, “I can’t imagine that I’ll tell you anything important.” In his baggy jeans and $200 Nikes, he looks the part of a street thug. It’s difficult to imagine him being afraid of anything. He speaks easily and confidently, his manner more of a seasoned veteran speaker than someone just out of college and looking for work.
While estimates are hard to come by, many in social services working with GLBT youths argue that thousands of youths are kicked out of their home every year by parents who do not understand their child’s sexual orientation. While support groups for GLBT youths exist in most major cities, many do not attend for fear of being found out. In smaller towns where such services are hard to come by and there are no gay role models, the situation is even worse. Cho states, “I never went to support groups or anything like that. I knew they existed, but I was always afraid that someone I knew would see me.” And he had good reason to worry.
But when Cho told his parents that was gay, it was the most frightening moment of his life. “I fully prepared to be kicked out of the house, I had my bags pack, I made arrangements with my friends who were waiting outside, I was ready,” he says. “I was really a drama queen about the whole thing. But it really did take me years to finally decide to tell them. So it was just building up and building up inside. I think ultimately, it was a bigger deal for me than it was for them.”
As devout Christians, Cho’s parents attended one of the largest Korean churches in the Tacoma area. “The Korean community is really small, and big on gossip,” Cho said, “ I wasn’t ready for that.” Although he personally did not like church, Cho went to make his parents happy. “I never heard anyone openly say being gay was wrong, but that was the message I got from the church,” Cho said. “It was something that wasn’t talked about, it was just assumed that being gay was bad.”
For Cho, the event was less traumatic than the worst he had feared. “They always told me that they would love me no matter what, I guess they really proved it.” Over the years, his parents have grown to accept his sexuality and have even welcomed his partner to their home with “almost open arms.” Cho adds, “I know that my father is still a bit apprehensive around [my partner], but I try to be understanding, it’s a big step for him.” And what a step it was. As a child, Cho always know he was “different” from other children. “It wasn’t
As for his parents, Cho says they never openly discussed homosexuality. “One time
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we (the family) were on Broadway and we saw men holding hands. But neither of my parents said anything at all. I mean, they didn’t say it was good or bad. They made no comment at all, and I think that was the scariest part.” Cho adds that it was difficult for him to talk to his parents about his sexuality because he thought being gay was even more “taboo” in Asian cultures. “I don’t know why I thought that, I guess I bought into the stereotypes about homophobic Asians.” But Cho states that it was ultimately his Asian friends that accepted him the best. He adds, “I’ve had a few white friends from high school who stopped talking to me, but so far, not a single Asian friend—even those from church—stopped being my friends because of my sexuality. So much for stereotypes.”
men pursue Asian men because they have unrealistic expectations that the Asian guy will do everything possible to please a white man. In a lot of interracial relationships, Nguyen says, Asian men are expected to play the “female” role of submissive giver while the white man plays the “masculine” role of dominant taker.
“Sadly enough,” Nguyen adds, “there are (Asian) guys who will play this role. According to Nguyen, there is an obsession with a “white is beautiful” mentality in the gay subculture. “Most of the images in the gay community,” he says, “are of young, blonde haired, blue eyed white men. When Asian men are portrayed at all, it’s always something exotic, something different. We just aren’t presented as desirable.” The worst part, according to Nguyen, is that Asian men have internalized these images and stereotypes.
Odd Man Out
In the mainstream media, Asian men are often portrayed as weak, timid, and unassertive. These images have perpetuated the stereotype that Asian men are somehow docile and unmasculine. Take these stereotypes and multiply them ten-fold and you get what it’s like to be a gay Asian man. According to Alex Nguyen, these gross stereotypes often place him into uncomfortable situations. “ I went out with a guy for a few weeks and it was fine for a while. Then, he started complaining that I was not what he expected. When I asked him what he expected, he simply said someone not so ...demanding.” Later, Nguyen found out that “not demanding” meant someone who did not have an opinion, did not complain about being kept waiting, did all the cooking and cleaning, waited patiently by the phone to be called, and who would stay home while his partner went out with his friends. “It was really disgusting what this ‘rice queen’ (a white man who dates only Asian men) wanted in a man,” he adds.
“I’ve been in situations where I’ve heard Asian men say things like, ‘I don’t find Asian men attractive.’ Well, what does that mean? That you don’t find yourself attractive? That you don’t find people that have similar characteristics as yourself attractive? It seems to me like there’s a bit of self-hate there. So a lot of Asian men will date any white guy. I guess it makes them feel accepted.” Nguyen is quick to point out that this type of mentality lead to gay Asian men as seeing other Asian men as competitors rather than natural allies. Steve Chin disagrees: “It’s not about feeling bad about ourselves, it’s more about who we find attractive.” For Chin, dating white men has nothing to do with being proud of being Asian or turning his back on his cultural heritage. While he admits that “most” of the Asian men that he knows prefer white men, he says they are also very comfortable with their Asian heritage. Chin says that on many occasions, he has been called a “potato queen” (a gay man of color who exclusively dates white men) but it doesn’t bother him. He adds, “If some people want to be closed minded then what can I say?”
While Nguyen doesn’t see any problems with inter-racial dating, he says the problem comes when white men only want to date Asian men because they believe that an Asian man will be less “trouble.” Much like the geisha image, Nguyen says that there are a lot of white
According to Chin, too much goes into dating to narrow people’s preferences down to psychological models that negatively portray 70
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those who explore outside of their ethnic circles. He adds, “ It could be that there are just more white men out there than there are Asian men.” He also noted that the trends in inter-racial dating he sees in Asian women. In fact, according to Chin, most of his close friends are other gay Asian men. According to him, “Relationships come and go, but your friends stay for ever. I’d rather have that kind of relationship with other gay Asian men.”
explore his sexual identity in conjunction with his Asian American identity. King believes that in order to have a strong gay Asian community, gay Asian men need to examine their own prejudices and ask themselves how much of the stereotypes of Asian men have been internalized. By working together, he believes that gay Asian men can create positive images for themselves.
According to Nguyen, the gay community is no more inclusive of racial minorities than the straight community. “In a lot of these gay organizations, ethnic diversity is just lip service. They want you to come, but if you have an opinion you’re labeled a troublemaker. Men of color are invited to dinner, but they aren’t served any food. This is why we need Asian specific organizations.”
Finding A Gay Asian Home
According to Nhan Thai, the goal is to “empower gay Asian men and provide them with a place where they can feel safe.” According to Thai, the problem is not that there is self-hate in the gay Asian community, but that there is no real community to speak of. “Most things in the gay community are geared toward ‘mainstream’ gay men who are most often white, and most things in the Asian community are geared toward heterosexuals,” he says. “If gay Asian men want to have a community, we have to build it ourselves from the ground up.”
“The deeper problem,” says Phi Huynh, “is that most gay Asian men are not even aware of the things that affect the way they see the world.” Huynh adds that the drive to fit into any community might hinder careful consideration of gay Asian men’s own identities. “The messages that are bombarded on gay men in general, and gay Asian men specifically, can be very damaging if they are not critically explored.” While Huynh understands the value of such groups like Gay City that reach out to gay men in general, he feels that racially specific issues are often ignored. “There is a tendency to lump everyone together, but the reality is that our needs are very different from those of other gay men.” This, he says, is the most important reason that Asian specific organizations need to exit.
As president of Queer and Asian (Q&A) and the community facilitator for Young Asian Men’s Study (YAMS), Thai has been doing a lot of community building. According to Thai, “If we are to build a gay Asian community, these organizations are critical.” Kieu-Ahn King, who came out several years ago, agrees. “If weren’t for these organizations, I would have been lost.” King credits organizations such as Q&A and the Asian Pacific Aid s Coalition (APAC) with providing a culturally sensitive place where he was able to
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April 2002 (VOLUME 29, NO. 7)
Supporters of Syrian family gather outside the INS building to protest detention By Chong-suk Han
Community Coalition (AACC) who organized the protest.
If it was a less important gathering, a drizzle of rain might have kept people indoors. But the weather, which turned gloomy March 28 after a short streak of sunshine, didn’t deter nearly 100 people—some with tears thicker than the rain— from gathering outside of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) building at 815 Airport Way, S. to protest the detention of the Homoui family.
“I am sure that this is or was Arab American profiling,” said Bernice Funk, who was hired by the AACC to represent the Homoui family. “The Homouis are law abiding people and they have worked very hard to follow the rules.” Funk said that the Homouis were following bad legal advice when they failed to report to the INS in August 2000.
The INS, however, maintains that the Homouis’ arrest has nothing to do with racial profiling or the terrorist attacks giver that they were set for deportation nearly two years ago. In addition, Courtney said that the INS does not control whether someone is deported or not. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Courtney said, “and if a spoke group or an attorney says something, people take that as the truth. If the Ninth Circuit Court orders the INS to detain someone, that’s what we must do. But that is not our decision.”
On Feb. 22, Safouh Homoui, his wife Hanan, and their daughter Nadin, who are from Syria, were taken at gunpoint by FBI and INS agents. They are currently being detained at the INS building. The Homouis other children, including a young son who is an American citizen, are being looked after by an uncle.
According to supporters of Homouis, the family members were arrested under the new absconder initiative put out by the Secretary of State, John Ashcroft. Civil rights groups say the absconder initiative “blatantly targets Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and East Africans.”
Speaking on behalf of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), chapter president Arlene Oki said, “It is wrong that a law-abiding family is being kept in confinement and faces possible deportation. It is wrong that the INS and FBI would break into someone’s house with guns drawn, take the parents and older sister away in the dead of night just because they are Middle Eastern immigrants. And it is wrong that two children would have to witness their father, mother and sister being taken away from the family home.”
However, Garr Ison Courtney, public affairs director for the INS, said the Homouis were arrested because they failed to report for deportation in August 2000. According to the INS, the Homouis came to the United States on a tourist visa and attempted to gain permanent resident status. When their appeals were denied, the Ninth Circuit Court ordered them to be deported. “The Homoui family are not terrorists or criminals. Arab does not equal terrorist,” said Rita Zawaideh, of the Arab American
An immediate concern is that Hanan suffers from Crohn’s disease. She was recently 72
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hospitalized overnight but was taken back into detention despite her doctors recommendation that she be released for further medial evaluation and treatment. According to the AACC, she is not receiving proper medical attention in the INS jail. The INS said that there is a physician on duty at the building.
any real danger should they be deported and in the case of the Homouis, no such danger was determined. Nonetheless, supporters of the Homouis insist that the danger is real and that they will not be happy until the family is released.
The INS, however, maintains that the danger to the Homoui family may be over exaggerated. A part of the appeal process, said Courtney, is to determine if the applicant does indeed face
For now, the Homouis have filed an appeal for a stay, but their future in the United States is uncertain.
“We are demanding the release of the Homoui family. They are not a flight risk and pose no danger to our community,” said Pramila Jayapal, director of the Hate Free Zone Campaign of Washington, an organization that was formed to combat racial profiling after the 9-11 attacks.
Zawaideh also said that the Homoui family faces a very real possibility of torture and death if they are deported to Syria and that the United Nation’s conventions clearly prohibit deportation of immigrants and refugees to any country where their lives might be endangered.
April 2003 (VOLUME 30, NO. 8)
Seattle war resister taught to go against the grain By Nhien Nguyen
interview that he’s now glad to be thrown into the role as anti-war activist.
Maybe true leaders are the regular people.
“I really didn’t expect the attention, but it’s great to get the message out,” Funk said, who wants people to know that war resistance is an option.
So says Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk, who gained national attention earlier this month when he became the first pubic conscientious objector of the war in Iraq.
Funk turned himself in to the Marines on April 1 after being absent without leave since February, when his support battalion was sent to Camp Pendleton near San Diego.
Whether or not people are on Funk’s side, the Asian American Marine reservist from Seattle is standing by his beliefs that war—any war—is immoral. His upbringing taught him that, and while he is assigned to desk duty during the day for the rest of April, family, friends, and supporters are rallying behind his cause.
Having not experienced the reality of war in his lifetime, Funk, 20, says the Marine recruiters did not emphasize the combat side of the Marine Corps in order to talk him into enlisting.
But Funk did not set out to be a spokesperson when he signed up for the Marines. No one was more surprised than Funk that his case became so publicized in the media. Though at first shy to speak up, Funk tells the Examiner in a phone
“Marine recruiters should be more responsible and tell the truth,” says Funk. The son of a Vietnam vet grew uncomfortable
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during his training in the military when he was made to shout, “Kill! Kill! Kill!” during a basic training exercise. Since then, he has gone to every major anti-war rally in the San Francisco Bay area.
Continuing his activism as he finished NOVA with high marks, Funk participated in Seattle’s WTO protests and other later rallies in Los Angeles.
His activism for civil rights was fueled in large part by Funk’s Asian American background. Funk says that anyone who is a minority in any way knows what it feels like to be teased or oppressed.
But what could you expect from the son of a single mother Gloria Pacis, whose last name means peace.
“I’m undeniably proud of him,” says Pacis, who is currently thinking of ways to fundraise for Funk’s legal defense. “It takes a lot of guts to go against the grain.”
“I don’t know what it is, but I think Asians and Hispanics are invisible races—we’re really not seen anywhere,” Funk says. “Our views are not heard.”
When her son joined the Marines, Pacis was “shocked out of my mind” because it ran contrary to the way she brought him up. Believing that Funk was lured into the Marines for a sense of belonging and purpose after quitting his studies at the University of Southern California, she urge him to get out of there.
In his application for honorable discharge, Funk said that the military “perpetuates feelings of hatred against all that are different” to dehumanize potential enemies. Funk re-ignited media attention when it “leaked out” from his application that he was gay, further complicating his argument for conscientious objector on moral grounds.
“Stephen didn’t even like violent video games when he was a kid,” Pacis says, who describes her son as soft-spoken and inherently peaceful.
Though being gay is central to his politics. Funk does not want this aspect to be the focus of his cause. He doesn’t want to alienated people because they are homophobic, or because he “happens to be gay.”
Pacis, born in Seattle and now living in New York, says, as an artist, her life has been based on passivity, not aggression or competition. She didn’t follow the crowd, and considers herself a loner.
Funks says that the other Marine reservist in training with him were aware that he was gay. While he awaits the decision of his discharge, Funk says, for the most part, fellow reservists haven’t treated him any differently, since “most of the people I was friends with tended to be more open about their beliefs.”
Pacis’ parents, who helped raise Funk, was a strong influence on him. As immigrants from the Philippines, Funk’s grandparents were both “very peaceful” folks. His grandfather, who Funk says could have been Gandhi in his mind, was extremely pacifistic.
As the war comes to an end, Funk will be among the 28 conscientious objectors filed since the end of 2002, and 111 granted during the Gulf War. Funk, who currently may be transferred to a base in Washington State or Louisiana, says that he knows a lot of people in the military have reservations about fighting in the war.
Funk is no stranger to controversy. While a student at NOVA Alternative School, Funk helped coordinate a district-wide protest involving more than 100 middle and high school students. The 1996 protest, receiving local media attention, was to show support for two male Washington Middle School students who were forced to change clothes when they came to school dressed in skirts. A Seattle Times article then reported that students said the protest wasn’t about fashion, but personal rights.
Asked as to whether he will continue his fight after the judgment on his discharge, Funk says, “Yeah, of course, I’m ready to help the next conscientious objector.” 74
Local July 2003 (VOLUME 30, NO. 14)
King County election office take a major step to provide Chinese language assistance By Doug Chin
population in the county to fully comply with the intent of the Voting Rights Act and to get them registered to vote and to vote, said Debbie Hsu, CISC staff member and OCA board member who worked with the County on Section 203 issues for over a year. “We will work with the Elections Office to design an outreach program that effectively communicates with Chinese immigrants of voting age in the region,” she said.
King County will hire two persons in the elections office to provide outreach and language assistance in Chinese (i.e. Cantonese) to facilitate voter registration and balloting among limited English proficiency Chinese in the county.
The elections office is recruiting for a permanent Bilingual Voter Outreach Coordinator and a temporary bilingual Chinese administrative worker, announced Terry Denend, Assistant Manager of the Records, Elections, and Licensing Services Division.
A 1994 report by the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), based in Southern California, attributed Section 203 voter outreach efforts for a 31 percent increase in voter turnout among Chinese in New York City and a 14 percent increase among Chinese in San Francisco.
“This is a milestone, a major step in the County’s obligation to provide limited English speaking Chinese in the area with an equal opportunity to vote,” said Mei-ling Hsu, Greater Seattle Chapter President of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA). “It’s what democracy is all about,” she added.
King County and its subdivisions, including school districts and port authority, are required to provide voting material and language assistance in Chinese (i.e. Cantonese) under the provisions of Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Earlier this year, OCA—along with the Chinese Information and Service Center, Chinese/ Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Japanese American Citizens League and ROAR (Raising Our Asian Pacific American Representation)— made a number of recommendations to King County Records, Licensing and Elections on Section 203 compliance. Foremost among the recommendations was the hiring of two Chinese bi-lingual workers in the Elections Section who would do outreach to the Chinese community in addition to providing language assistance.
Voting material means registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or other materials of information relating to the electoral process, including regular and absentee ballots, candidates qualifying poll place notices, sample ballots and voter information pamphlets.
As amended in 1992, Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act mandates voting material and language assistance in a minority language when there are more than 10,000 citizens of a single language minority of voting age with limited English proficiency. In early 2002, the federal Department of Justice notified King
It is crucial for the County to have bi-lingual staff to conduct outreach to the LEP Chinese
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County that the Chinese met that benchmark according to the 2000 Census.
$205,000 for translation services, printing, and Chinese translations on the County’s web site.
With a small grant for NAPALC for community activity on Section 203 in King County, CISC will help train poll monitors and conduct voter registration and voting campaigns, and ROAR will help collect and compile census and voter registration data on Asian Americans to increase voter registration and voter turnout.
If approved by the full Council, the Oversight Committee could be established in time for this fall’s elections. Committee members would include one representative from the Municipal League of King County, the League of Women Voters, the King County Democratic Party, the King County Republican Party, the Office of the Secretary of State and a King County school district and three King County citizens appointed by the County Executive.
While the creation of Chinese bi-lingual positions to provide language assistance and outreach was seen as a step in the right direction, Asian American community organizations working on voting rights and registration plan to step up their initiatives even further. OCA will continue to work cooperatively with the County Elections Office, said Mei-ling Hsu, regarding Chinese language assistance and outreach to get citizens registered to vote and to actually vote. “We envision Section 203 compliance as a major item for our chapter over the next few years,” she added.
In addition to the elections reform package, the Council’s Labor, Operations, and Technology Committee recently recommended creation of a King County Citizens’ Election Oversight Committee. Proposed by Council member Jane Hague, a nine-member panel would monitor the fall elections and make recommendations on how to improve the performance of the Elections Division, which had major problems providing absentee ballots in the last two county elections.
Meanwhile, King County Executive Ron Sims submitted an election reform package to the Metropolitan King County Council. The package, which will be considered by the full County Council in late July, includes some
At the urging of OCA, one of the three citizens could be someone who would watchdog the County’s requirement to provide Chinese language material and assistance under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.
April 2008 (VOLUME 35, NO. 8)
Racial tension boils over on campus By Diem Ly
campuses such as demanding administrators hire more Asian American professors, establishing an Asian American Studies program at numerous colleges, and supporting APA student enrollment—these successes are all for nothing if there are no strides at the most base level. In the human heart and mind. Asian Americans have a right to go to whatever school they want, whenever they want, however many they want—without judgment, fear, or issue.
Everything from hate crimes to satire at the expense of Asian American students is finding a breeding ground on college campuses lately. Why is this and what does it reveal about the state of Asian America? Racially-charged incidents towards Asian American students on college campuses nationwide are raising serious concerns.
But in recent months, incidents have proven this is not the tolerant and highly-evolved
Decades after winning major strides on
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society we thought. Hate crimes against Asian students, racial remarks masked under the term “satire,” and institutional discrimination—are just a few causes triggering racial tension on college campuses.
communicated with Descher’s dad, uncle, members of the Human Rights Commission, CAPAA, and the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition regarding the attack.
“In Kyle’s situation, it went beyond just a few hurtful words,” says Lock. “I always have a close connection to situations like Kyle’s. I’ve been in close situations going back to my college/grad school days where one sharp reply back to a racially motivated comment could have easily led to a reaction similar to what happened to Kyle—for no apparent reason other than being Asian.”
In light of the upcoming anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting, the IE examines the campus incidents changing what it means to be a student, to be Asian American, and to be an American. Because, it seems these things are still separate from one another.
CAMPUS HATE CRIMES
On Jan. 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Kyle Descher, a Korean American, headed out to a bar with his roommate after a Washington State University football victory over Oregon. Minutes after hearing a racial slur from one of three unknown men, Descher is “suckerpunched” in an unprovoked attack. Doctors add three titanium plates to Descher’s broken jaw and it’s wired shut.
Police have not captured the attacker(s) to date. A forum at WSU on Feb. 15 addressed the Descher incident and opened the floor to possible solutions for the WSU campus.
In November, at the University of Washington, witnesses told Seattle Police several people from the Delta Upsilon fraternity house hurled water balloons and yelled anti-immigrant slurs at an Asian man, who ran from the house. The fraternity president Kyle Sahagun told officers he and members of the fraternity were in a meeting when the incident occurred. Officers classified the incident as assault and malicious harassment. Police were not able to locate either victim immediately after the incident.
Descher’s roommate tells police that as the pair approached the bar, he heard the remark, “f—ing Asian” directed towards Descher. He told police Descher responded by asking them what they said and then heard a repeat of the comment. The roommate said Descher replied by telling them, “Whatever, have a nice life,” and walked into the bar. Descher was then punched by an assailant. Witnesses in the bar claim they’re unable to describe the attacker. Investigators are classifying this attack as a possible hate crime.
Harassment and hate crimes like these are on the rise. New American Media reports that race and ethnicity are cited as one of the most common factors instigating harassment, ridicule, and threat of violence in schools.
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), nearly 7 percent of all racially-motivated incidents in 2001, whether school-related or not, reflected an anti-Asian or anti-Pacific Islander bias.
“I have been able to talk alright with my jaw wired shut,” Descher told the University of Idaho newspaper, The Argonaut, “but not being able to eat is terrible. Everything must be liquid and squeezed through the cracks in my teeth.” The IE attempted to conduct an interview with Descher, but will respect the Descher family’s desire for privacy and in moving forward from the incident.
And according to U.S. Dept. of Education records, most school-related hate crimes occur on-campus and are classified as aggravated assaults. The other most common forms of campus hate crimes manifest itself as arson or bodily injury. In 2002, 168 college-related hate crimes were reported, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Brian Lock, former acting director at the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) and a former student at WSU, empathizes with Descher. Lock has
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But, not all acts of campus racism are demonstrated by outright force. Sometimes it’s in the power of the pen.
Asians and yelling racial slurs at them. He says his “satirical” commentary is meant to provoke dialogue about racism at CU. But he says he was “disappointed when the conversation instead became about suppressing [his] right to free speech.”
SATIRE
The University of Pennsylvania’s humorous quarterly student publication, “The Punch Bowl,” dates back to 1899. And by all accounts, it’s still the 19th century.
In the “War on Asians,” Karson describes a strange ordeal to teach Asians a “lesson” including, capturing as many Asians as possible with a butterfly net (step #1), forcing them to eat bad sushi (step #2), make facial expressions to match a word on a card, and play Dance Dance Revolution. Once Asians are “corrected” in their ways, they’re freed.
In its latest Winter 2008 edition, “The Racism (slash) Diversity Issue,” Asian Americans got the most laughs—at their expense.
In the “Where Asians Don’t Belong” section, staffers of the “Punch Bowl” listed Math 104, in a panties drawer, on the basketball court, at a frat party, and behind the wheel. Imagine why the staff didn’t make jokes with the same glee for all the places African Americans “don’t belong.” In their defense, “Punch Bowl” editors said some of the writers of the “satirical” issue were Asian Americans themselves, even posing in photos poking fun at APIs.
“Now, I understand that this plan may upset some of you Asian readers,” Karson writes in the column, “but the only other way to make peace would be to expel you. If you’re smart, you’ll turn yourselves in now, and it will all be over in a few days.” CU students were not amused.
Yu isn’t laughing either. He thinks the column signals an underlying aggression towards Asians and reveals the fine line between humor and perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Phil Yu doesn’t accept that excuse. Yu, the master of the popular Web site, AngryAsianMan. com, dedicates the site to all things “inspireAsian” and staying “angry” at incidents like this. He says it’s the right of the Asian students to make jabs at their culture—but points out, this hinders those who are offended and trying to speak out against it.
“No one can be that good at coming up with the imagery evoked in Karson’s column without feeling some of it himself,” said Yu. “The problem with addressing race so irresponsibly and then excusing it as satire is that when it reaches its audience, there will inevitably be people who find themselves nodding in agreement with the stereotypes.”
“We’re not one huge monolithic mind,” says Yu. “We’ve got diverse, divergent identities and opinions, and many will not be offended by the stuff that was in the “Punch Bowl.” That said, there were many who were indeed hurt and offended by the Punch Bowl’s material, and they shouldn’t be ignored.”
In response to Karson’s article, the University of Colorado came close to placing the “Campus Press” under faculty control—a move that could have triggered a First Amendment lawsuit. Instead, CU hosted a public forum on Feb. 27 and posted apologetic letters on the university Web site from “Press” editors. In addition, “Press” staffers suspended the opinion page and agreed to attend diversity-related training sessions.
In another instance where “satire” went too far, at the University of Colorado, the “Campus Press,” an on-line student newspaper, published an opinion piece on Feb. 18, titled, “If it’s war the Asians want … it’s war they’ll get.” CU Boulder student Max Karson wrote the article, describing why he thinks “Asians hate us all” and what people should do about it. This “lesson” includes kidnapping and tying up
When the IE asked Karson whether his perspectives have changed since his “War
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On Asians,” he says, “No, my feelings toward Asians have not changed, I wouldn’t do anything differently, and for the most part people on campus like me—including Asians.”
of color. Faculty members are speaking up and feeling ignored and isolated. One of the faculty members, Akemi Matsumoto, says since voicing her grievances, she’s experienced harassment from co-workers, overlooked job promotions and raises, and a significant lack of support from administrators.
Karson didn’t want to comment further, but in a statement following the controversy, he explains the purpose of his column was to raise awareness about race issues at CU.
In response, in the fall of 2006, BCC was the second community college in the state to establish an executive-level position to focus solely on diversity and race issues in the college’s program of equity and pluralism. Part of the role is to hire more faculty of color, recruit more minority students, and promote racial awareness through seminars for student and faculty.
“The days of hood-wearing and crossburning, at least in Boulder, are over,” Karson wrote. “Now racism lives in policies and micro-messages such as looks, remarks, and avoidance. If you really want to fight racism, you have to allow people to express it, and then you have to engage it, not stomp it back into invisibility. No matter how much it hurts us, open dialogue is the answer.”
But not all of the seminars went smoothly. Mediated in part by the faculty of color who had lodged discrimination complaints against BCC, the “talks” were controversial and left many participants, including students, confused and divided. Some BCC staffers called the mediators “bigots of color” and accused them of using a “Kampuchean style re-education program.”
Open dialogue IS the answer. But, promoting stereotypes, even making light of racism, doesn’t call attention to it—it strengthens ignorance and apathy.
INSTITUTIONAL DISCRIMINATION
At Bellevue Community College, some say it all started with a math question.
Former BCC student officer Peter Tran agrees the talks were unproductive as the mediators acted like bullies. “They are not in the position to make quick and rash decisions,” said Tran. “And from the past incidents like the watermelon question, we can see that racial issues were handled [by BCC] seriously and thoroughly within a reasonable amount of time.”
In 2004, BCC Professor Peter Ratener composed a question for a math exam that read, “Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second.” At the time, no complaints were made.
That is, until March 2006, when a different professor distributed the exam featuring Ratener’s question to his class. A student told the math department chair she was offended by the question that invoked a racial stereotype. Months later, BCC decided to suspend Prof. Ratener for a week without pay.
Tran, who participated in the dialogues and seminars, said the answer is team effort.
“I don’t want racism, students don’t want racism, any legitimate professor would not want racism, and the college definitely does not want to be associated anywhere near the word ‘racism.’ So why the polarity?”
Faculty and students who wanted Ratener fired saw the suspension as leniency on the administration’s part. Since then, the BCC campus community has not had rest, struggling endlessly over issues of discrimination and unequal treatment towards staffers and students
Tran thinks some of the faculty members are unfairly targeting BCC’s administration.
“These are isolated incidents that need to be resolved not by BCC administration, but rather
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by the individuals,” said Tran. “Whether or not some faculty chooses to retaliate with anger is his/her own personal choice.”
not mean scape-goating immigrants and/or promoting hateful actions.
Whether it’s new findings by academics, subtle discrimination hovering just above the radar, or outright attacks on our young people—these events put the spotlight on our community and force us to uphold a vision of what Asian America is and where it belongs.
In another case sparking racial tension on campus—the University of Washington’s student group, the College Republicans (CR) kicked off an “Affirmative Action Bake Sale” in 2004, where students could purchase baked goods depending upon their racial make up. Whites paid a dollar for a cookie, while Asians paid 50 cents, Latinos 30 cents, etc. The “bake sale” immediately triggered outrage. Protestors organized a massive rally and press event with the NAACP at the UW Ethnic Cultural Center the same day.
“We’ve long been fighting the idea that Asians are a passive, quiet community, unwilling to rock the boat and make any noise,” says Yu. “Basically, people think they can get away with it because we won’t fight back. In many ways, we’re still fighting for respect and the right to belong.”
Four years later, the College Republicans haven’t missed a beat.
The challenge is trying to ever understand these incidents of racism. It’s a painful experience not only for the student, but for all involved.
On April 15, the group is hosting a “Find the Illegal Immigrant Tag” event. According to CR’s president, the event is meant to send a “clear statement that we need to get serious and crack down on illegal immigration and secure our borders.”
So instead of looking on these incidents as a step backwards—the message is to look on them as an opportunity. Events like these do not show up without drawing attention and eliciting a profound desire for change. It’s time to face the hard truths, whether it makes us uncomfortable or not, whether we’re passive about these kinds of issues or not—and wake up! Racism is not a thing of the past. It’s real, and if it’s at our schools—then it’s on our doorstep.
Community members are organizing to protest the discriminatory “tagging” event.
Both sides agree the immigration system is broken and in need of reform, but to immigration advocates, fair immigration reform does
April 2009 (VOLUME 36, NO. 7)
The Pacific Islander community More than island mentality: They’re dreaming big
By Bopha Chan Sanguinetti
being “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander”.
Asian Pacific Islanders (API) have been an integral part of our modern society. According to the 2000 US Census, the US population was over 281 million. Of these, a staggering number emerges. Nearly 12 million reported as
The islands of the south Pacific Ocean is called “Oceania” and comprise about 25,000 islands. In the Pacific islands, there are subregions known as Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. Polynesia means “many islands” 80
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and is where the Kingdom of Tonga and Samoa can be found.
a scholarship to attend Northwest Bible College in Kirkland. The scholarship only paid for schooling, so Patu’s father worked as a janitor at night. Her brother helped out financially by earning a living as a professional fire-dancer and boxer. Eventually, with the efforts of both men, the whole Patu family, one at a time, were re-joined in the mainland.
Inhabitants of the Pacific islands originated from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, between 3000 BC to 1000 BC. People left the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago and migrated to islands across the Pacific Ocean, eventually forming the indigenous populations of the Pacific Islands.
Difficulty assimilating to American culture persists today for Tongans and Samoans. Language and racism was and is a huge barrier in way of accessing housing, employment, health care, legal services and other needs. Patu recounts her own traumatic experience.
“Islanders” are no strangers to travelling and carving a better way of life for themselves. The wave of Tongan and Samoan immigrants arrived in the United States in the 1950s to 1960s through way of student visas or work visas. But, a few pioneers pave the way for them.
“Leaving my home was just devastating,” says Patu. “I didn’t know the language or anyone at my new school. I had no friends because the kids would make fun of me, especially my name. The teacher didn’t even call me by my name. She would just gesture or say, ‘Hey you,’ when she needed me. No one had even heard of Samoa, so they thought I made the country up and that I was really Native American.”
One of the earliest recorded travelers or “temporary migrants” was a Samoan shaman named Siovilli or Joe Gimlet. Captain Samuel Henry hired “Joe” as a deck-hand on a trading vessel. Through Joe’s employment, he made his way south to the island of Tonga. From there, he’s recorded to have headed eastward to the Society Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific, in the mid-1820s.
Patu says the 1950s were difficult, “because during this time, Blacks and Whites were still trying to work out their issues, so when we arrived it was like no one knew what to do with us.” She says her family felt discriminated against because of their skin color.
The first known Tongan in the United States is recorded to have arrived in Utah in 1924 for educational purposes and accompanied a Mormon missionary returning to the United States. The first Tongan family is said to have arrived in Salt Lake City, over three decades later, in 1956.
“I believe because of my experience in the school system, I really wanted to make sure no immigrant or refugee child had to go through what I went through,” says Patu.
Military service was another means for Pacific Islanders to gain entry. Betty Patu, a local Samoan American, who is a long-time teacher at Rainier Beach High School, shares her memories of coming to America.
The proverb “it takes a village to raise a child,” continues to ring true in both communities. They are taught everyone works together for the good of the community, not just the nuclear family. In the Tongan language this is known as “nofo a’kainga,” meaning everyone counts on one another.
“I remember my older brother had stolen away on a navy ship to Hawaii at 10 years old,” Patu describes. “He lived in Hawaii with my uncle and then joined the Navy when he was 16 years old.”
Despite cultural barriers and institutionalized racism, Pacific Islander communities have established churches, social networks, community centers and cultural activities to continue their value of working together to help one another and many others.
Patu says after her older brother served in the military, he found his way to Seattle. Around the same time, Patu’s father was given
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June 2009 (VOLUME 36, NO. 12)
The Central Asian community: A minority within a minority By Nina Huang
controlling government—a reason he shares— and for economic reasons. Others seek freedom, hoping to find that in the United States.
The API community is ever-expanding its demographics. New communities are emerging in Seattle and force us to re-evaluate the API experience.
Despite no longer living in their home country and with no intentions to return, Nishanov and his family feel they still represent the Krygyz culture, although they’ve adjusted to an American lifestyle.
There isn’t much to be found on the underrepresented Central Asian communities in Seattle. Geographically, the five countries that make up Central Asia are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
However, distinct elements from other countries have influenced Central Asian culture. Nishanov said that tea and certain foods have been directly inherited from countries such as China and India because of the historic Silk Road that ran through their region for hundreds of years.
Many individuals of Central Asian background reside in the Pacific Northwest. They traveled across the globe for better educational opportunities, to escape the political regime, or to experience a chance at a better life.
Nishanov said one thing that most people may not realize about Central Asians is that they are generally more educated than people think.
Lennura Zhataganova, the winner of the International Examiner’s InspirAsian Fashion Show and Competition on May 20, is from Kazakhstan. She moved to Seattle three years ago to study fashion design at Seattle Central Community College.
Education is a popular reason why many Central Asians choose to study in the U.S.
Yuliya Zhumagulova arrived in Portland last August from Kazakhstan when she won a fellowship to study at Portland State University. She will move to Seattle for a full-time internship this summer.
Zhataganova compared the respective Central Asian countries to the relationship between the U.S. and Canada, where most residents share a common language and culture. Most people in Central Asia speak Russian and share a similar cultural and historical background, having been ruled under the Soviet Union years ago.
Zhumagulova says of her identity, “Although Kazakhstan’s history is very interesting, I don’t really think I am of a certain nationality,” Zhumagulova said.
Vitaly Nishanov, a lecturer in management at the University of Washington, came to the United States with his family in 2004 from Kyrgyzstan. His father is from Uzbekistan and his mother was born in Ukraine.
She has a mixed heritage: she’s half Kazakh, one fourth Tatar and one fourth German. Despite growing up in Kazakhstan, she doesn’t follow traditions nor does she speak Kazakh. But, Zhumagulova says she is proud of her heritage and likes to present her country and defy the stereotypes that were portrayed in the
He says Krygyz immigrate to the United States due to political problems from a
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movie, “Borat”–a film starring actor-comedien Sasha Baron Cohen, who pokes fun at Kazakh stereotypes.
otherwise she had not known others to have existed.
Both Zayniddinova and Zhumagulova agreed that two of the primary motivations of leaving Central Asia for the U.S. were to find better job and educational opportunities.
She says she thought the movie was funny but could understand why some Kazakhstans are offended by the satirical humor. Fashion student Zhataganova felt the same way. She thought it was funny that some film-goers believed the country was, in reality, how it was represented in the movie.
Like the rest, Alisher Bazarov, who is originally from Turkmenistan, first came to Seattle when he was 17 on a scholarship to study in an exchange program for a year.
Aziza Zayniddinova attended school in Tacoma for two years before moving back to her home country of Uzbekistan. She defines herself as Asian, but only due to its continental meaning.
After his studies, he returned to Turkmenistan in hopes of attending college but was expected to pay more money to go to a public university after studying abroad. Bazarov decided to return to the U.S. to attend college instead.
“I think we are different from each other in terms of culture and attitude,” she said, referring to the differences between Central and East Asians.
He says while he has a few local Central Asian friends, it’s unusual to see them in large communities.
Due to the Central Asian countries’ history before Soviet Union control, neighboring countries and regions such as Russia, China, Mongolia, and the Middle East influenced the area. A Central Asian will often share a mixed heritage and ethnicity. Some Central Asians may appear with more traditionally Caucasian features while others may share East Asian characteristics.
Like Zhataganova, Zayniddinova often had people curious about their cultural background. “It was even very interesting to be the only one from Central Asia, because everyone wanted to know about our culture and asked different, very interesting questions which actually excited me,” she said.
Zayniddinova tried looking for other Uzbeks in the area when she first came to Seattle and said that Seattle and the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, are sister cities. She says she was fortunate enough to attend the 35-year celebration of Seattle/Taskhkent sister city relations last year. That was her first, real exposure to other Uzbeks in the community,
Bazarov said Americans aren’t always wellversed in Central Asian culture and regard them by stereotypes. But, as you’ll realize if you take a moment to reach out to a person of Central Asian or any ethnicity for that matter, is that they have an interesting story to tell that you can learn from and will help to expand your own horizons.
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April 2011 (VOLUME 38, NO. 7)
Eastside Story By Collin Tong
“Asians have come to Bellevue because of job opportunities and education,” said Bellevue Deputy Mayor Conrad Lee. “Bellevue’s five high schools are ranked among the top in the nation. It’s a good place for families to raise their kids. High-tech industries, like Microsoft, are known for their creative innovation.” Lee believes that the increase in Asian population on the Eastside will continue in the future.
We’ve observed it for some time, but the recent Census confirms it. APIs are planting roots on the Eastside in astonishing numbers. A plentiful supply of high-tech jobs, good schools, and overall livability is making Bellevue the magnet for a growing Asian and minority population according to statistics from the recent census.
Lee, a native of China, notes the growing multicultural population has placed an increased demand on city resources accessible to minority residents in Chinese, Korean, and other Asian languages. In the affluent Somerset area in Bellevue, more than thirty-eight percent of the population is Asian. The popularity of the Northwest Chinese School reflects the changing demographics of the city. Crossroads residents are sixty-four percent minority.
“That growth continues an older trend,” said Richard Morrill, University of Washington professor emeritus of geography. “It consists both of newcomers [high immigration] related to Microsoft especially, and families relocating from Seattle. Believe it or not, parts of Bellevue are lower in real housing costs.”
Overall, the increase in the number of minorities on the Eastside, especially Bellevue, has been significant according to demographers. Data from the 2010 census shows a twentyeight percent increase in minorities in the past decade. Approximately forty percent of Bellevue’s population is now minority.
According to the 2010 city survey, thirty percent of Bellevue’s population was foreignborn. The number of Asian households with children has grown. Young foreign-born, workforce Asian adults aged 25-44 year-old make up the largest segment—48 percent of Bellevue’s Asian population.
Bellevue’s Asian population makes up 27.6 percent of Bellevue’s residents in 2010, an increase from 17.4 percent in 2000. The growth in Bellevue’s Asian population has been a continuing trend since 1990, according to Bellevue demographer Gwen Rousseau. “The largest population of Asians is Chinese, followed by Asian Indian, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Filipino.”
Nationally, Hispanics and Asian-American communities constitute the fastest growing segment of the population. Asian Americans, who now make up five percent of the nation’s 309 million people, increased by double digits according to the 2010 census.
Asians are the largest minority group in Bellevue and grew by a greater number than the population of Bellevue as a whole. Immigration has been a significant factor. Sixty-eight percent of Asians work in professional or management jobs in engineering. Technology firms such as Microsoft employ many professionals from India and China.
Bellevue has the highest proportion of Asian residents of Washington’s incorporated cities. By contrast, Asians make up 25.3 percent of Redmond, 24.6 percent of Newcastle, 21.1 percent of Renton, 19.3 percent of Sammamish, 18.9 percent of Tukwila and 17.4 percent of Issaquah. Bellevue’s Asian Indian population has increased the fastest since 1990, Rousseau said.
In 2010, Bellevue’s Asian population was 33,659, up from 19,011 in 2000, an increase 84
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of seventy-seven percent. This represented Bellevue’s largest increase and highest rate of growth, Rousseau said. Bellevue’s growth in Asian citizens was significantly higher than Seattle, where only 13.8 percent of the city’s population are of Asian descent.
In 2010, minorities comprised 40.8 percent of Bellevue’s population, up from 28.3 percent in 2000, while the non-Hispanic white population declined by eight percent in the past decade. All minority race and ethnic groups increased except for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders who declined by 11.7 percent.
On Feb. 22, Washington State received the 2010 census redistricting data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which includes population counts by race. In terms of overall number, minority populations in Bellevue grew by nearly sixty-two percent.
Growth in minority residents in other Eastside communities, such as Redmond and Bothell, also was significant. Redmond’s minority population has doubled in the past decade, while Bothell has grown from fifteen percent in 2000 to twenty-five percent now.
July 2011 (VOLUME 38, NO. 13)
Small Town Life
For many APIs growing up in small Washington towns, the alienating and sometimes painful experience can strengthen a sense of identity and purpose By Sian Wu
I remember in 4th grade, when LeKeisha Blackwell, who lived in the neighboring city of Springfield, whispered to me during class, “What are you? I’m black, what are you? Write it down.”
The unique experiences of Asians and Pacific Islanders in small towns are occurring in increasing numbers, as more and more APIs move into suburbs and smaller towns, according to recent census figures. One’s isolation as one of the only minorities in town are compounded when compared to the close-knit communities of home countries, rich in the tastes, sounds and languages deeply embedded in API identity.
I thought to myself, well, my skin isn’t black, it looked white to me. So I started to write down “white” on a slip of paper. She interrupted me. “No, you aren’t white, like where are you from?” “Oh … I’m Chinese.”
I grew up in a small town called Longmeadow, a white chapeled town in western Massachusetts with pre-Revolutionary War roots and a population of about 15,000. My parents moved there for the schools, after my dad got a job as a chemical engineer at Monsanto. They decided it was a good place to raise children—away from the crime of the big city—but also away from any strong notions of culture. We became one of the only Chinese families in the town.
At this early age, I didn’t truly understand the concept of race and identity—I thought it was just a matter of skin color. It wasn’t until later on that I became more aware of how my ethnicity made me unique, and came to celebrate that uniqueness, rather than be ashamed of it. Trying to “fit in” in middle and high school can be a painful process—when you’re a minority with a funny name, parents with accents and sometimes you come to school reeking of the tea 85
eggs your mother just made, double that pain. And yet, thousands of APIs repeat this experience every day, rather than seeking refuge in large API-rich enclaves in big cities—the Chinatowns, Koreatowns, Little Saigons, etc.
struggle with that.”
Coming to terms with one’s own racial identity in relationship to others living in the U.S. shapes where we work, the relationships we choose, and where we live. Growing up in a small town that may have deeply ingrained prejudices toward minorities, a person can either be an outcast, seek bonds with other minorities and remain acutely aware of their ethnic identity, or, one could assimilate to American culture so much that their home culture doesn’t factor into their life choices much at all.
According to 2010 Census figures, suburbs surrounding Seattle such as Kent, Tukwila, Redmond and Sammamish have had at least a 10 percent increase in the Asian population within ten years. Sammamish, formerly a small town, is said to be the fastest growing city in the state. Economic and education motivators continue to push APIs into newer, more culturally unfamiliar places.
People arrive in the United States as refugees or as immigrants, and from a vast variety of cultures. As a result, Asian American concepts of race and identity are hugely diverse.
Given these findings, what are the repercussions of these living choices, on one’s concept of race, identity and culture? And how do these changed notions of culture affect one’s relationships with the generations of elders?
Growing up in a small town in Massachusetts, I wasn’t ignorant to how other young APIs were establishing themselves in the U.S. Every year, we made several trips to visit my grandparents, who lived in Queens and Manhattan’s Chinatown. Here, my parents reveled in the traditional Shanghaiese food, live fish and fresh produce and the ability to laugh and debate with their siblings and friends over dim sum and banquet dinners. While riding the elevators in my grandparents’ high rise apartment building, I would glance at the Chinese kids, speaking Cantonese fluently with their parents, decked out in Chinatown garb. I was always a bit jealous, knowing that they weren’t bound by the pressure to look like an Abercrombie model, and were fully at home in their community that so effectively imitated China.
Mary Nguyen grew up in the only Vietnamese family in Longview, Wash., which hugs the Washington-Oregon border along I-5. She says she faced fearful intimidation. “Going through public schools, I didn’t want anyone to know I was Vietnamese,” said Nguyen. “People hated me because of my face. I remember knowing that it’d be just so much easier to be white … When you grow up in your small town, you’re not recognizing your family life in anything you’re seeing, including figures of authority. Since then, Nguyen has utilized her experience into defending the rights and identities of others. She has led the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)’s Seattle Chapter and is a UFCW 21 labor community organizer.
But I can understand why my parents chose to raise my sisters and me in a small town community, despite the discrimination they faced from close-minded people. Vandalism, threatening phone calls, exclusion and name-calling are all scars on their and our lives, which will forever shape how we perceive America and ourselves.
“In college I sought out NAPAWF and that was the first time that I felt ok to really own up to my identity and relate to other API women,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen says that when she went to Vietnam for the first time, she was thrilled at the opportunity, but disappointed in her first month when her American accent conveyed the image of a traitorous, privileged American. “I thought, ‘where do I fit in?’” asked Nguyen. “I obviously don’t fit in in the States, and I didn’t “fit in” in Vietnam. I still
Right now, towns all over the U.S. are in a transition. Hopefully, if towns become more and more diverse and open-minded, minorities will no longer feel the need to cover up their identities, but celebrate their culture with pride and conviction.
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Seattle School Board member and Samoan American Betty Patu speaks with the IE • Photo by Zue-Hao Wang
August 2011 (VOLUME 38, NO. 16)
Why Pacific Islanders are dropping out of school … and what role we play in it By Chieh-Hsin (Jessie) Lin
groups are easy to neglect, said Sili Savusa, a Highline School District board member.
A report done by the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs shows high-school dropout rates have decreased in every racial group in 2010, except for Pacific Islanders (PIs), who have seen increased rates in recent years. A push for more parental involvement, faculty diversity and cultural awareness in schools is vital to improving Pacific Islanders’ academic achievement, experts say.
In 2008, Washington became the first state to isolate scores for PI students from their Asian classmates in academic-achievementevaluation reports. Such segmentation allows the report to account for the diversity within Asian American and PI communities, and to address specific needs according to different ethnicities.
“One of the things that we noticed back then was that if they don’t disaggregate the data, our children become invisible,” said Savusa. “The disaggregation of data help put policy in place and help our kids succeed.
Pacific Islanders have long been the minority of the few in this country; making up less than 1 percent of the state’s population. The severity of educational problems within such minority
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“But you can’t stop there,” she added. “Disaggregated data needs to happen in every group.”
program for PIs at Cooper Elementary School that has been established for 11 years. She said schools should train their staffs to have a better understanding of students with different education backgrounds.
Betty Patu, a member of the Seattle School Board, agreed that data disaggregation plays a vital role in uncovering serious education problems within PI communities. She also believes another reason why many PI students have been standing in the silence of shade is because of prevailing stereotypes.
Or, they should hire teachers who know where the students are coming from, said Rochell Fonoti, a faculty member at South Seattle Community College, who has been working closely with PI students for years.
“It’s an assumption that our people don’t have many problems,” Patu, who is Samoan American, said. “People think that [PIs] are American international citizens, and that [PIs] don’t need any help; that they are part of America like the Virgin Islands,” she continued. “Our kids have struggled for years because of how people understand us, and how people presume we are supposed to be.”
“For our students to succeed, they need to see teachers who are like themselves, and educators who invest in their education,” said Fonoti. “They need a lot of people to be modeled for them.” South Seattle Community College is one of six pilot institutions granted by the Department of Education to focus on developing programs, curriculum and other resources for Asian American and Pacific Islander students (AAPI). It serves more than 10 percent of the AAPI population across the country. But people are not usually aware of the resources that are available to them, said Fonoti.
These presumptions challenge Islander students and their parents, specifically recent immigrant families who have had a hard time adjusting to the education system in America. Patu and Savusa agree that parents’ partnership with the schools is the key to children’s success. This differs from an assumption on the part of many Islanders regarding to what extent the teacher is responsible for student education.
“Only 2.6 percent of AAPI were actually using the services here at our college,” said Fonoti, stressing the need for more outreach programs.
“The system in America right now is that if the parents are not part of the child’s education, your child is guaranteed to fail. I can tell you that right off the bat,” said Patu.
Benjamin Lealofi is the former director of the Pacific Islander Student Commission at the University of Washington. As a second generation Samoan, he believes that the “cultural norm” matters when trying to explain why some PI students make their decision over education, which may not make sense to Americans.
“When Islanders come to America, we assume that the teachers will take care of our children,” Patu continued. “But unless [the parents] are involved in the school and making sure that the teachers are actually teaching our kids, our children are going to be failing and fall behind because the teacher sees it as ‘your kids are not participating in the class, not turning in their homework.’ … Well, they are not going to care because they got all the other kids they have to worry about.”
“The priority is whatever happens in our lives, family always comes first,” Lealofi said. “Even if that means sacrificing an education and getting a job.” “The traditional role within the household, the value, the custom may not be the norm of what Americans see. … But in the eyes of [Pacific Islanders], it may seem that dropping out of high school to help out the family is the best scenario.”
Patu is known for improving diversity education in Seattle Public Schools. She and her husband helped launch a dropout prevention
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Local December 2011 (VOLUME 38, NO. 23)
Family says Filipino American man beaten to death was a hate crime By Nan Nan Liu
Unfortunately, on one of Vega’s evening walks, his friends’ fears came true. Three unidentified teenagers attacked him from behind, hitting Vega with their fists and feet, and stealing his cell phone, house keys and clothing, according to published reports. Vega then passed out for 30 to 45 minutes before waking up and stumbling home.
Family and friends describe Danny Vega as kind, loving and full of life.
The 58-year-old hairdresser was cherished by both Seattle’s Filipino and gay and lesbian communities. They must now mourn his tragic death. According to published reports, on the night of Nov. 15, three teenagers brutally attacked Vega near 42nd Ave S. and S. Othello St. in South Seattle. So severe were his injuries that he fell in and out of consciousness, slipping into a coma and passing away Sunday morning, Nov. 27. Hospital officials could not comment on the exact cause of death.
“When Danny came home … he was shaking,” recalled Vega’s roommate, who took him to Harborview Hospital immediately after seeing his injuries.
“He asked me, ‘Am I downstairs or am I upstairs?’ I thought he was hallucinating. Then his roommate turned on the lights, and saw that his left eye was severely damaged. “His right eye was squinty, his upper lip was swollen, and his tee-shirt was bloody.”
Vega’s beating and death shook the people who loved him and the community he was embraced by. “[It was] beyond imaginable,” said one of Vega’s roommates, who did not want to be identified.
“On the day of the accident … he was able to talk to me,” said Vega’s niece, Melanie Galimba. She said she talked to her uncle before he fell into a coma, “His chest was hurting so bad … He said [the assailants were] three African Americans. He said they were screaming [at him].”
“I’m just lost for words,” said Vega’s longtime friend, Aleksa Manila, Miss Gay Seattle 2004 and Miss Gay Filipino 2011. To stay in shape, friends say Vega often strolled his neighborhood of South Seattle.
However, Vega did not get a chance to specify what the attackers were screaming about before losing consciousness.
Ernie Rios, the owner of Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine, a restaurant on Beacon Hill, said Vega visited twice a week. “Every time he comes [to Inay’s], he tells me he likes to be in shape. That’s why he walked around after work.”
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued a statement on Nov. 28, stating: “Our police department’s Homicide and Assault Unit are actively investigating this crime. Some have suggested that Mr. Vega’s killers targeted him because he was an openly gay man. The police department is fully investigating this possibility.”
“In my opinion, I don’t think I will walk there by myself… especially [when] it’s dark,” said Rios, “[But Vega] walks by himself all the time.” Some friends also worried Vega could be targeted for being openly gay.
According to Thelma Galimba, Vega’s sister, the police classified Vega as a “homicide 89
victim” but are currently re-evaluating their decision. SPD authorities declined to discuss further details of the investigation but said the department is “following up on all leads and possibilities.”
related to LGBTQ when it comes to the law enforcement,” said Manila. “When other crimes such as theft or burglary are entangled, it’s so easy to dismiss a hate crime. When you’re gay, you know what a hate crime is. Even friends and allies believe it to be so. Three teenagers brutally attacked a gentle and kind man. Please tell me that’s not about hate.”
“Right now [the police] don’t have any leads. They don’t have enough evidence [to classify it as a hate crime],” said Melanie Galimba.
Manila, who is the former honorable commissioner for the City of Seattle Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBTQ) commission, is “personally making efforts to advocate for the police to re-evaluate this tragic event as a hate crime as many of his friends and his family see it as such.” Manila is currently in contact with the LGBTQ commission with the City of Seattle.
According to the FBI’s website, a hate crime, or a bias crime, is defined as “a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/ national origin.” For a case to be a bias crime, the perpetrator must call the victim a racial slur, the victim must feel intimidated by it, and feel that that’s the only reason they are being attacked. Complicating the characteristics even further is that each state has different criteria.
Along with Manila, many others, including members of the Filipino community, are advocating for Vega’s attack to be classified as a hate crime. Their diligence has motivated the police to re-evaluate the incident as a potential hate crime, which could lead to prosecution on hate crime charges and higher penalties for the perpetrators.
“No one witnessed name-calling, but… people don’t leave the person for dead,” suspected Vega’s roommate.
Despite a lack of evidence, Vega’s family and friends believe that the attack was completely intentional. “The family truly believes it is a hate crime,” added Melanie Galimba.
A community meeting on Nov. 30 at the Filipino Community Center discussed Vega’s case. Vega’s family, members of the Police Advisory Council, and members of the Filipino community were present.
Vega’s friend, Manila, agrees. “I know I don’t have the details, but knowing the gravity of violence inflicted on him makes me lean heavily towards a hate crime. We’re told the attackers took his phone and keys. I can’t just imagine it was that brutal for a set of house keys and a cell phone. Danny is an openly gay man. Everybody but the police is saying it’s a hate crime. That has to mean something.”
On Dec. 4 at the Church of Hope in Seattle, a community gathering and potluck was hosted jointly by the API Safety Center & Chaya and the Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse.
Vega’s viewing is tentatively set for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 8 and 9. His funeral is tentatively set for Saturday, Dec. 10. Anyone with information about the case can call the SPD with tips at (206) 233-5000.
Manila believes a lack of awareness is contributing to the injustice.
“I think what’s lacking is the cultural competency and relevance of hate crimes
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Local April 2013 (VOLUME 40, NO. 7)
A generation might be lost without new blood: Reviving a 60-year-old veterans group serving Asian Pacific Islanders By Ron Chew
“We would like to sustain the Post into the future,” Nicholas said, “But right now our members are up there in age, and they don’t have the energy to keep moving things forward by themselves. We’re down to a small number of members. They’re all dying off.”
On a recent Saturday, I sat at the Four Seas Restaurant with six war veterans: Terry Nicholas, Milton Wan, Lloyd Hara, Jack Pang, Dick Kay and Lip Mar. All are longtime members of the Cathay Post #186 of the American Legion, except Wan, who joined the Post last summer during the Chinatown Seafair parade.
Jack Pang–who’s been active in the Cathay Post since 1950 and served as Post commander in 1975—chimed in: “We don’t want to close up shop because we still have 60 or 70 members. But the majority of them are in their 80s and 90s.”
They had gathered for lunch right after their regular monthly meeting at the Wing Luke Museum of the Pacific American Museum across the street in the International District. Nicholas, Pang and Mar are World War II veterans. Kay is a Korean War veteran. Nicholas, Hara and Wan served in Vietnam.
Last July, James M. Mar, the last of the 14 original charter members, passed at the age of 98. “That ended an era,” Pang remarked.
Nicholas, the sole Caucasian member of the Seattle-based, mostly Chinese-American organization and the youngest person at lunch at age 63, spoke first for the vets. Nicholas is completing his term as commander of the Post in July. He said the Cathay Post, established in 1945 by returning Chinese-American World War II servicemen, has put out an urgent call for younger veterans to join the organization.
The Post’s signature event–a Memorial Day program culminating in an honor guard salute and the laying of wreaths at the ChineseAmerican war memorial in Hing Hay Park– has become harder and harder to pull off each year. Even when the Post’s membership rolls were more flush–between 500 and 600 names have been part of the roster over the years– the community response has always been lukewarm.
The Cathay Post, like many other organizations created by the World War II generation, is on shaky footing as its most ardent supporters pass away. Nicholas, Wan, Hara, Pang, Kay and Mar want to keep the organization going, but they know the odds aren’t good. They said there’s a nucleus of eight to 10 members who attend Post meetings, sometimes fewer. The meetings are typically followed by lunch, an enticement that, according to Kay, hasn’t brought about the spike in attendance the group had hoped for.
“One year–in 1968—I wrote to every Chinese American organization I could find, asking them each to donate a pot of flowers for the Memorial Day service,” Pang said. “I looked them up in the phone book. I typed a letter to each one. Do you know what? None of them replied. Not one.” It seems, Pang said, that nearly everyone has forgotten the Post’s long history of community 91
involvement. In its heyday immediately following World War II, the Post ran a busy cocktail lounge in the heart of Chinatown. It sponsored a Moon Festival in the late 1940s (a carnival with food and games), organized blood drives, hosted annual Chinatown Christmas parties and sponsored spaghetti fundraisers to support the Kin On Nursing Home. The Post has scaled way back since then, and now concentrates mostly on awarding small scholarships to needy local high school students and its signature Memorial Day program in Chinatown.
Why doesn’t the organization open up its membership to non-veterans? Nicholas said they can’t.
“We’re kind of hemmed in by the bylaws and our affiliation with the American Legion,” Nicholas explained. “If we opened up to non-veterans, we would have to disband the organization.” So for now, the call goes out for younger veterans to discover the Cathay Post. Pang– looking ahead to the installation banquet which is usually at Sun Ya Restaurant in July—said the membership dues are modest: only $28. Membership is open to veterans regardless of ethnicity or background.
In recent years, the Post has even struggled to find enough members to participate in the Memorial Day honor guard salute.
Kay says a small number of core members trade off as officers.
“We’re supposed to have seven riflemen for the ceremony, but last year, we only got three,” Kay said. “It’s even getting harder to find guys who can walk without falling.”
“If we can’t find some new folks for the officers, we’ll recycle guys who’ve done it before,” he said.
This year, Kay said, the Post may recruit additional firing squad participants from ROTC to help out.
Nicholas and the others aren’t upbeat about the chances of getting a lot of new folks involved in the Post.
Attendance at the Memorial Day ceremony in Hing Hay Park is also shrinking, Pang added. The Post should shoulder some of the blame, he said, because “our guys just want to get the ceremony over with and go home.” He’s thinking of expanding the program this year to include music and other activities to entice more people to attend the event.
“I don’t know whether it’s because of apathy or anti-veteran sentiment in our culture, but we’re just not getting the support that we need,” said Nicholas. “It looks like the curtain could be coming down on this organization.” The others agree.
“Eventually, everything will vanish, but right now we’re just in limbo,” said Pang. Adds Kay: “As long as we still have half a dozen people, I guess we’ll continue it.”
Pang said that the Post is handicapped by the lack of a facility to serve as its home base, in contrast to the Nisei Veterans Committee, a group who owns their own hall.
To learn more or join the Cathay Post, #186 of the American Legion, please contact post commander Terry Nicholas at (206) 355-4422.
“We’re homeless,” Pang said. “We’ve been in existence for more than 60 years, and we don’t have a damn thing to show for it.”
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Local December 2013 (VOLUME 40, NO. 22)
UW dumps Southeast Asian recruiter: Administrators sending a negative message to Southeast Asian students By Jacqueline Wu
recruiter position was cut or provide any means of restoring it.
Last week, University of Washington students and APIs voiced their concerns over the loss of a staff position intended to reach out to Southeast Asians due to what UW officials said was a lack of funding.
Lange diverted most questioning to a future meeting. She also said that there was never long term funding for the Southeast Asian recruiter position. “Let’s just be clear, it was always a temporary position,” Lange said. “There is no funding for this position.”
Southeast Asians already face disparities within the Asian American community. According to the UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMAD), of the 27 percent of students who enrolled as freshmen in fall 2011 and identify as Asian, only four percent identify as Southeast Asian. Hmong and Laotian students make up 0.1 percent of the student body and Cambodian students make up 0.4 percent.
When asked about the elimination of the Southeast Asian recruiter position, Cauce said that “budget and budget decisions within units [colleges, departments, etc.] are not made by provosts.” However, as provost, Cauce does possess control over what budget OMAD gets in the larger scheme of things through her responsibility over the Office of Planning and Budgeting.
An open meeting of the UW Student Advisory Board on Monday, November 25, addressed OMAD’s elimination of the Southeast Asian Recruitment Coordinator position. Up until November 20, the position had been filled by UW alumna Latana Thaviseth, whose job it was to conduct outreach with Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Hmong, Khmer, and other Southeast Asian groups.
Tony Vo, director of UW’s Asian Student Commission (ASC), had for several years pushed OMAD to create the Southeast Asian recruiter position. Now that the position is the first to fall to budget cuts, Vo said it sends the wrong message to minority students.
A host of UW officials attended the meeting, including Sheila Edwards Lange (Vice Provost for Diversity and Vice President for Minority Affairs); Ana Mari Cauce (UW Provost and Executive Vice President); and Kiana M. Scotta, a member of the UW Board of Regents, the body that creates the University’s budget.
“What message are we sending out to students who are Southeast Asian? It’s saying that they are not as important,” Vo said to UW officials. “It devalues their history and struggles. And this is what hurts the most, that there is no attempt at why we need emphasis on this population. And when it comes to racism, education, and history, Asians are never mentioned. Southeast Asians are never mentioned at all. And this erases the position
For many community members who attended the meeting, UW officials did not adequately address why the Southeast Asian 93
of Asians as part of the conversation of people of color. This action that you are taking will marginalize our community.”
During the meeting, Vo had commented on the value for Southeast Asian students to see someone who shares their same culture and struggles in the University setting.
According to Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), a human and civil rights organization, Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans face the biggest obstacles to education among Asian American ethnic groups.
Cauce responded: “There is something called face validity that we talk about in psychology. And what face validity generally means is that … [facial recognition] sometimes, not necessarily, relates to the deeper validity. And I agree that there is an immediate [contact] by someone that looks like you. But it’s face validity, it’s only that. It’s sometimes not all that deep. I know people that look more like me and have less in common with them, than people that don’t.”
Only 61 percent of Hmong Americans hold a high school diploma, while only 12 percent of Laotian Americans have graduated from college, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled from 2007 to 2009. In comparison, 28 percent of the total population of people in the United States possess a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.
I’d like to point out to Provost Cauce that face validity is an effect of having on-campus representation and outreach to incoming students. For Southeast Asian students who make up only a fraction of a fraction of the student body, seeing people who come from their own background goes much deeper than for a student who is used to being a part of the majority.
Problems for Southeast Asian Americans arise even within the interpretations of census data. Data collected on Asian Americans has primarily focused on East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans) and those who were part of the earlier waves of immigrants, including Filipinos and Indians.
Debbora Sary, a member of the Khmer Student Association, said: “I’m Cambodian, and there isn’t a really big population of Southeast Asian on campus. Right now, I don’t really see a lot of Southeast Asians. I came from a predominantly white public school, and I would have loved to have a recruiter come to my school and tell us ‘Come to UW,’ but I didn’t.”
The experiences and realities of Southeast Asians are not often reflected. Southeast Asians are not only newer immigrants to the United States, but a majority are refugees due to the United States military presence in Southeast Asia.
The conflation of Asian ethnicities into a singular identity erases the different realities within the Asian American community and marginalizes those who do not fit into the mainstream picture of what an Asian is.
UW administrators need to understand the obstacles faced by Southeast Asians and have the courage to show that the university values its least represented students.
Not all people are aware of the disparities that Southeast Asians face, and UW officials do not appear to have an understanding of that.
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Filipino American veterans, who fought alongside American soldiers in World War II, demonstrate in front of the Federal Building in Seattle, calling for veterans benefits. The Rescission Act of 1946 specifically denied benefits to these men, even if they became naturalized citizens of the United States. Decades of protest led to partial compensation in 2009 in the form a lump sum payment to surviving veterans. • Photo by Dean Wong, 1998.
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January 1978 (VOLUME 5, NO. 1)
Minority cannery workers eligible for discrimination money By Ron Chew
“For other departments, Nefco relied on informal word-of-mouth recruitment. Almost without exception, the superintendents, foremen, and captains who did the recruiting were white; and the employees they recruited were white.”
Approximately 700 minority cannery workers employed at five New England Fish Company (Nefco) facilities have been mailed claim forms, following the landmark ruling by a U.S. District Court judge that Nefco discriminated against minorities in allocation of job and housing.
Whites constituted 53 per cent of Nefco’s work force, said Solomon in his opinion, and non-whites 47 per cent. “However, four departments had 90 per cent or more whites, and one department had more than 75 per cent non-whites, he said.
Those workers will each received an asyet-undetermined amount in damages for the segregated housing, and may receive back pay for higher-paying positions they applied for, were qualified for and did not receive.
“Eight departments are predominantly white: administrative, clerical, tender, machinist, quality control, beach gang, culinary, and miscellaneous. One department is predominately non-white: cannery.”
Federal Judge Gus Solomon, in a November 21 opinion, ruled in favor of the minority plaintiffs in the first class action lawsuit ever brought on behalf of a seasonal, migratory labor force. The long-awaited decision, which may have farreaching implications for the Alaska salmon canning industry, followed court testimony which ended November 10, 1976.
Those departments dominated by whites get paid significantly higher wages than cannery positions, where the majority of non-whites were concentrated. Solomon also upheld the plaintiff’s contention that there was discrimination in promotions. “White employees received a substantially greater percentage of transfers to jobs within the higher-paying jobs in the predominately white departments,” said Solomon.
Testimony charged that Alaskan Native and Asian workers were relegated to the lowest-paying, menial cannery jobs, dined in segregated mess halls, and slept in segregated bunkhouses. The minority plaintiffs argued that Nefco, the largest cannery company in North America, engaged in nepotistic hiring practices and that there were separated hiring channels for whites and non-whites, preventing non-whites from getting information about higher-paying skilled and administrative positions.
The class action suit, also known as Domingo vs. Nefco, was initiated by Nemesio and Silme Domingo and eight other Filipino and Native American cannery workers in 1973. The Alaska Cannery Workers Association (ACWA), a Seattlebased organization, was formed shortly afterwards to help work on the suit and fight employment discrimination in other canneries as well.
Solomon agreed with the plaintiffs. His opinion states, “By recruiting cannery workers in native villages in Alaska and hiring Local 37 [of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union] dispatches, Nefco secured a cannery work force that was almost entirely Alaska Native and Filipino.
Solomon’s ruling affects minorities employed by Nefco facilities at Chatham, Uganik Bay, Egegik, Pederson Point and Waterfall from January 30, 1971 to November 8, 1976. 96
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The court claim form, sent to the class members in December, must be returned to District Court on or before March 15, 1978. According to the form, “It was not necessary for you to have applied in writing for a better job. Nor was it necessary to have been a member of a particular union or of any union to be entitled to better job.”
presently in the Imperial Valley, and will not return to Stockton and Delano until April or May because there will not be work for them until then. They will not receive the claim forms until then, the cannery worker said, and by then it may be too late.
Chuck White, a staff member of Ecumenical Metropolitan Ministry who has worked with many Alaskan Native cannery workers, pointed out that many of the Alaskan Natives will not find out about the claims to which they are entitled because, depending on the season, they may be out hunting or fishing and are at a different address from the one claim form is sent to.
“You must file a claim to qualify for back pay, but you need not file a claim to recover for discrimination in housing,” the court claim form states. Nevertheless, it is uncertain how many class member will actually receive the claim forms, due to the migratory life style of cannery workers. It remains to be seen how many class members will return the claim forms.
There is also a language barrier, said White. Residents of different Alaska villages speak different dialects. Also, said White, when a court form comes through the mail, it is “sometimes difficult for people to get a hold of.”
The plaintiffs refused to speak to The Examiner about the lawsuit, citing a local gag order which prohibits them from talking about the case with public media. The order also prohibits the plaintiffs from communicating with class members, which, it seems, will make it difficult for class members to be informed about precisely what they have won.
White was also critical of the local gag order. “It a real impediment to justice,” he said. “If we cannot talk about the case and it’s a matter of public record, then how do you get the word around to the class members about what has happened?”
One Filipino cannery worker pointed out that many of the Filipino cannery workers are
May 1984 (VOLUME 11, NO. 10)
This is an American battle By Lori Taki
Attorney Roger Shimizu said the government agrees Hirabayashi’s convictions should be vacated and the underling indictments dismissed, “but the government does not take the position that they were wrong as far as the military orders were concerned.”
Gordon Hirabayashi, convicted of violating curfew and refusing to report to a relocation camp during World War II, will go to federal court on May 18 at 2 p.m. in an attempt to wipe his record clean.
The former Seattleite, who as then 23 and a senior at the University of Washington, defied President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 which mandated that all Japanese American citizens and Japanese immigrants on the West Coast report to internment camps. Hirabayashi also violated an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
The retired sociology professor partitioned the court to vacate this 41 year-old convictions and declare unconstitutional the military orders which caused the mass evacuation of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry.
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“If I hadn’t taken that path, I wouldn’t have been free anyways,” he reflected.
II occurrences and to help pay for the cost of bringing a coram nobis case to court.
Hirabayashi is able to contest the 1944 Supreme Court decision which upheld his convictions because of discovered evidence showing government officials lied and suppressed information regarding the military necessity of internment. In this way, Hirabayashi was denied the right to due process and the right to a fair trial.
The event, sponsored by the Japanese American Citizens League, attracted close to 150 people and over $1000 was raised.
The original May 4 court date was postponed because the lawyers filed a request for larger courtroom. “What we want to impress upon the judge is that this is indeed a community issue,” Shimizu said. He urged people to attend the hearing, which will be at the federal courthouse in Seattle, and support Hirabayashi’s constitutional fight.
Peter Irons, a law professor at the University of California in San Diego, discovered a box of documents obtained from government archives through a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents refuted allegations of spying and espionage on the West Coast—the main reason given for evacuation.
A film, shown at the fundraiser, told the story of another battle fought during the war. “Nisei Soldier: Standard Bearer for an Exile People” is Loni Ding’s 10th film made for public television. It should be completed and televised sometime later this year.
The internment was based on rumors of “disloyal” activities, fueled by wartime hysteria and racism, and Gen. John L. Dewitt’s claim that the Japanese were an enemy race and posed a security threat.
The finished portion contained rare footage from official army files and unseen news clips of the 1940s. It featured the 442 Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese Americans, who earned 3,600 purple hearts and 2,000 other decorations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. Their battle history was unsurpassed by any outfit of comparable size.
But the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had, in their possession, evidence which disproved these assertions. Dewitt told the War Department that he received reports of signal lights visible from the coast and of unidentified radio transmissions being intercepted. According to an FCC memo found by Irons, the transmission were from stations outside the United States.
The 442 fought not only the enemy, they also “fought fascism, served their country and helped bring their families out of exile.” Hirabayashi and Chester Tanaka, a 442 member, see the battles they fought as the same. Tanaka told Hirabayashi, “What we went to battle for, in the final analysis, is what you are battling...It’s the other side of the coin... There are many ways to fight for your country and the Constitution.”
Iron’s discoveries gave Hirabayashi grounds to reopen his case through a legal device called, “writ of coram nobis,” a petition which was filed on January 31, 1983. It’s not a retrial, Hirabayashi emphasized, but it gives him a chance to clear his name and have the court put “up front, on the record” the wrongs committed by government.
The military actions against Americans of Japanese ancestry have turned Hirabayashi’s fight into one of raising the level of American standards to what people can be proud of. He said, “This is an American battle, not a Japanese American one.”
A fundraiser for Hirabayashi’s case was held May 3 at the Nisei Veteran’s Committee Hall to educate the community about World War
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National July 1985 (VOLUME 11, NO. 13)
Cannery company agrees to settle longstanding discrimination lawsuits By Ron Chew
consider any objections to the settlement before giving its final approval.
Federal District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein last week tentatively approved a $850,000 settlement in one of three longstanding class action race discrimination suits against Alaska cannery companies.
Meanwhile, the deadline for filing claims has been extended for minority class members in the case of Domingo vs. NEFO, a second discrimination lawsuit which involved five salmon canneries in Alaska.
In the early 1970s, Asian American and Native American workers filed three lawsuits against salmon canning companies, charging that Asian American and Native American were relegated to low paying, less desirable jobs and forced to sleep in inferior and segregated housing.
The NEFCO case, initiated by Nemesio and Silme Domingo and nine other workers, involves non-whites employed or deterred from employment at NEFCO facilities in Uganik, Chatham, Egegik, Waterfall and Pederson Point since January 30, 1971. The Court of Appeals, agreeing with the plaintiffs’ charges of discrimination in hiring, promotions and housing, also said the trial judge had erred restricting communications between the plaintiffs and their attorneys. The Court of Appeals directed that the class be expanded to include new members and the class members be given another opportunity to file claims.
The suits, alleging violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, were the first class action cases ever filed on behalf of a seasonal, migratory labor force. Last Friday, Judge Rothstein gave “provisional approval” to a $850,000 settlement between the minority plaintiffs and NEFCO-Fidalgo Packing Co., an affiliate of the New England Fish Company (NEFCO).
In the NEFCO suit, the court has extended the deadline for filing claims to August 26, 1985. Almost 300 persons have already filed claims. After all claims are filed, the court will decide whether to award a lump sum or hold individual hearings.
The class, all non-whites employed by NEFCO-Fidalgo between July 2, 1971 and April 5, 1983, includes approximately 700 individuals. To date, 120 minority employees have filed claims in the case. In the consent judgment, NEFCO agreed to pay specific cash settlements to each of the 10 named minority plaintiffs, set aside money to cover individual claims of housing and job discrimination, and pay attorneys
The third class action lawsuit, initiated by slain cannery union reformer Gene Viernes and others, is on appeal. That suit—brought against Wards Cove Packing Company, Inc., Bumblebee Seafoods and Columbia Wards Fisheries–involves about 2,200 class members and five separate canneries.
The class members are now formally being notified of the settlement. The Court will hold a hearing at the end of September to
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February 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 4)
‘I feel today that justice has been served’ By Stan Shikuma On February 10, U.S. District Judge Donald Voorhees ruled that Gordon Hirabayashi’s World War II conviction for defying a military exclusion order must be reversed due to governmental misconduct and suppression of evidence in hearings before the Supreme Court. In reaching his decision, Judge Voorhees rejected the government’s argument of “military necessity” in the case.
“My 40 year crusade has been vindicated,” Hirabayashi stated on reading the ruling. Even though his second conviction for a curfew violation was left intact, Hirabayashi was pleased with the results.
“The court has recognized the injustice committed against Japanese Americans during World War II,” he said, “particularly with respect to the question of loyalty and our forced removal from the West Coast… I feel today that justice has been served.” Hirabayashi’s legal team hailed the decision as “a clear victory for and a complete vindication of those of Japanese American descent who suffered the hardships, humiliation and indignities of the evacuation and internment.”
Hirabayashi was a 23-year-old university student when the U.S. military, under authority delegated to it by the President, ordered the mass removal and detention of 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Hirabayashi defied those orders because he felt they were unconstitutional and violated his rights as an American citizen.
Hirabayashi was convicted of violating exclusion and curfew orders in 1942, and appealed his convictions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The government argued that the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast was a military necessity. A “lack of time” to separate the loyal from the disloyal, they
said, required prompt and effective action. The Supreme Court deferred to the military on this point, and Hirabayashi lost his appeal in 1943.
Recently, however, new evidence pointing to the racist reasoning underlying the exclusion orders has been uncovered. This evidence was suppressed by the War Department in 1943, but brought to light by Hirabayashi’s legal team in a court hearing last summer.
In his ruling, Judge Voorhees quotes extensively from the documents of Lt. General John L. DeWitt, commander of the Western Defense Command in 1942. DeWitt stated, “It was impossible to establish the identity of the loyal and the disloyal with any degree of safety. It was not that there was insufficient time…” The ruling also cites one of DeWitt’s phone conversation in which he states, “I don’t see how they can determine the loyalty of a Jap by interrogation… or investigation… There isn’t such a thing as a loyal Japanese…”
In yet another conversation with Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy, DeWitt says, “We wouldn’t have evacuated these people at all if we could determine their loyalty.” Knowing DeWitt’s views on the subject, McCloy and the War Department had DeWitt’s final report on the mass evacuation altered to eliminate the racial arguments it contained. The revised report, instead, put out an argument of military necessity based on a lack of time “for determining the loyal and the disloyal with any degree of safety.”
The Justice Department was disturbed by several intelligence reports, notably the Ringle Report from the Office of Naval intelligence, which argued against a mass evacuation. They were never informed of DeWitt’s suppressed statements, however, and ultimately deferred to the War Department on the issue of military necessity.
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Thus, in 1943, the Justice Department argued before the Supreme Court that “the classification was not based upon invidious race discrimination.” Voorhees’ ruling indicates that this was, in fact, a false statement and that if the Supreme Court knew the real reason behind DeWitt’s actions, it would not have upheld them.
Roger Shimizu, co-chair of the Committee to Reverse the Japanese American Wartime Cases, has spearheaded fundraising and public outreach efforts for the Hirabayashi case. He feels Judge Voorhees’ decision is “an indictment of government officials who, in their overzealousness, purposely lied to the Supreme Court… It indicts the deference that occurred all along the way, from civilian to military and judicial to military.”
Shimizu said the manipulation of evidence by the War Department and the deference given the military by the Supreme Court led to a breakdown in the democratic system. “The division of powers and the system of checks and balances failed,” he said. The real importance of Voorhees’ ruling, Shimizu feels, is that “it finds the ‘smoking gun’ that would have changed the course of history, namely the racist basis for the orders.
The ruling undermines the entire rationale of the exclusion and detention orders.”
The government attorney in the case, Victor Stone, has not yet responded to Voorhees’ ruling. He can either accept it as it stands, request that Voorhees reconsider his decision or appeal the decision to a higher court. There has been no indication what course of action he will take.
Attorneys for Hirabayashi feel “honored to have played a role not only in Gordon’s vindication, but in the vindication of all Japanese Americans.” They volunteered thousands of hours in preparing his case over the last two years. The team includes Rod Kawakami, Mike Leong, Gary Iwamoto, Kathryn Bannai, Benson Wong, Craig Kobayashi, Dan Ichinaga, Arthur Barnett, Camden Hall, Sharon Sakamoto, Jerry Nagae, Richard Ralston, Nettie Alvarez, Nina Mar and David Sakuma. “Our efforts have been well rewarded,” they stated. “The long overdue justice which arrived yesterday for Gordon K. Hirabayashi and the Japanese American community restores meaning for all Americans to the phrase, ‘And justice for all.’”
August 1988 (VOLUME 15, NO. 15)
Victory Party: ‘They were not wrong, they were right’ By Ken Mochizuki Last week, Seattle’s Asian community and civil liberties groups witnessed a movement in history. Nearly all those involved in the seven-year struggle to vindicate three Japanese American men who challenged government internment orders during World War II came together for a “victory party” on the Seattle University campus.
The even celebrated the successful conclusion of the trial of Gordon Hirabayashi, one of the three. As a University of Washington student in 1942, Hirabayashi was convicted of defying government orders to report for evacuation and violating a curfew on Japanese Americans. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the convictions.
In 1984, Hirabayashi, arguing that the incarceration was based on racial prejudice
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rather than military necessity, was granted a new court hearing to clear his name. In 1986, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Voorhees vacated Hirabayashi’s conviction on the charge of violating the evacuation order. Last year, the U.S. Ninth District Circuit Court also cleared Hirabayashi on the charge of violating curfew. The court agreed with Hirabayashi that the U.S. military and Justice Department withheld crucial evidence from the Supreme Court and did not give him a fair trail.
In 1938, a new trail was held in San Francisco for Fred Korematsu, who was also convicted of violating the wartime evacuation order. The U.S. District Court vacated his conviction, noting that the government suppressed evidence pertinent to his trail in 1943. In 1984, the District Court in Portland, Oregon vacated a similar conviction for Min Yasui, but did not conduct a hearing on allegations of government misconduct. Peter Irons, political science professor at the University of San Diego, uncovered key archival evidence that led to the reopening of the cases of Hirabayashi, Korematsu and Yasui. He told the Seattle University gathering that the Hirabayashi legal team plans to go “one step further” and petition the Supreme Court to strike down its wartime ruling upholding the internment. A reversal by the Court, he said, would “vindicate the entire population” of Japanese Americans.
“When we meet again, it will be for the last victory party,” Irons said. “And I’ll be very glad to be here again.” The victory party was not only a celebration, but an opportunity to learn about the value of speaking out against injustices. Arthur Barnett, Hirabayashi’s lawyer in 1942, defended Hirabayashi because they were both members of University Friends Meeting, a Quaker organization. Barnett, now over 80-years-old, was a member of the legal team in Hirabayashi’s recent trial. Barnett recalled losing clients because of publicity about the Hirabayashi case. Local,
state and national bar associations tried to discouraged him. He said they told him, “The Army knows best.” “You got to watch the law, you got to watch the judge, you got to protest, Barnett told the audience.
Korematsu said it was difficult to keep up his fight when “they all look at me like a foreigner.” Even his peers among the Nisei generation, he said, told him to “just forget about it—you’re stirring up a can of worms,” and “You’re not gonna make any money out of this deal.”
Korematsu credited Irons and San Francisco attorneys Dale Minami and Karen Kai with persuading him to go through with his legal petition. He also had to become accustomed to public notoriety. “Whatever I say in public, I can’t erase it,” he said. “I’m getting used to it. I’m an American citizen and I have a right to speak out. Forty to 50 years ago, I couldn’t do that.”
Holly Yasui, speaking on behalf of her late father, Min Yasui, said of the three Nisei who tested the constitutionality of the internment: “They were not wrong, they were right. They were not criminals, they were heroes.” She said she was gratified that “it has finally been written into law.” Rod Kawakami, lead attorney for the Hirabayashi legal team, praised his “rainbow coalition” of attorneys: sansei, Chinese Americans, whites, Blacks, and Latinos. He cited the early efforts of Seattle attorney Kathryn Bannai, the “heart and soul of the whole group,” who assembled the legal team that devoted five hours a week in volunteer time until the “issue became the motivating force.” The multiracial mix of attorneys would not have come together 10 years ago, he added. Kawakami also praised Barnett, whom he described as “our conscience who was always pushing for more, not less. Some of the meetings were lively.”
While applauding his team of attorneys, Hirabayashi also emphasized the “funny,
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fluky accidents that turn out in your favor.” He described how Irons arrived at the National Archives in Washington D.C. to do research. A clerk, filling in for the usual employee, asked Irons to look for the documents himself. Irons and Aiko Yoshinaga-Herzig, looking through old dusty, files, found documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other intelligence agencies which proved that Japanese Americans were not a threat to national security.
it helps to be right. Lawyers like cases where they know they are right and have the evidence. We felt we had a good chance and we were comfortable with the case. We knew what the outcome should be.”
While Irons called Hirabayashi, informing him of the discovery and the possibility of a new trail, Hirabayashi replied, “I’ve been waiting for your phone call for 40 years.”
“But Min always told us to ‘give ‘em hell.’ His spirit lives on.”
The documents “were filed in the wrong places” or “not shredded like they were supposed to be,” Hirabayashi said. He recalled that, during his trail, Judge Voorhees said the evidence uncovered by Herzig was crucial in his decision to vacate Hirabayashi’s convictions.
In conclusion, Hirabayashi discussed the failure of the Constitution during times of wartime hysteria. “Documents only come through if people insist on it,” he said. “We share in the guilt.” Kawakami said he and his legal team felt optimistic about the outcome of Hirabayashi’s case, even though attorneys for the federal government “fought every inch of the way.”
“We felt the evidence was clear and we just had to lay it out,” he said. “We were right, and
All the attorneys worked without pay. Peggy Nagae Lum, lead attorney for Min Yasui, described her pro bono work as a “privilege.”
“You look at all the government’s resources and we weren’t from prestigious law firms,” she said. “But you can’t beat the commitment people have.” Attorneys for the government, she said, “were arguing the same b.s. as in 1942—that was scary. To think that’s all we’ve come in all this time was frightening. They could use the same arguments and not even flinch—it could happen again.
Arthur Barnett, who served as the role model for many of the young lawyers, in turned praised Kawakami. “Rod’s generalmanship was fantastic—he was on his feet for six or seven hours a day in court presenting evidence. “Young people don’t have the whole story— this is only part of it,” Barnett said of the three landmark civil rights cases. Not too long ago, he said, racism and covenants prevented blacks, Asians and Jews from owning land in certain areas of Seattle. “But the way intermarriage is going, there’ll be no problem in 100 years,” he said.
June 1992 (VOLUME 19, NO. 12)
National and local groups to remember Vincent Chin By Danny Howe People have not forgotten Vincent Chin.
Ten years after the Chinese American was brutally murdered by two unemployed Detroit
autoworkers, people across the United States will gather to remember him and other victims of anti-Asian violence.
In Seattle, a candlelight vigil will commemorate Chin on June 23 in the
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International District’s Hing Hay Park from 8-8:45p.m.
“The vigil would represent a poignant reminder of the need to address anti-Asian violence,” said Karen Yoshitomi, regional director of the Pacific Northwest District of the Japanese American Citizens League. “Even after 10 years have passed, the concern over the increase in anti-Asian violence underlines the need for community involvement.” The theme of the vigil is “We Must Not Forget.” It will include a keynote address by Seattle Central Community College Professor Tracy Lai, a reading of names by local community leaders of Asian Americans who have been killed as a result of anti-Asian prejudice, and a performance by the local Korean American rap group the Seoul Brothers.
Calling for justice and an end to all forms of bias-motivated violence, Asian American groups around the country will hold similar gatherings. Commemorations for Chin will take place in Los Angeles, Detroit, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York. Vincent Chin was murdered by two unemployed Detroit autoworkers, Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz, on June 19, 1982, in Detroit’s Highland Park area. According to a waitress, a scuffle broke out in a local nightclub after Ebens, an auto plant foreman, told Chin, “It’s because of you, motherf-s, that we’re out of work.”
Ebens and Nitz later followed Chin to a nearby restaurant parking lot where an off-duty police officer and several bystanders witnessed Ebens repeatedly strike Chin on the head with a baseball bat, crushing his skull. Chin died four days later on June 23, only days before he was to be married. Charged with only second-degree murder, Ebens and Nitz eventually pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. They were later sentenced to three years probation and a $3,780 fine. The lenient sentence touched off a flurry of activities from Asian American organizations
around the nation. Chin’s death sparked what many consider an Asian American civil rights movement calling for justice.
“People felt complete and total outrage and disbelief,” said Helen Zia, who spearheaded the national movement for justice. “It [the murder] touched people at a time, especially in the Michigan area, where people were feeling like targets…” Zia was then a reporter for the Detroit Free Press at the time. Both Ebens and Nitz were later charged by the federal government for conspiracy and violation of Chin’s civil rights. Yet, despite these national efforts, neither Ebens nor Nitz spent a day in prison for Chin’s murder.
According to Zia, heightened anti-Asian sentiment in recent years has led to thousands of racially motivated assaults and killings of Asian Americans. Yet, very few of these attacks have been investigated or prosecuted as hate crimes. Many Asian Americans feel the criminal justice system has failed the Asian American community. Zia also notes that highly publicized Japan-bashing, especially following the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, in addition to pervasive stereotypes of Asian Americans as the “model minority,” have led to increased racial antagonism and hostility directed against all Asian Americans, regardless of their national origin.
Seattle’s growing local Coalition to Commemorate Vincent Chin has formed as community groups condemn all forms of biasmotivated violence. “As a Chinese American I am aware that there is more violence going on in our community. I would like to bring attention to anti-Asian violence before it gets worse,” said Denise Sharify, Asian Pacific community advocate for Seattle Rape Relief and one of the organizers of the local commemoration.
“I’d like for people to know that we can come together and fight for justice. I’d also like to recognize women who are often victims of anti-Asian violence.”
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The candlelight vigil is endorsed by over 25 local organizations, including: the International Examiner, the Japanese American Citizen League Pacific Northwest District Office, the Unity Organizing Committee, the Washington State Commission on Asian American Affairs, Seattle Rape Relief, American Friends service Committee, Washington Asian and Pacific Islander Student Union, the Filipino American Political Action Group of Washington, the
Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, the Central Area Motivation Program, Queer Nation, the Asian Pacific AIDS Council, the Seattle Chinatown/International District Public Development Authority, the International District Community Health Center, Women of Color: Organize For Justice, Asian Lesbians Outside of Asia, the Seattle Office for Women’s Rights and several other organizations.
February 1994 (VOLUME 21, NO. 4)
Marine’s racial harassment case a modern-day tale of David vs. Goliath By Robert Shimabukuro San Francisco—Bruce Yamashita listened carefully to a young admirer, offered her advice (“hang in there, don’t ever give up”), then autographed her conference folder. He had just finished delivering a polished and inspiring keynote address at the Miyako Hotel to the Japanese American Citizens League Youth Conference. He clearly savored the moment.
Quite a difference from the last five years. Yamashita, discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Officer Candidate School (OCS) for “leadership failure” in 1989, has since been fighting a legal battle with the USMC to regain his dignity and pride, charging that he had been denied his commission on racial grounds. In late December 1993, he learned that he had won, being notified that he would be commissioned as a Captain in the USMC Reserves this month. Yamashita’s charges (and substantiation of racial discrimination and harassment by the Marines OCS also forced the USMC to address racial and gender inequalities in OCS policies and resulted in the U.S. Congress passing legislation requiring all branches of military service to publish and enforce equal opportunity policies at their respective officer
candidate schools. “Right makes might,” Yamashita told the youthful audience. “How do I know? Because David has slain Goliath.”
This is a story made for television. The hero has leadership stamped all over him. High school president (University High in Honolulu). Good grades. Interscholastic League of Honolulu all-star running back. Spends a year studying in Japan. Attends University of Hawaii, gets bachelor’s in political science. While a student, is elected delegate to Hawaii Constitutional Convention. Law degree and master’s in foreign service from Georgetown University. Decides to be a lawyer in USMC. Admitted to OCS. Is kicked out for leadership failure two days before graduation. Petitions Marine Corps. Wins legal battle. Media hero. Asian American hero. Only catch, no love interest (but Hollywood has a way of fabricating that part.) Joked Yamashita, “When I entered OCS, I was a young stud. Now, I’m an old man.” Yamashita began his ordeal Feb. 6, 1989, in Quantico, Va., home of the Marines’ Officer Candidate School. On the very first day, the verbal abuse began. “We don’t want your kind around here. Go back to Japan.” Hey, Yamashita, you speak English?” “You know, during World War II, we whipped your Japanese ass.”
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Throughout the 10-week training, Yamashita endured verbal and physical abuse. “Humiliating,” he says of the treatment. “I felt I had no choice but to accept it.” When he was “disenrolled,” he was devastated. For Yamashita, born and raised in Hawaii, this treatment was an eye-opener. “I had always assumed that I was an American. I went to OCS just an American. You know, just one of the guys. (The slurs and resulting discharge) went to the very heart of my identity, of who I was.”
Of the five that were discharged that day, four were men of color: an African American, a Hispanic American, a Filipino American, and a Japanese American. He didn’t think much about it at the time. Yamashita was thinking mostly about what had happened to himself. “I was filled with self-doubt,” he said. “You know, I was raised to accept my failures. Maybe the Marine Corps knew me better than I knew myself.” Back home in Hawaii, Yamashita began asking questions. He learned the Army and Navy had strict policies against making racial remarks. According to Yamashita, even the Marine recruiting officer in Hawaii was appalled by his story.
His self-doubt and humiliation turned to anger with the way he was treated. That anger and the sacrifices of our preceding generations, said Yamashita, gave him the moral legitimacy to rise up, take a stand and fight back. So in 1990, he wrote to then-Marine Commandant Alfred Gray, explaining the situation, concluding that he was entitled to an officer commission. The resulting investigation report, said Yamashita, “concluded that nothing happened and implied that I was a liar and I was making it all up.” Friends and family told him to get on with his life. They said that’s just how it is with minorities. “But just when I was about to give up. Bill Kaneko, president of the Honolulu JACL, offered to provide resources,” recalled Yamashita. Attorneys Clayton Ikei and Ernie Kimoto, former CBS producer Steve Okino and Kaneko planned a legal, political and media
onslaught. A legal petition was filed with the U.S. Naval Discharge Review Board. National JACL, 442nd Regimental Combat Team Vets Club, 100th Battalion Vets Club, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, Hawaii State Legislature, Hawaii’s Congressional delegation and California Representatives Norman Mineta and Bob Matsui all offered their support.
USMC reopened the case and a second Inspector General’s investigation substantiated the racial harassment, attacks and unfair treatment incidents, but also concluded that Yamashita would have failed the program anyway. So in 1991, Yamashita was offered a chance to go back to Quantico and re-compete for an officer’s commission. “We refused,” explained Yamashita, “because the Marine Corps broke the law. The burden rested with them. They had to provide an immediate commission that accounted for the years that had passed since I was released in 1989.” In 1992, Yamashita presented his case to the Naval Review Discharge Board. By then his legal team was armed with expert witnesses and reports which showed a recurrent pattern of discrimination in recruitment and retention at the OCS. Major media jumped on the story. Politicians became interested. Training manuals were revised. In early 1993, the Marine Corps offered Yamashita a commission as a second lieutenant. Again Yamashita refused, explaining that he would have been a captain by then.
Then, in October, on a CBS 60 Minutes segment on institutional racism in the Marines, Commandant General Carl Mundy told correspondent Lesley Stahl and millions of viewers that minority Marines do poorly. “We find that minority officers do not shoot as well as non-minorities. They don’t swim as well. And when you give them a compass and send them across the terrain at night in a land navigation exercise, they don’t do as well at that sort of thing.” While Marine officials scrambled to explain away Mudy’s remarks, it coalesced support
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for Yamashita. Organizations jumped on the bandwagon after that, Yamashita said. Organization of Chinese Americans, Council of La Raza, State University of New York Asian Student Union, and a host of others saw that Yamashita’s case was not just his case, it was a case of institutional bias against all minorities. It had been from the very beginning. Only now, it was out in the open. Soon, after, Yamashita began negotiating a settlement with Assistant Secretary of Navy for Manpower and Reserved Affairs Frederick Pang, who then recommended to Navy Secretary John Dalton that Yamashita be commissioned a captain. Yamashita formally accepted Dalton’s offer December 31, 1993, saying that it would help
in his appeals he plans to make to the Navy administrative boards for back pay
Why did he take on Goliath? Why continue? Says Yamashita, “I was brought up to believe, if you start something, you have to finish it. Whether it’s college whether it’s officer candidate school, whether it’s a lawsuit. Make it, fine. Fail, that’s okay.” Since television stories are made about “ordinary” White Americans who struggle (and generally win) over extraordinary obstacles, we probably won’t be seeing Yamashita’s story on TV. Not unless drastic changes are made. “I went to OCS just an American. There, I became an Asian American,” he said. “Society just didn’t let me be anything.
July 1994 (VOLUME 21, NO. 13)
Labor activist Philip Vera Cruz left a legacy of inspiration By W. John Delloro LOS ANGELES—When R. Bong Vergara, a UCLA junior, heard that Philip Vera Cruz had died, he had trouble accepting the news.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “He was the only Pilipino role model I knew who the public respected.” For many other UCLA students who knew him, Vera Cruz’s death on June 10 touched them deeply. This former vice president of the United Farm Workers union embodied the story of the first wave of Filipino immigrants—the manongs. He helped initiate the Delano Grape Strike of 1965 that led to the formation of the union, and he had continued to inspire youth, especially young Filipinos. Today, many more young adults are learning about his life as his autobiography is increasingly found on the reading lists of Asian American studies departments.
At UCLA, many students were fortunate enough to have met and spoken with him. They were taken by his passion for social justice, his humility and dedication in fighting for workers’ rights. He personalized Asian American history for many of them. “When I met him, history became real for me,” said UCLA senior Serrano, a member of the Committee for Pilipino Studies. “When I first started learning about Asian American history, I had a hard time connecting with it. Now I wish I had learned about him and the manongs when I was younger.” For Filipino students like Vergara, Vera Cruz provided a history that represented the struggles of their own community. “He serves as a key to understanding resistance in the Filipino American community. By looking at his individual experiences, we are able to get an idea of how the first-
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generation immigrants dealt with racism and discrimination.”
Filipino American students feel a strong sense of pride in Vera Cruz’s achievements. His story enables many to understand the struggle of their own parents and grandparents. “Both my grandfathers were farmworkers, and my father currently is a farmworker, so what Philip Vera Cruz advocated touches me very deeply,” said UCLA senior Dawn Mabalon.
Sarah Chee, a UCLA junior and leader of Korean American United Students for Education and Service, added that Vera Cruz’ life speaks to all Asian American students. “He is a symbol of our history of resistance and fighting spirit.” Not only did he help instill pride, but his life taught students many lessons. His work within the UFW—where Filipinos fought sideby-side with Mexicans for workers’ rights— points to the importance of coalition-building. He also emphasized that all struggles were interconnected.
“We found this same spirit during the Chicano Studies movement at UCLA,” said Chee. In spring 1993, Asian American students joined with Chicano students to fight for a Chicano studies department. Most students remember his words concerning leadership. “Leadership is only incidental to the movement,” Vera Cruz once wrote. “It is the movement that is the most important thing.” He further expounded on the importance of building an ideological foundation for the movement. Vera Cruz exemplified his belief that humility was the basic quality for a leader.
“He taught us that one leader doesn’t make up the movement,” said Lauren Seng, a UCLA senior and leader of Concerned Asian Pacific Student for Action. “His type of leadership did not emphasize the high status and prestige of a professional. He was simple and humble. He was with the people.”
Jay Mendoza, a UCLA graduate student in ethnomusicology, added that Vera Cruz’s life helped him realize that leaders are always all around us. “His humanity taught me that we sometimes forget to look at our friends as leaders.”
It was Vera Cruz’s humility and his sincere commitment to the students that was most memorable. Since his resignation from the UFW in the late 1970s, he had visited many campuses to educate students and to talk to them about political struggle. Vergara recalled one conversation in which Vera Cruz told him: “You’re talking to me because you’re interested in me, but I’m talking to you because I’m interested in you.” Vergara recalled that Vera Cruz believed student organizing to be very important. In fact, Vera Cruz once wrote: “Only if more youth can get involved in more issues like social justice, they would form a golden foundation for the struggle to improve peoples’ lives.” Not only has Vera Cruz’s life present many clear lessons, it has also raised many questions for students. Many note sadly that accounts about his life are still absent from mainstream textbooks.
“There is historical amnesia when it comes to Philip Vera Cruz,” said Nate Santa Maria, a UCLA graduate student in Asian American Studies. “When people hear about the UFW, they think Ceaser Chavez, not Philip Vera Cruz. Philip Vera Cruz and the Pilipinos played a strong role in the formation of the UFW.” Students believe his marginalization reflects the general invisiblity of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the mainstream. Despite this problem, Filipino and Asian American students treasure his legacy.
Santa Maria speaks for many when he emphasized: “His legacy exists not in memory but in the actions of the many youth inspired by his life.”
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In these times: Japanese American railroad and mine workers receive redress Bill Lann Lee takes action on accumulated evidence By Chizu Omori In a stunning reversal of direction, the US Justice Department announced Feb. 27 that Japanese American railroad and mine workers—fired from their jobs in the early stages of World War II—and their families will be eligible for redress under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Originally, the Office of Redress Administration had ruled that only Japanese Americans who were held as inmates in concentration camps were eligible to receive redress. But new documentation presented early last month convinced Justice Department officials that the government was involved in the forced firing of railroad workers.
The announcement was made at a small ceremony in Los Angeles’ “Little Tokyo” district by several representatives from community organizations and railroad worker families. Representing the Justice Department was Bill Lann Lee, the recently appointed Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “I am pleased that the federal government could come through for these individuals who suffered these hardships. I hope that this will finally end a tragic period in American history for these workers and their families,” Lee said. Officials from ORA had previous stated the evidence was “not compelling enough. We want to pay them… [but] the problem is we have letters from the presidents of the railroad companies that said it was their ‘own actions.’”
The case languished for many years while advocates pressed forward with letter writing
and media campaigns. Then on Feb. 11, a new lobbying delegation visited congressmen and Lee at the Justice Department to renew their cause.
This time they carried documents that were uncovered by Michi Weglyn, author of Years of Infamy, and Andrew Russell, a graduate student at Arizona State University who wrote a master’s thesis on the situation of Japanese Americans in wartime Nevada. Russell’s thesis stated the federal government was responsible for the dismissal of most of the railroad workers.
Japanese Americans and their families were imprisoned in their homes or evicted from their railroad-owned houses in remote western towns.
“What we fought for in six years, they decided in two weeks,” said Fumi Shimada, a Sacramento resident and an active campaign worker who was at the ceremony. Shimada credited the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations, the Japanese American Citizens League and Weglyn for the victory. “They wouldn’t listen to us individually,” Weglyn said, and praised Russell for his research. She said she had been prepared to ‘go down fighting’ all the way to the Supreme Court.”
JACL spokesman Al Muratsuchi issued this statement: “The Japanese American community should applaud Mr. Lee for recognizing the injustices facing the railroad and mine workers and their families, and for taking immediate action to resolve this matter.” Paul Horiuchi Jr., whose father is the renowned artist Paul Horiuchi Sr., said he
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received a phone call from the ORA on Mar. 3.
The call was a confirmation that his father’s application for redress would be honored. Paul Horiuchi Jr. said when his father, then 19, was given a foreman’s job at the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming, he was considered an upstanding member in his community. “Union Pacific was planned as a lifelong commitment for my father, his brother, and their father before them,” he said.
Shortly after the U.S. declared war against Japan in 1942, Paul was fired without explanation and thrown out overnight without compensation. For a time Horiuchi, along with several other Japanese families, lived in a chicken coop lent to them by a black family.
While visiting relatives in Minidoka—the wartime concentration camp in Idaho— Horiuchi “saw two full bottles of milk on each table inverted to mix the cream. We were shocked at the luxury… life at the camp was better than our predicament.”
Denied admission to Minidoka, the family wandered through Wyoming, Utah and ended up in Spokane, WA, where Horiuchi found work in a body and fender shop. Horiuchi Jr. said, “My father always felt that we were unfairly treated.” But now, he said he feels some satisfaction that their ordeal has finally been acknowledge.
Still in the air is another campaign for redress on behalf of the 2,264 Latin American Japanese kidnapped from Central and South America and interned in American camps during World War II. A lawsuit filed two years ago in Los Angeles is still pending. Their legal status has been clouded because in most cases critical papers were lost. The court is considering two motions by the end of this month: one from the government to dismiss; the other to give all persons class certification. There are an estimated 1,800 former abductees currently alive. The Justice Department’s Office of Redress urges others who may be eligible under this new interpretation to apply.
July 2004 (VOLUME 31, NO. 14)
Cambodian organizations in U.S. take a stand against deportation of genocide survivors Two years later, Cambodian Americans still fear deportation of loved ones By Chip Tan On June 22, 2002 the first group of Cambodian refugees was removed from the United States and sent back to the place they fled from genocide. On the second anniversary of this event the Cambodian American Community
Coalition of Washington (CACCOW) organized a public forum to oppose the ongoing deportation at Wat Thommachak Karam on Beacon Hill.
The forum held last month offered a report on what is happening to Cambodian Americans who have already been deported. It
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also presented information on the Cambodian and Refugee Enactment (CARE) bill, which is legislation being drafted to create fairer and more humane ways to treat all refugees who came to the United States as children, committed crimes as juveniles and have already paid back their debt to society.
Since its implementation, we have seen the terrible toll that the 1996 immigration law have taken on Cambodian American families. Parents and children have been torn apart by these laws, and many Cambodians are languishing in detention facilities across the country. Although these individuals have served their criminal sentence and would normally have their debt to society considered paid, because they have not yet gained citizenship status, they are subject to further punitive action by the government through deportation. The government’s position is that it is treating Cambodians no differently than it treats other non-citizen groups who had problems with the law. However, prior to June 22, 2002, Cambodia was one of many countries in the world that did not accept deportees and is recognized as having one of the greatest genocides of the modern age. The Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge government wiped out onethird of the country’s population and over a fouryear period the regime managed to restructure almost every single facet of Cambodian society. Documents no longer exist proving Cambodian birth, citizenship or nationality for those in danger of being deported. Many were not even born on Cambodian soil, but in refugee camps outside the country’s borders. It was only through nation building efforts in the early 1900s that an internationally recognized government was established. To date the perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge atrocity have not been bought to justice. In fact, it is known that a number current government officials in the highest positions of power have affiliations
with the Khmer Rouge government responsible for the genocide. To send survivors back to the country that has no record of their existence, where they and their families fled genocide and where those responsible for this history still function in the government is a gross injustice.
Throughout the 80s and early 90s, the United States admitted Southeast Asian refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam in unprecedented numbers. Many Cambodian refugees came to the United States as young children, survivors of the Killing Fields despite the odds against them. They survived only to be taken out of refugee camps and inserted into urban American poverty. Where success stories tend to be exception, we must question what real opportunities these kids and their families had to obtain the American Dream. Arriving as small children and refugees, living most of their lives in the United States, many are more a product of America than Cambodia, and should not be deported. The immigration laws continue to punish Cambodian refugees who deserve the chance to return to their U.S. based families. These laws have been applied retroactively. The fact that a person can be deported as many years as 30 years later for crimes that were not deportable offenses when they were committed is unjust. Further, lawmakers have made deportable offenses out of such minor violations as shoplifting and writing bad checks. We support the restoration of common sense fairness and due process to our immigration laws and make compassion and forgiveness an option. We urge recognition of Cambodian refugee experience and the U.S. commitment to permanently resettle genocide survivors in America. The deportation of a survivors in America. The deportation of a Cambodian Killing Field survivor back to their place of persecution would be the ultimate failure of the resettlement process.
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Kunzang Yuthok participates in a demonstration against the Chinese occupation of Tibet, November 16, 1993. Yuthok, a Tibetan and human rights activist, founded the Tibetan Rights Campaign. • Photo by Dean Wong.
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February 1979 (VOLUME 6, NO. 2)
Chinese Vice Premier visits Seattle By Ron Chew When the Chinese Vice Premier arrived in Seattle February 3, his itinerary for the next two days made it clear why he had come. Deng Xiaoping, the remarkable political phoenix who is leading China’s charge toward modernization, had come to bargain for the resources to transform China into an economic and military power.
On the day after he arrived, Deng, at a Washington Plaza luncheon with prominent Washington State business persons, said, “China has embarked on a new Long March, whose goal is the modernization of our agriculture, industry, science and technology and national defense by the end of the century.” Deng survived a purge by radicals during the Cultural Revolution and has returned as the chief architect of rapprochement with the United States.
Seattle was the final stop in a visit that signaled the beginning of economic cooperation between two nations which in the last 30 years, have been virtually isolated from one another. President Carter, piggybacking on the breakthrough of Nixon’s 1972 trip to China, announced normalization of relations with the People’s Republic of China on December 15.
The Vice Premier arrived for the official visit to the United States with a delegation which included: Madame Zhuo Lin, his wife; Fang Yi, minister of science and technology; Huang Hua, minister of foreign affairs; and Chai Zemin, chief of the liaison office in Washington D.C. According to a senior administration official, there were 20 to 30 requests from major cities for the Chinese delegation to visit. But, the official said, the final selections—Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston and Seattle—were based on what the administration thought “would be
most responsive to the kind of things they (the Chinese) requested to see.”
Seattle has two carrots for the modernizationdriven Chinese leaders: the Port of Seattle, with its promise of abundant commerce, and Boeing, with its promise of sophisticated aircraft. While they were here, the Chinese delegation toured the Port’s facilities, went on a jet foil cruise and visited a Boeing 747 plant in Everett.
The delegation dined at Canlis Restaurant with, as several journalists noted, “some of Washington State’s leading capitalists.” Deng ordered a Coke, telling U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson, “I have to get used to it. We are going to have a lot of this.” Throughout the delegation’s visit to the United States, including Seattle, Deng stated China’s opposition to “hegemony,” what the Chinese say are Soviet attempts to intrude in the internal affairs of other nations. In his farewell remarks, Deng said the delegation “came in the hope of strengthening peace, and we have not been disappointed in our hope.” The Chinese people, he said, “will do their bit toward opposing global and regional hegemism.” Greg Tsang was one of a group of 29 Chinese Americans who met briefly with the Vice Premier and at length with Huang Hua and Chai Zemin. Tsang said Huang told the group that “Russia is the greatest threat to world peace and that China has to be on guard against Russia.” Tsang said the foreign affairs minister quoted Mao Tsetung as saying the biggest contradictions have to be dealt with first. “Huang said the biggest contradiction is Russia,” Tsang added.
However, Sunday afternoon, February 4, about 75 to 100 native Taiwanese marched in protest, across the street from the Washington Plaza where the Vice Premier was being toasted by the business persons.
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Earlier in the day, members of the Revolutionary Communist Party and supporters of the Nationalist regime in Taiwan held their own demonstrations, both groups critical of Deng’s visit, but for different reasons.
The Taiwanese demonstrators, many students at the University of Washington, argued that Taiwan is not part of China and that normalization of U.S.-China relations was achieved at the expense of the right of the Taiwanese to determine their own future. As part of the agreement to normalize relations with China, the U.S. government officially “acknowledged” the Chinese position “that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.”
Fu-Hsiung Shen, University of Washington (UW) assistant professor of medicine and spokesperson for the Taiwanese, said that because events in China are “totally unpredictable,” the Taiwanese do not want to be reunited with China. The Taiwanese, he added, “have developed their culture as a variant of Chinese culture.” He said the native Taiwanese comprise 85 per cent of the population of Taiwan and that 15 per cent are Nationalists who hold most of the power and wealth on the island. Supporters of the Nationalist regime in Taiwan argue, however, that there is only one China and that the Nationalists are the legitimate government of the Chinese people. Tsang said Huang was aware of Taiwanese who argue that the Nationalist government is not representative of the people there. “But he (Huang) said China has to deal with the people in power (in Taiwan),” said Tsang. “This is reality. If the Chinese refused to talk, nothing would happen.”
Tsang said the foreign minister stressed that a peaceful solution to the Taiwan question was best for all parties. “But as a matter of strategy, the Chinese cannot make a pledge not to have a military solution,” said Tsang. “If they say they won’t settle it by force, there would be no incentive to have Taiwan peacefully resolve it.”
UW professor Fu-Hsiung Shen • Photo by Mark Mano
But Shen feels Carter should have gotten “more guarantee of security for the Taiwanese. Carter gave up too much.” “The future of a people,” Shen said, “should be based on the determination of the people themselves.” On Monday, February 5, Deng and his delegation departed Seattle from the Boeing Flight Center, heading to Anchorage, Alaska on the way back to China. Before the Chinese left, they signed agreements of cooperation with the United States: in science and technology; in education, agriculture and space; in high energy physics. Will the ambitious modernization plans for China succeed?
China is in the fifth year of a 10-year plan to mechanize agriculture. Robert Kapp, UW assistant professor in International Studies and History, said, “If agricultural production does not rise to exceed population growth, the plan for modernization cannot survive very long.”
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January 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 2)
An opportunity to free Philippines from stifling grip of one-man rule By Ester Simpson When Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos announced the snap presidential elections, he evoked a great deal of cynicism. This stems from people’s memory of the goons, guns and gold that have characterized previous Philippine elections, even those before martial law.
The imposition of martial law institutionalized those methods, putting them in the service of one man, one party and one camp of the ruling class. In Marcos’ “New Republic,” the people have repeatedly been mocked with sham elections. No wonder people say, “No one will be surprised if Marcos wins in this election.” The various sectors of the opposition have always debated the usefulness of elections and whether to participate or boycott them. Past election exercises staged by the regime have shown that the electoral road cannot be considered a serious option in bringing about social changes in the Philippines. But that doesn’t mean elections cannot be useful tools in the political struggle.
The circumstances of this election are significantly different, even though that doesn’t mean the election will be exceptionally clean or fair. This snap election came at a time when the Marcos dictatorship is in the midst of an irreversible crisis.
In the two years since the assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino, the Marcos regime has been unable to extricate itself from a fullscale political and economic crisis. Public outcry over the assassination and ongoing human rights violations continues; in fact, it has grown to include significant sectors of the business community, middle class and
Marcos’s own camp. This opposition has not only called for an end to the Marcos regime, but has also criticized U.S. support for the dictatorship and the presence of U.S. bases at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base. The breadth of the anti-Marcos movement gives it wide political initiative, causing much anxiety in Washington D. C. In the military arena, the Armed Forces of the Philippines still suffers from low morale and declining competence. Even within the Marcos camp, the Philippine military shows increasing signs of political instability.
On the economic front, the long-expected recovery in the Philippines has been temporary, despite the release of loan funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Exports have declined 18 percent over the last years. Bankruptcies are increasing. Fifty percent of the labor force is unemployed or underemployed. Most leading business people feel a change in government is a necessary prerequisite to reviving the economy.
And at the same time, a broad consensus has developed in U.S. ruling circles and institutions that Marcos has become a burden and must be replaced, gracefully, if possible.
At a high level three-day conference in August, 1985 at the U.S. War College, Philippine experts from the State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that the U.S. needed to find a way to get rid of Marcos. They felt that Marcos could not ensure the stability of the country and provide for the security of the U.S. bases. As one participant said, “Nobody in the Administration is beating the drum for Marcos anymore. And no one thinks it does any good to have him there.”
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Senator Paul Laxalt’s October visit to Manila communicated to Marcos and the international public that the White House had placed the Philippines at the top of the agenda and that the U.S. wanted immediate reforms. To make sure Marcos got the message, the IMF withheld the third tranche of its loan, noting that he had refused to carry out promised economic reforms which threatened the interests of his close associates. The U.S. media unleashed a torrent of criticism on Marcos by exposing his tremendous wealth in the U.S. and around the world, encouraging a congressional hearing to investigate the misuse of U.S. economic aid. Under such heavy pressure, Marcos acceded to snap elections in February for both the presidential and vice-presidential offices. In short, the elections are happening at a juncture when Marcos is now faced with a very rare combination: a deeply dissatisfied sponsor, the U.S., looking forward to his exit; and a profoundly discontented people looking forward to his political, even physical, demise. Unlike past elections when his cosmetic exercises had the full backing of his sponsors, Marcos no longer enjoys that support.
True to his style, Marcos announced that he had no intention of surrendering his throne and imposed restrictions to favor his candidacy. In one sense, the election will be no different from previous ones. Marcos will cheat, lie and murder to rig the results. Many wonder whether the election will take place at all. He might use violent tactics like the infamous Plaza Miranda bombing or claim
the Communists are fomenting violence as an excuse to re-impose martial law. Such moves, which could lead to his victory, would also further isolate him.
Nevertheless, this election offers the possibility that, for the first time, Marcos could be ousted. The Aquino-Laurel platform expresses the broad democratic and nationalist sentiments of the people. Cory Aquino, in particular, symbolizes the broadest expression of people’s discontent. Marcos’s ouster would be significant, weakening the reactionary structures he has built, putting his followers in disarray and freeing Philippine politics from the stifling grip of one-man rule.
The Aquino-Laurel campaign has presented an opportunity to forge the broadest unity among the people to isolate or defeat Marcos, and would be a big step toward the long-range goal of genuine democracy and freedom. As this happens in the Philippines, this will also happen in Filipino communities in the U.S. Seattle is no exception. A coalition called “The Movement in Support of Cory Aquino and Philippine Democracy” was formed in early January to jointly appeal to all Filipinos and freedom-loving people to support the Aquino-Laurel campaign. The group is comprised of the Ninoy Aquino Movement (NAM) in Seattle, Sandiwa in Tacoma, the Coalition Against the Marcos Dictatorship/ Philippine Solidarity Network, Executive Board of Local 37 of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union and the Committee for Justice for Domingo and Viernes.
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May 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 9)
South Korean president visits Seattle By David Takami South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan’s brief stopover in Seattle provoked both animosity and good will.
While dozens of protestors vented their anger and opposition to the Chun government in rallies and marches, Washington business leaders and government officials swooned over the economic possibilities that arose from the April 18 to 20 visit—Chun’s only stop in the United States after a 10-day European tour.
South Korean officials insisted that Chun’s visit was “unofficial,” but that didn’t stop Washington Governor Booth Gardner from using the occasion to lay some economic groundwork. State economic officials and about 30 business executives met with their South Korean counterparts in informal getacquainted sessions throughout the weekend.
Chun’s delegation included his wife, much of his cabinet, chief executives of 40 of South Korea’s largest companies and 50 journalists. “For whatever reason, the president of Korea chose to stop in the state of Washington,” Gardner said. “We opened up a dialog with the business people who are traveling with him and I think there’s a tremendous opportunity to pursue that.”
According to 1984 figures, Washington already does more than $2.2 billion of two-way trade with South Korea. “The trade relationship with Korea is one of the best we have as a state,” said John Anderson, state director of economic development. And state officials are hoping for more business. To that end, Gardner said he plans to head a trade mission to Seoul sometimes this fall.
At a luncheon given in his honor at the Westin Hotel, Chun also played up the Washington-Korea connection. “The state of Washington has acquired a tremendous
potential for development,” he said in the only public appearance of his visit. “I hope we will broaden and deepen Korean-Washington state cooperation in all fields.” In the spirit of good will and business, Washington dignitaries didn’t dare ask Chun about his political problems back home. However the subject did come up obliquely.
As the presidential motorcade left Sea-Tac airport for downtown Friday morning, a group of protestors stood on the side of the road, waving signs. “Oh look, another kind of welcome,” Gardner reported Chun as saying to him.
“How do you deal with this kind of thing in your country?” Gardner asked him.
Chun replied that South Korea is a very young democracy and that he is committed to a peaceful transfer of power in 1988, the year he has promised to resign. He told the governor that, since the end of World War II, political transition in South Korea has been marked by violence and upheaval.
Whether Chun’s transition will be any different is open to question. After six years in power, he is still very much in control of his country. But despite government restrictions on opposition leaders, including Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung, dissent has become more visible and vocal. While Chun was in Seattle, a crowd of 30,000 demonstrators in Taejon, South Korea had to be dispersed by riot police firing tear gas bombs. In Kwangju last month, 80,000 people took to the streets in the largest anti-government demonstration since Chun took power.
Kwangju has been the symbolic center of anti-Chun dissent since 1980, when government forces killed at least 200 protestors, most of them students.
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In an attempt to put on the best possible faces before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Chun has been spreading the word, especially to the United States and its allies, that he has moderated his strong-arm tactics. A rally like the one at Kwangju last month would never have taken place a few years ago.
But critics remain skeptical, pointing out that the basic freedoms of speech, press and assembly do not exist. Other abuses—including the jailing and torture of political prisoners— are still widespread, they say. The opposition also believes Chun, like expresident Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, is manipulating the electoral process to his own ends. Because they believe Chun will be able to hand-pick his successor, opponents want a constitutional amendment to provide for the direct election of the president. Deputy Prime Minister Kim Mahn-je was the only high-ranking South Korean to meet with reporters and, not surprisingly, he vigorously defended his president. He said the
present system, under which candidates for president do not campaign but are selected by a 5,000 member electoral college, is “the most realistic.” Kim added the Chun has not ruled out a constitutional amendment.
Calling comparisons between the Chun government and the deposed Marcos regime “totally unfounded,” he said that “the president has made it clear we will step down in 1988.” The presidential visit drew attention to itself by the massive amount of security.
Squads of police, state troopers, American and Korean secret service personnel and even Marines formed one of the tightest security nets ever in Seattle. Bomb-sniffing dogs checked out Westin Hotel reception rooms. The freeway was shut down for Chun’s motorcade to and from the airport. And much to the consternation of the local media, the Korean delegation’s schedule on Friday and Saturday was kept secret until the last possible moment. Overtime pay for Seattle police was estimated at $55,000.
September 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 18)
‘It is not enough that Marcos has been removed’ By Tracy Lai The military has become accustomed to excessive privilege and power. Reform will depend on how much Aquino can use her power, based on grassroots support, to exert civilian authority over the military. “It is not enough that Marcos has been removed,” declares Father Orlando Tizon, known as Dong to his friends. The legacy left by Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, he says, remains intact: poverty for 84 percent of the population, a powerful military and landowner elite, and domination by multinational companies.
Key to the resolution of these problems, Dong believes, will be the actions of causeoriented groups representing peasants, workers, teachers, students, political prisoners and others.
Dong, a secular priest, chairs a human rights group based in Mindanao called SELDA, “Semahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya,” translates as Association of Ex-detainees Against Detention and for Amnesty. “Selda” also means prison in Spanish and Pilipino. SELDA, formed in late 1985, has about 2,000 members out of 7,000 identified ex-political
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prisoners. Members represent all political perspectives; but as detainees, they share common goals: the release of other detainees, rehabilitation and genuine democracy and independence for the Philippines. Between September 20, 1982 and March 5, 1986, Dong was a political detainee. He was seized in Davao, along with four others, during a raid which resulted in the death of a student leader, Edgar Jopson. At the time of arrest, Dong was part of a research project on farmers and agriculture in the region. Dong and the others were charged with the political crime of conspiracy to commit rebellion and the criminal act of illegal possession of explosives. Dong notes that the military has historically used such criminal charges to deny the existence of political prisoners. Although prisoners were seized because of their political views, their records described them as murderers or as illegally possessing firearms. This policy, Dong says, allowed Marcos to shamelessly claim that The Philippines had no political prisoners.
Don’s release came after one of Aquino’s first decrees ordered the release of all political prisoners. Initially, the military did not respond, claiming that they were “processing” the releases. Aquino has to give a second order, after which the military began to release prisoners in Manila and Quezon City, including such prominent leaders as Jose Sison, reputedly a founder of the Communist Party of The Philippines.
However, no releases occurred in the provinces. The Task Force on Detainees of the Philippines, an advocate for political prisoners, asked friends and relatives of detainees to go to the regional military authorities to find out what was happening. Again, the military stalled, citing orders from Manila to end releases and to “process” names of political prisoners. Adding to the confusion, the national daily newspapers started printing the names of political prisoners supposedly released, but who were actually still held.
It took more than a week before Dong and other prisoners in Davao were released. Even now, Dong says, 400 political prisoners are held. Dong suspects that President Aquino does not know about them and that the military uses its “processing” to change the status of prisoners from political to criminal. Dong hopes Aquino will assist in this release because the court process is unlikely to free prisoners very quickly. Dong knows how slowly cases proceed. When he was released in March, 1986, the prosecution in his case had only presented its first witness. So far, political prisoners have not received compensation, and charges have not been pressed against the perpetrators, primarily the military. Although Aquino had earlier ordered the Minister of Social Services to help rehabilitate political prisoners, the Social Services office lacked sufficient funds to do so. In Davao City, ex-political prisoners are allowed to borrow money, but it is a small amount. SELDA, among other human rights groups, is pressing for indemnification of victims of torture and salvaging (wanton killing of civilians by the military). As yet, they have not received much cooperation from the government, especially in the investigation of human rights violation.
Aquino also appointed a Committee for Human Rights which has been compiling data and facts on violations of human rights during the Marcos regime. The Committee has not yet filed a case. Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile objected, “The military is not in favor of investigations of human rights because that could be divisive.” Enrile and General Fidel Ramos have also claimed that the government should also give amnesty to perpetrators, not just the victims, of human rights violations. Dong suggests that these differences between Aquino and the military reflect a deeper power struggle. The military was a tool of the Marcos dictatorship for nearly 20 years. During those years, the military became accustomed to excessive privilege and power. Military reform will depend on how much
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Aquino can use her power based on grassroots support, to exert civilian authority over them.
Dong believes structural and organizational changes are necessary. For example, the military has been virtually autonomous in its promotion system and budgeting of funds. The military, Dong believes, must be more accountable to the president, the legislative body, and above all, the Filipino people. The Philippine military is so dependent on the U.S. military, he says, that it appears to pursue U.S., rather than Filipino, interest. Dong hopes the new constitution being drafted by the Constitutional Commission will contain safeguards against military abuses. The conditions for declaring martial law and suspending the writ of habeus corpus must be outlined. The bill of rights must be protected and implemented. A professional judicial system, independent of the military, executive and legislative bodies, is essential.
Unfortunately, the U.S. is already upsetting this delicate balance between Aquino and the military. The U.S. supports and encourages a military solution in the insurgency of the New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front (NDF). Two months ago, before Aquino had asked for any kind of aid, the U.S. offered military aid. Aquino refused, stating, “We don’t need military aid, we need economic aid.” Aquino has already begun negotiating for a ceasefire with the NDF. However, General Ramos has stated that the military is not interested in a ceasefire, and, in fact, the military is currently conducting operations against the NPA in several provinces.
Although it has been suggested that the insurgency would disappear once Marcos was removed, it remains quite strong. The U.S. government believes the increased democracy under Aquino will only give the insurgents more room to expand. The NPA claims to have about 20,000 combatants, and the NDF reportedly leads five to eight million supporters, organized in 63 of 72 provinces in The Philippines. The NDF states that is it for peace and is interested in a ceasefire. However, it distinguishes between a ceasefire and a surrender, and it will not give up its arms. The NDF has considerable support since it effectively organizes around the needs of the peasants, workers and other oppressed sectors of Philippine society.
Father Tizon seeks American and Canadian support for the people’s power which thrust Corazon Aquino into the presidency and which she needs to stay there. The greatest fear is that the U.S. government may intervene to protect its military and economic interest. Support for the people’s power movement can prevent such an intervention, he says. Tizon’s visit to Seattle was coordinated locally by the Filipino Association for Community Education. He spoke at a benefit for the Philippine Peasant Movement. His North American tour is sponsored by the Alliance for the Philippine Concerns and the Church Coalition for Human Rights in The Philippines.
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August 1987 (VOLUME 14, NO. 15)
‘The cry of sugar workers’ By Stan Shikuma Negros Island, the Philippines, a land of stark contrasts. Many of the wealthiest of that country’s land-owning elite live next to the poorest of the million of working poor. Starvation haunts the homes of thousands of sugarcane workers while thousands of acres of prime agricultural land stand vacant on the giant sugar plantations of Negros. Serge Cherniguin, Secretary-General of the National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW), based on Negros, described these conditions to church, labor and community groups in Seattle recently as part of a West Coast speaking tour at the invitation of the Negros Food and Freedom Fund of Hawai’i. He is explaining the emergency situation facing the sugarcane workers of Negros and appealing for sorely needed donations and assistance.
Cherniguin traces the current plight of sugarcane workers to the collapse of the Philippine sugar industry in 1984. At that time, world sugar prices dropped precipitously, resulting in massive unemployment on the sugar haciendas of Negros. The effect were devastating on an island whose economy is completely dependent on a single, exportoriented crop. Employment in the sugar industry dropped from a high of 1.8 million to 439,000 in a few short years with no other source of jobs available. Ironically, while both the sugar lands and sugar workers were idled by the collapse, the people have not been permitted to farm the vacant land for food. The result has been starvation in the midst of the Philippines richest farmland. Even those who still hold jobs cannot make ends meet. The Philippines’ minimum wage law was passed years ago, but it has never been enforced. By law, the minimum wage should be 32.5 pesos or about $1.50 a day, but on Negros,
90 percent of the workers are paid piecework rates, called the “paquiao” rate. Those who work for the “paquiao” rate, Cherniguin says, make 12 to 22 pesos or less than one dollar a day. And during the “tiempo muerto” (offseason) from May to September, no one has jobs in this seasonal industry. Bad conditions are made worse, Cherniguin reports, by the presence of multinational corporations, primarily U.S., but also several Japanese firms. Multinational effectively control the Philippine fertilizer, machinery, oil and finance industries, using this control to exploit Filipino labor and natural resources. Unfortunately, Cherniguin says, President Aquino and the government technocrats have yet to end foreign domination of the Philippine economy, an absolute necessity if the Filipino people are to achieve national independence and development that benefits all sectors of society. The National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW) was founded in 1971 by a group of priests, seminarians and labor leaders. Massive organizing was going on throughout the Philippines in the years just prior to Marcos’s declaration of martial law, and the NFSW was formed to address the unique conditions of the sugar workers on Negros. Promanagement unions, called “yellow unions,” were also established by the landowners to coopt and divide the workers, but the NFSW has continued to grow. Today, the NFSW boasts a membership of over 80,000.
Organizing the sugar workers had not been an easy task. The first step, Cherniguin says, was to raise the awareness of the sugar workers, “because their minds had been conditioned by generation of oppression and exploitation to accept the situation, to be thankful for the very little benefits they receive from the sugar planters. The responsibility of the union was to
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awaken the sugar workers that they are human beings, that they have rights.”
The second step was to overcome the opposition of the sugar planters. “The sugar planters of Negros,” says Cherniguin,” are one of the most elite in Philippine society, so wealthy, so haughty and imperious, so proud and very despotic.” They have used their wealth and power to buy off the labor courts, the police and the military and enlist their aid in suppressing union organizing activities, Cherniguin added.
“Many sugar workers have lost their lives,” Cherniguin reports, “for simply demanding the implementation of the minimum wage law, a law that is already on the books.” Violence against the sugar workers and union organizers has increased recently with the rise of rightwing vigilante groups like Alsa Masa and the doubling of the military garrison on the island. Like most other NFSW union organizers, Cherniguin knows his name appears on rightwing death lists. He shrugs when asked of it, saying. “When you see the suffering of the people, the depth of poverty and hunger, you get so angry. As a Christian, you feel ashamed of so much injustice. You have to take action.”
Vigilante groups on Negros have even attacked the local Catholic church for its strong stand in support of the sugar workers and land reform. Several church schools and facilities have been razed, and an attempt was recently made to assassinate Bishop Antonio Fortich as he slept in a church compound. The church has stated, Cherniguin says, that “the cry of the sugar workers and people of Negros for land reform is a sacred cry… the church is willing to suffer with the people in their quest for land and will rise up with the people in triumph once genuine land reform is implemented. Land reform is perhaps the key question facing the Philippines today. President Aquino has just unveiled her program for land reform to the public, but Cherniguin is not impressed. While it is intended to cover all lands, an improvement over previous programs, Congress
must still implement it and decide how much land each landowner may retain outside the program.
Cherniguin feel this is a fatal flaw. The new Congress is dominated by traditional Philippine elites. A majority have spoken out against land reform even before debate has begun. Both the chair and vice chair of the land reform committee in Congress have close ties to the sugar planters of Negros. “What was a promise of great hope for the people,” he says, “turned out to be a great frustration.”
The NSFW demands genuine land reform because only this can empower the 80 percent of the population that has been so impoverished. Only genuine land reform, Cherniguin maintains, can solve the “peace and order question” in Negros. For the NFSW, this means giving land to the landless, abolishing the hacienda system, and setting up workers’ cooperatives. Cherniguin believes the main problems of the Philippines are economic, not ideological. While government officials show interest only in the Philippines’ export capacity and Gross National Product, for 90 percent of the people, the first interest is food. And to have food, they must first have land. “The people are hungry, they watch their children starve to death, they have no jobs, so they join the union to improve their lives,” he said. “Then their union is suppressed and even their churches attacked. People go to the hills because they have no alternative.”
In preparation for genuine land reform, the NFSW has initiated a Farmlot Program which sets up sugar workers on borrowed land, provides farm supplies and teaches farming techniques. Organic farming methods are used, says Cherniguin, because Filipinos need to end their reliance on expensive fertilizers, pesticides and fuel provided by foreign multinationals. Cherniguin hopes to build recognition and support for these projects that prepare Philippine sugar workers to take control of their lives. He also appeals to the American people
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to look at the real problems of land reform and economic independence, stop the exploitation of Philippine resources and labor by the U.S. multinationals, and halt U.S. military aid to the Philippines. Serge Cherniguin, Secretary-General of the National Federation of Sugarcane Workers, will be guest of honor at a reception on Sunday,
August 16, hosted by the Philippine Workers Support Committee of Seattle.
The event, from 3 to 6 p.m., includes a light supper and a performance by the Filipiniana Dance Troupe. It will be held at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Hall, Local 1105 at 1010 South Bailey St. Donation is $10. All proceeds go to NFSW.
November 1988 (VOLUME 15, NO. 22)
Stories from India ‘crying out to be told’ By Wm. Satake Blauvelt “Salaam Bombay!,” the newly released feature film debut by Indian American director Mira Nair, has already claimed a place among the all time movie classics dealing with the theme of childhood. Its tale of street children surviving in the heart of one of India’s major cities has been compared to everything from “Oliver!,” the English musical version of Charles Dicken’s “Oliver Twist,” to “Pixote,” the powerful, bleak Brazilian drama about the exploitation of children in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.
“Salaam Bombay!” was honored as best first feature film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and has been showered with praise by critics and audiences wherever it has been shown. Perhaps the film’s most impressive achievement is its ability to steer a clear-eyed path between the sentimentality and hopelessness epitomized by the aforementioned films. For Mira Nair, that characteristic was not something that had to be induced so much as observed.
“I was really struck by the vitality of the kids in the streets of Bombay,” she said in an interview with the Examiner. “The fact that, in the face
of something that impossibly difficult, they had a spirit of being complete survivors—not miserably, but often with a lot of style, dignity and flamboyance. They just had a great appetite for living—that inspired me.”
“Salaam Bombay!” follows the exploits of Krishna, a 10-year-old boy who, having been kicked out of the house and abandoned by a traveling circus, makes his way to Bombay. He is drawn into the mad rush of life on the streets with thousands of other homeless children. It’s a world dominated by pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and the police, where drugs and impossible movie fantasies provide a temporary escape.
Becoming “Chaipau” (one who delivers tea), Krishna meets an array of characters that will change his life, including Chillum, an older street veteran who sells drugs for Baba, the suave and dangerous head pimp of the district. At a brothel, Krishna meets Rekha, a strong, resilient prostitute and her daughter Manju. He also becomes enamored with a young Nepalese girl who has been sold to the brothel as a virgin prostitute.
Krishna becomes a catalyst in their lives as their stories intertwine. Through it all, life on the streets for Krishna and his friends is told in a realistic manner with compassion, humor and insight.
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One of the film’s most extraordinary aspects is that it was filmed entirely on location with mostly non-actors taken from Bombay’s streets. After several months of interviews and research with screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, Nair and her staff set up a workshop to recruit the children.
Nair recalled being turned down for funding from American sources because the film was not in English. She humorously remembered being told, “You know, have you ever heard of an Indian film making money here?” “Also it was my first feature,” she added.
“In the fourth week, I introduced a video camera and showed them—by revealing and not lecturing—what I wanted in acting, which was completely against the grain of Indian acting in cinema that they had seen and were fed on—these overblown performances by heroes and stars,” she explained. “Naturalism is what I was after.”
“It was really difficult,” she said. “A lot of people said it was impossible to do. It demanded a lot of concentration on the part of the kids and the professional actors to perform highly dramatic scenes in the full view of thousands of commuters.”
“One hundred thirty kids came the first day, and we auditioned them down to 24 kids and worked for six weeks—six days a week,” she said. Teaching a combination of dance, exercise, yoga and mime, they also had the kids watch Charlie Chaplin movies and do improvisations on themes important to them.
As it turned out, it was not the children she had to worry about. “I thought that the kids would have to rise up to the professionalism of the actors, but it was actually the other way around,” Nair said. “The kids are so transparently honest and beautifully raw that the professional actors had to reach that standard of untheatricality.”
Nair was able to raise the remainder of the money by turning to sources in television that had shown or financed her documentary work. “Salaam Bombay!,” official a co-production between India, England and France, was a small scale independent production. Very few concessions were made to accommodate the filmmaker’s needs.
Those ever-present crowds, ranging in number from 500 to 5,000 in front of the camera—and all the other variables in location shooting—were turned to advantage, however.
To that end, the actors in the major adult roles, recruited from the stage and television, took part in the workshops and “they were very good—they became very attuned to the kids and the kids to them,” Nair said.
“One way to gain solidarity with the crowd was to cast them in the film,” she said. “That was something I did all the time because the film is as much a portrait of Bombay as it is anything else. Bombay is made up of a wonderful array of eccentric and particular characters, so we have that color as a result—there were constantly rewards.”
Once the workshop ended, filming on the streets began immediately, even though only half the budget had been secured. Nair felt it was important to keep the momentum of the workshop going; she scrambled to raise additional funding as filming progressed.
Nair’s work includes the controversial “India Cabaret,” about the lives of Bombay strippers. That piece explored the stereotypes of the “respectable” and “immoral” woman in Indian society. Another documentary, “So Far From India,” profiled an Indian immigrant who runs a New York City subway newsstand while his wife
Finding the right boy for the pivotal role of Krishna was crucial. Shafiq Syed, an 11-year-old who eventually got the role “was a rag-picker who was part of the workshop,” she said. “And he very quickly distinguished himself by his ability to fling himself into whatever he was doing—so totally that he had to stop himself. Mostly, it was ability to be a child and a man.
Nair’s ability to capitalize on the moment and her commitment to realistic portrayals are no doubt connected to her background in documentary filmmaking. She has created several award-winning films that examine life in contemporary India, particularly relating to women.
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waits for him in India. “So Far From India” was shown at the last Seattle Asian American Film Festival.
A consistent hallmark of Nair’s work is a cleareyed, non-judgmental style that examines the lives of ordinary people. Much like the premise of the children’s acting workshop, her films reveal rather than lecture to the audience.
Filmmaking was not Nair’s original goal. She claims to never have really seen movies of any type until she was 20. Now 31, Nair was born in India’s eastern state of Orissa, were her father worked as a civil servant. Her interest in the arts began with theatre, when she was sent north to Sembla for schooling during her teens. Nair, after a year at Delhi University studying sociology and acting with a Western-style repertory theatre company, decided to go abroad to study and ended up at Harvard University.
“At the time, I suffered under the illusion I was an academic,” she said. “So I applied to all these American institutions pretty naively not knowing one from another. I applied to the biggest simply because I needed the full scholarship to get there.” However, her interest waned, she said, when she found that “theater was not inspiring.” “It was doing a lot of musicals like ‘Oklahoma!’ which has no relationship to me at all,” Nair said. “So I took a course in photography where I met my husband, Mitch Epstien [“Salaam Bombay’s” co-producer and production designer] and then stumbled into documentary filmmaking.
For much of the last decade, Nair has split her time between New York City and India working on her films. Her bi-cultural existence has no doubt influenced her work, but it is not something she can easily define. “I don’t think about labels, really I don’t,” she revealed. “My roots are Indian and I am based here. I use everything in my life to my advantage—even the confusion of it.” Her eclectic range of experience will be put to maximum use on her next project: a dramatic feature film to be made in the U.S. This one is set in the American south and concerns an Indian family that immigrates from Uganda after the
expulsion of all Asians during Idi Amin’s rule.
Nair is also waiting for the release of “Children of Desired Sex,” a documentary completed earlier for Canadian television as part of an international series on women and development. The film examines the use of amniocentesis as a sex determination test to help in aborting female fetuses in India. She describes it as “using technology to reinforce the traditional preference for male children.” At present, Nair is concentrating on the Indian premier of “Salaam Bombay!” in December. Because of its radically different style, the film will go against the grain of India’s rather gaudy popular cinema that is the antithesis of her work. Nair believes that the success of “Salaam Bombay!” may lie in the controversy and wordof-mouth it generates, as did “Indian Cabaret.” The reaction to that earlier film had “people in the audience really connecting with the extraordinariness of ordinary people on screen,” she said. She’s hoping that the feeling will extend to “Salaam Bombay!” “We may be really asking for the moon in the sense that is had nothing to do with the conventions of Indian cinema,” Nair said. “But Sooni Taraporevala, the screenwriter, and myself firmly believe that there are many stories in India that are crying out to be told and told well, compellingly and dramatically and not cater to what Indian producers or what everyone all over the world says is the lowest common denominator-people will not understand. I just don’t underestimate an Indian or any audience.”
When Nair returns to India for the premiere, she’ll be able to personally check on the progress of a special project that has grown out of the film—a non-profit organization called the Salaam Bombay Trust that will help finance two learning centers for street kids in Bombay and Delhi. A series of benefit screenings in various cities, done in conjunction with local organizations, will help raise the financing. While promoting “Salaam Bombay!” in the U.S., Nair has run into questions about the possible exploitation of children with the film.
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“People ask me, ‘Have they gone back to the streets?’ and I say they never left the streets,” she said. “The idea is not to give them an experience that is so utterly alien from their existence that they would be completely confused at the end of it. The idea was that this is a film about that reality.” From the outset, Nair was aware of her responsibility.
“The whole attitude that informed the workshop was one of meeting the kids halfway and never talking down to them or attempting to reform them—there’s no room for pity in their lives,” she said. “They’re really streetwise kids who get on their own. “At the same time, we knew they were children, and the whole idea was to increase their sense of self-worth and dignity, but even though dignity may be permanent, a kid needs guidance or at least availability for help.” The children were paid according to scale, like regular Indian actors, and much of that money was set aside in individual trust and savings accounts with each child’s consent. Also, Nair’s assistant director, child psychologist Dinaz Stafford, still works full-time with the children. After production was completed, each child was asked what one thing they would most like
to do, and the staff worked to make those wishes happen. Five of the kids have gone home to their villages, four managed to break through the bureaucratic red tape and go to school, three work as messengers at film company, and another, who is artistically inclined, teaches sculpture to blind children.
That their situation is still tenuous, however, is clear from the experience of Shafiq, the film’s star. He went home, only to return to the city because of friction with his alcoholic parents. He later dropped out of school and then walked off a job until finding his niche as an actor in a play with some of the other kids from the film. Nair has no illusions about solving all the street kids’ problems, but she sees the establishment of the learning centers as a challenge that needs to be taken. “I am a filmmaker,” she states emphatically. “I’m just using this because it demands to be used—its creating so many waves. The film is profitable, and why not use some of the profits to make the idea that film shares—which is children and the fact that they have become invisible in today’s world.
“People just accept that there are millions of kids just out there. They are really incredibly gifted human beings.”
January 1995 (VOLUME 22, NO. 1)
Tibetans Struggle for Survival By Scott Watanabe “Tibetans came to the Seattle area in the ‘60s through the University of Washington. In fact it was the Sakya family (who began the local Buddhist monastery of the same name) who were the first family to come,” said Kunzang Yuthok. “Until a coupe of years ago there were only 70 to 80 Tibetans here (in Seattle), but in 1990 we got an immigration bill passed that set aside, 1,000 visas for Tibetan immigrants from india and Nepal.”
Yuthok, director and co-founder of the Tibetan Rights Campaign, is one of the approximately 100 Tibetans now living in the Pugent Sound area. Of the 36 distinct ethnic groups that make up the Asian Pacific Islander population in Seattle, few people—both in and out the API community—are aware of this small-but-vibrant population of Asians that have made Seattle their home.
Those Tibetans who have come from Tibet, India and Nepal to build a new life for
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themselves here face not only the challenges peculiar to recent immigrants, but also the task of keeping alive a unique culture that is in danger of annihilation in the country of its birth. In 1949, China invaded Tibet and since then over 80,000 Tibetans have fled their homeland. But those who remain still live under China’s thumb. According to the Tibetan Rights Campaign, the Chinese government continues to imprison Tibetan Buddhist monks, nuns and other dissidents and execute them for their religious beliefs and cultural practices.
Tibetans in Seattle remember the horrors they faced in their homeland, but try to build a community for themselves in their new home. “The Tibetan community is very small and kind of scattered,” said Tenzing Santho, a 29 year-old Tibetan. “Before, there were few community gatherings, and because of differing political and sometimes religious beliefs, we had a few solid connections. There’s more cohesiveness in the community now—we are much, much more united than before.”
Santho came to the United States in 1987 and attended school—first in New York, then in Washington. He founded the Tibetan Association of Washington in 1991 to meet Tibetan cultural and social needs and to inform the larger community about Tibetan issues. Among the association’s projects are a Tibetan language discussion group and a dance troupe specializing in Tibetan folk dance. “Most people are ignorant of Tibet and Tibetan issues,” he said. “That has changed in the last three or four years because of the Dalai Lama’s visits. (The Dalai Lama is Tibet’s exiled head of state and the people’s spiritual leaders.) Most students I meet from China or even Taiwan have been taught to believe that Tibet is part of China. Korean, Japanese, Filipino or Indonesians don’t know much about Tibet, what’s unique about it among China and Asia in general. At the forefront of the struggle to dispel that ignorance are groups like Santho’s association
and Yuthok’s Tibetan Rights Campaign. Born and raised in India, Yuthok and her sister Chimie came to Seattle in 1973 to join their parents. Yuthok was active in the community throughout the 1980s, but devoted herself to it full-time in 1990 with the formation of the Tibetan Rights Campaign. The mission of the campaign is to bring attention on the effect of Chinese rule upon the Tibetan people.
“If anything is to happen for Tibet as a country, it has to happen in the next five—or at the very most, eight—years,” she said. “There isn’t much time for Tibet… If we don’t have our culture or language, then Tibet just becomes assimilated, which is exactly what China is trying to do with the population transfer,” she said. China currently has a policy of relocating Chinese citizens to Tibet so that they outnumber the Tibetans. The Chinese there number 7.5 million while the Tibetan population is 6 million. “Tibetans here in the States have to do more,” said Yuthok. “We shouldn’t let them (in Tibet) feel so abandoned, so frustrated that they resort to violence, which is completely against our beliefs. Now it’s our generation’s turn to take up he struggle.”
It took a major event to galvanize the fragmented community. In 1987, the Chinese government cracked down on a demonstration by the religious community in Lhasa, Tibet, imprisoning and torturing many of the demonstrators. This was the crisis that pulled Seattle’s Tibetans together.
In a demonstration against the Chinese government held a year before when a Chinese trade delegation came to Seattle, the Tibetans were joined by representatives from Amnesty International and the Chinese pro-democracy movement, among others. In 1991, the Tibetan Rights Campaign conducted demonstrations and other events each month to keep the spotlight on the issue. “A lot of the Asian community is sympathetic to our cause, even the Chinese, but there is only
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so much they can do,” said Santho. “I think it’s human nature for people to do their best to help when people need it across racial and ethnic lines.”
As for the situation back in Tibet, many regard the future with a hope tempered by realism.
“It’s a young community,” said Santho. “Our political contribution may be small, but it will be a significant part of this growing (API) community in the future. Many of the young Tibetans are getting educated here in the States and I think they will be a force.”
“Sometimes it feels hopeless, but every time I pass out a pamphlet, someone is getting the word. I guess there’s a little blind faith involved, that something will happen to change things for the better.”
But because of the community’s small size and relative infancy in the area, many Tibetans feel lost and unconnected to the larger API community. As a result, they may have difficulty articulating their needs and concerns politically and may be overlooked.
“I have to expect something has to come out, for the Tibetans who still live there,” says Chimie Yuthok. “I always ask myself, ‘How can you change the suffering there? How will you help them?’ You can get very comfortable in America, and it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there are still Tibetans out there suffering.
June 1999 (VOLUME 26, NO. 10)
Local Indonesians commemorate victims of May Massacre By Shalin Hai-Jew
—Dr. Daniel Lev, UW professor specializing in Southeast Asia
carried placards that read “1020 houses burned” and “4038 shops burned” and “468 women and children raped.” Others read: “Stop Religious Persecution,” and “Protect Human Rights.” Some posters showed beheaded victims of mob violence, burning buildings, and rampaging mobs roaming the streets. The demonstrators wore white facemasks for their anonymity.
In the foreground of the photograph lay two charred corpses, the center of attention of crowd with sandal-shod feet. This graphic photograph was attached to an e-mail that invited local Indonesians to participate in a candlelit May 15 demonstration at Westlake Park headlined “Stop Violence in Indonesia,” part of a simultaneous nationwide candlelight vigil. The corpses were that of a 42-year-old woman and her daughter who were burned in the social unrest sweeping Indonesia.
Asked how bad the situation was in Indonesia, one young male participant said:
It is our responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of the world to react as powerfully as we can to prevent the violence from having its full course.
Billed as a public awareness raising campaign, this event attracted some 40 participants who
Gesturing at one of the graphic signs, one demonstrator asked, “Where’s the police? This is like jungle rule.” Unwilling to finger either the government or the military for the May riots and the country’s continued descent into violence, one demonstrator said, “Basically, right now there’s no government. Where’s the government to protect the people, their own citizens?”
I think it’s hard to define how bad. There’s no real statement or something like that. Chinese
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Indonesians have been discriminated [against] for a long time. In some places in Indonesia, there’s like people in Sumatra; they get discriminated [against] also. We want to expose what’s going on. We want to tell it happened before and if it happens again, if it’s going to happen, people can take action. Zhang Ding-xuen, one of the organizers, said:
For the human rights violations, now it’s getting worse. They’re fighting over religion. We are not really pinpointing [if] religion is wrong or right. We demand the Indonesian government to capture the guys behind the May riots. We want to know the truth.
So what could the U.S. do? “I don’t know what the U.S. can do,” said one observer. “We’ve been trying so hard to talk to the politicians.” One current effort is to get a host family, church or organization to provide an affidavit of support letter for the surviving family members of Margaretha “Ita” Haryono. Haryono was murdered October 9,1998, a few days before she was to testify to a human rights organization in the U.S. Haryono’s sister and parents are currently in hiding, in fear for their lives, said Zhang. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) is also being petitioned to support the Haryono family.
Dr. Daniel Lev, U.W. professor specializing in S.E. Asia, said, “There’s a sense we memorialize a tragedy last May 14, and in a sense, this tragedy has gone on ever since.” He cited the deaths of 1,200 people in May 1998 “dying horribly” in this archipelago which used to be a Dutch colony. With the Dutch strategy of keeping the Chinese a racial minority to manage the commercial aspects of Indonesian life (but stay out of politics), a residual separation of the 3-4 percent Chinese Indonesian minority has occurred. “From 1965—1998, “not a single ethnic Chinese served in the parliament of the government. Ethnic Chinese were in fact told all they could do was caucus,” said Lev. Growing more and more resented, the ethnic Chinese Indonesians were then scapegoated by the Indonesian government when it was threatened, asserted Lev.
After years of relying on a government supported by the Indonesian army, Lev said, “they rely on the skill that armies have, and that is to have war.”
On May 14, 1988, unrest in the populace and mass dissatisfaction with the Suharto regime led to burnings of buildings, killings and rapes of many women. “It was a terrible, brutal time,” said Lev. “since that time, the violence has spread, largely manipulated by the army.” Professor Lev suggests that the army fueled the ethnic and racial conflicts that would “absorb people’s energies instead of at the government.” Just two weeks before the worldwide candlelight vigil, the Indonesian army fired on unarmed people protesting in the northern part of Sumatra, and the dead were “running away” from the soldiers at the time, said Lev. With elections planned for June 7, Lev expects continued violence. Indonesia has been combatting nationwide economic chaos and rampant inflation for the past year and a half, with an accompanying breakdown in social order with the resignation of strongman Suharto, who had ruled the country for 32 years. If any good is to come from the current strife, Lev hopes that reform of the political system will result in more equitable access to power through the hard and “discouraging work to rebuild a state.” He said Indonesian should strive to incorporate the Chinese as full citizens of the Indonesian state. “It is our responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of the world to react as powerfully as we can to prevent the violence from having its full course,” said Lev.
Other speakers included a young woman whose house was ransacked several times by roving mobs because of the family’s ethnic Chinese background in May 1998. Their gate was ripped open, stones and empty bottles thrown at the house, their car burned, their wealth looted, and their physical well-being threaten during the rampage. Gasoline was also thrown on their garage with some of the attackers intending to burn down the house.
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The vigil ended in prayer, with a reverend praying over the crowd. He prayed that the “involvement of God will cure and heal the Indonesian people.” Fear and a sense of secrecy pervaded this demonstration. A few days after, a rumor of
“massacre plan” was routed among Indonesians abroad and in-country which warns that a June 4-10 attack was planned on Chinese Indonesian male businesspersons and professionals. Compensation of 500,000 to 1.5 million rupiah was allegedly promised to those who would carry out the attacks.
January 2000 (VOLUME 27, NO. 2)
What Happened at No Gun Ri? By Chong-suk Han History has a long and bitter tradition of forgetting those events it deems too shameful to address. In a small village some 100 miles outside of Seoul, and an unfathomable distance from our collective consciousness, historic amnesia came to a sudden awakening as a number of American veterans of the Korean War, not in the twilight of their years, joined a handful of survivors, who had been shouting into unhearing ears for nearly half of a century, and proclaimed that an unspeakable atrocity had been committed there. Repeatedly, the victims were told by both the U.S. and South Korean government that there was no information in military archives to substantiate their claims. For 50 years, the events at No Gun Ri were a forgotten blotch in history.
After a lifetime of denial and regret, the facts are hazy and blurred. However, one thing not in dispute is that in the chaos and confusion of the early weeks of the “forgotten war,” a small band of young, under-trained American soldiers opened fire on hundreds of refugees who were cowering underneath a small, concrete bridge spanning a small creek. According to witnesses, nearly 300 refugees were gunned down by U.S. soldiers during three blisteringly hot days in July 1950. Another 100 were killed by war planes, making the No Gun Ri incident the second deadliest massacre on civilians committed by the U.S. army, trailing only the My Lai massacre
in Vietnam where nearly 500 civilians lost their lives.
“Bullets ricocheted off the concrete and hit the people like popcorn in a frying pan,” Yang Hae Sook told the Associated Press (AP). She further described how she hid beneath a pile of dead bodies to avoid being shot herself.
Hours after the AP uncovered the story in September, Defense Secretary William Cohen stated that the Pentagon would investigate “any substantive information” about the event. President Clinton added that Cohen “wants to get to the bottom of it.”
The official historic documents of the United States Army paint a discouraging picture. Only four days after landing in Korea, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry was deployed near No Gun Ri, a small village about 100 miles southeast of Seoul to hold the line of retreat for the 1st Cavalry Division. In the early weeks of the war, American forces were driven back hundred of miles and were rapidly losing ground. Only days earlier, the 1st Cavalry Division had issued a command dictating that no refugee were to cross the front line. “Fire at everyone trying to cross lines,” the order stated. According to the veterans, hundreds of civilians, including women and children, hid under the bridge at No Gun Ri seeking protection from U.S. air raids. As U.S. forces near the bridge came under regular enemy attack, they were
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:ordered to kill them all,” Edward Daily, who was a corporal in the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, told “Time Magazine.”
George Preece, then a sergeant, told “Time,” “All of a sudden, machine guns started firing into the crowd of people under the bridge.” “They [the civilians] were hugging the concrete floor, and I could hear screams—of pain and horror—coming from women and children,” Daily added in the “Washington Post.” “No Gun Ri wasn’t an isolated incident, either.”
Other accounts detail how hundreds of Korean refugees were killed on a single day when two bridges in the south were detonated by US. Soldiers to prevent North Korean infiltrators from entering behind the front lines. “It was like slow-motion movie,” Daily told the AP. “All those refugees went right down into the river.” According to the AP, another 300 Korean civilians were killed by U.S. air raids as they took refuge in a storage house at the village of Doonpo, only 60 miles west of Youngchoon.
Citing U.S. veterans, Koreans witnesses, and declassified documents, the AP states that “hundreds of other South Korean refugees were killed by U.S Army troops in mid-1950 as the retreating Americans struggled to defend South Korea invasion.” Once-secret documents founded by AP in declassified military archives show that some troops were ordered to shoot approaching civilians based on suspicions that North Korean infiltrators were hiding among “people in white” to penetrate American front lines, a fact that survivors dispute.
“It was troubling. It truly was,” Alvin Wimer, an F-80 pilot told the AP. “Twice we were directed to strafe these people who were dressed like civilians. Now whether they were [civilians] or not, we have no way of knowing.”
Since the No Gun Ri report was first published by the AP in September, at least 37 incidents of U.S. Army massacre of civilians in Korea have been reported to the South Korean Defense Ministry including attacks on school houses full of children.
“We were ill-prepared to fight that war,” Herman Son of the 35th Squadron told the AP, “not only in terms of equipment and personnel, but we didn’t have a system and communications network to control and coordinate air and group operation.”
“There were no enemies among us,” Chung Ku Hak told the “Washington Post.” That is a lie.”
“I want to ask the U.S. government why,” survivor Hong Won-ki told AP. “It was clear that we were refugees.” According to Hong, U.S. airplanes opened fire on a group of refugees killing both of his parents in the village of Yongin, 30 miles south of Seoul. Survivors from Youngchoon village, 90 miles southeast of Seoul, stated that 300 civilians were killed at a cave where they were taking refuge on Jan. 20, 1951. According to witnesses, four planes dropped incendiary bombs near the cave’s entrance, setting fire to household goods inside. “People yelled and cried for their children,” Cho Bong-won told AP. “People chocked and fell.”
How Can Such a Thing Happen?
According to experts, there was an overall absence of discipline and experience among the U.S. troops in the early phase of the war. “The first U.S. units in Korea were not much more than a mob in uniform,” Bernard Trainor, a military scholar, told Time. “They’d frighten quickly and when they’d come under fire, they’d panic.”
Robert Gary, a former master sergeant with a reconnaissance platoon stressed during a meeting with No Gun Ri survivors that in the confusion of the early weeks of war, breakdowns in command and control “were happening to all of us.” During this confusion, rank and file soldiers were commanded to fire on civilians based on fears of enemy infiltration of the front lines. This set up a scenario of tension and mistrust. Daily told “Newsweek,” “Thousands of refugees were fleeing south… the roads became jammed and impassable. Being surrounded by so many Koreans made us a little jumpy.” Soldiers were constantly nervous that North Korean infiltrators were disguised in the traditional white
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clothing of Korean peasants. Sung Ho Suh told “KoreaAm Journal,” “What I heard was that communist soldiers used to cross over to the South at night by hiding among the refugees. So the Americans would kill a hundred refugees just to get two communists.”
What Now?
On Jan. 9, a 19-member U.S. probe team, including Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, made a four-day trip to Seoul to meet top Korean officials and begin an investigation into the massacre at No Gun Ri. They join the official Korean investigation that began in October. At stake are the demands of the survivors for appropriate compensation for what happened to them under the bridge nearly a lifetime ago. However, more important to the victims is a formal apology for the suffering they endured and years of neglect and denial of their stories. In November, for the first time since the incident 50 years ago, the victims and perpetrators met face-to-face at the Old Stone Church in Cleveland to take the first step toward recovery. Rev. Joan B. Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, read a
confession written by the American veterans. “With heavy hearts, we as American Christians confess our complicity and indifferences to the suffering of the Korean people across these many years,” the statement stated. “We know even our confession cannot address the lifetime denied, the promise extinguished, the pain endured.” Still, reconciliation is a far distance away. Just hours after the symbolic meeting, Gray interrupted a news conference where the survivors were graphically describing the massacre of civilians. “I came to reach an understanding of what happened at No Gun Ri. May I ask what they [the victims] came for?” he was quoted in the “Washington Post.” “My regiment was a proud regiment and they fought like hell, and they don’t need anyone throwing rocks at them.” In response, the Korean victims made it clear that a reconciliation and a true understanding was still only an illusion. They told the “Washington Post” that when the veterans of No Gun Ri and the U.S. government apologize, the “last step would be that the victims forgive them.” After a half of a century of denials and broken promises, this forgives may not come so easily.
May 2006 (VOLUME 33, NO. 9)
The Legacy of War: Unearthing Laotian history, hope and healing By Nhien Nguyen For Laotian-American Channapha Khamvongsa, there have been few opportunities for her to learn about Laos and the circumstances that brought her to America some 30 years ago. Now, as founder and project director of “Legacies of War,” Khamvongsa explores her homeland’s past through raw, stark illustrations
and narratives collected between 1970 and 1971 in the Vientiane refugee camps. These illustrations depicting the stories of survivors of U.S. bombings in Laos will premier in Seattle on May 13, kicking off a seven-city national tour.
Khamvongsa discovered these illustrations only three years ago, after a chance meeting with its keeper for over 25 years, John Cavanagh. While working at the Ford Foundation, she
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discovered that Cavanagh has worked at the Indochina Resource Center in the 1970s. When the office had closed down, Cavanagh came across the illustrations. In spring 2004, John turned over the illustrations to Khamvongsa, with hopes that she would “do something with them.”
The Legacies of War project was born out of the chance meeting, providing Khamvongsa’s life mission. Her organization educates the public about her homeland, namely the continuing impact of the CIA’s secret war in Laos from 1964 to 1973. The project presents startling facts about the war, such as the 80 million anti-personnel cluster bombs that were dropped on Laos during 500,000 U.S. bombing missions.
With one bomb dropped every nine minutes for 10 years, Laos holds the dubious distinction as the most heavily bombed nation per capita in history. Over 2 million tons of ordinance was dropped on Laos—more than the amount used in the entire World War II—representing an average of 1,500 pounds for every person living there during that time period, according to Voice of America news. “How come we didn’t learn about this in history class?” Khamvongsa wonders.
The illustrations, which are part of Legacies of War’s awareness project to be displayed at ArtXchange in Pioneer Square, bring home the emotional reality of the lives affect by the war
The sad part is that the legacy of war continues today, say Khamvongsa. Many of the cluster bombs did not explode on impact. As a result, hundred of Laotians are killed or maimed by unexploded ordnance or UXOs. Today, 35 percent of Laos’ surface area is affected by UXOs, according to Landmine Monitor. “Today, Laotian children, who weren’t even born at the end of the bombings, remain victims of war because they are maimed and killed by unexploded bombs dropped over three decades ago,” said Khamvongsa in a press release. “This inhumane legacy must end.”
Khamvongsa hopes that the exhibit will raise awareness about the cluster bombs, also known as “bombies.” The current reports are astonishing: Two or three Laotians are killed every month and another six or seven are maimed by UXOs, according to USA Today. Since 1973, 5,700 Laotians have been killed and 5,600 injured by UXOs.
The goal of Legacy of War is to raise awareness about the issues related to the unexplored ordinance in Laos and provide a forum for the Laotian community to share their voices and experiences. Khamvongsa believes the project is extremely relevant, in light of the nation’s current war in Iraq. “The project links the story of Laos and its experience of war to a bigger conversation of the legacy of war,” says Khamvongsa.
Cora Edmonds, artistic director of ArtXchange, has been very supportive of the project, as this part of the world is “close to her heart.” Her art gallery, which opens into its brand new space during the premiere of the Lao exhibit, forms partnerships to educate people about where the art comes from and the history and culture of the community.
“It’s more than just an art exhibit,” says Edmonds, who recently returned from a trip to Laos. Edmonds has been impressed by the Laotian community’s response to the issue.
“It shows how much they care about their history and roots,” says Edmonds. Younger Lao Americans, like Seattle’s Sakuna Thongchanh, have embraced the project.
“It’s a chance to explore my history and the reason why my family and I came to the U.S. in this concrete historical way,” says Thongchanh. Though Thongchanh has taken a personal interest in the project by becoming the local lead for the organization, she knows that there is some hesitancy within the Laotian community on dealing with the issue. “[The
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war] has affected people so deeply, they can’t share how they feel.” Talking about the past can be a painful experience. “Some people want peace and they don’t want to talk about it,” says Thongchanh, adding that there are sensitivities with those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. “The younger generation wants to explore the past and move forward” says Thongchanh.
The Legacies of War project, Khamvongsa says, will engage the Laotian community, especially the younger generation, in creating a greater hope for future peace.
ArtXchange Gallery opening and National Premier of the “Legaxies of War” Preview Exhibition takes place Saturday, May 13 from 6:30—10 p.m. Featuring: historic drawings by bombing survivors, Laotian silk weavings and paintings, special guest speakers and Laotian appetizers, music and beverages. The event benefits the national fund-raising campaign to develop a museum exhibition to raise awareness of the Vietnam War-era U.S. bombings in Laos and its harmful effects on local villagers today.
March 2009 (VOLUME 36, NO. 6)
The trade of Asia’s girls By Dori Cahn Asian women are considered a commodity in today’s market. In honor of International Women’s Day, on March 10, we shed light on a very serious epidemic of trade exploiting Asia’s girls. A baby girl, somewhere in Asia. Her family has little money. Without prenatal care or medical help, she barely survives childbirth. Illness and hunger punctuate her childhood; she works for her family, maybe gets a little bit of school. What’s next for her?
Girls and women throughout Asia find education is elusive and jobs are scare, relegating many to find work in the sex industry, as overseas domestics, or in sweatshops.
It is not uncommon for girls in poor families to be sold, both for the money and to lessen the household burden. In her book about forced prostitution in Cambodia, Somaly Mam recounts how her grandfather sold her to a brothel, and her subsequent efforts to help others in the situation she ultimately escaped from. The organization
she founded in Phnom Penh 13 years ago, AFESIP, has opened offices in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand to combat the regional trade in girls. “In Thailand’s brothels,” writes Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, “Thai girls usually work voluntarily, while Burmese and Cambodian girls are imprisoned.” In Cambodia’s worst brothels, he says, “Pimps use violence, humiliation and narcotics to shatter girls’ self-esteem and terrorize them into unquestioning, instantaneous obedience.”
Somaly Mam finds girls as young as 5 and 6 sold to brothels, explaining, “Since we started AFESIP, the brothels have grown larger and more violent. We find women chained to sewers. Girls come to us half beaten to death… these girls suffer a more brutal sort of torture.”
The U.S. State Department pursues international trafficking of women for sex by investigating U.S. citizens involved in trafficking, and monitoring countries with a history of sex trade. But investigators have a hard time distinguishing between illegal migration and forced trafficking, and between trafficking for sexual purpose and forced labor.
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In fact, many advocates argue that labor trafficking is a far worse problem than forced sex work. Throughout Asia, women are recruited for jobs in foreign countries. Once signed up, they have no control over where they go how much they work, or the type of work they do. The bait may be child care in San Francisco, housekeeping in Malaysia, or factory work in Hong Kong; the reality is often much more arduous, and much less lucrative.
The Immigrant Women and Children Project of the Bar Association of New York City says the majority of their clients were trafficked into domestic work, including immigrants brought to work for UN and consular officials. The typical employee “gets paid $50 a month or not at all… working seventeen, eighteen hours a day, catering parties, washing laundry by hand even though there’s a washing machine. They’ve had their documents withheld and their phone calls monitored.”
Most of the publicity and prosecution of forced labor have been for prostitution. Writing in the Nation magazine, Debbie Nathan criticizes this focus as a “morbid fascination with forced prostitution, even though more people may be forced to pick broccoli than to rent out their genitals.”
In some Asian countries, sweatshops offer an alternative, with rare stable jobs for women, who often leave behind their homes and families. Kristof concludes that jobs in Cambodia’s garment sweatshops are among the best in that country: “In the hierarchy of jobs in poor countries, sweltering at a sewing machine isn’t the bottom.”
His critics argue, however, that the problem isn’t factory work itself, but the factories with deplorable conditions, where “recruiters” lure children into illegal factory work, as in a case that erupted in China last summer.
Some women instead turn to international matchmaking to escape poverty, assuming that
marriage to a man who can afford the cost of “consuming” a mail-order bride, which can range from $4,000 to $15,000, is better than toiling in the rice fields, garment factories, or sex shops of Asia.
The unregulated “wife-import” business draws women mostly from poor countries like Vietnam and the Philippines. Some companies even advertise minors to their clients, says the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association.
But many brides find themselves in servitude to their husbands. In the U.S., a woman can only get permanent residency after two years of marriage, tying her to her husband and making her vulnerable to abuse. In 1994, in a stunning act of violence against his imported bride, Timothy Blackwell shot his abused Filipina wife Susanna to death outside the Seattle courtroom where her divorce petition was being heard. What alternatives?
Educating vulnerable girls is the best hope for ending poverty and abuse, says the Girl Effect, an organization working to improve opportunities for girls throughout the Third World.
Girls and young women ages 10 to 41 comprise over one-quarter of the population in Asia. And when girls and women earn an income, they reinvest more of it into their families than men, says The Girl Effect; every additional year of secondary school increases their income by 15-25 percent. NGO’s and governments are finding when women invest in their communities, rates of malnutrition hunger, disease, infant mortality and HIV/AIDS can be reduced, and economic growth improved. Microlenders report an exceptional rate of repayment among women’s businesses, and measure the return on their investments in improvement to the community.
Maybe that baby girl can grow up with more choices.
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Kenny Endo at Bumbershoot, 1991. Taiko artist Endo trained as a jazz musician before mastering the Japanese drumming art. Photo by Dean Wong
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April 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 7)
State of the art
‘People have a gift of looking, but not everybody has the gift of seeing’ By Ken Mochizuki The bark of a fallen tree looms like mountain ranges and bottomless canyons, with a bridge crossing one foreboding crevasse. A green and orange-spotted field resembles a Martian landscape. Yet, it is something natural, found in the Northwest. But what?
Fallen maple leaves weave a colorful mosaic, laced, with a silky sheen of frost. Glossy, pitch-black furrows and mounds appear to be a close-up of a crinkled leather jacket. But not with ferns poking through. Welcome to the world of photographer Joshel Namkung.
“People have the gift of looking,” Namkung said, “but not everybody has the gift of seeing.”
Namkung, one of the premiere nature photographers in the Northwest, will have an exhibit of his work from 1980 to 1986 at the Foster/White Gallery in Pioneer Square. One hundred photos and mural-sized prints will be displayed, including “50 Vignettes of King County Parks,” a series of photos shot at approximately 80 parks in King County and commissioned by the King County Arts Commission.
Born in Korea in 1919, Namkung left for Tokyo at age 17 to study music at the Tokyo Conservatory of Music. He later sang professionally, specializing in German lieder. After World War II, Namkung arrived in Seattle and planned on proceeding to Europe to continue his singing career. He ended up staying and assumed graduate studies
in singing at the University of Washington, taught Japanese in the school’s Far Eastern Department, and later served as a language specialist for Northwest Orient Airlines. Realizing he could not earn a living as a singer, he took up photography in 1957. Namkung’s first mentor was Chaochen Yang, whom he considered the “dean of photographers’ in Seattle. Namkung supported himself as a medical photographer at the University of Washington, where he shot for scientific publications, displays and specialized in electron microscopy. Throughout this period, Namkung consistently refused to commercialize the art of photography. “It’s an oriental philosophy that has been on the back of the minds for centuries,” he said. “Commercial photography belongs to the lowest strata of society because the intellectual class looked down on commercialism.”
Namkung retired from active duties at University of Washington in 1981, but remains a consultant and devotes full-time to photography. His photographic subjects are exclusively found in what he calls “the beauty in the natural world.”
Since his early apprenticeship with Chaochen Yang, Namkung has always worked with color photography. He said public demand usually favors color over black and white, and that black and white is “much more esoteric.”
“If all the hues of nature are tuned into black and white, that’s abstract,” Namkung said. “It’s easier for people to see all the natural colors. The pitfall of most photographers is that they photograph too many colors that
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end up clashing. My style is monochromatic with just a hint of counterbalancing colors.”
Sometimes I wait for hours for one shot.”
“There has to be communication between what’s out there and what you see as beauty. There is a flow of energy that forms a balance which leads to a certain tension within the picture. Try to find the life of things. If you are truthful with the thing in the photo, then the audience will respond.”
“Music not only produces sound, but also conveys human feeling that has to trigger other emotions and experiences,” he said. “The same with photography. If there is no imagination or suggestion, then it is like reading a newspaper.”
“Be open-minded,” he said. “The subject itself gives the harmony and structural arrangement—most people would call that composition.
Namkung said he finds his subjects “in the very mundane that most people overlook and step on.” For him, a clump of grass examined close-up, could have “unlimited beauty.”
“Sometimes there is that pleasing arrangement of things that triggers other sensations,” he said. “A waterfall can create a musical sound effect. Some subjects trigger sensations of smell or tactile feelings.”
His previous training in music influences his approach. He explained that before taking a photograph, he painstakingly prepares like in a stage rehearsal, then takes the photo in one shot like in a live performance where there are no retakes. Namkung considers the wind his major nemesis because he “doesn’t do photographs of things that move.” He knows that the wind will stop at some point, and the moment everything is still, he presses the shutter button. “Any important element of my pictures should be very sharp—that is my hallmark,” Namkung said. “I have infinite patience.
Since early childhood, Namkung has always maintained a dual interest in the visual and performing arts. For his style of photography he feels his earlier musical career and his present craft are “inseparable.
Namkung’s favorite locations are the Olympic Peninsula and Eastern Washington. He described one excursion through the North Cascade Highway in October. The tourists “who take the calendar and postcard pictures” were gone. He drove past a meadow that was a uniform color. Namkung stopped and walked through. He found blades of grass turning different colors and lichens growing in intriguing formations—material that provide an abundance of possibilities for his close-up photographic style. “There is a world of unlimited beauty that can be found while on your knees,” he said.
Namkung’s exhibit at the Foster/White Gallery will run from April 3 to 27. He uses a Mamiya RZ67 camera for the series on the King county parks, a Sinar 4x5 Viewcamera for the larger prints, and a Sinar 8x10 Viewcamera for the murals. Namkung’s show will be displayed in conjunction with an exhibit of metal sculpture by Seattle artist Gerard Tsutakawa. His collection of works is titled, “Orikane” or “folded metal.”
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June 1986 (VOLUME 13, NO. 12)
East looks West: Four Asian American Modernists By Matthew Kangas Modern art is here to stay. (The new schools of art) are a result of the complicated age in which we live. I hope people will come to understand new art.
—George Tsutakawa, 1950
Much has been written about the influence of Asian art tractions on non-Asian artists of the Pacific Northwest. This list is long: Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, and Guy Irving Anderson were the earliest. After World War II, they were joined by others like Leo Kenney, Robert Sperry, Hilda Morris, John-Franklin Koenig and Richard Kirsten. By the 1960s and 1970s, they were younger non-Asian practitioners who admitted debts to Japanese and Chinese styles: Charles Stokes, Charles Krafft, and Ralph Aeschliman, to name a few.
Little has been written about the reverse: those Asian American artists who were influencd by Western European art, chiefly Modern Art, or Modernist Art (as it is now called). The list is surprisimgly long, too: Andrew Chinn, Takuichi Fujii, Shiro Miyazaki, Kamekichi Tokita, John Matsudaira and Frank Okada.
Four other Seattle artist of Asian descent—Fay Chong (1912-1973), Paul Horiuchi (1906 - ), Kenjiro Nomura (18761956), and George Tsutakawa (1910-), are the subjects of this brief essay about the other
side to the art of the Pacific Northwest— how it came about that Seattle’s visual arts culture synthesized two strong world-class traditions, classical Japanese and Chinese art, with that of a younger civilization: 20th Century French and European Modernism.
Today, many critics argue that Modernist Art is dead, that is, that the great avant-garde art movement of the early 20thCentury—Cubism, Purism, NeoPlasticism, Constructivism—were played out by 1970 (at the latest) and that the time has come to reevaluate and reappraise the art of the Modernist period. What has replaced Modern Art? A coalition or hodge-podge of annually changing styles that owe more to mass media or pop cultures as inspirations that to art history. They are all clumped together under the term Pluralism or Post-Modern Art.
The Asian American Modernists of Seattle were responsible for securing Seattle’s links to the centers of 20th Century art, primarily Paris. Though their backgrounds of national heritage and art training differed greatly, Chong, Horiuchi, Nomura and Tsutakawa each paid tributes in their art, their writing and in their public statements to the new West European heritage of Modernist Art that was shaping 20th Century visual arts/ culture. If Modernism was an international movement, they were among the first artists anywhere to suggest how flexible and adaptable a style it could be.
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Kenjiro Nomura, “Street,” oil, 1932
Its chief characteristics—flattened pictorial space, abstracted and simplified forms, and an equal respect for all artistic undertakings from painting to graphic design and architecture—left their mark to the Seattle Modernists at work in Seattle, such as Walter F. Isaacs and Ambrose Patterson at the University of Washington School of Art, for example, that their mature styles developed one by one. Over a 40-year period, each artists discovered the precise alchemy for creating his version of the International Style. Together, their achievements comprise a
rarely appreciate chapter in both the art history of our region, and in that our nation.
Nomura, born in Gifuken, Japan, shared a sign painting business (No-To Sign Co.) before World War II with Tokita and was hailed by the late critic and painter Kenneth Callahan in The Town Crier (1930) as “undoubtedly the leader of the Japanese painters here.”
Three years later, Callahan reviewed the first Seattle Art Museum exhibit of a living Japanese artist, Nomura, proclaiming “Cezanne is a great master to him, “ and that “his art is essentially American and
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his own.” Callahan went to great pains to clarify the Modernists qualifies of Nomura’s street scenes arguing that the “dingy drabness” of old houses and streets of Profanity Hill “are not intriguing to him as ‘cute, quaint old shacks,’ but simply as parts of their essential character.” He went on further to say, “The details of mass, form, and color become part of the painting.” The transformation of social-realist subject matter into an aesthetic totality dependent upon formal unity was Normura’s most important achievement as a Seattle Modernist and it is highly significant that, by 1946, after the regrettable experience of the internment camps, he completely renounced conventional representational art and turned wholeheartedly to “nonfigurative” art with “dynamic linear rythms in reds and oranges with accents of white,” as a Seattle Art Museum commentator later described his art.
It is interesting to compare Nomura’s 1932 Street (Seattle Art Museum) to his 1955 Fishing Fleet. The direct frontality and two-dimensionality of the Depression Era picture still epitomizes the flat surfaces and strong forms favored by French master Paul Cezanne. The fishermen’s terminal scene, painted a year before his death and illustrated in the Seattle Art Museum 1960 retrospective catalog, bursts forth with brilliantly intersecting diagonal white lines which break up the space and create a shimmering, spatially uncertain set of planes.
The invitation to exhibit at the famed Sao Paulo Biennal in Brazil during the final year of his life in 1956 capped a lifetime of interrupted achievements and the gradual but decisive development of his own Modernist style.
Fay Chong was recently discussed at length in William Cumming’s memoir, Sketchbook (U.W. Press, 1984) and critic Mayumi Tsutakawa’s book Turning Shadows Into Light (1982) described him as having a style that was a “blend of East and West. He often used Chinese and Japanese rice paper, ink stick and brushes with American watercolors.”
It is not his cross-cultural art media that concern me but rather the manner in which his works become more and more abstract. Chong was, as critic Anne G. Todd of The Seattle Times puts it, “an Oriental Feininger,” referring to the German colleague of Paul Klee. Both captured the frail tenuousness of urban structures, and in typical Modernist fashion, Chong “submerged everything but the essentials.” Shying away from social realism, he articulated the Modernist point of view clearly: “A mere recording of a landscape is not my objective. My aim is to try to capture a scene as I see it—within a rectangular piece of rice paper rearranging its forms within that given space. “ The critics are not always so kind to Chong though Tom Robbins conceded his “romantic orientalizations of the Seattle cityscape are straight-forwardly charming.”
More to the point, his mature work of the late 1950s and early 60s deserves a longer look. Roslyn (1956) and Northwest (1959, Bellevue Art Museum collection) present transparent groups of house rooftops against a pale horizon and mix and exquisitely delicate watercolor application with intersecting diagonals strongly reminiscent of Nomura’s comparable development during the same period. As the 1976 Bellevue Art Museum retrospective demonstrated, Chong’s work
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as a naval draftsman in 1945 left him with an assured line that eventually predominated over any solid forms and imparted a dynamic linear rhythm that activate the pictorial space and operated completely within the confines of the “rectangular piece of rice paper.” His woodcuts of the late ‘30s (recently exhibited at Carolyn Staley—Fine Prints) better demonstrate his ability to compress volumetric forms and create condensed dark-and-light contrasts. Horiuchi, born in Kawaguchi Ko, Yamanashiken, Japan, is a Cubist manqué. Like French master Henri Matisse, who turned exclusively to cut-paper collage in the last decade of his life, Horiuchi has enlarged the scale of his work, brightened the palette, and use simple formal elements to both accentuate the flatness of the picture plane and to emphasize the shallow ambiguous space of early Cubist collages. Reviving a Heian Dynasty technique from te 12th Century, Horiuchi progressed from 30 years of oil painting to the sublime collages and screens of the last 20 years. Still going strong, Horiuchi’s work attracted great attention at the time of his two New York shows (1963,1964) at the Nordness Galleries. Herald-Tribune critic John Gruen commented on his “collages of great delicacy and beauty so sensitively manipulated as to render each layer nearly transparent (and) exquisitely suspended in an aura of palest lyricism.” By 1968, however, Horiuchi seemed to be stalled, repeating himself as critic Tim Robbins pointed out in Seattle Magazine: “In his attempts to be poetically restful, he frequently deprives his paintings of vitality to the point where they fall numbly asleep. “Nevertheless, Robbins had earlier granted Horiuchi credit for having taken “a rather
gimmicky structural hybrid form and reunited it solidly with the more direct and basic act of painting.”
If anything, Horiuchi is now more Cubist than ever. The way that he treats “surface and the composition of various planes” (R.M.Campbell) led to the expansive delicacy of the recent large canvases shown at Gordon Woodside/John Braseth Gallery.
It turns out the more Horiuchi simplifies his vertical forms, the more sophisticated— and Modern—a colorist he becomes. Greens and purples, blues and browns, reds and yellows are all united or balanced by charcoal and chalk lines (Reconstruction -1, 1984.)
If Chong was an “Orietnal Feininger,” Horiuchi is the Asian Matisse. Horiuchi’s move to cut-paper collage and his increase in scale moved him away form the incorporation of calligraphy of his earliest work (Matsuri) to the interlocking Cubist planes of Suggestion of Red (1985) and Separation in Blue (1985), both of which are over six feet long. He has steadily refined the abrupt and frontal pictorial activity of the first collages into the more ambiguous “floating, indefinite world of stellar space” Callahan so admired in 1958. Recipient of many awards and exhibitions here and abroad, Horiuchi also executed the popular Seattle Mural in glass mosaic near the Space Needle. In 1976, he was named a Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class by Japanese Emperor Hirohito. His position as an intermediary between classical Heian Dynasty art and a Modernist convention, Cubist collage, is but one aspect of this artist’s importance, but worth mentioning in any discussion of Seattle Modernism.
The most highly educated of the four, George Tsutakawa (Professor Emeritus,
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University of Washington), came in direct contact with European Constructivist master Aleksandr Archipenko during this two legendary 1936 and 1946 stays in Seattle. Constructivism preached a machine aesthetic of sorts which elevated technology to a hallowed subject matter of its own. Ironically, Archipenko’s own work softened the movement’s harsh shapes and discouraged imitation.
Tsutakawa’s subsequent paintings, however, (Rescue Series, 1951-52) extrapolated the Constructivist technologyas-subject convention into abstracted hydroelectric power lines drawn from the artist’s sketching trips around Moses Lake and Grand Coulee Dam. Descent, 1952, also ranks high as a Constructo-Cubist painting with its shifting planes and essentially twodimensional image. Thirty six years after Tsutakawa’s plea to the public to accept “the new art,” his bronze fountains have probably done more than any other local artist’s work to make Modernists art familiar and acceptable. Though most are based on a stackedvolume form derived from Tibetan wayside shrines, (Obos series) and were the subject of a recent Seattle Art Museum exhibition, the artist gave equal credit to the teachings of Archipenko and Pual Bonifas, another UW instructor connected to the French engineer and Purist painter, Amedee
Ozenfant, whom Tsutakawa also met in Seattle. According to their student, “Bonifas stressed the interrelations of all art forms. I began to think of poetry, music, and art, all as one so, when I started to do fountains, I felt the same thing: the sound, the bronze and the water were all one. In that sense, I owe a great deal to Bonifas and his Bauhaus, or Modernist approach.”
Unlike Horiuchi, Tsutakawa seems to have renounced Modernist abstraction late in life in favor of sumi landscapes. His paintings of the late ‘40s and ‘50s, however, comprise a sequence closest of all in roots and expression to the European Modernists. It may be that, in returning to representation, Tsutakawa has come full circle as an artist and entered the PostModern era. As such, he stands as a bridge across two important art-historical periods, Modern and Post-Modern.
It is as a Seattle Modernist painter and sculptor that he will be revered and remembered, in my opinion. The winds of Asian art traditions fleeted across his and others’ art, bit it was he who openly and eloquently demonstrated how nonobjective art could reach a broader American art audience and still retain its link to the severity and formal restraints of this century’s predominant artistic movement.
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Arts March 1987 (VOLUME 14, NO. 6)
Artist Val Laigo ‘To paint involves a commitment’ By Ken Mochizuki From the outside, Val Laigo’s house in south Beacon Hill looks like an artist’s home. It is painted in horizontal stripes of light tan, blue, red, maroon, green—“all the colors in the Sears catalog,” he said. A little Citroen sports car sits in the driveway, with an oxygen tank sitting upright in the backseat. A sign attached to the front door advises visitors that pure oxygen is being used inside.
Val Laigo looks thin and frail. Two years ago, his weight dropped from 140 pounds to 108—when a bacterium lodged in his brain that almost took his life. Since then, he’s only gained back two pounds.
But healthy enthusiasm still beams from his eyes as he talks about his life and art. He has been an ardent advocate for Northwest arts and artists, serving on the King county Arts Commission and Washington State Arts Commission. He angrily recalls an incident in the ‘50s, when one of the few showcases of local artists, Seattle Art Museum’s ‘Northwest Annual’ was terminated by a new museum director who called the exhibit “second-rate.” Laigo remembers him as “some east Coast guy—a jerk.” I have always fought against these people who put Seattle down,” he said.
As for his own major works, Laigo mentions a painting, “Dilemma of the Atom,” that became the cover for an RCA record album. He also lists his mural that dominates the walls of Seattle University’s A.A. Lemieux Library and a sculpture at Jose Rizal park, titled “East is West.” “East is West” is a three-paneled concrete and steel-reinforced artwork overlooking Elliott
Bay and the Seattle skyline. The concrete slabs are covered with multi-colored tile and glass. Holes shaped into crescent moons, stars, and flowers look like they were created by the artist with a giant cookie cutter.
“You know the saying, ‘East is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet?” Laigo asked. “The twain have met and they met in Seattle.”
Laigo’s home is his gallery and the collection of work seems endless. Just when a visitor might think there are no more rooms filled with paintings, Laigo proceeds further down the hall and shows more. Anti-war themes figure strongly in his work. One piece features a toy Thompson submachine gun and vanity mirror glued to the canvas. Laigo explains that this was his statement against the Vietnam War. “Look into the mirror,” he said. “We were all in that war.”
Laigo intended to draw a military tank as part of “The Flower.” When he started painting it, an exploded mass of blood and guts materialized instead.A young boy in a lower corner of the picture gazes longingly at a flower in an upper corner. The carnage lies in-between.
“Dilemma of the Atom” drawn in the early ‘50s, expresses his concern over the atomic age. One abstract rocket ship launches upward to explore, another plummets toward earth in destruction. “I paint like I talk,” Laigo said. “It’s endless.”
His self-described endless talk is a deep and intricate treasure chest of information about Seattle during the 40s and 50s. And, after teaching at Seattle University for 20 years, he can
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also give ingratiating mini-lessons on the history of art. His old Japanese American childhood friends have Anglicized first names now, but he remembers them by their original Japanese names. At age 57, he can also recount exact dates, situations and places in his life, including the afternoon two years ago when he lay critically close to death in a hospital bed and the doctors told his wife to “call Bonney-Watson.” Laigo was born at Naguilian, La Union in the Philippines with a congenital heart condition later diagnosed as Eisenmenger’s Complex—two holes in the ventricles of his heart that mixed the bad blood with the good, making him a “blue baby”. Laigo speculates that he might have received his heart condition because his mother was constantly sick on the long boat ride from America to the Philippines. Doctors said he wouldn’t last past his 12th birthday. When he approached his 15th, doctors said he wouldn’t last past that age. Now, Laigo feels he must hold the record for a person with Eisenmenger’s Complex. Laigo grew up in Seattle’s Central Area, around Jefferson and Madison Street. Recovering from an appendectomy when he was six, Laigo remembers “how sensuous it was to color with crayons.” Laigo was encouraged to continue developing his talent for drawing at Maryknoll School.
In the years preceeding World War II, Laigo remembers, the student body of Maryknoll was 98 percent Japanese and two percent Filipino. He remembers his Japanese friends saving foil gum wrappers, which they would send to Japan to contribute to the war effort against Manchuria. Meanwhile, Laigo worked at his aunt’s and uncle’s farms in Auburn and Kent. He also worked as a dishwasher, busboy and salad-maker at the exclusive Rainier Club. With the onset of World War II, Laigo, 11, washed dishes and earned $64 a month. He was “so small, they had to put me on a stand,” he said. “Everybody else was off to war.”
In 1942, Laigo lost all his friends when the Japanese were evacuated from the West
Coast. He recalls wearing a badge that read “I am Filipino.” After the evacuation depleted Maryknoll of most of its students, it closed down. Laigo was sent to Immaculate Conception where he felt he wasn’t welcome. He came from a school with mostly Japanese and Filipino students, then entered on that was practically all white. But he was still encouraged to draw and he possessed what he calls a photographic memory. While the class said prayers, Laigo would glance at a copy of a test lying on his desk and memorize it. The nuns at Immaculate Conception said Laigo spoke with an accent. They made him read word by word. He struggled through high school, reading less than 250 words a minute. Laigo always enjoyed athletics, but with his heart condition, he would breathe heavily, slow down, then have to stop. While attending O’Dea High School, he became a coach instead and led the Immaculate Conception Grade School Team to city championship. In the mid 40s and 50s, Laigo attended school dances which featured a band with a young trumpet player named Quincy Jones. Laigo wanted to be a singer, but “in those days, a Filipino singer who couldn’t read music wasn’t gonna make it,” he said.
Laigo attended Seattle University, and later taught arts, crafts and history at Puget Sound Junior High School and Evergreen High School in the Highline School District. He claims to have been the first Filipino American school teacher in the state of Washington. During college, he discovered and cultivated his affinity for Mexican art.
The Philippines and Mexico were colonized by Spain, Laigo explained, which imposed its culture on both countries. There was a regular Spanish shipping route between Acapulco and Manila.
“Filipino art is similar to Mexican art,” Laigo said. “The food is also similar. Subconsciously and subliminally, I have picked up the rhythms and music of Spain. I loved Spanish art.
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By 1951, Laigo admitted he was “hung up on art.” He displayed his paintings at the Seattle Art Museum through “Northwest Annual.” Zoe Dussane, an art dealer who also sold the works of Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan, Paul Horiuchi and Morris Graves, and whom Laigo credits for having introduced modern art to Seattle, remarked that the colors in Laigo’s paintings were ”very Spanish.”
master’s program at Mexico City College. There, he met his wife, Austreberta, married and honeymooned in Acapulco. That same summer, he staged a one-man show. His heart became lazy at sea level, he said. The schools was located on a mountain, 8,000 feet above sea level.
“Dilemma of the Atom” was on display in New York City. Record executives at RCA saw the drawing and wanted it for the cover of an album by the Chicago Symphony and jazz artist Sauter Finnegean, called “Concerto for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz band.” Years later, Laigo recalls when he and his mother sat alone in his bedroom, listening to that record with his painting on the cover. His mother said to him, “This is the first time I ever understood your art.”
Still unable to halt the bleeding, the doctors told his wife, “If you don’t get him out of here, he’s gonna die. Get him to sea level.” Laigo and his wife flew back to Seattle with only one painting out of his entire one-man show. After convalescing, Laigo entered the master’s program ‘at the University of Washington in 1958. His first son, Rene, was born that year. Just short of completing his master’s at Mexico City College, the university ruled that his credits were non-transferable, so he had to take the two-year program all over again. He landed a teaching position at the Creative Activities Center, a privately-funded arts school for children, and later, a friend got him a job as art director for the Boeing Scientific Research Laboralories.
Around this time, Laigo attended gatherings held by Artist’s Equity, an artist’s consortium that included Horiuchi and George Tsutakawa. He began a phase in which he became a young kid rebelling “against classicism,” he said. He also remembers his mother telling him that his painting was “getting worse and worse.”
“My mother, not knowing why she liked it academically, intuitively thought it was valid,” said Laigo. He compares classical art to painting a still hand. Abstract art is painting and capturing the dynamics of the moving hand, he said. “I used to think Picasso was lousy—the guy couldn’t draw,” he said. “But within two years, I was painting like him. My mother accepted it because she saw the color, balance of color, harmony and the abstract balance. She compared my drawing to music, which is a sound in a given span of time. You’re not listening for chickens and seagulls to tell you a story, you’re listening to music and not looking for an object. My mother accepted where I was going, even thought she could not see the sanity in it at the time. “ Interested in Mexican murals, Laigo left for Mexico in 1956 and enrolled in the
Laigo returned to school that fall and remembers one day when sat in his drawing class. Blood began seeping from his nose, then out of his mouth. He couldn’t stop the bleeding. A fellow student who owns a car drove him down to Mexico City. Doctors injected Laigo with Vitamin K to help coagulate the blood. “It burned like hell when they put it into your veins” he said.
In 1961, Laigo’s second son, Adrian, was born. In 1964, he finished his master’s thesis, which consisted of 35 paintings. That same year, he began teaching art at Seattle University and began work on the library mural at the same school.
In October, 1985, Laigo returned home from work to prepare his lunch. He passed out and woke up on the kitchen floor three hours later. Only thinking that he was late to pick up his wife, he got into his car and blacked out again while the car remained parked in the driveway. When he resumed consciousness, he realized he was riding in a Medic One ambulance with
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a medic slapping his face and asking, “What’s your name?” Surgeons traced his blackouts to a circulatory malfunction somewhere in the brain. They injected Laigo with CAT scan dye to trace his blood flow by X-ray. His body reacted violently, leading to a complete collapse of his kidney and liver functions. The doctors advised his wife to consider funeral arrangements. But Laigo pulled through and later learned that a bacterium had entered into his brain and multiplied. The reason, physicians thought, was that germs had entered through his gums during dental work.
During the recovery phase, Laigo described himself as “a kid with no hangups,” where he would laugh and cry easily and speak about embarrassing subjects “without a conscience,” he said. His believes this was caused by an imbalance in his blood. “I virtually died,” he said. “But I came out singing songs, saying things and was very lucid without realizing it. My mind was clearer than it ever was.” But following his brush with death, his writing was like “chicken scratches.” “My mind and hand were not connected,” he said.
Now, Laigo is trying to paint again. “I have the desire to paint, but I lack mental strength,” he said. When he did a painting for his nephew, it took him two days to complete it. A project like that used to take two hours. Laigo has quit going to physical therapy, because, with his heart condition, physical exercise takes too much out of him. “But I’m not worried,” he said. “I can always paint smaller pictures.” Laigo now realizes that his previously dark and moody paintings “began to show my illness,” he said, and he intends to refine those works. To begin painting again, he remembers the advice of his old friend and colleague, Paul Horiuchi. “Art is very difftcult - you never know what to do next,” Horiuchi told him. “When I have a problem, I paint the problem, and paint and paint until I break through.”
Laigo claims that the advice has worked for him before, so it should work again.”To paint involves a commitment, and the rest of me was not committed,” he said. “But I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I’m looking forward to painting again. “If nothing else, I want to polish up my act—find myself technically and artistically again. Maybe I’ll find out something else about myself:’
June 1989 (VOLUME 16, NO. 12)
George Tsutakawa: ‘I look forward to many more productive years’ By George Tsutakawa The following essay was developed for a catalog of an international sculpture exhibit to be held in Sendai, Japan this summer. George Tsutakawa is the only American artist in the exhibit.
Fountains have been essential to communities ever since man became aware of the importance of water to life. Water is the main ingredient in the atmosphere which surrounds the earth. The movement and transformation of moisture from the earth up into the atmosphere and the changes from solid to liquid to vapor: from
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ice to sleet, rain to mist and fog influence the atmosphere where humankind has to live. This is one reason why I am concerned with fountains. There are fountains all over the world; one can see that water has taken on a symbolic quality for all civilizations. In many civilizations, water symbolizes the purifying, the cleansing, the offering of life. In Japan, people cleanse themselves before entering temples for a spiritual experience.
There are many forms of fountains. The reflecting pool of the Taj Mahal shows one method of using water to glorify architecture. The Romans used water in aqueducts and reservoirs and pools. They then developed the technology to create fountains with water shooting at statues and from the mouths of statues in order to add drama to the human or animal form. The Moorish style developed in Spain was to create a spray of water without sculpture. The inspiration for my first fountains was found in OBOS, the Tibetan practice of piling rocks at spiritually important sites on Himalayan mountain paths. This endeavor to create verticality, to reach for the heavens, impressed me as an essential aspect of the spirit of mankind.
I have completed over 60 bronze fountain sculptures, most of which have been inspired by nature. Where I live, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, features a wonderful natural environment. There, we are close to both mountains and water. The bodies of water are salt water harbors and large fresh water lakes, rivers and streams. I am also inspired by the rocks and geologic formations created by volcanoes and glaciers eons ago. The ubiquitous rain and cloudy weather make for a lush green landscape. But at the same time, the natural light is clean and bright, allowing for colors and forms to be vibrant with life. I like to emphasize the movement, the rhythm, color and sound of water. I like to
form it into sheets and sprays and cascades and droplets. All of this combines with the basic physicality of the sculpture which underlies my personal artistic statement. Most of my fountains are in public places. I study the location, the surrounding park, streets, trees, gardens and the way people move in the area. It is important for me to visualize how people will be interacting with my fountains in their daily lives. Each fountain is designed specifically for the site.
I cannot deny the Japanese sense of aesthetics which has had a great influence over my art work. As a small boy, I grew up in the Fukuyama area with my grandparents who taught me the traditional Japanese skills of painting, calligraphy and tea ceremony, Later, when I returned to the United States and was training as an artist in the Western skills of oils, block prints and so on, I was fortunate to have contact with the great painters Morris Graves in Seattle. They were deeply involved in the study of Zen philosophy and sumi painting and other arts of Japan. I learned from them an appreciation for Japanese art and philosophy.
I have in more recent years, have been concentrating on the use of sumi painting as a medium for expression as a contrast with my metal sculptures. I enjoy the spontaneity and portability of the sumi and like to sketch while traveling with my family in the great Northwest. I feel I’ve been fortunate to have been able to make my home in the Northwest and to have held a university teaching position which allowed me flexibility to create my own art work and to be with my family. I have many projects and commissions in progress, which I am completing with my son, Gerard, also a sculptor. I look forward to many more productive years. A retrospective exhibition of the life and art of George Tsutakawa will be held in the fall of 1990 at the Bellevue Art Museum.
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April 1990 (VOLUME 17, NO. 8)
Fay Chong: ‘I am more articulate with the brush than with the pen’ By Alan Lau Chinese American artist Fay Chong was born in Quandong, China in 1912. He came to Seattle in 1920 and attended Broadway High School from 1928-32. It was here, under the encouragement of an exceptional teacher, Hannah Jones, that he and classmates George Tsutakawa and Morris Graves began their early interest in art. Jones introduced them to printmaking and many of her students’ works were submitted and shown in competitions. During the ‘30s, Chong as part of an informal group of artists that included Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan and Ambrose Patterson. They would meet for discussions and get together. In the early ’40s, he started the Chinese Art Club at 8th and Jackson with other Chinese American artists such as Andrew Chin, Howard Eng, Yippe Eng, and Larry Chinn.
As Larry relates, “We used to play tennis together and we wanted a place we could get together to do our art.” The Chinese Art Club had live model sessions, monthly exhibitions and also served as a clubhouse for others to study or paint. Other artists such as Guy Anderson, Morris Graves, Mark Tobey and William Cumming would drop by to visit and sketch.
Chong was introduced to the WPA Project by Graves and from 1938 to ‘42, did an impressive series of lino-cuts on working scenes around the NW. Of this time he says, “We used to go to the south end of town, villages of unemployed people- Hoovervilles and make friends with people as we sketched.” He also took some lessons from Mark Tobey in the late ‘30s.
“Mt. Si, 1971—Watercolor and Chinese ink by Fay Chong. • Scanned image from IE archive
Of his technique he said, “I was trying to maintain some Oriental background with the local environment, using the rice paper and Chinese ink, and most of my images at that time were ... lines like wires, telephone poles, and TV antennas and so on. I feel that the Orientals stress so much on strength or energy in their work, and the strokes and lines could give it energy more than a wash painting ... “
It isn’t clear when he began to take up the Chinese brush. It could have been after his studies with calligraphy in China or through the influence of his friend Andrew Chin. As Chin describes it, “When I knew Fay, he was mostly doing prints. I think I introduced him to brush painting.” During the war, he worked as a draftsman and afterwards he was primarily an art teacher at places like Edison Technical School, YMCA and Lake Washington School District in Kirkland. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Art Education at U.W. and had a number of shows on the West Coast and New York. Along with his wife Priscilla (a fabric artist), he continued to demonstrate his watercolor painting techniques at arts and crafts fairs.
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It was Chong’s friendly personality and openness that enabled him to create his own styled based on Eastern tradition and Western watercolor techniques. As Chin explained, “I am more traditional in my art but Fay was more American in that he was always open to contemporary things.” As Chong would say in a catalog for a show he had in the 1960s at Francine Seders Gallery,
“As for me, I am not trying to translate in my language of painting the oriental heritage, the essence from the traditional past. I am more articulate with the brush than with the pen. Simplicity and energy are my destination.” Fay Chong died of a heart attack in 1973 but his art lives on.
March 2004 (VOLUME 31, NO. 6)
Shimomura redefines America through ‘Stereotypes and Admonitions’ By Sian Wu Former Seattle native Roger Shimomura recently divulged his tendency to hoard small objects. The artist made this confession to an impressively large crowd at the Greg Kucera Gallery earlier this month. Shimomura gave a brief chronology of the various items he has accumulated during his 60 years living in the United States.
He started collecting comic books, and then polished bottle caps, bubble gum wrappers, James Dean memorabilia, jazz records, vintage ads, decoder rings and antique toys. As a child, he was a Japanese American internee at Idaho’s Camp Minidoka in 1942. Among other things, that experience affected his object collection, he has acquired old propaganda postcards, internment memorabilia, government pamphlets from that time, and pre-1950 novels about the internment. As he recounted his list, it became clear he uses the images he stores in both his memory and in boxes to convey powerful messages in his new show “Stereotypes and Admonitions,” on view at the Greg Kucera Gallery through March 27.
These objects flood his home in Lawrence, Kansas, where he is in his last year teaching at the University of Kansas. The objects feed the abundant stream of artwork that uses old, stereotypical images to make audiences rethink issues of race, identity and society. Objects like the “Kung Fool Halloween mask, “ he explained, hold a certain power to them—it is the energy of protest among the affected communities that interests him, as a fascinating facet of the human condition. Shimomura’s new collection of paintings is an amalgamation of the idealistic misrepresentation of American life in Archie comics, traditional geisha and samurai characters in ukiyo-e wood block prints, and World War Two racist, antiJapanese propaganda.
He said he mainly seeks to work with two stereotypical images: the evil, monstrous, bomb-dropping, invading foreigners, and the romanticized, traditional kimono wearing geisha or samurai. Both are seen as perpetual foreigners, albeit the former is definitely the harsher of the two stereotypes. Although Shimomura uses a bit of traditional Japanese paintings in his palette, he admitted it was very likely that a lot of people in attendance at the Kucera gathering knew more
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about nanga paiting than he did. However, no one can dispute his expert skill at reproducing the classic comic book characters that pervaded his American childhood, or his ability to paint racist imagery with just as much force as when the pictures were used to visually assault Asian communities in American for generations. Shimomura’s paintings are shocking to Asian Americans who believe the images of the buck-toothed, slant-eyed, catfish mustachioed Chinaman were dead and gone, and some have criticized him for his artistic revival of the racists imagery.
The artist not only reminds us that these images are still being used (as with his paintings of Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts, and the popular Internet cartoon, Mr. Wong), but forces Asians to come to terms with how they were perceived by Americans during its long ugly history of xenophobia, its inheritance of prejudice and cultural ignorance still being manifested today. Shimomura points out he brings up issues often suppressed by Asian American populations, but turns non-issues into issues for white Americans, who may not have been exposed to racial incidents such as those illustrated in the show. In Shimomura’s depictions of Americans, he presents a stereotype that is just as idealized and false, which begs the question, how are these misrepresentations different? “West Seattle Shotgun” depicts a 1958 incident, when Shimomura dated an American girl named Jan. Jan asked Shimomura to drop her off one block from her house because her father threatened to “shoot the Jap with his gun like he had done in World War II.”
The painting shows a beautiful blond-haired, pink-toned starlet nuzzling a buck-toothed, yellow skinned man with a shaved head, his long, red tongue outstretched menacingly. A double barrel of a large shotgun is pointed to his head.
The images of both of these people are implausible interpretations of reality, and are the results of the traditional images planted in Americans’ minds, either through propaganda fueled by racist hatred or pop art as a form of escapism. They represent the opposite ends of two extremes—how one would view the world if there were no gray areas, where everyone is either a devil or an angel. This juxtaposition of extremes ridicules the “you’re either one or the other” mindset that condemns the straddling of cultures so prominent in modern Asian American society. It is precisely because these images are racially intensive that he uses them in his work, Shimomura explained. “I want to bring that level of consciousness back because those stereotypes still exist in the minds of some people.” His piece “Not Pearl Harbor” uses imagery he saw in U.S. auto dealership ads in Kansas in the 1970’s: fighter jests with the Japanese red sun emblazoned along their sides, dropping bombs on the United States.
When Shimomura fist moved to Lawrence, Kansas, he said it had such a small Asian population that there was inevitably a lot of ignorance about Asian Americans. He probably would not create works like this if he lived in Seattle, he said, but living in Kansas gives him a “regional license” to create work on this subject matter. “As long as racist incidents keep happening, I’ll continue to do my work.”
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Arts July 2004 (VOLUME 31, NO. 14)
Blue Scholars offers accessible hip hop through originality By Ian Dapiaoen Geologic (George Quibuyen) and DJ Sabzi (Alexi Saba Mohajerjasbi), of the hip hop duo Blue Scholars, were not at all disappointed when they didn’t win in the hip hop category at Seattle Weekly’s 2004 Music Awards. When the award was given to Vitamin D at the Fenix Underground in Pioneer Square on May 11 (with Mayor Greg Nickels in attendance), the group decided to leave the ceremony. The next day, they were surprised to hear that they won the event’s coveted award: Album of the Year, which was given at the end of the event. “Will people—who aren’t our close friendslike our material? 24-year-old Quibuyen jokingly asks. Since the release of their selftitled albumn in February of this year, the group has received acclaim from both the media and their peers.
Performing at local shows and touring throughout California, Chicago and Florida, the importance of the music’s message has outweighed their recent successes. On “Freewheelin’, ” Geologic raps about his early memories of hip hop; while “Blink” blasts government policies in an unjust war. Geologic and DJ Sabzi, who met at the University of Washington, were involved in the Seattle Hip Hop Organization of Washington at the UW (SHOW) in 1999, years before recording tracks together. One of the SHOWs founders, Marc Matsui, currently manages them. “Geo lived with Marc back in the day,” says 22-year-old Mohajerjasbi, a Persian American. “At the same time, I was creating beats on my computer and was shopping it around to different MC’s (rappers).”
Collaborating in 2002, the music making process based itself on rhymes written over the beat. However, the two believed that personal interaction and learning about each other is more important. “We spent lots of time talking,” says Mohajerjasbi. “We talked about life, politics… and things that exists in our everyday lives.”
As a writer, Quibuyen considers himself an MC first. Performing spoken word poetry for isangmahal arts kollective, the matter of sitting down and writing actual songs became a challenge. “It was a struggle at first,” says Quibuyen, a Filipino American. “The process became easier once we got to know each other a little bit better.”
As their sound evolved, their work and perspective in the community developed. Mohajerjasbi is currently involved in the Baha’i faith community and Geologic is part of AnakBayan Seattle, a youth and student organization that educates others about Philippine history, culture and politics. As the group gains more progressive fans and listeners every day, they feel they can reach all types of hip-hop and non-hip hop fans.
“The goal is to reach as many people as possible and to encourage our listeners to take action and get involved in the community,” said Quibuyen.
As for the name, it is a clever play on words between “blue collar” and “scholar.” Both artists are products of working class families and hold college degrees. “The Blue is for the color of my mother and father plus the Scholars that we be…the Blue is for the nighttime mood swingin’ tune of every bluesman, singing what’s like to not be free…” raps Geologic on
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“Blue School.”
During live shows, Geologic will perform a call and response, where he says “blue,” the crowd responding with “school!” The live show aspect is important for the group because the fans are accessible.
“The music and the quality of the material is very accessible,” says Matsui. “It is not exclusive to true hip hop fans and isn’t aimed
towards a certain demographic. It’s hip hop with no barriers.”
The album is proof that hip hop, with a clear and defined message, can be fun at the same time. With the selling all of their CD’s (1,000 albums in four months) through their website, live shows and grassroots promotion, Blue Scholars will release a second printing of the album later this year with a larger distributor.
June 2005 (VOLUME 32, NO. 12)
‘Rolling in the Dirt:’ Alan Lau gets down and dirty with art By Judith Van Praag It was clear that most everybody who does anything in the arts in the Pacific Northwest knows the International examiner’s Arts Editor, Alan Lau, and it showed at the opening reception for his show at Francine Seders Gallery on June 5. But what may not be clear is how he manages to do all the things he does.
Well, let’s put it this way, Lau doesn’t waste any time.
From Thursday through Sunday, when he heads from Woodland Park to the produce department at Uwajimaya in the International District, his alarm is set for 5:30 a.m. Sorting, cleaning and arranging fruits, roots and vegetables provides Lau, the artist, inspiration. During his lunch break he pops over to his studio (across the street, in the old Uwajimaya building). Over the years, he eternalized quite a few discarded items from the store. There’s “Notes,” an abstract impression of a lotus root. And a melon modeled for a 1995 series called “Rotting Bitter Melon.” Born in Oroville, Calif. In 1948, Alan Lau was raised in paradise. Around 1968, students
and teachers at San Francisco State University went on strike demanding an ethnic studies department. Eventually their wishes were met. Lau was among the first to take Jeffrey Paul Chan’s Asian American Studies class.
Encouraged to explore his roots, Lau left for Japan (China’s borders were still closed.) He traveled around the country for six months then returned to the Bay Area to study English and poetry. After one semester he took a leave of absence, this time heading for Denmark for his sister’s wedding. Crossing eastern Europe by train and hitching rides, he made his way back to Japan, where he wound up staying for five years, teaching English and studying sumi-e painting. Inspired by rock music and light shows, Lau created his early California paintings with acrylic paint straight from the tube, ‘cake frosting’ he calls it. Sumi-e of course was a totally different thing. No wonder that the reserved style of his first teacher didn’t appeal to him. His next mentor, Nirakushi Toriumi taught a more traditional style. Nanga, also known as Literati or Chinese School. While Lau’s grandmother had made him and his sister trace Chinese characters, he know that
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he—as an American—had too much catching up to do. Largely educated in Western Art, not raised on Asian Art or brushstrokes, he made a conscious decision to take what he had learned about sumi-e painting as a foundation and to find his own style and approach.
“I’m interested in the interaction between ink and water, and how each reacts to the white of the paper; the gradation from black to gray, to white, in sophisticated layers. And how a subtle underplay in color detonates,” he says. Lau considers his work after Sept. 11 more moody. Areas saturated with intense blank ink offset against pristine white or the midway gray, creating a still—an image momentarily caught without motion. “The more saturated or overly dark a painting is from the start, the harder it is to draw out what I want to see,” Lau said.
But it is exactly in those paintings where he struggles with the darkness of the beginning that he manages to bring in the light. In many of the pieces exhibited at Francine Seders, soft oil pastel bring color to the black and gray
tones, while waxy China markets provide certain outlines.
Considering the number of hats Lau wears (he is also editor of the International Examiner’s supplement, the Pacific Reader) you just know this man’s every hour is filled.
“I had this moral obligation drummed into me as a college student. You shouldn’t just do things for yourself. You have to give something back to the community,” Lau said. “Covering the arts and providing arts coverage for the community at large is one way I can do that, I guess.” Being “off” for Lau means working his way through a six-inch pile of press releases and invitations. Off means he discusses story ideas with his writers.
For Lau all creative processes are connected. In his poetry as well as in his painting, he suggests rather than tells. As Examiner Arts Editor he does the same. Lau lives the creative life, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
September 2005 (VOLUME 32, NO. 16)
Asian Pacific Cultural Center re-opens By Charysse Reaser After months of looking for a new home, the Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) Tacoma has now settled itself in an office space inside the Children’s Museum of Tacoma. An open house for its new location at 934 Broadway St, Tacoma, was held on Sept. 15.
The APCC was formed in 1996 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about Asian Pacific cultures and arts. Until earlier this spring, it had been housed in the old Tacoma Art Museum building on Pacific Avenue.
According to the founds of the organization, Patsy Surh O’Connell, “We anticipated that we should be able to find someone from the Asian Pacific Islander community who had the vision and would be financially willing and able to come forward to make this project success for our community’s betterment.”
Unfortunately, this was not the case, and the building had to be sold in order to maintain the existence of the APCC. O’Connell said it would have been a great shame if the organization had to close altogether. “This project cannot be carried forward by only a handful of dedicated volunteers, but it
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requires that all of the communities have to see this as an important project for our succeeding generations,” she said, adding that these communities failed to see what was being made available.
Their former building was sold at what the APCC says was the “appraised value” to a group that included Eric Cederstrand, a board member. Cederstrand was also a personal guarantor and initial signatory when the building was fist bought by APCC. APCC’s new location was donated by Cederstrand, which helps the organization out because the money saved by not having to pay rent for the next two years will give APCC the opportunity to purchase another space later on.
Since the beginning, the APCC’s goals were directed toward community education, bringing the cultures of the Pacific to Tacoma. They hosted events, art and cultural classes, lectures and children’s activities.
In 2004 they brought a Korean ink painting exhibit, a Japanese kite exhibit, “the Tao of Tea” lecture, a Polynesian Luau, a Filipino Tinikling dance performance, a Filipino artists show, among many other events.
They also offered classes on painting, silk flower making, dance and yoga. According to the press release from the APCC board earlier in the year, “[The] APCC has endeavored to construct meaningful bridges of understanding and appreciation between our Asian Pacific immigrant cultures and the ‘mainstream’ community.”
O’Connell, a Korean American, earlier this year spent six weeks in Korea and China. She observed kindergarten classes where students were taught about other cultures.
“I am afraid after observing them, that our own children in American are too uneducated about American culture in general, and about cultural heritage of Asian Pacific Islander Americans to be able to communicate with those Asian children who are learning English, U.S. History, U.S. culture,” she said.
O’Connell worries that business and economic developments between the cultures will be at a disadvantage. “Our school system can’t cover all our business partner countries’ cultures.”
January 2007 (VOLUME 34, NO. 1)
Seeing Stories: The jewelry of Ron Ho By Susan Kunimatsu For 40 years, Ron Ho has made necklaces, each an exquisite story in silver. A dragon boat bearing a palm tree and a portrait on a shard of pottery tells of a picture bride’s passage to a foreign land. A whimsical elephant with a load of carnelian beads is the memoir of a journey with an old friend. A steamer of dim sum on a chair recalls a memorable meal. Now his stories have been gathered into an exhibit, “Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room: The Jewelry of Ron Ho” at the Bellevue Arts
Museum. The exhibit catalog is the first book to document the work of this acclaimed Seattle jewelry artist and educator.
Ho was born and raised in Honolulu, the third generation of a Chinese family that had immigrated to Hawaii in the late 19th century. He followed his older sister to the mainland to attend Pacific Lutheran College (now University) in Tacoma. He was interested in an art career, but his parents, like many Asians families, saw more security in a profession. Ho took a bachelor’s degree in art education and taught briefly in Hoquiam before landing
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a position in the Bellevue school system. He simultaneously embarked on an art career as a painter, and studied for a master’s in art education at the University of Washington. In the summer of 1968, needing one last art course to complete his degree, he registered for a jewelry class taught by Ramona Solberg. Serendipitously, he found his medium as an artist and a lifelong mentor and friend. Solberg was a leader in an emerging Northwest school of art jewelry, distinguished by its bold scale, contemporary aesthetic and use of found objects, particularly artifacts from other cultures. Her gift of a domino and three buttons of carved bone became the basis of Ron Ho’s first necklace, and sent his work in the direction that he has continued to the present day.
“When I first started doing jewelry, I was doing casting and making rings with stones and things and that’s what I visualized jewelry as,” he said. “But that’s why that first piece is so important ... she gave me those pieces, it all started from that.” Ho called the piece “All Fall Down” because of the technical challenges he encountered as a beginning metal smith in assembling it. He made it a gift to Solberg and it opens the exhibit. A world traveler who had lived abroad, Solberg accompanied Ho to Europe in the early 1970s, his first journey outside the United States. Her passion for travel proved infectious, but Ho also felt a more personal yearning.
“I enjoyed [Europe] thoroughly, but I knew I had to go to Asia. And when I finally went to Asia in the late ‘70s, that was when I really felt the most comfortable with everything. The art work was really an inspiration to me,” he recalls. Ho used his summers and a 1978 sabbatical to travel, gathering artifacts to use in his jewelry, as well as an impressive collection of folk art. Necklaces he made in the 1970s incorporate stone charms from Afghanistan, African ivory, ostrich eggshell beads, and Eskimo scrimshaw (incised ivory). But in his jewelry, as in his travels, Ho gravitated toward Asia. “Ancestral
Maternal Pi” (1970) is built around a bright green jade pi, a flat donut-shaped carving that that was one of his mother’s treasures. He added a jade flower and a Chinese hair ornament, framing them all as an abstract composition in silver.
“‘Dragon Gate’ [1986] is one of my favorite pieces,” Ho says, “because it does have a story. The carp, who is usually a slow-swimming fish, reaches the top of the falls and, instead of dying like a salmon, turns into a fiery dragon.”
A Chinese cigarette holder of carved ivory forms one gatepost; the lintel is an elaborately constructed silver dragon. An ivory carp, which looks like an antiquity, was in fact carved for Ho by one of his students. This necklace marks his development into a storyteller in metal. More than a collage of found objects, it combines pieces sought out or fabricated to serve a specific narrative. A series of silver pendants from the early 1990s are Ming dynasty chairs with symbolic objects arranged on their seats, each a tiny tableau illustrating a Chinese tradition or superstition. In “First Birthday” (1990), the straight-backed chair holds a plate of noodles, a Chinese talisman for long life. In “Wedding Tea” (1994), a pair of geese shares the chair with a pair of teacups. “Geese always mate for life,” Ho explains, “and, of course, at a wedding, the bride serves tea both to her family and her new in-laws.”
With the chair series, he almost completely departs from found objects, fabricating entire pieces from scratch, in silver. “Soil Toil” (1998) tells the story of Ho’s paternal grandfather, Ho Kee Seu, who came from China in 1878, establishing himself as a tenant farmer in Kula, Hawaii. During World War I, he sold his lima bean crop to the U.S. government for two years, each year making $10,000, a fortune that allowed him to buy a house in Honolulu. The beautifully balanced, asymmetrical silver necklace depicts a Chinese-style lattice roof sheltering grandfather’s blue field-worker’s jacket; a pair of barefoot charms, now hung up
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as if retired; and a bucket of golden lima beans. Ho’s jewelry makes oral history visible. One aspect of Ho’s history that is not expressly shown in his jewelry is his work as a teacher. For 34 years, he balanced the two careers, teaching full time in elementary, middle and high schools before retiring in 1992. He fondly recalls his students’ creativity and spontaneity as a source of inspiration, but also remembers late nights in the jewelry studio while teaching by day. He apparently succeeded in his dedication to both disciplines, winning national and state-level awards as an art educator.
“I had a lot of art teachers. I remember him,” says Luly Yang, now a successful Seattle clothing designer and retailer. While at Newport High School, she took classes from Ho in several media including jewelry and painting. Although she took art every semester and continued at the University of Washington, Ho was one of only a couple of instructors that made a lasting impression. Yang designs some jewelry along with her clothing line and credits her understanding of the production process to Ho’s teaching. “I remember him as very soft spoken, a very gentle instructor; inspirational, motivational,” she says. “He has a warm place in my heart.”
In recent years, Ho has continued to travel, mostly in Asia. “Xian- Return to the Silk
Route,” “Dunhuang- Return to the Silk Road,” and “Return to Rajasthan- In Memory of Ramona Solberg” (all 2005) are memoirs of these journeys. A row of temple toys, bronze animals on wheels that Ho collected in India, is displayed opposite these pieces.
“I had been to China on the complete Silk Route, and I thought it would be interesting to do something based on that. I ended up thinking about all the animals along that route,” he recalls. “When you go to Dunhuang, you get to ride the camels. And at Xian, they dug up all those horses in the tombs.” These animal forms are some of the most dynamic of Ho’s compositions: the galloping horses of Xian, the laughing camel of Dunhuang. “Return to Rajasthan,” an elephant with wheels, like the toys, was completed the night that Ramona Solberg died last year, a tribute to their long journey as friends.
“I’ve enjoyed both being an artist as well as traveling. But after Ramona passed away, I also started reexamining myself and thinking. This year, I’m going to be 70 and if I’m lucky, I’ll have 10 good years before maybe my eyes might fail ... Jewelry is such an intensive kind of work. And so I think I’d better spend more time in the studio.”
December 2013 (VOLUME 40, NO. 22)
Kimsooja: A needle woman piercing the fabric of life By Kazuko Nakane When the artist Kimsooja sat one day mending her bedding with her mother, she had a revelation. As the needle pierced the silky fabric, she could feel everything from the universe pass through her body to the needlepoint travelling through the
fabric. So begins the journey of orchestrating a symphony of rich, vivid colors. She was born in South Korea, and began exhibiting from the late 1980s. By the time I saw the brilliant hues of her textile installation at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 2008, she was already an international artist,
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showing on a global scale. Her works have been mostly identified with fabric, the traditional territory of women, rich colors follow specific traditional codes, and indeed Korea has a long history of needle works, inherited from mothers to daughters.
After her initial mesmerizing experience with her mother, she began wrapping common objects with pieces and scraps of different cloth. A stool, window frame and ladder are transformed. She also used fabric of different colors as pigments to fill out the diverse shapes of two-dimensional frames. They are full of abundance as if they grew out of the earth yet seem to lack the creative door to expand.
For “A Mirror Woman” (2002), she gathered a variety of used ready/made bedcovers, a wedding gift from mother to a bride for good wishes, fertility, and longevity. She then hung them with laundry clips on ropes. The wedding ceremony used to be the one occasion when regular people could share the aesthetic experience of historic nobles. Some of the woven or stitched designs used here are derived from old aristocratic textile, which were found in China, Japan, and to some extent Islamic countries through extensive, ancient trade. A room filled with the great wishes of each mother becomes a shared commonality of everyday life consisting of everybody’s laundry. The word, bottari means a bundle in Korean. The bottari opens up her work into the world outside. She wraps other pieces of fabric in a square cloth of the same kind as a bedcover, a kind of pojagi. Tied on the top by hands, they create a rotund shape. Spread throughout a room, they weave a pattern across the floor. They are not only beautiful, but each becomes the life of a woman who has carried it from place to place. The exhibition doesn’t intend to express the country of Korea, but more of its connection with other worlds through the journey of textile. At the entrance to the exhibition at the grand staircase of both sides, there are 306 pieces of purple (traditionally called grape color) lotus lanterns attached to the ceiling, accompanied by Tibetan, Gregorian, and Islamic chants.
For one of her signature pieces, a silent video installation, “A Needle Woman” produced during the 1999-2001 period, she visited the cities of Cairo, Lagos, London, Mexico, New Delhi, New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo. In each city she stood motionless in the middle of a busy street with a camera behind her back. It is fascinating to see how differently the image of her motionless self had upon people of each distinct culture. In Cairo, people are curious and looked at the camera more than her, yet they were mostly involved with their own lives with friends in the public place of their street. In Lagos, people were curious and stopped to stare and touch. While in London, New York, and Tokyo, the crowds become an enormous endless flow. Here she looks like an immobile stone statue, swallowed by the waves of a river of people. During the performance in Tokyo, she said in an interview in the accompanying catalogue that she experienced an incredible tension, which eventually developed into a focused and enlightened mind.
In contrast, another powerful video installation is “Mumbai: A Laundry Field” (2007-8). Multivideo images with soundtrack are juxtaposed: the left screen is a row of hanging clothes in a narrow alley; the central screen is focused on men, who wash textiles by banging them repeatedly on a hard surface; and on the right is a screen catching a speeding commuter train packed with people profuse with colors of their clothes, flaring in the wind. This series of images conjures up the powerful connections we don’t always acknowledge that take place between clothing and our daily life. The artist, Kimsooja maintains her identity as a Korean woman while she explores communication with the outside world in an effort to break open the boundaries of social and cultural diversity. At the end of this retrospective exhibition, I began to realize that she tells the stories in her meditative manner about how we are all connected in this world of global textile trade. While recognizing the inequalities, she still celebrates the abundance and power of lives with the vivid hues of our humanity through the cloth.
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History
The body of Gene Viernes is carried into the Cannery Workers union hall near Pioneer Square for a memorial service. Viernes, along with his co-worker Silme Domingo, was gunned down by hitmen at the same location on June 1, 1981. The photographer recalls that the crowd of mourners was so large that he and others were unable to get inside the building. 1981. Photo by Dean Wong, 1981
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(This is an excerpt of a three-part series that ran in 1984 on October 17, November 21, and December 19 in the International Examiner)
A history of an urban ethnic community: Asian Americans and the development of Seattle’s International District By Doug Chin & Peter Bacho South of Seattle’s downtown, the International District, otherwise known as Chinatown, sits inconspicuously. It’s not a major attraction like San Francisco’s Chinatown. Seattleites speak proudly of Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, University District and even Capitol Hill. But seldom do they talk about the International District.
It doesn’t have chic restaurants full of ferns; just simple and plain Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese eating places. The area isn’t exotic. Not enough Buddhist temples, curio shops, bamboo, or rickshaws. Besides, the neighborhood looks sort of rundown despite the new and renovated buildings and the decorated street lights and brick-paved sidewalks. The International District is just there. But, mainly, little is known of the International District because it is different. Its commerce and people are predominantly Asian American. The District is an urban, ethnic neighborhood. It is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, with roots that begin with the founding of Seattle. It is also an area which was settled and developed by Asian Americans. It’s the only neighborhood in America where Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos settled together. The District is an enclave that has overcome many obstacles and changes. It continues to persevere as an Asian American community while other such immigrant colonies have vanished.
But clearly, the history of the International District is not merely the story of the growth, development and changes of a neighborhood. The history of the District is a story of Asian Americans in Seattle. It is a story of bitter struggle and perseverance. The history of this neighborhood is one in which it people continually tries become a viable ethnic enclave.
Chinese Appearance
The history of the International District begins with the emergence of Chinese immigration.
The Chinese who came to North America were mostly from seven districts: Namboi, Punyu, and Shuntak (where the people spoke the Sam Yup Cantonese dialect), and Sunwui, Hoiping, Yanping, and Toishan (where the people spoke the Sze Yup dialect). All seven districts are in Kwangtung Province, south of Kwangchow and around the Pearl River Delta.
In the middle of the 19th century circumstances in Kwangtung Province as well as the United States encouraged immigration to North America.
In 1849, when the wave of Chinese immigration to North America began, China had just lost the Opium War, which was fought against the British who had insisted that China buy opium from them. China had lost its prestige as a nation. Additionally, there was widespread exploitation of peasants by ruthless landlords, famine, and “over population.” Heavy floods in the Pearl River Delta made conditions worse.
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Meanwhile, in the United States, gold was discovered in California in 1849. Stanford Lyman, a scholar on Chinese Americans, wrote: “The announcement that fold had been discovered in California, that the passage was cheap, that indentured labor could be secured, and that Chinese merchants had already pioneered a settlement electrified the peasants and handcraftsmen who had begun to overcrowd the port cities of Canton, Macao, and Hong Kong.” In the years that followed, the Tai Ping Rebellion (1850-1864), an uprising of peasants in southeastern China, uprooted the “Mandate of Heaven,” by which the emperor of China ruled. This uprising, which shook the political and social fiber of the country, created rebellion among the peasants and a deepening feeling of discontent towards their country. Meanwhile, the increasing demand for “cheap labor” in America’s Western Frontier provoked capitalists and their agents to recruit additional Chinese labor. By 1880, more than 300,000 Chinese had come to the United States. Most were male sojourners who had come to America with the intentions of staying for a short period of time to seek economic gain, and then return to China. At the time of the first Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, over half of those who migrated to this country returned to China, including a few who made their expected fortune.
San Francisco was the main port of entry for the Chinese. Although this city was to become the main Chinese settlement in America, by 1870, Chinese could be found throughout the western United States, particularly in California, working in a variety of occupations: farming, railroad construction, mining, fishing and canning, and in the woolen, cigar, textile, and other industries. Chinese also served as domestic workers, doing laundry, cooking and house-cleaning because of the shortage of men to do “women’s work.”
The first recorded Chinese in the Pacific Northwest came here in 1789. They were part of Captain Mears’ crew which landed
on Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island. No one knows what happened to them, but there is some speculation they integrated with the native Indians. Other Chinese joined the crews of British ships which came to the Northwest as part of the Canton trade route. But, these Chinese crewmen never settled here. The 1850 census showed that there was one Chinese in the territory. He was nineteen-yearold Ah-long, a servant to Captain Rufus Ingles at Vancouver Barracks in Clark County. There is no record of what happened to him.
Ten years later, there was still only one Chinese recorded in the territorial census. He was probably Chin Chun Hock, who is also on record as the first Chinese resident in Seattle. He came here in 1860 and began as a domestic worker just nine years after the first white settler, Arthur Denny, landed at Alki Point. In 1867, Chen Cheong began manufacturing cigars on Commercial Street (now Occidental Avenue). He has the distinction of being the first Chinese to begin a business in this city, and the first person to establish a cigar business in what was then Washington Territory.
One year later, Chin Hock took his savings and began a general merchandising store. The Wa Chong Company, as it was called opened next to the tide flats just south of Henry Yesler’s lumber mill on the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way). The store advertised an added feature, opium, which was apparently legal at the time. Chin Hock, taking the opportunity of the growing Chinese population and the need for workers, also became a labor contractor. His company additionally labeled itself as a “Chinese Intelligence Office” in its ads, asking anyone wanting to employ Chinese to contact him.
The Wa Chong Company became, by far, the largest Chinese business in Seattle and Chin Hock became a very wealthy and powerful person in the community. By the time he died in 1927, he had married several times. His first wife was an “Indian Princess.”
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By 1870, there were 234 Chinese in the Territory, but only a few in Seattle. Most were in eastern Washington seeking gold. They followed the trail of white miners from California and worked their abandoned mines. With the depletion of gold in that region, many headed west of the Cascades to Puget Sound to work on the railroads or in the coal mines, hop farms, lumber mills, fishing industry and other jobs. Largely because of Henry Villard, who financed railroads and allied industries, Seattle’s economy steadily grew during the next decade. Two of his major projects, the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Improvement Company, eventually were instrumental in bring the Chinese to Seattle. The Northern Pacific’s terminus point was nearby Tacoma and, at one time, employed 15,000 Chinese laborers, many of whom were shipped here to work on the project. The Oregon Improvement Company was an exporter of soft coal and had many Chinese working in its coal mines around Seattle. Another railroad project, the construction of the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroads, which Villard’s firm eventually controlled, also employed many Chinese. By 1873, there were 100 Chinese among the town’s 2,000 inhabitants. The Chinese, a source of reliable and “cheap labor,” attracted capitalist entrepreneurs interested in expanding or venturing into new businesses, and others who demanded that the territory develop rapidly. At the same time, many Chinese sought employment opportunities wherever possible in order to quickly return to their homeland and family.
Within Puget Sound, many Chinese laborers were contracted out to various job locations by Chinese labor contractors headquarters in Seattle. Once their jobs were completed, most headed for Seattle or Tacoma, which were the largest towns in the area at the time to seek other employment. Some of the more fortunate Chinese accumulated enough money working in the outlying areas and came to Seattle, and eventually become successful labor contractors themselves.
As the economy of Seattle grew, others came here from China. Some arrived there through Port Townsend, where the U.S. customs house was located. Others came via Port Gamble and Port Blakely, where they had worked in the lumber mills. In 1874, the first boat run between China and Seattle took place. Some Chinese came here from points as far as south as Portland, and as far as north as Canada. Until 1876, the city’s population reached 3,400, of which 250 were Chinese. There was an additional “floating population” of 300, a transient Chinese labor force contracted to the various work sites, as noted earlier.
Until the mid-1870s, the Chinese quarter was primarily a base for Chinese merchants. Thereafter, a commercial-residential area developed as increasing numbers of Chinese found work in the city.
During this time, the Chinese quarters gradually shifted from the Commercial-Mill Street area to Washington Street, between Second and Third Avenues. The new location of the Chinese quarters, next to an area similar to San Francisco’s infamous Barbary Coast, was only several blocks away from their initial quarters. Chin Hock led the shift by moving his prosperous Wa Chong Company to Third and Washington Street. Soon thereafter, other Chinese merchants leased buildings along Washington Street from wealthy white property owners.
According to one early settler, the movement of the Chinese into the area brought about such resentment by whites that it resulted in the depreciation of property values and the unnatural growth of the city’s business district.
“It instantly depreciated all surrounding property for business purposes,” wrote J. Willis Sayres in his book This City of Ours. “It is entirely likely that had it not been for those Chinese leases just at the time, business in Seattle would have followed the easier grades of lower Washington, Main, and Jackson Streets, instead of up the steep hill of First
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Avenue, which was a high bank on the east side and drop off to the waterfront on the east side.” The new location quickly became congested. “In 1877, Washington Street was Chinese headquarters,” wrote Clarence Bagley, the late University of Washington history professor. “On that street there were 27 Chinese houses in about a half a block. … During any alarm of fire they poured out like rats from a burning house.”
The Chinese engaged in a variety of occupations within the city. Some worked in small businesses owned and operated by Chinese merchants. These small laundries, restaurants, and dry good stores were patronized by whites and Indians as well as Chinese. The Indians, in fact, regularly patronized dry goods stores and some Chinese employees learned Indian sign language and Siwash (an Indian language).
Other Chinese peddled vegetables, which had been planted at either of two gardens: one in the northern section of town on what is now the Seattle Center and the other on the Duwamish River, south of the city’s commercial area. Some worked in factories and others became domestic laborers. Still other found jobs in the lumber mill. Some worked on public works project such as street clearing and paving. A gang of Chinese dug the first canal connecting Lake Union with Lake Washington. Other Chinese engaged in net fishing in Elliot Bay. There was even one Chinese who peddled ice cream on a converted wheelbarrow. In 1882, a school for Chinese children was established at the Methodist Episcopal Church at Fourth and Columbia. About 40 children attended these classes. According to Bagley, the classes were taught by two women: “The efforts of these two ladies and of the church to better the conditions of the Chinese and their customs were commended by the newspapers of that date.” Such recognition, it might be added, suggests a racist attitude towards Chinese culture, inferring that it was inferior to American culture.
Economic conditions grew worse in the early 1880s, when a depression swept the country. As conditions got worse, antagonism towards the Chinese increased. By the time of the antiChinese riots in Seattle, in 1885-1886, there were about 400 Chinese in the city, a small increase in 10 years.
Antagonism towards the Chinese existed in the Territory of Washington even before the Chinese arrived in large numbers. When Washington Territory was created in 1853, legislators immediately adopted a measure denying them franchise. It is doubtful that there was even one Chinese in the Territory in that year, although there is a record of one in the territory before then.
By the mid-1860s, additional anti-Chinese laws were passed by the state legislature and local jurisdictions. One law barred Chinese from providing evidence against whites in court cases and another measure was entitled “An Act to Protect Free White Labor against Competition with Chinese Coolie Labor and To Discourage the Immigration of Chinese in the Territory.” The later law resulted in the “Chinese Police Tax,” a poll tax levied against every Chinese residing in the territory. As the legislation suggest, the Chinese were unwelcomed as settlers in the territory. As in California, the white settlers wanted to develop the territory for whites.
But, until the 1880s, overt hostility towards the Chinese was not rampant. In railroad construction, for example, whites generally reacted without hostility to the employment of Chinese laborers. According to historian Robert E. Wynne, “The work was so obviously needed and all groups and areas vied with each other to entice a company to build a railroad in their area that they would have welcomed the devil himself had he built a road … the lack of white labor was too evident to cause even the most ardent anti-Chinese to resent their employment on such work.” On other occasions, the arrival of shiploads of Chinese was greeted by cheering white Washingtonians. The importation of Chinese was a sign of economic prosperity and growth.
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At other times, however, overt violence was directed at the Chinese. In Sultan, a small town northeast of Seattle, neither the whites nor the Indians liked them and eventually the Chinese prospectors were driven off their claims. On another occasion, a Chinese labor contractor had to write a letter protesting the mistreatment of Chinese laborers by whites at the lumber mill at Port Blakely. As a general rule, the violence towards the Chinese increased as the number of Chinese grew.
By the mid-1870s, local newspapers and politicians frequently focused on the “Chinese Problem.” The Daily Pacific Tribune on December 27, 1877 referred to the Chinese as “money leapers” when commenting on the departure of Chinese to Hong Kong. A Seattle newspaper, discussing the illegal entry of some Chinese remarked, “If there is any cute trick in which Ah Sing is not equal to Brother Jonathon or any other man, it hasn’t yet been put before the eyes of a curious public.” That same year, an article in the Snohomish Northern Star read: “We are glad to be able to chronicle one firm in relation to the Puget Sound fisheries. We are informed that Tull & Co. formerly of Mukilteo, now of Seattle, after a careful trail they discharged all of their Chinamen and employ White men in their place. We are glad there is one firm operating our fisheries for the benefit of our own country instead of the Mongolian empire. There are hundreds of White men on this coast, who are knocking at our doors for work, hey ‘capital’ brands them ‘tramps,’ cast them aside, and negotiates with some ‘Boss’ of a Chinaman for a cargo of coolies to flood our land with this class of laborers, and grind the face of our poor still deeper into the dust. Shame.” With the completion of the railroads and the onset of a depression in the early 1880s, the anti-Chinese movement in Seattle and the rest of Washington reached a crescendo. The Northern Pacific was completed in 1883, and the Canadian Pacific was completed two years later. Many Chinese employed in the construction work evaded the Exclusion Act
of 1882 to come to Seattle. In Seattle, they competed with whites for jobs in a saturated market.
The poor economic social conditions encourage scapegoating of the Chinese. They were of a different racial and ethnic stock, and had constantly been labeled as “unfair labor completion.” American and European foreigners, alike, favored removal of the Chinese from the territory. Led by the Knights of Labor, who, by 1884, had held many antiChinese meetings west of the Cascades, and “prominent Seattleites,” the anti-Chinese movement in Seattle effectively resolved the “Chinese Problem” in 1886. The immediate spark that precipitated the anti-Chinese outbreaks in Seattle was the riot on September 2, 1885, at Rock Springs, Wyoming where 28 Chinese were murdered and over 500 were driven out of town. On the night of September 5, a group of whites and Indians armed with rifles ambushed a camp of 35 Chinese at a hop farm in Squak Valley (now Issaquah), killing three and injuring three. Five whites and two Indians were indicted, but after an eight-day trial they were acquitted. On September 19, the Chinese were driven out of the coal mining town of Black Diamond, which is southeast of Seattle, injuring nine Chinese. Towards the end of that same month, at the Franklin Mines, which were also located near Seattle, a group of armed masked men cleared of Chinese. Similar incidents were reported in Newcastle and Renton. Among all of these incidents, few were brought to trial and none were convicted.
The predicament of the Chinese in Seattle was the same as in the surrounding areas. Four days after the Squak Valley incident, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reminded the public of the nuisance of Chinese in their midst. “The civilization of the Pacific Coast,” the P.I reporter remarked, “cannot be half Caucasian and half Mongolian.” Such a statement, of course, had no basis in fact since the Chinese only constituted a small percentage of the population. Furthermore, four years earlier
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the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, which essentially curtailed Chinese immigration to America. Nevertheless, the P.I. article did exemplify the sinophobia that prevailed at the time and suggests that racial and cultural differences played as significant a role in the anti-Chinese sentiment as economic factors. Interestingly, before the anti-Chinese outbreaks in the Seattle and Tacoma, nearly all of the Chinese were unemployed.
During the riots of 1885-86, the antiChinese movement in Seattle consisted of two major groups. One group, referred to as the “anti-Chinese,” favored direct removal of the Chinese, meaning physically running the Chinese out of town. They were led by the Knights of Labor and were primarily working men, white Americans and foreigners. The “law and order” group consisted primarily of “prominent citizens,” and city officials. These “taxpayer and property owners” favored removal of the Chinese through legal or legislative action. Apparently, this group tempered their hostility with concerns over the reputation of the territory and the chances of Washington gaining statehood; the future of international trade and the possibility of Seattle becoming the “Gateway to the Orient”; and the property damages that might result if violence broke out.
On September 28, 1885, the first of two meetings was called by the anti-Chinese group in Seattle. At that meeting, the “Anti-Chinese Congress” resolved that the Chinese must leave Western Washington by November 1. On October 10, a committee formed as a result of the meeting invaded the Chinese quarters and warned the Chinese to leave. On October 24, about 2,500 persons participated in anti-Chinese demonstration called by the anti-Chinese faction. Notified of the hotel situation in Seattle, F.A. Bee, the Chinese Vice-Consul in San Francisco, telegrammed Territorial Governor Squire to inquire about this ability to protect the Chinese. Meanwhile, both anti-Chinese groups agreed to meet with the local Chinese. Mindful that
Tacoma had forcibly evicted their 700 Chinese, the Chinese in Seattle were terrified. Not surprisingly, the meeting with five Chinese leaders ended with an agreement for the Chinese to depart. The Chinese only asked that they be permitted a reasonable amount of time to gather their belongings, dispose of property, and collect unpaid debts. Some 150 Chinese, justifiably frightened, decided they couldn’t leave fast enough. They left by ship during the next three days following the Tacoma riot.
But the agreement to leave and the departure of a sizable number of Chinese were not enough to relieve tensions. On November 8, the Secretary of War ordered federal troops to Seattle, ostensibly to protect the Chinese. The following day, 350 soldiers from Fort Vancouver arrived with the Governor. But the troops were just as vicious as those seeking to oust the Chinese. According to one account: “The uniformed visitors committed a number of brutal attacks on the Orientals, of which six were formally reported. Four Chinese were beaten up in apparently unprovoked assaults; one had his queue cut off; and another was thrown into the bay. In addition, according to one reporter, a group of soldiers visited the Chinese quarters on the night of November 9 to collect a ‘special tax’ from each Oriental. This foray was supposed to have netted approximately $150.”
Over the next several months, the citizens of Seattle waited for legislative action to remove the Chinese and awaited the outcome of conspiracy trials of leaders of the antiChinese direct action group. Seventeen persons were charged with conspiring to deny Chinese their legal rights under the equal protection laws. Following 14 days of testimony, the jury deliberated for 10 minutes and handed down a “not guilty” verdict, which served to motivate and encourage the call for direct removal of the Chinese. On December 3, 1885, the Seattle City Council passed the so-called “Cubic Air Ordinance,” similar to those enacted in California towns. The ordinance provided that each resident of
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Seattle was entitled to a sleeping compartment 8’ x 8’ x 8’. Dr. Smart, a city health officer, was instructed to enforce it vigorously as a weapon against the Chinese, who were known to live in very congested housing. On February 5, the Seattle City Council passed additional ordinances to expedite the removal of Chinese from the city. One ordinance prohibited the operation of wash houses in wooden buildings. Another prohibited the sale of goods in the streets. Still another instituted a license fee for itinerant and non-residential fruit vendors. The passage of these ordinances did little to diminish the cry of the anti-Chinese forces to immediately get rid of the Chinese. On Sunday morning, February 7, 1886, following a meeting of the anti-Chinese direct action group the night before, an appointed committee and their followers invaded the Chinese quarters and notified the Chinese that they were going to be sent away that afternoon on the steamer Queen of the Pacific. Most of the 350 Chinese were forced on wagons and hauled to the dock. From that point, according to one account, “most of the Chinese were eager to get abroad and away from Seattle, but had no funds. The majority of them were in Seattle because they could not find employment in the mines or mills, had no money to move on, or were in debt to the local bosses for their passage from China and had no surety save themselves.”
Their departure was delayed a day because a writ of habeas corpus was sworn out by a Chinese merchant who charged that his countrymen were being unlawfully detained aboard the steamer. Undaunted, the direct action group raised sufficient funds to pay the fare of 188 Chinese at seven dollars per head. Eight Chinese managed to pay their own fare. Thus, 196 Chinese— the legal limit of passengers permitted on the ship—waited for their departure the next day. Meanwhile, the remaining Chinese marched back from the dock to the Chinese quarters. During this time, shots were exchanged between the Seattle Guards or the militia and the crowd. One man was killed and four injured.
The incident provoked Governor Squire to proclaim a state of insurrection, declare martial law, suspend the writ of habeas corpus, and request federal troops. At first, his demand for troops was turned down by an Army officer on the grounds that troops can be sent only upon “last emergency.” But, when prominent citizens of the city became alarmed and wired a telegram to their Congressmen, President Cleveland sent eight companies of troops. When the next steamer arrived on February 14, 1886, another 110 Chinese boarded, leaving about 50 Chinese who could not be taken on the ship. The remaining Chinese were scheduled to leave on the next steamer while others left by train. One week later, civil law was restored, but it was not until July that the federal troops left. By that time, only a handful of Chinese merchants and domestic servants remained in the city.
Anti-Chinese sentiments in Seattle remained high even after the removal of the Chinese. In the city and county elections in 1886, the People’s Party, comprised of those in the direct action group, made a clean election sweep. Although only a small number of Chinese remained in the state, politicians didn’t miss opportunities to criticize their presence.
Japanese Immigration
The 1880 census listed one Japanese in Washington Territory. He lived in Walla Walla. In 1890, there were about 360 in the state, the majority in Seattle. Over the next decade, the number of Japanese jumped to 5,617. This increase reflected the need for labor and the establishment of a direct steamship route between Yokohama and Seattle. The Japanese in Washington ranged from 15 to 35 years of age, wrote S. K. Kanada, a representative of the Japanese government, in a 1908 magazine article. They represented not just the laboring classes, he said, but sons of samurai and a considerable number of collegeeducated men. Nearly all of this predominantly male population in the state made their living as
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waiters, domestic servants, shop workers, and laborers on the railroads and sawmills. Very few worked as professionals.
Kanada identified four Japanese who had graduated from the University of Washington, two studying at that school and one attending Puget Sound University. He also noted that nearly 200 were attending public schools and that the Seattle Japanese Association had established a private school for Japanese children.
Christian churches were eager to recruit new immigrants. The Baptist Church established a church for Japanese in Seattle with branches in Tacoma and Port Blakely, the site of one of the largest sawmills in the world. The Baptist Church also had a mission for Japanese, which was known as the Seattle Japanese Women’s Home. The Methodist Episcopal Church established Japanese missions in Seattle and Spokane shortly after the turn of the century. Soon afterwards, the Seattle YMCA offered English classes for young Japanese.
The Christian churches, in addition to providing religious teachings, served as social aid and educational institutions. They helped find jobs, provided English language training and counseling. They were, thus, instrumental in acculturating the immigrants. The Japanese Buddhist Mission also started in Seattle during this time.
Seattle was headquarters for the Japanese. “If you should walk up Main Street from Second Avenue to Eighth Avenue South, you will find where the Japanese town is,” Kanada wrote. “It is safe to say that nearly all of the houses in this section are occupied by the Japanese.” Included in his description of Japanese businesses were: 45 restaurants, 20 barber shops, bathhouses, laundries, 30 hotels and lodging houses, four groceries, bakery, meant and fish markets, five Japanese general merchandise stores, five tailors, two dentists, three physicians, four interpreters and some cigar stands and candy stories.
The focal point of Japanese community life was the Nippon Kan. The hall was constructed in 1909 and located on Washington Street, above Sixth Avenue. The hall’s center piece was the theatre, where local performers as well as performers from Japan put on traditional and contemporary plays, dances, puppet shows, martial arts and other forms of entertainment. The hall was also used for religious teachings and provided a forum for discussion of community issues. In short, it served as a Japanese community center. The upper floors of the build were used as a hotel. In addition, there were offices and meeting rooms. The Nippon Kan’s significance to the community is perhaps best demonstrated by its control. Ownership of the building belonged to a corporation that sold shares to and got support from the local Japanese community.
The Japanese community had two daily newspapers and two monthly magazines. The North American Times was the evening paper and the Asahi Shinburo (The Rising Sun News) was the morning paper.
Local Economy
In its early stage of development, the economy of Seattle’s Japanese section was primarily geared toward working men, as evidenced by the large concentration of Japanese restaurants, barber shops, and single room unit hotels. The growing Japanese population—including those staying in the southern section of the city— consisted of mostly men who sought work on the railroads, in the timber industry, farming and fishing. Others sought work and fortunes in the gold mines of Alaska and Yukon.
The dominance of Japanese in Seattle’s hotel business reflects the large number of male clientele. The first hotel managed by a Japanese occurred in 1896. By 1900, there were three hotels operated by Japanese. By 1907, there were 53. In 1910, several operators came together to start the Japanese Hotel Operators Association and elected Chojiro Fujii as president.
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Nearly all the hotels were located around the Union Street railway station. Most of the hotels were lease. Management of a hotel was, by no means, easy. But, it provided a source of income and shelter for the managers and their families.
The hotel business must have remained profitable for some time. World War I was a period of prosperity which led to increase in Japanese-operated hotels. In 1925, Japanese managed 127 hotels and apartments in the city, totaling 8,575 units. This provided employment for 399 persons.
While Seattle was headquarters for the Japanese in the state, demand for their labor was needed to develop industries outside of the city. Indeed, thousands of Japanese were contracted to work in railroad construction, sawmills, and canneries in the Northwest and Alaska. However, their presence in the development of local farming was nothing short of amazing.
The Japanese immigrants were well versed in intensive cultivating farming methods. While they initially produced a variety of farm products, the Japanese eventually limited their efforts to producing vegetables, small fruits, greenhouse products, and some dairy products.
The first Japanese operated farms in Washington State began in the White River Valley in 1893. It did not take long for the industrious Japanese to begin farming in South Park, Georgetown, Green Lake, Vashon Island, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, and Puyallup. More often than not, the Japanese cleared and cultivated untouched land they leased. Much of the property they worked on was marshland which whites considered useless. In 1907, five years after the Pike Place Market began, the Japanese started selling their produce there. By the time WWI began, the ambitious Japanese occupied 70 percent of the Market. The Pike Place Market became the place where many of the local Japanese farmers sold the bulk of their goods.
Prostitution and Gambling
At the turn of the century, the International District inhabitants—including the Japanese—
were mostly single men. Aberrant enterprise emerged to exploit this situation. Prostitution and gambling were two such noticeable ventures which emerged.
Japanese women were shipped here to work in the area’s brothels and in the outlying areas where there were work gangs. The brothels were initially situated around Second and Occidental Streets, but later shifted to Fifth and Sixth Avenues around Weller Street. It was reported that there were 200 Japanese prostitutes alone. Half of them catered to Japanese only, while the others made no distinctions.
The presence of Japanese prostitutes did not persist without evoking a strong reaction from the community. Around 1904, a movement spearheaded by Japanese churches succeeded in driving a “Japanese Colony” of prostitutes out to rural areas. The presence of such women on pay day at outlying sawmills was not uncommon. Gambling regularly occurred wherever there were large gangs of workers in the city and rural areas.Organized groups of gambling operators appeared at work camps, usually on pay day, to press the luck and dreams of the workers.
The Chinese had started their own gambling clubs, followed by the Japanese. The first Japanese club, the Jinai Club, was started in 1917. The largest in the area was the Toyo Club, which began in the early 1920s. The club occupied an entire floor what is now the New Central Hotel on Maynard Avenue and South Weller. Gambling occurred throughout the International District, but concentrated on lower King and Weller Streets. Competition for customers was keen and based somewhat on ethnicity. It was not uncommon, for instance, to find gambling operators castigating members of their own ethnic group for patronizing a gambling hall owned by members of another ethnic group.
Japanese Associations
The local Japanese community, like other immigrant groups, developed associations for social purposes, mutual aid, unity, and
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protection. In 1900, the Japanese Association of Washington was formed in Seattle. Its first president was Tatsuya Arai. The first issue of the Association addressed was the boycott of Western style Japanese restaurants, which they successfully resolved through mediation. The Association, which split for a time, subsequently became the Japanese Association of North America. Until the 1930s, the Association was the main leader within the community. The Association, at its peak, consisted of representative of over 30 community organization or clubs. It spent much of its time fighting discrimination against the Japanese.
In the 1930s, the Japanese American Citizens League emerged. A leading figure in the organization was James Sakamoto, also the editor and publisher of the Japanese American Courier newspaper. Besides these associations, there were prefectural associations base on the locality from which the immigrants came. The largest among these was the Hiroshima Ken, followed by the Okayma and Yamaguchi prefectural associations.
Chinatown Shifts to King Street
The Chinese began occupying lower King Street in 1910, after the Jackson Street Regrade. This began the shift of Chinatown from what is now Pioneer Square to the King Street core, the current site of Seattle’s Chinatown. The Regrade area was a steep hill that was substantially lowered and tide flats, which were filled with dirt. The first Chinese building constructed on King Street was the building on the northeast corner of Eighth and King. It was built by a tong association and still stands there today.
Its construction was followed by the development of the two Kong Yick Buildings with are located on the south side of King Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. A Chinese investment group, led by Goon
Dip, built these structures. Chinese businesses, including the Wa Chong and Yick Foon Companies, opened there in 1911. Goon Dip built his own Milwaukee Hotel in 1917.
One of the earliest visitors to this new Chinatown was Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the leader of the Chinese revolution that overthrew the Manchu Dynasty. He came here to raise money from overseas Chinese to aid the war effort.
In 1921, news of a famine in China spread throughout the community. A large campaign and festival was held in Chinatown to raise money and collect supplies and goods to send back to China. After 1925, only a handful of Chinese stores and very few Chinese remained in the old Chinatown area. The only legitimate business in the Old Chinatown area was a family association. Gambling was prevalent in the Old Chinatown area with some stores selling cigarettes as a business front. Lottery tickets were sold to Caucasians and Chinese would go down there to gamble in the backrooms. Meanwhile, the first Chinese newspaper published in Seattle, the Chinese Star, was established. Four people worked on the weekly publication, which covered news from China and the local community. The newspaper was supported by the Nationalist Chinese Government and ran for a few years, ceasing publication in 1929. That same year, the Chong Wa Benevolent Association Building was constructed at the northeast corner of Eighth and Weller Street. It was just across the street from its previous location, which was taken over by the Gee How Oak Tin Association. Chong Wa was a powerful organization within the Chinese community. It comprised of practically all of the Chinese family associations, tongs, and other Chinese groups. It represented the Chinese in the state.
In 1931, news of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria aroused the Chinese community here. At a community meeting, Chinese
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decided they would boycott Japanese stores in the area to express their anger. Not all Chinese complied, however, and those who did not were punished before the community.
During the Depression, Chinese suffered like most other Americans. Many lost their job and those who were fortunate to remain employed worked for meager wages.
According to the U.S. Census data, there was no increase in the Chinese population in Seattle between 1920 and 1930, while the Chinese population for the state decreased to its lowest point since the beginning of Chinese immigration to Washington. There were 2,195 Chinese recorded in the state in 1930, a decrease of 168 from the previous decade and nearly 1,500 from 1900. The decreases were, in large measure, the result of exclusionary immigration laws passed against the Chinese and the lack of employment opportunities. In the following decade, the Chinese population in Seattle grew to 1781—an increase of 434 from 1930. The increase was primarily due to natural births rather than immigration.
The Filipino Immigrants
For decades, Filipinos occupied a “bastard” status within the wide variety of American laws which once governed the Philippines. In 1899, the Treaty of Paris ended the SpanishAmerican War, and ceded the Philippines to the United States. Specifically reserved to the U.S. Congress was the right to determine the status of the inhabitants. The consequence of this reservation was that even though U.S. sovereignty over the Philippines had been established, there was no automatic guarantee of American citizenship for Filipinos. This result was consistent with the overall state of American race relations. Through the 19th and much of the 20th Centuries, naturalization was privilege reserved primarily for white aliens. (After the Civil War, the privilege was extended to Black aliens.) Filipinos were classified as American “nationals.” As “nationals,” they owed their
allegiance to the United States and were entitled to American protection. They traveled with U.S. passports and escaped the exclusionary legislation aimed at stopping the entry of other Asian immigrants to this country.
Yet, even their elevated legal status did not protect them fully. The burden of loyalty to American did not carry with it a full range of corresponding benefits. As non-citizens, Filipinos living in the U.S. were not permitted to vote in American elections. In some jurisdictions—including Washington State— they were not permitted to own land, while in others, racial intermarriages involving Filipinos were strictly forbidden.
The thousands of Filipinos immigrants who came to these shores in the 1920s and 1930s discovered their existence circumscribed by the web of political and legal hostility. Tolerated as itinerant labor in West Coast agriculture and Alaskan canneries, they found few opportunities elsewhere. In the cities where they rested from their seasonal work, the boundaries of Filipino enclaves were specifically marked. Whether it was King Street in Seattle or Temple Street in Los Angeles, the urban world of Filipinos possessed a dismal consistency: hundreds of tiny rooms in rows of cheap hotels. For most of the inhabitants, there were little more than a place to sleep.
Yet, Filipinos of the first generation wanted more than the little they were offered. Products of an American educational system imposed on the Philippines, they responded with unbounded enthusiasm. Carlos Bulosan, in his classic work, America is in the Heart, recalled his youthful fascination with the story of Abraham Lincoln: “A poor boy became a president of the United States. Deep down in me something was touched, was springing out, demanding to be born, to be given a name. I was fascinated by the story of this boy who was born in a log cabin and became a president of the United States.”
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Bulosan’s fascination was understandable. The attractive simplicity of the Lincoln fable contrasted nicely with the poverty of Filipino rural life. America meant hope, and in the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of young Filipino men followed that hope to its source. Unfortunately for Carlos and his follow voyagers, the fascination was not mutual. The America of that day was tightly governed by rules of race. On the West Coast in particular, the hostility against Asian newcomers was intense. West Coast agitation had led to the passage of federal legislation which severely restricted the immigration of the Chinese (1882), then the Japanese (1924), to these shores. It was a pervasive hostility that Filipinos, despite the theoretical protection of “national” status could not evade. In Congress in the early 1930s, anti-Filipino sentiment was reflected in the mood to grant the Philippines independence, there is little doubt that American racism played a major role.
As federal wards, Filipinos could not be legally prevented from coming to American shores. The answer for some was Philippine independence. This development would create a change in status from national to alien, which would then enable Congress to constitutionally exclude Filipinos.
This is in fact what transpired in 1934, with the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act (the Philippine Independence Act). The Act provided for a 10-year period of transition to independence. During that time, a quota of 50 immigrants a year was imposed. At the end of transition, the Philippines would become independent and Filipinos would become aliens subject to the exclusionary whim of Congress.
Yet, despite the fluctuations in the status and the overall hostility to their presence, most of the early immigrants were determined to stay in America. For many, this determination meant that confinement in the cheap hotels of Chinatown, acceptable for the present, would no longer suffice.
In Washington State, the problem was that Chinatown’s segregation was reinforced by law. The Anti-Alien Land Law was designed to prevent alien “ineligible for citizenship by naturalization” from owning land. Within the context of those times, only whites and blacks could be naturalized. All others (Japanese, Filipinos, Chinese) were specifically excluded.
This law underscored a dominant American them: Asians were tolerated only insofar as they constituted a transient, cheap labor force. And in Seattle, the single room hotels of Chinatown visibly embodied that attitude.
For Filipinos in this city, one of the first steps toward establishing a permanent presence was taken in 1939. That year, Pio DeCano, a Filipino immigrant, purchased a tract of land. The purchase itself reflected a deep Filipino desire for a continuing presence in this city. The purpose of the tract was its future use as a site for a Filipino Community clubhouse. Immediately, the State Attorney General’s Office contested the purchase, contending that DeCano had violated the Anti-Alien Land Law. DeCano won at both the trial court and on appeal. In neither case did the courts restrict the right of the State to racially limit land ownership. Direct successful challenges to racial restrictions had to wait the post-war years of dramatic political and social change. Rather, the basis of the triumph was technical in nature: as a Filipino, Mr. DeCano did not fit the “alien” category. As a national, his allegiance was to the United States. Thus, the provisions of the law, in regard to Mr. DeCano and the Filipinos of Washington State, were inapplicable.
Japanese Face Discrimination
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Within a few months, over 120,000 Japanese on the West Coast—citizens and aliens, elderly and infants, men and women, students and professionals, famers and clerks— were sent away to concentration camps.
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Japanese on the West Coast were imprisoned, not for military reasons, but because of race prejudice. This incarceration was the result of years of racial hostility against them. With the passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, many white Americans thought they had stemmed the flow of Asian into this country. But as the number of Japanese immigrants grew, the hostility and racism earlier directed at the Chinese shifted to the Japanese. Like the Chinese before them, the Japanese were perceived as unfair labor competition, immoral and unassimilable because they were not white. The antagonism toward the Japanese was sporadic and concentrated in California. Labor leaders and demagogic politicians were at the forefront of the anti-Japanese movement.
As early as 1889, when there were few Japanese in this country, the San Francisco Trades Council, referring to the new immigrants, called attention to a “recently developed phase of the Mongolian issue.”
Four years later, the infamous Denis Kearney, who had been involved in the anti-Chinese movement, told the public about “another horde of Asiatic slaves ‘filling the gap’ made vacant by the Chinese.” “We are paying out our money,” he said, so that “fully developed men who know no morals by vice [may] sit beside our daughters to debauch [and] demoralize them. The Japs must go.” The San Francisco School Board, on June 14, 1893, passed a resolution requiring that “all persons of the Japanese race seeking entrance to the public schools must attend what is known as the “Chinese School.” After some protest by the Japanese, including a plea in person by the Japanese Consul, the Board changed its mind.
At the turn of the century, the hostility against the Japanese increased. The San Francisco Building Trades Council, on April 12, 1900, passed a resolution that said, in part, “… that the present open-door policy toward Japanese
immigration is injurious to labor and detrimental to the best interest of the country …” The resolution further said, “We respectfully petition our Senators and Representatives in Congress to use their best efforts to enact a similar law [to the Chinese Exclusion Act] or secure such international agreement as will secure this Coast against any further Japanese immigration, [and] thus forever settle the mooted Mongolian labor problem.” A month later, San Francisco Mayor James D. Phelan, at a meeting called by various labor unions, said: “The Japanese are starting the same tide of immigration which we thought had been checked 20 years ago … the Chinese and Japanese are not bon fide citizens. They are not the stuff of which Americans citizens are made.” In Washington State, the local Western Central Labor Union passed resolutions denouncing Japanese immigration. The sentiments of labor quickly spread to the political arena, and the King County Republican Club approved similar resolutions petitioning Congress to pass a Japanese Exclusion Act. Their sentiments must have been shared by others throughout the state. At a meeting, state delegates to the National Republican Consortium decided they should “use every effort to secure the insertion of an anti-Japanese clause in the National Republican Platform.” The McKinley Republican Club, a local group, passed yet another set of resolution which read, in part:
“Whereas, during the first few months a large number of Japanese laborers have migrated or have been imported to the Pacific Coast of the United States … “Whereas, said laborers consist of a class who live and subsist at so small a cost that they unfairly enter directly into competition with intelligent American workmen … “Whereas, said Japanese laborers are a menace to the conditions which make it possible for the intelligent American workingman to maintain himself, his family and his home …
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“Whereas, the immigration and importation of said Japanese laborers to the Pacific Coast will speedily produce the conditions which now exist in Southern States, with all of its race controversies and race horrors … “Resolved, that the further importation and immigration of said Japanese should be limited and restricted … “Resolved, that the act of Congress entitled, ‘An act to prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States’ ... should be amended by inserting the words ‘and Japanese’ after the word ‘Chinese’ …
“Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be forthwith transmitted ... to all senators and members of Congress … “Resolved, that all Republicans newspapers be requested be requested to publish these resolutions.”
Even though there was the need for additional laborers in the state, it was clear many wanted Washington preserved for whites. The racial tolerance of Washingtonians dwindled as visions of a state with mixed races and cultures instilled fears of another South. Race harmony was not on the agenda; getting rid of Asians was.
Alien Land Laws and Exclusion
In 1894, a Japanese man named Saito applied for citizenship in Massachusetts. Saito was the first Asian alien to challenge America’s naturalization laws. The laws regarding nationalization were originally passed in 1790 and decreed that any alien, “free white person” who has resided in the United States for a certain stated time could become a citizen. In 1873, the naturalization law revised to include “American blacks” and “persons of African nativity or descent.” Saito argued that he fitted within the term “a free white person.” A Massachusetts court rejected this contention, stating that the races of mankind are white, black, brown, and yellow. Since Saito belonged to the yellow race, he was ineligible for citizenship. The court pointed out that the
earliest naturalizations laws were originally intended to extend citizenship only to members of a Caucasian race. The fact that specific revisions were made to include blacks bolstered the court’s belief that the yellow race was to be excluded from the privilege of applying for citizenship. California passed the first Alien Land Law in 1913. The original California law denied all persons ineligible for citizenship the right to own or lease land. In deference to white landowners, however, it was amended to permit leasing for no more than three years.
Washington State courts, in the beginning, admitted Japanese petitions for naturalization. But this was over-ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Yamashita vs. Hinkley, the Supreme Court overturned a decision of a Washington State court granting Yamashita’s application for citizenship.
Yamashita was issued a certificate of naturalization by a state Superior Court. He then tried to create a corporation. But, state law prohibited non-citizens from doing so. When he filed his corporation papers, Washington’s Secretary of State refused to accept them on the basis that Yamashita was ineligible for citizenship because he was not a free white man. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court of Washington, which held that the Superior Court of Washington had no power to confer citizenship.
On the same day as the Yamashita decision, November 13, 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Ozawa vs. United States, closed the door to Japanese naturalization. The Court ruled that Ozawa was “clearly of a race which is not Caucasian, and therefore belonged entirely outside the zone on the negative side.” During World War I, when Japan was an ally of the U.S., there was racial tolerance towards the Japanese. But, with the return of veterans and a national recession, anti-Japanese agitation resurfaced. In 1921, Washington State passed an Alien Land Law, after California has strengthened its own law. This time, the
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anti-Japanese forces were joined by the newly formed American Legion and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West.
Three years later, the anti-Japanese exclusionist achieved victory. The Immigration Act of 1924 effectively stopped entry of Japanese to the United States.
With the curtailment of Japanese immigration and the gradual acceptance of second generation Japanese, blatant acts of racism against them cooled during the 1930s. Yet, by the time Would War II came around, and discrimination against the Japanese increased. The Japanese would not have come close to winning a popularity contest on the West Coast.
Incarceration
The attack on Pearl Harbor and the war with Japan rekindled and heightened the animosity against Japanese Americans. The public and political outcry against Japanese Americans was quickly turned into an official policy of evacuation. President Roosevelt, on February 19, 1942, signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized any military commander to evacuate any person if Japanese ancestry from an area.
All Japanese residents on the West Coast were ordered to leave their homes and businesses. More than two thirds of them were United States citizens. “The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship, have become Americanized, the strains are undiluted,” said General J.L. Dewitt, Western Defense Commander. The courts were open for business, except to serve the Japanese who were arrested without warrants and held without indictment or a statement of charges. The Japanese were first transported to hastily constructed assembly centers and then to more permanent concentration camps. The forced removal were executed with hast. So-called measures to protect the Japanese
from the force sale of their property were wholly ineffective and evacuation resulted in financial disaster, torment and hardship for virtually every family. Most of the Japanese in this area were shipped like cattle to Puyallup, an assembly area, and then to Minidoka, Idaho.
The Years after the War
“When the Japanese began to return in January 1945,” wrote Howard Droker, “Seattle confronted its gravest racial problem. Although the blind racism and fear that were largely responsible for the evacuation of the Japanese had abated to some degree, self-styled ‘patriotic’ anti-Japanese groups had opposed to the move back to the West Coast. But a pubic sense of guilt, the efforts of civic groups, and the favorable publicity given to the JapaneseAmerican soldiers by the federal government helped to lessen racial tensions and ease the return.” Seattle’s mayor at the time, William F. Devin, originally joined the mayors of several cities on the West Coast in opposing the return of Japanese Americans the coast. However, once the government decided to allow them back, the conservative mayor left the matter to his Civic Unity Committee. Mayor Devin had established the committee earlier to ease racial tensions in the city and to make recommendations to avoid outbreaks of violence in the wake of race riots that had occurred in Detroit, Harlem, and Los Angeles. Citing the sacrifices and heroism of Japanese American soldiers in Europe and the Pacific, the multi-racial committee passed a resolution hop “that Seattle will respond as truly American city and grant the returning American-Japanese citizens all the rights to which they are legally entitled.” Washington Governor Mon Wallgren also disapproved of the return of Japanese Americans, as did the Japanese Exclusion League and the Remember Pearl Harbor League. Veterans groups sided with the Army’s wishes for the return of the Japanese, but many labor unions feared renewed labor competition.
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The Washington Teamsters and their leader, Dave Beck, were very vocal in their opposition. Produce dealers and farmers, especially in the Kent Valley, were another element opposed to the return of the Japanese.
“After the war, Japantown was no longer there,” said Shigeko Uno, who was born in the International District. Uno’s parents owned and operated the White River Dairy on Weller Street but lost it when they were sent to camp. “Even the Japanese people who came back and started their businesses,” she says, “their children didn’t want to continue, so there’s the end of it. We started Chick’s Ice creamery on Jackson Street underneath the Bush Hotel from 1947 to 1960. During the early years it was fun because people would be coming back from all over and they would all gather at our place. Everybody would be so happy to see each other.” The Japanese in Seattle prior to World War II totaled nearly 7,000. After the war, the number dropped to some 4,700. It was estimated that 65 to 70 percent of Seattle’s interned Japanese later returned to the city. Prior to World War II, the Japanese in the city operated 206 hotels, 140 groceries, 94 cleaning establishments, 64 market stands, and 57 wholesale produce houses, according to a survey prepared by the Japanese American Citizens League. Except for hotel operators, there were only a few groceries, restaurants, and produce market stands in the District after the War. Most of the Japanese businesses in the District that existed prior to the War never restarted. More specifically, there were over 200 Japanese establishments in the area, according to the City Polk Directory listed about 83 Japanese establishments in the same geographical area. A little more than a dozen had re-established their businesses in the area after the war, although rarely in the exact location as before the war. Meanwhile, the population in the International District grew to 4,800 in 1950, compared to 3,733 in 1940. This 30 percent increase reflects the heavy migration to Seattle of workers who found jobs in the wartime industries.
Included in this migration were Blacks, some of whom settle in the District. Some Blacks opened businesses in the area along Jackson Street, including a large nightclub, server restaurants and tavern, tailor shops and cleaners. By the end of the decade blacks had become the largest racial minority in Seattle. Subsequently, the racial antagonism direct at Asians shifted to them.
During the late 1940s, a multi-racial organization, sponsored by the Health and Welfare Council, was formed. The Jackson Street Community Council, grassroots self-help group, sought to improve the declining social and economic conditions and create racial harmony among the residents in an area a little larger than the present International District boundaries. The organization consisted mainly of business persons and leaders of different ethnic groups in the Area. The Council lasted over 20 years and evolved into what is now the Central Seattle Community Council Federation. One of the group’s executive directors was Phil Hayasaka, who became director of the City’s Department of Human Rights. Ben Woo, James Mar, Tak Kubota, and Fred Cordova were among those involved with this organization. The Jackson Street Community Council was the first organization not exclusively Chinese to become involved with the affairs of Chinatown. Although Chon Wa did not formally participate in the Council, some of its member did. Apparently, Chong Wa did not see the Council as a formidable “outside” force since it included Chinese businessman and leaders. Because the area was multi-racial, the Council referred to the neighborhood as the “International Area.” The designation of the area as the International District is derived from Mayor Devin’s declaration in 1952. The Jackson Street Council, governed by a 15-member board, was probably the first neighborhood improvement organization in the city and eventually received national recognition. Without the benefit of government or public funds, the Council served as an effective advocate, promoter, and initiator for
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the area. Its successes ranged from getting vacant lots cleared and made safe, to planting trees on the hillside below Yesler Terrace, to sponsorship of community events to promotion of the area. One of its most notable achievements was getting the state legislature to allow urban renewal and getting the Yesler/ Atlantic neighborhood designated for such renewal efforts. Much of the housing in the International District was owned by absentee landlords who did little, if anything, to maintain their properties. The Jackson Street Council got the city to pass a minimum housing code ordinance so that property owners in the area would fix up their properties. The Jackson Street Council, however, was unsuccessful in arguing against construction of the Interstate 5 freeway through the District. Construction of the freeway through the area would divide the District in half, the Council argued. When the freeway began construction in 1962, all the fears of the Council became reality.
By this time, a frustrated group of Americanborn Chinese professional started the Chinese Community Service Organization (CCSO). They tried unsuccessfully to get Chong Wa to change. As in the past, Chong Wa was controlled by elderly businessmen, mostly foreign-born, who clung to what these younger groups considered the “old Chinese way of think and doing this.” The leaders of Chong Wa, said one CCSO member, “were oriented too much towards old China and the old Chinese ways, too old-fashioned. We wanted Chong Wa to change and to address the issues facing the Chinese people here.” Wing Luke, who later became the first Chinese elected to the Seattle City Council, was one of those who started CCSO. If Luke had used his influence on the City Council to enhance the goals of CCSO, that organization might have become a real base of power in Chinatown and the greater Chinese community. However, he never actively participated in the organization; and CCSO never had very much influence.
Perhaps CCSO’s greatest achievement was getting money to put up lanterns in Chinatown. Around this time, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, a small group of Chinese merchants who wanted to promote business in the area, was also organized. The Chamber sponsored promotional event during Chinese New Year and Seattle’s Seafair festival. In 1968, the International District Improvement Association (Inter-Im), another multi-ethnic group, was established. InterIm, formed largely by business persons to improve economic conditions, represented the entire District, and received funding from the city’s Model Cities Program. Initially, Inter-Im sought to develop community improvement plans for the area.
The 1970 census showed that most of the 1,690 residents in Chinatown or the International District were retired, elderly, single persons. Some 60 percent of the “unrelated individuals” in the area lived below the national poverty level and survived Social Security checks. In addition, 40 percent of the families in the area, mostly Chinese, were listed in the poverty category. The housing supply in the District had declined, along with the number of residents. By the early 1970s, over half of the 45 hotels and apartments were closed and those still open were threatened with closure because they failed to meet the city’s fire and building codes. Commercial conditions in the area had stagnated. The bulk of the 139 commercialretail businesses provided Chinese or Japanese goods or services depended heavily on outside clientele. Some storefronts were vacant, businesses had closed, and many merchants were lucky to make ends meet. By the mid-1970s, however, the District had begun to revitalize. Ironically, the catalyst in this turnaround was the 1971 decision to construct the King County domed stadium next to the District. Residents, community groups, and their supporters were concerned about the impact of
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the stadium on the District. They feared that the District might become a parking lot, overrun by motels other stadium-related businesses, and suffer traffic congestion during stadium events. More important, they feared the loss of residents and the ethnic character of the area. The “preservation of the International District” became a rallying point for supporter of the area. In the process of seeking to mitigate the impact of the stadium a new power structure evolved in this small neighborhood.
Revitalization and Future Prospects
The face of the International District is changing. The old buildings are being renovated and new businesses have spring up. In the last five years, trees and new bricks have replaced blighted streets. Vacant lots have been turned into small parks. With assistance from the city, the area has undergone a facelift that will encourage greater investment and development in the area. “The city has been doing more than just trying to establish better police relations in the International District,” said Mayor Charles Royer in reference to the perceived crime problem in the area. “We made a commitment to this community six years ago that the City would provide whatever assistance was needed to make this area a good place to live and to run a business.” What was a rapidly declining area not too long ago is becoming a healthy and pleasant downtown neighborhood forresidents and commerce. The City, working jointly with area community groups and businesses, has helped the District “turn the corner,” said the Mayor.
A number of small businesses have emerged in the International District and middle-income people are moving back. Investors are much more confident about investing in the area. In 1979, the Neighborhood Strategy Area (NSA) Program, a city-administered revitalization program, began in the District. It called for renovation of housing, business development, public improvements and social service programs for the needy.
The results of the NSA program, which ended in 1983, have been dramatic. The infusion of $4 million of city funds and nearly $2 million of federal funds leveraged $5 million in private investment to rehabilitate seven large mixeduse buildings. These projects resulted in 283 new housing units. Five of the buildings are privately owned. Some 47,000 square feet of new commercial space will provide facilities for 50 businesses.
The City also provided $1.7 million for streetscaping. New decorative lighting, sidewalks, trees and other improvement were added to promote an aesthetic residential environment in the District. Other projects include a small park on the hillside overlooking the District and a small park for children.
Several new small businesses—including the House of Hong restaurant, which recently expanded—have become part of the International District community, along with Uwajimaya, the large Japanese supermarket in the area. The city estimates that over 20 new International District businesses have started on their own over the last five years. There have also been new construction projects in the area, including the Imperial Palace Restaurant (which was recently sold and renamed the Ocean City Restaurant and Nightclub) and two large low-income high-rise buildings.
In 1980, the population of the District was about 1,700. The Asian population in Seattle, meanwhile, grew from 28,000 to about 44,000 due mostly to the influx of new Asian immigrants. This, of course, greatly increased the demand for goods and service in the District and a major catalyst in the revitalization of the area. While other Chinatown, Japantown, and Manilatowns in other cities have faded away, the International District survives with a new energy, purpose, and authenticity.
Chinatown, or the International District, developed as an Asian enclave because of
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discrimination as well as the need provide a place for those with similar Asian ethnic and race characteristics. The area developed an economy that catered to its own demands for goods and services as well as the larger singlemale society of early Seattle. Social and cultural institutions based on the countries from which Asian immigrants came from were transplanted and modified, and established here. The resurgence of the District has not only resulted in physical improvement; it has brought with it a new social order. Middle-income people can now find decent housing in the area along with new housing for the elderly and
poor. A new political structure with progressive leadership from the business community and community organizations has replace the influence of traditional groups. The area, formerly derived into Chinese and Japanese sections, has steadily become more mixed and integrated. And tolerance among the ethnic groups is being replaced with acceptance.
For sure, the International District will always have its ups and downs and will always face challenges. Hopefully, it will continue to grow, strengthen its Asian American identity and its spot as a regional shopping, services and cultural entity.
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The history of the International Examiner By Gary Iwamoto Think back to June 1974—nearly 40 years ago. Richard Nixon was struggling to save his presidency. Impeachment proceedings in the U.S. House of Representatives were in its second month. Watergate was still fresh in the nation’s psyche. Patricia Hearst was kidnapped. Expo’74 welcomed its one millionth visitor to Spokane. UW Co-ed Georgeann Hawkins was missing, later to be listed among the victims of serial killer Ted Bundy. Dan Evans was Governor, Slade Gorton was Attorney General, John Spellman was King County Executive and Wes Uhlman was Mayor. Kojak, Flip Wilson, and $6 Million Dollar Man were popular television shows. The Exorcist, American Graffiti, and Deep Throat were playing in local theaters. Tom Burleson signed a contract with the Seattle Supersonics. Billy Eckstein was appearing at the Heritage House. Popular night spots included the District Tav, the Aquarius Tavern, and New Chinatown. Meanwhile, in the International District, the Kingdome was under construction. Community activists worried about the impacts which the stadium would have on the District, predicting doom and gloom. The Danny Woo I.D. Community Garden was an area overgrown with weeds and sticker bushes. Social services did not exist. Enforcement of stricter building and fire codes resulted in the closure and demolition of over half of the 45 hotels and apartments which exited in the District. Businesses failed and buildings deteriorated. The International District was a neighborhood in decay. But the early ’70s was also a period during which different Asian ethnic groups, primarily Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese, came together as part of the “Asian Movement.” In their search for identity and ethnic roots, young Asian Americans focused their attention and concern on the International District. The battle over the
Kingdome served to expose society’s neglect of Asian Americans–lack of decent housing, inadequate social services, and continuing discrimination. The emerging militancy of these young Asian activists culminated in a series of political demonstrations and marches that found a place on the six o’clock news. Galvanized by the development of the Kingdome, the young activists began serious efforts to preserve the neighborhood character of the International District.
While the older established community groups sought to improve the economic climate of the area, the young activists sought to bring social services and new housing to the elderly. Spearheaded through the leadership of Bob Santos and the International District Improvement Association (Inter*im), the community worked together to build new housing, renovate buildings, provide needed social services, and revitalize the neighborhood.
During the early 1970s, the International District Community Garden, Kobe Park Terrace, and Hing Hay Park were built. Social service agencies such as the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, the Chinese Information Service Center, the International District Health Clinic, and the International District Housing Alliance began providing needed services to the residents and to the community. It was against this backdrop that the concept of an International District newspaper was born. At the time, the only local Asian community newspaper was the Asian Family Affair, the “voice” of the local Asian Movement. The paper’s content reflected the political leanings of its activist staff. AFA not only covered political demonstrations, it sponsored them as well. This was not surprising since many of then young activists, such as Al Sugiyama, Frank Irigon, and Silme Domingo, were active in the leadership of the Asian advocacy groups as well as the leadership of AFA.
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AFA was actually more of a journal than a newspaper, focusing on topics and issues with the evolving Asian American identity—Asian women, Asian youth, and stereotypes in the mass media, for example. AFA served more as a commentator than an impartial observer of events and issues affecting the Asian community. While AFA did features on the International District, it considered itself more as an Asian community newspaper than an International District newspaper.
The International District really had no newspaper to call its own. The idea of an International District newspaper came from a couple of civic minded leaders of the International District Economic Association. Two individuals, Gerald Yuasa, then associated with the International District branch of Sea First Bank, and Larry Imamura, the proprietor of Officemporium, believed that a community newspaper was essential for improving the business climate and promoting a more positive image of the International District. Serving as publishers, Yuasa and Imamura hired George Cox, a Boeing engineer with some writing experience, as editor. Some people argue that the International District is gasping its last breath. There are those who think that the space it occupies could be better utilized by the creation of a large corporate shopping district complete with high rise apartments and nondescript shops selling assembly line products. Maybe, but it has much to offer in its present form, as well as potential for future change. There are those who assert that the ethnic quality of the area retards its worth and growth. But this in fact is its real asset.
What other part of Seattle can claim such a diverse mixture of ethnic groups, which is complimented by their uniquely different foods and specialty shops. If it is a dying area, why are there doctors, lawyers, dentists, banks, and merchants doing business in the District. This question and others will be explored and answered in the International Examiner.
The International District is not as well understood as it should be. This newspaper intends to help change that. We intend to show that the International District is a dramatic and visible part of the Queen City.” –International Examiner, June 1974.
With that, the International Examiner was launched with the slogan, “The Heartbeat of the International District.” The cover story, headlined “Tatami Rooms Now at Mikado,” featured the then latest addition to a Japanese restaurant that has since closed, describing the opening of seven new tatami rooms, listing dinner prices for tempura ($5.50) and teriyaki ($6.75) that seem relatively modest in comparison today. Other stories featured Philippines Independence Day and Jimmy Mar, the unofficial “mayor” of Chinatown. Advertisers included Gilt Edge Cleaners, the National Bank of Commerce, Asahi Printing, Kiki’s Beauty Salon, King Yen Restaurant, Kokusai Theater, and Jackson Furniture. The content of that first issue was business oriented with feature stories about the local merchants of the District. The burning social issues of the day, particularly the impending impacts of the Kingdome, still under construction, were not discussed or covered. The paper, both in format and writing style, appeared to be a mirror of another Asian newspaper, East is East. The first edition of the Examiner consisted of four pages with a subscription rate of $3 for what was intended to be a monthly publication. About 2000 copies were printed and distributed.
In those early years of the Examiner, its business office was the Officemporium (site of the House of Hong restaurant today), where Larry Imamura handled the newspaper’s business affairs, solicited the ads, and kept the books. George Cox wrote the articles and did the paste-up out of his West Seattle home. But although the Examiner was supposed to come out every month, that first year saw very little of the newspaper. It took a while for the newspaper to get off the ground. Cox soon find out that he couldn’t devote as much time as he wanted to
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getting the Examiner out. Because of his full time job at Boeings, Cox couldn’t get down to the International District to find stories to write about.
In 1975, the next year, the Alaska Cannery Workers Association, entered the picture. The ACWA, founded by Nemesio and Silme Domingo and other young Asian and Native American cannery workers as a way to combat racial discrimination in the canneries, had an office across the street from Officemporium. Nemesio Domingo became very interested in the idea of a community newspaper and began talking to Imamura and Cox about the possibility of taking over the Examiner. After a couple of meetings, a deal was struck for $1 and the Examiner became property of the ACWA. Taking the role newspaper publisher, Domingo recruited an old friend, Tessie McGinnis, who had a degree in journalism, to serve as editor. Elaine Ko and yours truly, editorial journalism students at the University of Washington’s School of Communications, were asked to write stories. Ken Mar and Tommy Mar were brought in to be photographers. Neil Asaba and Steve Lock served as business managers and went around the District, trying to get businesses to advertise in what was envisioned to be a “progressive” community newspaper. After a few marathon organizational meetings which lasted over a couple of months, the Examiner hit the streets with the tag, “The Heartbeat of the International District.” One of the first issues of the newly reorganized Examiner was the April 1975 issue. The front page headline for that issue read, “Spellman Pledges: Concessionaires Will Employ District/Asian Workers.” This particular story dealt with ongoing negotiations between then King County Executive John Spellman and a group of Asian activists over promises which Spellman made regarding employment at the Kingdome–promises which continued to be unfulfilled even to this date as the Kingdome is about to be a relic of the past. Two other stories in that April 1975 issue have historical importance today. One dealt
with the City’s final approval of the concept of an International District public corporation which exists today as the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority. The other dealt with the rediscovery of the Nippon Kan Theater, then a deserted, run down hall which had once been the center of the city’s Japanese American community, with hopes for restoration. The content of those early issues of the ACWA published Examiner was markedly different from the bland, business oriented first issue. The paper began covering the social and political issues affecting the International District, reflecting the political activism of its young, college aged student staff. With such writers as Elaine Ko, Doug Chin, and Julia Laranang, articles about low income housing, the Asian elderly, and distrust of redevelopment soon began appear regularly on its pages. But there was still a thin line between observer and participant. Some of the writers, for example, not only wrote about demonstrations but helped planned them as well. By the fall of 1975, Tessie McGinnis had stepped down as editor, and two graduate assistants from the University of Washington’s School of Communications, Mayumi Tsutakawa and Rita Fujiki (now Brogan) became co-editors. Ron Chew, another U.W. journalism student and future Examiner editor, began writing articles.
The Examiner began to take on the look of a community newspaper. For example, the November 1975 issue contained announcements about board vacancies on the International District Special Review District Board, a press release for the Wing Luke Museum art auction, a short story about the newly formed I.D. Health Clinic, and a feature story on Donnie Chin and the International District Emergency Center. The paper still came out as a four page monthly publication but had increased its circulation to 6,000. In the spring of 1976, Mayumi Tsutakawa assumed the editorship of the Examiner, now billed as the “Journal of the International
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District.” There was a conscious effort to bring the paper up to professional standards. The paper began paying attention to the cultural and artistic aspects of the community as political and social issues. Tsutakawa wrote the following in 1976:
“Starting with the next issue, we’ll have eight pages (or more), a paper divided into news, features, and people’s culture sections, and more and better photos, graphics, and indepth articles…. Why work harder? Because this District is important to a lot of people– the pioneers and immigrants who founded the Asian community in the Northwest, the current residents, shopowners, and community activists. And because the established media does not adequately cover our news for us. The community press is important, and although several publications are out in the Asian community, none covers our special concerns.
Our underlying philosophy is that we will report news about where the people are—not where we think they should be. We want to help inform and educate people, but to learn from them at the same time … we don’t want to fabricate news for our needs—Asian American unity and culture comes in many forms, often imperfect, and we will try to report all aspects of it and not just what the loud talkers have to say.” Unlike the early advocacy oriented issues of the Examiner, lines were drawn between straight news and editorial opinion. For example, the April 1976 issue featured a front page news story, written by Ron Chew, detailing the problems surrounding the funding of the I.D. Health Clinic. An editorial inside, written by Mayumi Tsutakawa, called for support of funding for the Clinic.
Political activism was still a theme of the Examiner. For example, the April 1976 issue covered the opening of the Kingdome with an article titled, “Dome Opening Greeted by People’s Rally” which described a protest rally at the Domed Stadium site. The May 1976 issue featured a front page story, written by Lesley Matsuhira, titled, “Tribute to Asian Workers” which described a May Day celebration for
Asian workers “involved in the battle to achieve low income housing, full employment worker’s rights, and a good education.”
But at the same time, the Examiner began running stories that were less political. In the May 1976 issue, an article described the decline of Japanese American businesses on Yesler Street, focusing on the future of Tokuda Drugs, Tom’s Grocery, and Yesler Hardware. The June 1976 issue described the exploitation of Chinese women in the garment industry. The July 1976 issue marked the 50th Anniversary of the Taiyo Club, detailing the memories of Nisei who played organized sports in their youth.
More attention was paid to the cultural aspects of the community. The May 1976 issue featured a story titled, “I.D. Music Spots for All Types” describing the “hot” night spots of the District, announcing that Deems Tsutakawa and his jazz band were playing weekends at the now defunct Gim Wah restaurant while other “sounds” could be heard at the also now defunct Silver Dragon and King Yen cocktail lounges. The June 1976 “District Notes” column described the latest theatrical offering from the Asian Multi Media Center (now the Northwest Asian American Theatre), “Nisei Bar and Grill” as “a melodrama with comic moments.” The political activists on staff gradually left the paper to work on other causes, replaced by those less inclined to “save the world” but more interested in simply participating in the community and gaining newspaper experience. Expanding the paper meant more writers and more stories. A stable pool of writers emerged: Judi Nihei, Flora Lopez, Debbie Murakami, Kathryn and Karen Chinn, Sue Chin, Mark Mano, and Ann Fujii (who, incidentally, has continued to be a regular Examiner contributor). Graphic artists such as Terri Nakamura and Anne Mori, and photographers such as John Harada and Dean Wong (who also incidentally, continues to be regular Examiner contributor) made significant improvements to the appearance of the newspaper. In 1977, Ron Chew took over the editorship and began to actively recruit and train
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community workers and students to contribute stories and photographs to the paper. Bob Santos, then director of Inter*im, began writing a column on his perspectives of issues in the District. In addition, Inter*im helped support the Examiner by funding the editor’s position through the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA). Donnie Chin started the “District Watch” column, which provided a first hand account of fires, accidents, and emergency situations in the District. Doug Chin began to write a series of articles on the history of the Chinese in Washington State. Gene Viernes wrote a series of articles on the Alaska canneries. The indispensable Alan Lau began to write about the arts.
The Examiner had become a diverse mixture of political, human interest, and cultural stories. The July 1977 issue, for example, featured stories on funding for a mini park in the District, bilingual education, Alaska cannery workers, growing up in Chinatown, subsidized housing, and a pictorial on the newly created mural on the side of the Bush Hotel. Coverage extended to mark the first Day of Remembrance (which memorialized the internment of Japanese Americans at the Puyallup Fairgrounds and efforts to start an Asian American studies program at Washington State University. We said hello to the Quong Tuck Restaurant and Mich’s Men Shop and goodbye to the Asian Multi Media Center (which lost its funding) and to Denise Louie, who was tragically murdered in San Francisco’s Chinatown. To accommodate the growing numbers of contributors, the paper increased to twelve (12) pages.
Through its first five years, the Examiner shared office space with ACWA, next door to what is today the offices of the Seattle Chinese Post/Northwest Asian Weekly. ACWA had provided the Examiner with administrative support for many years–office space, typewriters (before the age of computers), paper, stamps, and a telephone. But as the Examiner continued to grow and advertising support developed, the Examiner no longer had to depend on ACWA. In 1978, the Examiner was ready to go on its own and parted company with the ACWA.
With a new editor, Sue Chin the paper moved to new offices in the Jackson Building. Volunteers such as Guy Tsutsumoto and Kathy Kozu did the billing and bookkeeping and others such as Karen Chinn, Leonard Hayashida, and Steve Goon solicited the advertising. A board of directors was formed with Tim Otani as the first Board President. In 1980, the Examiner successfully applied to the Internal Revenue Service and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax exempt corporation, a tax status rarely granted to newspapers with paid advertising support. The Examiner was now on its own. In the next five years, coverage of news events continued to expand beyond the International District. The early 1980s saw a blend of stories that reflected the continuing advances for progress in our community. In civil rights, Japanese American redress was a continuing story, martial law ended in the Philippines, and the families of Domingo and Viernes began their lawsuit against the Marcos regime. In politics, coverage focused on the political campaigns of Gary Locke, Dolores Sibonga, Lloyd Hara, Jan Kumasaka, and Vera Ing. In literature, interviews were conducted with writers Shawn Wong, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Philip Gotanda. We said hello to Lori Matsukawa, the Asian Management and Business Association, the rebirth of Nippon Kan, Arnold Mukai, the Seattle Chinese Post, and karaoke and goodbye to educator and activist Min Masuda and pioneer labor activist Chris Mensalves. To reflect the broadening coverage, the Examiner began publishing the paper twice a month and changed its billing in 1981 to the “Journal of King County’s Asian Communities.”
The year 1981 was particularly painful because Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes were murdered in May at the office of Cannery Union Local 37 of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union. Both had made significant contributions to the development of the Examiner–Domingo as the one of the leaders of ACWA, the Examiner’s publisher, and Viernes as a writer. The Examiner covered
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their memorial services in great deal as well as the criminal trials of Fortunado “Tony” Dictado, Jimmy Bulosan Ramil, Pompeyo Benito Guloy, and Tony Baruso, who were convicted of their murders. By the fall of 1981, Ron Chew had returned as editor. The Examiner was about to take another step in its evolution as a community newspaper. The Board of the Examiner, under the leadership of Doug Chin, decided to publish the newspaper twice a month and try to generate enough revenue to sustain regular paid positions on staff. The primary concern was how to raise enough capital to sustain a newspaper which was still available free to the general public. As funding became more important, the Examiner decided to begin publishing “special issues” which would be included as inserts in the regular editions of the newspaper. The intent of these “special issues” was to attract advertisers. An August 1982 issue featured a special “employment” supplement which featured articles and advertising related to employment, career choices, and jobs programs. The “employment” supplement has become an annual tradition of the newspaper. As the years went on, other special issues regularly appeared focusing on AIDS, financial planning, Chinese New Year, and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
The Examiner continued to build its reputation as a voice for the arts and the cultural heritage of this community. With the support of funding by grants, for example, from the Seattle Arts Commission and the King County Arts Commission, the Examiner began publishing special editions devoted entirely to literature and culture and sponsoring cultural events such as taiko concerts in the community.
By publishing twice a month, the Examiner had to look beyond the International District for stories. In the early 1980s, the Examiner covered the murders of Vincent Chin in Detroit and Benigno Aquino in the Philippines and Gordon Hirabayashi’s 40-year fight to expose
government wrongdoing in the evacuation and internment of Japanese Americans.
Occasionally, an edition would consist almost exclusively of stories outside the District. For example, the May 19, 1982 edition of the Examiner featured the following stories: the murder trial of Fortunado “Tony” Dictado (subsequently convicted for planning the Domingo/Viernes murders), the leasing of vacant county land in Snohomish County for the Indochinese Farm Project, a column by the Asian Pacific Women’s Caucus on teaching ethnic awareness to children, preparing Chinese food, a book review by Alan Lau, and a listing of 43 local Asian heroes and heroines identified by the Examiner to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. To keep its connection to the District, the Examiner maintained two regular columns, “District Watch” by Donnie Chin and “District Notes,” a community bulletin board written through the years by several writers, including Ron Chew, Susan Taketa, and Ann Fujii Linderwall. Other volunteer contributors wrote columns on particular items of interest– Sharon Harada gave sound advice in her “Money Guide,” Gary Huie authored “Legal Notes.” Wm. Satake Blauvelt wrote scathing movie reviews of mainstream movies with pseudo-Asian themes. Takako offered political perspectives. Nancy Lim and Stan Shikuma were informative about “Heath Issues.” Vera Ing shared her personal observations in “Dim Sum.” Bob Shimabukuro mused about life, love, and the community with his popular “Bull Session.”
In February of 1983, 13 of our friends, neighbors, and relatives were murdered at the Wah Mee Club. The Examiner covered the Wah Mee murders in great detail. The March 2 issue that year devoted approximately half of its space to the murders, covering the arraignments of murder suspects Benjamin Ng and Willie Mak, providing short biographies of the 13 who died, criticizing the stereotypic and insensitive coverage by the mainstream press, and interviewing community leaders
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concerned about the impact of the murders on the District.
During this period, the Examiner continued to focus special attention to the arts and culture. Interviews were featured with nationally known artists such as Janice Mirikitani, Tzi Ma, and Momoko Iko as well as locally emerging artists such as writer Ken Mochizuki, spotlighting his movie, Beacon Hill Boys, and choreographer Bengie Santos with her dance program, “Innovasions.” The movies Nisei Soldier, Dim Sum, and Unfinished Business (the Oscar nominated documentary by Steven Okazaki about the Gordon Hirabayashi, Min Yasui, and Fred Korematsu coram nobis cases to overturn the legality of the World War II internment of Japanese Americans), were praised. The film, Year of the Dragon was heavily criticized and picketed as another example of Hollywood’s stereotypic characterization of Asian Americans. Meanwhile in the District, the Examiner noted the closing of the old Bailey Gatzert Elementary School, the development of Jackson Square known today as the Asian Plaza, and monitored Metro’s plans for a bus tunnel. We said hello to the Ocean City Restaurant and goodbye to redress activist Theresa Takayoshi, Chinese community historian Willard Jue, and banker Robert Chinn.
From the mid to late 1980s, the Examiner continued to report on the comings and goings within the community. The Examiner welcomed the openings of Kin On Nursing Home, Keiro Nursing Home’s new site, and the Viet Wah Supermarket, covered the political campaigns of Bob Santos, Cheryl Chow, Clarence Moriwaki, Al Sugiyama, Dolores Sibonga, and Nemesio Domingo; followed Gordon Hirabayashi’s 40year fight for vindication, and said goodbye to Tobo’s Variety Store, the Fuji Ten Cent Store, the Silver Dragon Restaurant, the Asian Family Affair, Astronaut Ellison Onizuka, pharmacists George Tokuda and James Luke and community activists Leo Lorenzo, Yuri Takahashi, Don Kazama, Min Yasui, Tomo Shoji, and Danny Woo. The Examiner focused
special attention to the AIDS issue, publishing regularly quarterly supplements devoted to publicizing the issue in the community.
In addition, during this period, the Examiner noted the 100th anniversary of the exclusion of the Chinese from Seattle and Tacoma, paid special attention to the problems of Asian military veterans, described community complaints about the selling of fortified wine, reported on the possibility of turning Union Station into a “city hall,” outlined plans for a community cultural center to honor the memory of Robert Chinn, and followed the civil lawsuit successfully brought by the families of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes against Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, which resulted in a multimillion judgment. Arts and culture continued to merit extensive coverage in the Examiner. With the completion of the Theatre Off Jackson, the Northwest Asian American Theatre began a steady stream of theatrical productions, opening with the musical, Miss Minidoka 1943. Hiroshima gained popularity for its mellow jazz sounds. Lesser known names such as Fred Houn and his Asian American Arts Ensemble and singer Tyrone Hashimoto were publicized as well. Low budget films such as “Living on Tokyo Time” and “Color Of Honor” were praised while the big budget film, “Come See the Paradise” was subject to mixed reviews. The Asian American Film Festival debuted. Alan Lau began writing a regular Arts Column and, in 1989, began producing the Pacific Reader, a literary supplement devoted to providing a comprehensive critical review of Asian/Pacific American books. The Pacific Reader reviewed the works of both established and newly emerging writers, covering all genres–history, visual arts, picture books, poetry, education, essays, children, young adult, fiction, non-fiction, and anthologies. The Examiner continued growing, broadening its focus to bring an awareness of not only local and regional API issues, but national API concerns as well. To reflect this change, the newspaper billed itself as the
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“Journal of the Northwest’s Asian American Communities.” Its circulation had grown to 12,000 and the paper was distributed to most areas of Seattle and some of the Eastside. The newspaper had outgrew its space and moved to its location at 6th and Washington, next to the Nippon Kan.
The early 1990s began an era of rapid growth and changes within the International District. The Examiner reported on the opening of the Ding How Shopping Center, the development of the Leschi Center at the old Bailey Gatzert site, the Metro Bus Tunnel, the PDA’s plans to create a multi-generational, multi-service facility at Eighth and Dearborn, and plans by the Sonics to build an arena by the Kingdome.
The Examiner brought us interviews with such diverse personalities as writers Amy Tan and Ly Hayslip, entrepreneur Scott Oki, and rising political star Martha Choe. The Examiner was there as Art Wang, Kip Tokuda, Velma Veloria, and Paull Shin made successful runs for the State Legislature. Gary Locke became King County Executive. Martha Choe and Cheryl Chow earned chairs on the Seattle City Council. Conrad Lee won a seat on the Bellevue City Council.
The Examiner had to show the dark side of our community with the murders of Mayme Lui and Fay Chan Mon Wai, the murder/suicide of Tessie and Narciso Guzman, the growth of Asian gangs, the increase in domestic violence, and AIDS/HIV issues. We also said goodbye to Jackson Furniture’s Tom Hidaka, Jack and John Uno, Lovett Moriguchi, Nemesio Domingo,Sr., artist Val Laigo, Henry Chin, the J.A.C.L.’s Mike Masaoka, and actor Keye Luke.
In 1991, the International Examiner instituted its Community Voice Awards to honor the unsung heroes of our community in conjunction with the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrations. The initial honorees were Ruth Chinn, Dorothy Cordova, Quynh T. Nguyen, and Frank Fujii. The Community Voice Awards became an annual event and the Examiner’s major fundraiser. Subsequent award winners have included
Ron Chew, Faye Hong, Sid and Dan Ko, the Reverend Jean Kim, Sue Taoka, Rachel Hidaka, Dolores Sibonga, Ben and Ruth Woo, Frankie Irigon, Shigeko Uno, Lua Pritchard, Emiliano Francisco, Betty Lau, Glenn Chinn, Ron and Lynette Consego, Ick Wan Lee, Tazue Kiyono Sasaki, Lea Armstrong, Nemesio Domingo, Jr., Ray Chinn, Emmanuelle Chi Dang, Soya Jung, Bob Santos, Bea Kiyohara, Alan Lau, Martha Choe, the Ethnic Studies Students Association (UW), the First Hill Lions Club, the Nisei Veterans Committee, Larry Gossett, Van Sar, Khamsene Thavseth, Sam Solberg, Cindy Domingo, Emma Catague, Annie Xuan Clark, Ellen Abellera, Doug Chin, Jeff Hattori, Ngy Hul, Alice Ito, Rocky Kim, Betty Patu, Sutapa Basu, Tony Ishisaka, the Northwest Labor Employment Law Office (LELO), Paul Mar, Lori Matsukawa, David Della, Diane Narasaki, Tuyet Nguyen, Cheryl Lee, and the International District Housing Alliance, Mayumi Tsutakawa, Maria Batayola, John Pai, Greg Tuai,Uwajimaya, State Farm, APEC, Washington Mutual, Habib Habib, the Minority Executive Directors Coalition, Jan Kumasaka, Ruthann Kurose, Tony Lee, Sili Suvasa, the Center for Career Alternatives,and MarPac Construction; Kip Tokuda, Mai Nguyen, Neighborhood House, Muckleshoot Tribe, and Ehren Watada (Tatsuo Nakata Young Leader Award), Velma Veloria, Manny Uch (Tatsuo Nakata Youth Leadership Award, Roger Shimomura, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and others. In the 1990s, the Examiner continued to blend a mix of news stories and articles that affect the International District and the greater Asian Pacific Islander community. Developments in the International District coverage included the formation of the Business Improvement Area (B.I.A.); the construction and opening of both the Nikkei Manor and the International District Village Square; the arson fire at Mary Pang’s Warehouse and the subsequent arrest and conviction of Martin Pang as an arsonist; the collapse of the Kokusai Theater, the controversial closing of Lane Street to accommodate the expansion of Uwajimaya;
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aborted plans for the Stardome; and two, repeat two, new sports stadiums for the baseball Mariners and the football Seahawks. Paul Allen was welcomed.
Toward the end of the 1990s and into to the 2000s, the hot issues affecting the Asian Pacific Islander Community continue to find its way onto the pages of the Examiner–the demise of the Employment Opportunities Center, welfare reform, bilingual education, the protests over art at the Obachine Restaurant, the tenure of Connie So at the University of Washington, and racial slurs by the Spokane County Democratic Party. The community’s efforts to oppose Initiative 200 as anti affirmative action measure rekindled memories of the civil rights movement. In the political area, Gary Locke ran a successful campaign to become Governor of the State of Washington then was reelected to a second term. Cheryl Chow and Charlie Chong made strong bids in the election for Mayor of Seattle. Sharon Tomiko Santos joined the ranks of elected politicians as the State Representative for the 37th District. Comedienne Margaret Cho was the “All American Girl.” Tragedies were covered with the murders of Missy Fernandez, Susana Blackwell, and the An Family. Condolences marked the passing of Aki Kurose, George Tsutakawa, Paul Horiuchi, Harry Fujita, Amy Yee, James Omura, Eddie Espanol, Emmanuelle “Chi” Dang, Sam Yee, and Clara Fraser.
After 2000, the Examiner continued to note the events that the community should know about. The Kingdome imploded. The World Trade Organization came and left. The Eastern Hotel was renovated and reopened. Plans for a McDonalds restaurant in the International District were stopped in its tracks. Ground breaking ceremonies marked the second phase of the International District Village Square. Abercrombie and Fitch issued T-shirts that were racially offensive. More recently, the Examiner followed the tribulations of Chaplain James Yee and the emerging controversy over the planning of a an Emergency Command Center
on the edge of the International District. We said goodbye to Florence Eng, Diony Corsilles, Bernie Whitebear, Amy Yee, Guy Kurose, Bertha Tsuchiya, and Craig Shimabukuro.
In 2001, the Examiner ventured into the publishing business with the release of Doug Chin’s Seattle’s International District: Making of a Pan-Asian Community. This was followed one year later by the publication of Bob Santo’s autobiography, Humbows Not Hot Dogs.
The Examiner has grown and persevered, but not without the dedication and contributions of the many writers, photographers, graphic artists, advertising representatives, and board members who made the Examiner what it is. Although the list of contributors is long, some of those who were instrumental deserve some recognition—these include Bob Santos, Elaine Ko, Debbie Murakami, Sumi Hayashi, Mary Akamine, Sara Yamasaki, Vicki Woo, W. Satake Blauvelt, Ann Fujii Linderwall, Donnie Chin, Alan Chong Lau, Lisa “Charlie” Ritts, Melissa Lin, Carina del Rosario, Jesse Reyes, Steve Momii, Chiz Omori, Lorraine (Sako) Pai, Greg Castilla, Michelle Kumata, David Takami, Jackie Jamero, Carol Yip, Serena Louie, Greg Tuai, Shailin Hai Jew, Bill Wong, Pam Horino, Vera Ing, Emily Wong, Arlene Oki, Jan Kumasaka, Scott Watanabe, Doug Chin, Cliff Louie, Pat Norikane, Hannah Yamasaki, Dick Woo, Ellen Suzuki, Soya Jung, and Ian Dapiaoen. And special recognition should go to those who served as Editor of the International Examiner–George Cox, T.M. McGinnis, Rita Brogan, Mayumi Tsutakawa, Ron Chew, Sue Chin, Maxine Chan, Dean Wong, Ken Mochizuki, Bob Shimabukuro, Danny Howe, Jeff Lin, Holly Smith, Eric Hsu, Chong-Suk Han, Nhien Nguyen, Diem Ly, Christina Twu, and Travis Quezon.
Forty years ago, many of us advocated for revolution but who would have thought then that the revolution would be in technology. Back in 1974, computers were bulky and inaccessible to the general public. There were no scanners and no internet. There was no email. Typewriters
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with built-in self correcting tape were the most valuable commodity for the production of stories for the paper. A supply of “White Out” was a necessary office item.
Forty years ago, there was the Kingdome. And now, it’s become a fading memory. Yes, the Examiner outlasted the Kingdome. Its pages have reflected the history of both the International District and the greater Asian Pacific Islander community. There are some issues which continue to push “hot” buttons in our community–bilingual education, “English only” proposals, welfare reform, conflicts over ethnic studies at the University of Washington, affirmative action, Asian stereotypes.
In some sense, we have come full circle. The four page monthly publication has evolved into
a 12-32 page twice a month publication. The subscription rate has gone from $3 in 1974 to $15 in 1990 to $35 today. There have been changes in editors, organization, and format. What started out as the “Heartbeat of the International District” became the “Journal of the International District” then the “Journal of King County’s Asian Communities” then the “Journal of the Northwest’s Asian American Communities” to “Asian American Journal of the Northwest” to “Asian American Journal: The International District and journal of the Northwest’s Asian American Communities and now “Find your Inspirasian.” But after 40 years, one thing about the Examiner has not changed; it’s mission still reflects the spirit and heart of the Asian community.
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