Interviews

1. Japanese Language School

2. Mentality of Issei and Nisei

3. Treatment by Chinese students

4. Attempts to sign up for military service

5. Recruited for the National JACL Redress Committee

6. Criteria for who gets redress

7. Changing "reparations" to "redress"

8. Appointing John Tateishi as National JACL Redress Chair

9. Inouye’s strategy for educating the American public

10. JACL reaction to the idea of a commission

11. Redress clash between Senators Inouye and Hayakawa

12. Recalling President Carter’s signing of the Commission bill

13. Poignant story from the CWRIC hearing in San Francisco

14. John Tateishi plays a role in changing people's minds

15. The unheralded help from beyond the community

16. Legacy of redress

17. Different races have to live together and interact

Uyeda,Clifford

(1917 - 2004) Political activist

Mentality of Issei and Nisei

My youth was [a] time of rebellion. I rebelled against everything that I met with, and that’s the only way in which I could feel enough self-assurance and confidence. Others all felt that, you know, that’s silly. Accommodate—do what everybody wants you to do, and then you will be okay. So the whole thing was to study hard, be a nice guy, and eventually you’ll be accepted. And that was their whole philosophy of life. The Issei, particularly, were that way, but I said, Issei are different because they cannot become American citizens anyway. That’s why they would say, yes, accommodate and eventually you’ll be all right. The early Issei were treated very badly, but you see the Nisei sort of accepted it. Their mentality was very similar to the Issei, that is, to be quiet and just accept everything that comes along—do your best and eventually you’ll be okay.

assimilation culture identity

Date: July 1-2, 1998

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mitchell Maki, Darcie Iki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Clifford Uyeda was born on January 14, 1917, into a family of oyster farmers in Olympia, Washington. Uyeda studied at the University of Wisconsin and from 1941 to 1945 attended Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans, LA. Uyeda went on to become a medical doctor in San Francisco, CA.

Uyeda became involved in the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in 1960 when he served as San Francisco Chapter chair of the Issei Oral History Project. He helped in establishing the School of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University and played an important role in restoring the U.S. citizenship and presidential pardon of Iva Toguri, also known as “Tokyo Rose.”

After retiring from medicine in 1975, Uyeda became a full-time activist. In 1977, Uyeda served as National JACL chair of the Japanese American Incarceration for Redress committee. He was elected to serve as president of National JACL from 1978 to 1980. Uyeda continued to serve the community in various roles until his death from cancer in 2004 at the age of 87. (April 11, 2008)