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Show ' ~ fOKB 1 CJ~ '''7 '" I'/''"IV¥J 1 WI'INI 1v -'n-Y tt.-01'1~/Uil::> t'f/IJI(j 19~ .. A1A-M'nfE/2EI/V./))A-PPmOA/ li: ,t;A)IIPftJ4t7roMYT8V/IH/}AJ'/-- I /f/11 ?R.GsWTIM5 A VlstJ#t l?XfJ/!Ii!SICH/ OF IJ1'/Fl?&LI.tt5s. TJIE IJ-ff/ST I RJYRoAI (§;()TO OF /iiL{)J)fiJJI}AIIJJf)iiiJtEA~ 11-Till!i NGW YtJl!K t§'ei-/AJit/1-L- ~lt&ti6 ()f- 71-16 REVISED Cl1'/ OAI!f&?SITV cYPAJ~uJ v~~ . Testimony of William Kochiyama at the hearins of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of CiviliansaNovember 23, 1981, New York, New York DR. t:LeM IAJG /W [) /)1 (JJf1 Blfi?S t>F"lliG' rt¥111/ /SS I CJAJ ! My name is William Kochiyama. I was born in Washington, D.C. When I was an infant, my father and I moved to New York City where I have resided eversince. ., D1 ~ing the Depression I was raised at the Sheltering Arms, an institution for half-orphans. Supported by the Protestant ~ Episcopal Church, it was located in the area known today as West Harlem. Of 120 children, I was the only one of color. Not S'trprisingly, I grew 'lP believing I was a White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant. In the spring of 1940, I traveled to the west coast to enroll at the University of California in Berkeley. Because tuition for non-residents was too high, I had to seek employment. In my q'test for a job, I faced an ins,trmo,_tntable wall of pre j'ldic e. Unions wo11l d not accept Asians as members and the white collar world was exactly that -- for whites only. For the first time in my life, I felt like a second-class citizen. Everywhere I was advised to find v1ork with my "own people" -- a dismal prospect because I did not know a single word of Japanes~ nor anything about my cultural heritage. Desperate, I located a Japanese employment agency which directed me to a large dry cleaning and laundry establishment in Oakland. Owned by an Issei, the firm serviced whites While all the employees were Japanese. Abo11t a week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the firm was forced to suspend operation. Subsequently, I tried to enlist in the Armed Forces: first with the Army, then the Navy, and finally, the Marines. At each recruiting station, I was thrown out on my ear. ~ Japs were wanted. (more) |
