George Yuzawa facts for kids

George Katsumi Yuzawa (Japanese: 湯沢 克巳, 1915–2011) was a Japanese-American community leader. He spent his life working for many social and political causes. George fought against unfair treatment of Asian and Asian American people. He also helped senior citizens and organized Japanese cultural events in New York City.

George Yuzawa's Early Life and Family

George Katsumi Yuzawa was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 21, 1915. His parents, Tamasaburo "James" and Bun "Mary" Yuzawa, came to the United States from Nagano, Japan. They named their son George after George Washington. George was a Nisei, which means he was a second-generation Japanese American.

In 1917, George's father, James Yuzawa, opened the Vermont Flower Shop in Los Angeles. He even served as president of the Southern California Floral Association for a time.

George was a founding member of Boy Scout Troop 64 in Los Angeles. He reached the rank of Life Scout. In 1932, he and other young Nisei started the Japanese Athletic Union (JAU). This group helped organize high school sports like baseball, basketball, football, and track for Nisei students in Southern California. George was president of the JAU from 1935 to 1938.

He graduated from Manual Arts High School in 1933. Then he attended Los Angeles City College, where he earned a degree in Business. After college, George began working with his father at the flower shop.

In 1940, George married Kimiko Hattori (1917-2011). She was also a Nisei, and her parents owned a produce market in Los Angeles.

Life During World War II: Japanese American Internment

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. This order forced many Japanese American families, including the Yuzawas and Hattoris, to leave their homes. They were sent to special camps, often called concentration camps, by the U.S. government. About 120,000 Americans of Japanese background were sent to these ten camps across the western and south-central United States. Many of them were American citizens.

The Yuzawa and Hattori families first lived at the Santa Anita racetrack. This was a temporary camp made from horse stables. George helped manage sports for men there. In September 1942, they were moved to the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado. This camp held over 7,000 people of Japanese descent. George's father became a block manager, and George worked as a purchasing officer for the camp's schools.

George's younger sister, Patricia, was not allowed to go to the camps with her family. She had tuberculosis and was sent to a sanitarium in Los Angeles. She died there in 1942, never seeing her parents again. George was allowed to leave the camp only once, with an army escort, to visit her. After she passed away, George claimed her body.

In September 1943, George was allowed to leave the camp because he found a job at a florist shop in New York City. Once in New York, George arranged for his wife and their parents to join him. In 1944, George joined the U.S. Army. He trained at Fort McClellan in Alabama and then joined an Army Intelligence unit. George was stationed in Tokyo as part of the American Occupation of Japan. He helped organize entertainment for U.S. soldiers. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to New York City.

After the war, George studied at City College of New York from 1946 to 1947, using the G.I. Bill. He earned a certificate in foreign trade. He started his own trading company, HATCO, and also helped his father with their flower business, Park Central Florist. Many famous people and Japanese companies were their customers. George's father retired in the late 1950s due to health issues. George continued to run the shop until he retired in 1982.

Fighting for Fairness: Social and Political Activism

George always found time to volunteer for important social, religious, and political causes. In the early 1970s, he worked with other Nisei and Sansei (third-generation Japanese American) civil rights activists. They fought against unfair treatment and discrimination against Asian people. Some of these activists included Yuri Kochiyama and Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, who played a big part in helping Japanese Americans get an apology and money for their time in the internment camps.

Challenging Stereotypes: Kenzo Takada and the ILGWU

George and his group of activists spoke out against a famous Paris clothing designer named Kenzō Takada. Kenzo used the words "JAP" and "J.A.P." on his clothing and trademarks. This word, "Jap," is a very offensive term for Japanese people. The activists started a strong letter-writing campaign to tell advertisers and stores across the country about this problem. They demanded that newspapers like the New York Times stop printing Kenzo's ads and that stores stop selling his clothes.

When some stores continued to sell the clothing, the activists organized protests. They demonstrated in front of major department stores like Bonwit Teller and Macy's in New York City. The New York City Commission on Human Rights also helped them.

George asked the Japanese American Citizens' League (JACL) for help. A lawyer filed a lawsuit against Kenzo's company. On July 13, 1972, Kenzo agreed to stop using "JAP" and "J.A.P." on his labels. A large shipment of clothing patterns with the word "JAP" was even recalled.

George and his group also protested against the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). The union had a "Buy American" campaign that seemed to be unfair to Japanese products. In 1972, the ILGWU put up subway posters with anti-Japanese messages. One poster showed a U.S. flag with "Made in Japan" written on it, asking, "Has your job been exported to Japan yet?" George and other activists physically removed these posters from subway trains. In October 1972, about 100 people protested in front of the ILGWU headquarters. Later that year, George met with union officials, and they agreed to remove the posters.

Because of these events, George and others formed Asian Americans for Fair Media, Inc. (AAFM) in 1973. This group of volunteers watched local and national TV and print media for negative stereotypes or offensive words about Asians. In 1973, AAFM published a booklet called Stereotypes and Realities: The Asian Image in the United States. George also became a consultant for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1974.

Helping Older People: Senior Citizen Causes

George spent a lot of his time helping senior citizens. In 1965, he started the Ad Hoc Committee of Concerned Asians in New York City. This group focused on finding homes for Issei (first-generation Japanese American) and Nisei senior citizens. In the early 1970s, they surveyed older Japanese Americans in New York City to understand their needs. The survey showed that a permanent organization was needed to support the aging Nisei community.

George helped create Japanese American Help for the Aging, Inc. (JAHFA) in 1974. JAHFA was a non-profit group that offered health, education, information, language, and social services to older Japanese people in New York City. JAHFA helped find senior housing at the Methodist Home in Riverdale and started placing seniors there in 1974. In the early 1980s, JAHFA joined the Japanese American Association of New York (JAA) to get more money and volunteers.

In the mid-1980s, George worked with the Isabella Geriatric Center in Manhattan. This center had both a nursing home and apartments for seniors. He created a program that allowed eldercare experts from Japan to exchange ideas with the staff at Isabella.

George also helped form the West Side Federation for Senior Housing, Inc. (WSFSH). He served on its board of directors. Started in 1977, WSFSH helped give money from government and private sources to build homes for seniors on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Seeking Justice: Redress for Japanese Internment

In 1981, George was a member of the East Coast Japanese Americans for Redress organization. This group advised a federal commission that studied the wartime relocation and internment of Japanese Americans. George helped organize the commission's hearings in New York City in November 1981. These hearings were very important. They helped lead to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. In this act, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Congress apologized for forcing Japanese American citizens and permanent residents into camps. The act also gave $20,000 to each person who was still alive and set aside $50 million for public education about this history.

Sharing Culture: Japanese Cultural Education

George was a vice president, board member, and committee chair for the Japanese American Association of New York (JAA). He organized many Japanese cultural, educational, and historical events in New York City. From 1968 to 2001, George helped plan celebrations like Nipponanza at the Beacon Theater in 1979. Nipponanza was a festival that showed Japanese arts and culture to people across the country.

In 1980, George helped fix up a Japanese burial plot at Willow Grove Cemetery in New Jersey. This plot, started in 1870, holds the remains of eight Japanese people who died in the 1870s and 1880s. They were some of the first Japanese settlers in the New York area.

In 1982, George and the JAA helped start the yearly spring Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This festival is still held today. In the summer of 1985, George also served on the New York-Tokyo Sister City Committee. He helped plan events to celebrate 25 years of friendship between New York and Tokyo. Between 1992 and 2001, he and the JAA president helped grow 168 Japanese cherry trees in Van Cortlandt Park. In April 2001, these trees were given to New York City and planted on Cherry Hill Slope. This area is now called the George Yuzawa Grove.

Faith and Community: Religious Causes

George was a very religious man and a Methodist. He helped with the sale of the Japanese Methodist-Episcopal Church building when it merged with two other churches. In 1969 and 1970, he helped design the inside of the new Japanese American United Church building. He also served as a leader and a longtime chair of the church's board of directors.

Other Community Involvement

George worked with the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles to create an exhibit called "America's Concentration Camps" for Ellis Island. He also helped start the Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA). He was a member of the National Parks Conservation Association and an advisor to Harmonia Opera. George was also a founding member of the Japanese American Lions Club of New York and a member and president of the Nisei Investors of New York. He was also on the Day of Remembrance Committee, which remembers the Japanese American internment.

Awards and Legacy

George Yuzawa received many awards for his years of service. These included the Governor's Award for Excellence from New York Governor George Pataki and an invitation to the White House from President Jimmy Carter. In 1983, the Emperor of Japan gave George the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th Class. This was for his great service to both Japanese and non-Japanese people.

George and his wife Kimi had two children, Gene and Pat Yuzawa-Rubin. They also had three grandchildren. George passed away in October 2011, and Kimi died shortly after in November 2011.