Pacific Movement of the Eastern World facts for kids

The Pacific Movement of the Eastern World (PMEW) was a group in North America during the 1930s. It was made up of African Americans who believed that Japan was a champion for all non-white people. They thought Japan would help them.

The PMEW was influenced by a Japanese group called the Black Dragon Society. This group had strong ties to Japan and saw the United States as an enemy. One of its founders, Ashima Takis, was later arrested for misusing money from the group.

How it Started

The Pacific Movement of the Eastern World began in Chicago around 1932. It was founded by Satokata Takahashi. Reports say Takahashi brought Ashima Takis and his friend, Moy Liang, into the group's leadership.

The PMEW taught that all non-white races around the world should unite under Japan's leadership. When its president, Ashima Takis, moved to St. Louis in 1933, more people joined the group.

Takis soon worked with Burt Cornish and Walter Lee Peeples from the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). He claimed that the UNIA branch in New York City was connected to Japan. Cornish and Peeples then helped start a PMEW branch in St. Louis. They got help from Moy Liang, a well-dressed Chinese man.

The group used a banner with black, yellow, and brown colors. It started to grow among the poor African American communities in Missouri. FBI reports at the time said there were four Japanese men encouraging the group in that area. The PMEW often held outdoor meetings where they talked about anti-white feelings. They especially focused on how African Americans fought in US wars but were not treated fairly afterward.

Many people joined the PMEW because of Ashima Takis. He pretended to have a strong Japanese accent and promised a fair world in Japan where everyone would be treated equally, no matter their race.

Ashima Takis and the PMEW

Ashima Takis, who also used names like Policarpio Manansala and Itakake Koo, was the president and a founder of the PMEW. He made many false claims while leading the group. To get more Black members, he spoke with a fake Japanese accent. His partner, Cornish, said Takis actually spoke English very well but used an accent because "Your people wouldn't believe me if I spoke too well."

Takis also got more members by saying there was no racism in Japan. He promised his Black audience that if they moved to Japan, they would be treated as equals. He also said they would get better jobs and could even marry Japanese women. Ashima Takis lied about the group's size. He claimed the St. Louis group was the "one thousandth" in the country and that there were 165,000 members outside of St. Louis.

Joining the PMEW cost money. In 1933, it cost $5.50 for those who wanted to go to Japan. For those who did not plan to move to Japan, membership was $1.00. Cornish said that over 100 people joined hoping to move to Japan. Several thousand more joined at the lower price.

Ashima Takis also pretended to be a doctor and a faith healer. Cornish said Takis claimed he was a doctor, but he was not allowed to practice medicine in the United States. However, he had studied medicine at a university. Cornish also said that Ashima claimed to be a faith healer for Black people. Many believed they were cured of illnesses after Takis touched them.

When Japan invaded Manchuria in China, Takis had a disagreement with the PMEW and his Chinese friend Liang. He later moved to New York. There, he helped start another group called the Ethiopian Pacific Movement.

In December 1939, Takis came back to St. Louis and the PMEW. He was welcomed back but insisted on being called Mimo de Guzman. Takis joined in efforts to prepare for a Japanese invasion by collecting weapons. However, Takis ran away after being reported to the police for misusing money from the PMEW. Ashima Takis was not caught until two years later. In 1942, he was sent to prison for three years for forgery.

After this, General Lee Butler became the new president of the PMEW. But after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, he soon faced serious legal charges.

What the Group Wanted

New members joined this group, which was like a secret club. It had a special handshake and password. The group attracted members from the Communist Party of America. Some white people avoided Carr Park in St. Louis, where meetings were often held, because of the atmosphere.

Meetings included talks on topics like The Struggle of the darker races of the World and Why the Filipinos Want Freedom. They also discussed China, Old and New. At different times, they had plans for African Americans to move to Japan, Brazil, and Africa. Early on, over 100 people paid $5.50 to be on a list of those moving to Japan. Several thousand paid $1 for general membership. According to the investigating lawyer, Harry C Blanton, members were already choosing which farms they would take over if Japan invaded.

The PMEW was greatly influenced by Marcus Garvey's UNIA. They used the motto: "Sow no evil to reap the good-Asia for the Asiatics, Africa for the Africans." The group's main goals were:

• Universal brotherhood and peace.
• To help all people around the world understand and be friends with each other.
• To protect the legal rights of people who were treated unfairly.
• For every race to decide its own future.
• To make changes using legal methods.
• To keep every country's land and independence safe.
• To encourage love for the original homes of non-white peoples.
• To encourage people who couldn't find opportunities in the United States to return and build their own government in their ancestors' lands.

The PMEW supported Senator Edward P. Costigan's law against lynching. However, they did not support the Communist Party USA's efforts to form worker unions in the nut-processing industry. Supporters were also told to put a purple cloth in their windows if Japan invaded.

Organizing Efforts

Takis and Cornish soon formed a new group called the Original Independent Benevolent Afro-Pacific Movement of the World (OIBAPMW). This happened after Peeples and Takahashi removed them from the PMEW leadership. They started working in the Kansas City area. Sometimes, they pretended to be PMEW representatives. To prepare for a future war for racial freedom, they asked African Americans to train in modern warfare. They also offered a chance to join a "colored aviation school." They also offered opportunities for African Americans to settle in Japan. Takis later had a disagreement with Peeples. He then went to organize groups in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Pittsburgh. After that, he moved to the New York City - New Jersey area. There, he met the Black Hebrew group, the House of Israel. He helped start the Ethiopian Pacific Movement with Robert O. Jordan from Harlem.

Back in Missouri, sharecroppers were losing their farms more often after the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. With George Cruz, a Filipino, the rival groups offered hope. They said a successful Japanese invasion would bring salvation. They continued to organize in towns like Steele, Caruthersville, Wardell, Hermondale, Bragg City, Pascola in Pemiscot County; New Madrid and Portageville in New Madrid County, Sikeston (Scott County); Charleston (Mississippi County) and Cape Girardeau (Cape Girardeau County). John Macwhite claimed he spoke at a meeting of 2,500 cotton pickers during this time.

Facing Challenges

Cruz and his wife were arrested in Blytheville, Arkansas, in August 1934. But they were quickly released. Soon after, four PMEW members were arrested and put on trial in Steele, Missouri. This happened because African American preachers and white cotton farmers were worried. The four members said they were innocent, blaming the OIBAPM for any trouble. However, the prosecutor spoke in a racist way. He suggested the four had no right to drive a powerful Chrysler car. The four were sentenced to one year in jail. Before they were sentenced, the judge and a police officer stepped outside. This allowed about 200 white people to enter the building and beat the defendants. Their lawyer ran away to Cape Girardeau, which was ninety miles away. The NAACP provided lawyers in St. Louis. They filed a legal case to challenge the sentences. The case was heard before the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City. The court canceled the sentences, saying that no fair trial had taken place.

More Rivalry

After Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF) grew. It spread from New York City through the St. Louis area. Many PMEW members joined the EWF. However, many of them returned to the PMEW after disagreements within the EWF. David Erwin, the new PMEW president, explained that "The colors of the Pacific Movement include the Black, Yellow, Red and Brown races, which would naturally accept Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Australians or any division of mankind less than White as members; while the Ethiopian Federation calls for Blacks only." Japan was declared the champion of all "dark and non-white races."

World War II and Its Impact

The movement moved from St. Louis to East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1940. In 1942, the FBI asked for a Grand Jury investigation into the group for spying.

During the war, one white member and four Black members of the Ethiopian Pacific Movement, including Leonard Jordan, faced charges. They were accused of trying to create a pro-Japanese group in Harlem and planning a "world empire for the dark races." The white member, Joseph Hartrey, admitted he was guilty. The others—Jordan, James Henry Thornhill, Lester Eugene Holmes, and Reverend Ralph Gene Best—were found guilty by a jury that included three Black people.

U.S. District Judge Clarence G. Galston sentenced Jordan to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Thornhill received 8 years, Holmes 7 years, Reverend Best 4 years, and Hartrey 6 years. Judge Galston noted that the money collected at weekly meetings was too small to support Jordan. This suggested he had received money from the Japanese government. The judge said if there was proof that the plan was working, he "would have unhesitatingly imposed the maximum sentence, 40 years."

People Connected to the Group

• Naka Nakane