Abstract
An oral history with Miya Iwataki, an activist for Japanese American Redress and Reparations. The interview was conducted for the Women, Politics, and Activism Since Suffrage Oral History Project for California State University, Fullerton. The purpose of this interview was to gather information regarding Iwataki’s activism within the Asian Women’s Movement. Specifically, this interview details Iwataki’s cultural ancestry and family history; speaks about her mother being interned at Manzanar and her father’s involvement with the 100th 442nd Battalion; reflects on the heavy impact the interment camps had on her parents and community, which include PTSD; how her parents used over-Americanization as a shield against racism; discusses her family’s move from New York to California; reflects on her rebellious nature growing up; talks about gender roles and her parents’ education and work backgrounds; her aspirations and college experiences; her decision to leave California State University, Los Angeles, to get involved with the United Farm Workers; discusses how she longed for an Asian Movement, the desolate conditions in her community—especially among Issei and drug users—and her involvement with the Japanese American Community Services [JACS] office in 1970; talks about the history of JACS, how it was the first Asian Movement center, and the center’s philosophy of “serve the people” through community projects; talks about the triple oppression of women in her community: racism, sexism, and classism; her community’s drug epidemic in the early 70s; her involvement and experiences with the Asian Women’s Movement; living within a political collective; talks about the start of the Asian Women’s Center and the social programs it offered such as health, fostering, and education; incorporating International Women’s Day into the movement; how she was received by her community; attending a women’s health delegation in China and her exposure to Chinese women’s healthcare; her radio program at KPFK Pacifica Radio in the 1980s; her experiences at the UN Decade for Women Convention in Nairobi, Kenya; goes into detail about her involvement and experiences working towards the Japanese American Reparations and Redress, the aftermath, and how it was a life changing experience; discusses the critical sponsorship and support of local Congressman Mervyn Dymally; talks about her parent’s support for her activist work; her health advocacy and work at the Los Angeles Department of Health Services; thoughts on feminism and being a woman fighting for women’s liberation; describes her leadership style; the current state of U.S. politics; closes the interview with differences men and women lead, advice she would give a young individual wanting to get into activism, and what she is most proud of.
