Amidst the racism experienced by Japanese Americans before, during and after World War II are numerous stories of communities coming together to welcome their Japanese American neighbors.
Tak Sugmimoto shared such a story with The Coast News.
Sugmimoto recently attended a ceremony at San Dieguito Academy in Encinatas, CA unveiling a brick honoring him as the first Japanese American to graduate from the school after World War II.
Sugmimoto recalls the time when signs were prominently displayed on store fronts making it known that “Japs” were not welcomed.
He remembers his father dieing of tuberculosis while imprisoned in the camp.
The impact of racist laws that prevented his family from buying property are still vivid in his mind.
Nor has Sugmimoto forgotten how his family lost the lease on their property because they couldn’t maintain the payments while imprisoned.
Despite all that, what he remembers most is the business teacher who sponsored his return home from the camps at age 16 so he could return to the Academy.
His fellow students voted on whether he should be allowed back and all except one voted in his favor.
“That’s when I really knew the community had nothing against me or my family,” Sugimito said teary-eyed. “They hadn’t forgotten I was a part of the community way back when.”
Even though he was welcomed back, he felt out of touch. The experiences his class mates enjoyed together while he was incarcerated would never be a part of his experience. Even after his return to school, he was not allowed to attend school dances and other extracurricular activities.
Apparently separate but equal applied to Sugmimoto.
His favorite memory, however, was the standing ovation he received from his classmates in 1945 when he accepted his diploma.
You can read more of his recollections in The Coast News.
