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Minn Matsuda
Born31 May 1911 Edit this on Wikidata
Died6 August 2003 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 92)
WorksAsian Americans for Action Edit this on Wikidata

Shizu "Minn" Matsuda (1911-2003) was a Japanese-American activist and a co-founder of Asian Americans for Action (also known as "AAA" or "Triple A"). In 1969, inspired by the Back Power Movement, Matsuda and her friend, Kazu Iijima (1918-2007), a survivor of the World War II Japanese internment camps, co-founded the New York-based AAA, one of the first U.S. East Coast pan-Asian organizations promoting awareness of pan-Asian identity and heritage, civil rights, and equality. [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Early life and career

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Matsuda was born in Seattle, Washington in 1911. Her maiden name was Utsunomiya. At some point, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and earned an art undergraduate degree at the California School of Arts and Crafts in 1933. She received some recognition for her watercolor paintings.[7][8] She worked for a time for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the federal art project.[9] In Salt Lake City, Utah, Matsuda managed to find a job creating ads for a retail store despite hostility toward people of Japanese heritage.[10] Her artwork from the WPA was included in an exhibit at the Utah State Arts Center in 1939.[9]

Pan-Asian Activism and AAA Leadership

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Several members of Asian Americans for Action along with guests in 1973. Minn Matsuda is standing in the back row, second from the right. Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga is standing at right. Photo by Mary Uyematsu Kao.

Matsuda and Iijima, the co-founders of the AAA, had met in California prior to World War II and the upheaval caused by Executive Order 9066. Unlike Iijima, Matsuda avoided the mass incarceration of Japanese families since she had moved inland to Utah prior to 1942. Nonetheless, to Matsuda, this historic event had a long and strong impact.[10]

Pan-Asian activism began during the 1960s, inspired in part by the Black Power movement. In 1968, the term "Asian American" was brought up by an academic in the West Coast, followed by multiple Asian-American movements throughout 1968-69.[2] In 1969, Matsuda and Iijima co-founded AAA in New York City inspired by the Black Power movement.[1][11][12] The women originally conceived of an organization focused on Japanese-American identity, but were convinced by Iijima's son, Chris Iijima, to make it pan-Asian, that is to bring together activists from all Asian American groups.[13] The AAA was community-based and aimed to promote Asian heritage, especially among younger population. Its scope expanded from awareness of cultural heritage to civil rights, women's rights, and equality.[14]

The organization's first meeting was held in New York City, April 6, 1969.[15] The first members of AAA included activist Yuri Kochiyama.[12] According to Iijima, AAA began with "two old ladies sitting on a park bench worrying about their children's future."[1] Matsuda was approximately 58 and Iijima about 51 when they set up the organization. By that time, both women had already been involved in pro-Asian movements for many years. To enlist members, the women approached persons of Asian descent at rallies protesting the Vietnam War. The war, which they considered an act of American aggression, became the first cause they espoused. They also protested the renewal of the United States-Japan Security Treaty which allowed for American military bases on Japanese soil, including Okinawa.[13] The AAA continued to evolve and became known as "Union of Activists" in 1976. However, due to loss of membership to more radical organizations, the pan-Asian organization dissolved within a decade.[16] Nevertheless, AAA had an impact on Asian American activism, which became increasingly professionalized with focuses including cultural/heritage preservation and civil rights.[14]

Later life and death

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Matsuda was a witness of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.[10] From her ninth-floor residence, she personally witnessed the second jet striking the tower.[10] In an interviewed piece by Chisun Lee, Matsuda recounted her shocking experience and its connection to the traumatic memory of the Japanese-American Internment during Ward War II. She believed that the post-9/11 government put Muslim Americans under scrutiny, just as it had with Japanese and Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. Matsuda raised concerns of how the political climate might have normalized and perhaps promoted racial discrimination.[10]

Matsuda passed away on August 6, 2003 at the age of 92.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "5 AAPI Women Who Made A Major Impact On History". Bustle. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  2. ^ a b Wallace, Nina (8 May 2017). "Yellow Power: The Origins of Asian America".
  3. ^ Positive experiences with Asian Americans for Action, retrieved 2023-03-31
  4. ^ Yamamoto, J.K. (2014-09-08). "'The Mother Teresa of Human and Civil Rights'". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  5. ^ Sagert, Kelly; Overman, Steven (2018). Japanese Americans : the history and culture of a people. Jonathan H. X. Lee. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4408-4190-3. OCLC 1003131677.
  6. ^ Shimabukuro, Mira (2015). Relocating authority : Japanese Americans writing to redress mass incarceration. Boulder, Colorado. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-60732-401-0. OCLC 933434226.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "Art School to Give Degrees". Oakland Tribune. May 3, 1933. p. 12. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "Art Association of S.F. Holds its Water Color Show". Oakland Tribune. November 15, 1936. p. 18. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Austad, Verla (December 3, 1939). "'U,' Dixie, Art Center Hold Exhibits This Week". Ogden Standard-Examiner. pp. 6–B. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Lee, Chisun (2002-07-30). "Rounding Up the 'Enemy'". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  11. ^ Nakagawa, Martha (2018-07-25). "Nisei Activist Played a Pivotal Role in Redress Movement". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  12. ^ a b Hsiao, Andrew (1998-06-23). "100 Years of Hell-Raising". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  13. ^ a b Wei, William (1993). The Asian American Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 24–29. ISBN 978-1-56639-183-2.
  14. ^ a b Publishing, Bloomsbury. "Asian American Activism – An Excerpt from The Asian American Experience". Library Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  15. ^ Maeda, Daryl J. (2009). Chains of Babylon: The Rise of Asian America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-8166-4891-7.
  16. ^ Ishizuka, Karen L. (January 2009). "Flying in the Face of Race, Gender, Class and Age: A Story About Kazu Iijima, One of the Mothers of the Asian American Movement on the First Year Anniversary of Her Death". Amerasia Journal. 35 (2): 24–48. doi:10.17953/amer.35.2.b76378g8q9616763. ISSN 0044-7471.
  17. ^ "Paid Notice: Memorials MATSUDA, SHIZU MINN.". The New York Times. 2004-08-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-31.

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