Over the last decade, Asian Americans have become a force in California state politics: John Chiang was elected state controller, the Asian Pacific Legislative Caucus has steadily grown, and in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa courted Asian voters and then appointed Kevin Acebo as deputy mayor.
In his new book, The Search for a Civic Voice, former AsianWeek reporter Kenneth Burt charts the birth of Latino politics and discovered that Asians partnered with Mexican Americans in Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s.
Edward Roybal became the first non-white L.A. city councilman in 1949 by winning in a district that included Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights, where Japanese Americans lived next to Latinos. Japanese American Citizens’ League leaders John Aiso and Harry Honda were part of this multiracial coalition, as were Art Takei, representing more progressive Nisei activists, and Sam Wong from the Chinese American community.
The League worked closely with Roybal and with the Mexican American-oriented Community Service Organization, and in 1949, it joined the Council for Equality in Employment, which supported Roybal’s proposed Fair Employment Ordinance. The coalition also reached out to Filipinos living in the downtown-based City Council district.
The early coalitions also revolved around labor organizing. The book includes a photo of a Latina and a Jewish garment worker organizer having dinner with Aiso and other Japanese American community leaders.
Roybal kicked off his re-election in 1951 at San Kwo Low restaurant, and Asians Americans were an active part of the re-election campaign. Mexican Americans reciprocated in 1956 when the Community Service Organization supported Proposition 13 to rescind the laws limiting Asians from owning property in California.
Burt has a long relationship with the Asian community: he worked for the late Congressman Robert Mastui and is Rep. Doris Matsui’s representative to the annual California Democratic Convention. As the political director of the California Federation of Teachers, Burt has helped elect a number of Asian Americans, including Chiang and Judy Chu. He also served as an advisor for the Boyle Heights exhibit at the National Japanese American Museum.
For more information: KennethBurt.com