Interview with Rich Harada, Dan Harada's father, who is a full Japanese-American who has lived in America his whole life.
1. What was it like to be apart of one of the first oriental families in New York City and Hillsdale?
“When I was very young I lived in New York City. When we were there I remembers it being very hard to be different since at the time there were not many other races then White. My parents did not like all of the racism there so they decided to move to Hillsdale where they thought it would be better. When I first arrived in Hillsdale I found it harder to be “the new kid” than to be “the Asian kid.” After a while I did not think much about being Asian. I feel that it would have been much different if my family had strong accents. I believe that just looking different was not that bad.”
2. Was there a lot of racism towards you or your family?
“I do not know about towards my family in general because my parents were very private people. They were always optimistic about everything too so I could never really tell if anything was bothering them. I never thought anyone made fun of me but it was never an advantage to be Japanese-American. My parents made sure that we did normal American activities and kept the lifestyle of a normal American family. We blended in very well.”
3. Were you ever excluded from activities because of your race?
“I was never excluded from any activities because of my race. In fact, my family and I were very involved in our community, which welcomed us with open arms. We were usually picked first for doing an activity whether it is a sport or for a school project. Hillsdale was much more welcoming then New York City.”
4. What do you think the major change in racism today is compared to when you were a child?
“I believe that when I was a kid it was very hard to embrace the Japanese culture because there were not many Japanese Restaurants or people to celebrate with. Today people are not as ignorant about Asians because of all the different kinds of communication methods and the vast world of the Internet. The stereotypes between the two time periods are very different though. Nowadays there is an expectation that if you are Asian you must be smart. This is because of the strong emphases on education by Asian parents. This belief did not really exist as much when I was a kid. During the time period of when I was a kid, everyone compared me to Bruce Lee, thinking that all Asians are experts at martial arts. Also Asian products use to be unreliable and horribly made but now they are of good quality. They are also everywhere now and not just in one store. People are more accepting of Asian-Americans today than when I was a kid.”
Survey
Does racism still exist in public ares in modern towns such as ours in schools and other places?
20 out of 20 people said yes (100%).
Racism has, with no doubt, dramatically taken a turn during the last century. Just 50 to 60 years ago, groups such as the KKK were dominant in the United States. Racism was at its peak and minorities were being persecuted and treated with inferior status. Take for example, the experiences of Macolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Richard Harada. Each person was subjected to public criticism and targeted by the KKK and other groups. Many changes were brought about since that time-- to a period in history where the United States elects an African-American president. Racism does in fact exist in our world. Unfortunately, its unlikely that it will ever perish.
How has America changed in the past century?
Topic: Racism
How has the American confrontation towards racism changed in the past century?
Guiding Activities:
Guiding Resources:
Historical Video Clips
Internet Research on famous Black Americans and their hardships
Interview with Rich Harada, Dan Harada's father, who is a full Japanese-American who has lived in America his whole life.
1. What was it like to be apart of one of the first oriental families in New York City and Hillsdale?
2. Was there a lot of racism towards you or your family?
3. Were you ever excluded from activities because of your race?
4. What do you think the major change in racism today is compared to when you were a child?
Survey
Racism has, with no doubt, dramatically taken a turn during the last century. Just 50 to 60 years ago, groups such as the KKK were dominant in the United States. Racism was at its peak and minorities were being persecuted and treated with inferior status. Take for example, the experiences of Macolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Richard Harada. Each person was subjected to public criticism and targeted by the KKK and other groups. Many changes were brought about since that time-- to a period in history where the United States elects an African-American president. Racism does in fact exist in our world. Unfortunately, its unlikely that it will ever perish.