Kitano, Harry H. L. (1926–2002)

Internment Camp Experience

Born in San Francisco to immigrant parents, Kitano was raised in a family-owned hotel in Chinatown. In 1942, in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the federal government's mandatory relocation of all persons of Japanese descent on the West Coast forced Kitano's family into the Topaz concentration camp, in Utah, where he completed high school as the class valedictorian. In 1997, he served as keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony, at which he was awarded the high school diploma denied him by his incarceration.

In 1945, Kitano moved to Milwaukee, where his talent as a trombone player led to his being hired by an African American jazz band. Due to prejudices and hostility toward persons of Japanese descent at the time, the band leader hired him on the condition that he assume a Chinese American identity while touring with the band, dubbing him “Harry Lee” (the initials “H. L.” represent this nom de guerre).

Education and Scholarship

Returning to California, Kitano continued his education at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a BAin 1948, an MSW in 1951, and a PhD in 1958. His dissertation, The Child Care Center: A Study of the Interaction Among One-Parent Children, Parents, and School (1963), resulted in his first major publication. The sociological analysis in his 1969 book, Japanese Americans: The Evolution of a Subculture, was the first scholarly study of Japanese Americans from their earliest immigration in the 19th century to post-World War II. He published the well-regarded American Racism: Exploration of the Nature of Prejudice (1970) (with Roger Daniels) and, shortly thereafter, Race Relations (1974), which became an important text in universities across the nation, into its fifth edition. He authored over 150 books and articles, including such major works as The Japanese Americans (1987), Asian Americans: Emerging Minorities (1988, 1995, 2001, with Roger Daniels), and Generations and Identity: The Japanese Americans (1993). His articles in academic journals were based on his empirical research in a number of areas, including interracial marriages, juvenile delinquency, mental health, and alcohol abuse among various Asian American populations.

The impact of Kitano's wartime relocation experience is reflected in his scholarly work, most notably in two of his books: Japanese Americans: From Relocation to Redress (1986, 1991, with Roger Daniels and Sandra Taylor) and Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress (1999, with Mitchell Maki and S. Megan Berthold). The latter chronicles and presents a theoretical structure for understanding the decades-long struggle and development of the movement and multiple forces that led to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided redress to survivors of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Securing a grant from the trust fund established by this act, Kitano served as the driving force for a historic 3-day conference, “Voices of Japanese American Redress,” held at UCLA. The presentations and group discussions brought together for the first time the diverse segments of those involved in the redress movement across time, including scholars, political activists, legislators, and individuals from the community, to discuss the process and its effects. His work and life had come full circle to a satisfying culmination.

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