Dr. Henry “Hank” Oyama

Memorial services for Dr. Henry “Hank” Oyama were held today at St. Augustine’s Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave, with hundreds of people from the Tucson community in attendance. Dr. Oyama was 86 years old and passed away on March 20. He was born and raised here in Tucson, and at age 15 was innocently interned along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans in relocation camps in the western United States. Hank was sent to such a camp north of here in Poston, Arizona with his mother and sister. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after spending 15 months in that internment camp, and later enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired as Lt. Colonel.

After returning to Tucson he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Arizona in education, and taught at Pueblo High School for 18 years. Following that he was hired at Pima Community College as director of bilingual and international studies, later became Associate Dean of that program, and eventually retired from PCC in 1991 as Vice President Emeritus. He was bilingual in Spanish and was well know for his advocacy for Hispanic students in Tucson, and established the Hispanic Student Endowment Fund. In 2003 an elementary school in Tucson was named after him at 2700 S. La Cholla Blvd.

Today’s service started off with a welcome by Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who said that Hank was “proud of his roots” and “rejoiced in them here in Tucson.” He also said that Hank “taught by example.” Father Gonzalo Villegas said that Hank exemplified Pope Paul VI’s statement “If you want peace, work for justice.” Particularly touching were when “Amazing Grace” and “Ave Maria” were sung.

Beautiful eulogy delivered today by Ward 5 Councilman Richard Fimbres (also a pallbearer), who spoke of Hank as a “man of integrity, a role model for all”, and listed the many awards/honors that Hank received over his lifetime including Pan Asian Man of the Year in 2005. Hank’s only surviving daughter Mary Catherine Tate spoke of her dad as the person she “learned tenacity from” and that “love is a choice.” Hank was survived by his 2nd wife Laura Ann Toledo Oyama, four children, five stepchildren, fourteen grandchildren, six great grandchildren.

Attending today’s service were many notables:

Ruben Reyes for CD 3 Congressman Raul Grijalva
Former State Senator Victor Soltero
LD 3 State Rep. Macario Saldate (pallbearer)
Pima County District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll, District 5 Supervisor Richard Elias
Tucson City Councilmembers Richard Fimbres, Karin Uhlich, Regina Romero, former Councilman Steve Leal
TUSD governing board members Adelita Grijalva, Mark Stegeman, Kristel Foster, Cam Juarez
Sunnyside board member Eva Dong Carrillo
former TUSD Superintendents Roger Pfeuffer, Stan Paz

In 1959 he and his Caucasian college sweetheart Mary Ann Jordan challenged Arizona’s anti-miscegenation law which prohibited a Caucasian person from marrying someone Asian American. The actual statute stated: “The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay or Hindu is null and void.” Hank and Mary Ann became plaintiffs in the ACLU of Arizona’s first case, to challenge this law, which was stuck down by Pima County Superior Court Judge Herbert Krucker, but then appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court. Before that court could rule, the Arizona legislature repealed that law, so Hank and Mary Ann’s case was dismissed as moot.

I (an ACLU state board member for five years) attended the ACLU of Arizona’s 50th anniversary dinner on March 20, 2009 where the attorneys for that case were honored, as well as Hank. His wife Mary Ann had passed on by then, but Hank said that she should have been there that night, because she had a harder time with the verbal abuse she endured by being a white person married to a non-white person back then. For Hank and Mary Ann, love was indeed a choice, and they had to fight to remain together and get married.

He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Arizona for this civil rights challenge.

More about Hank in

Arizona Daily Star: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/tucson-education-civil-rights-advocate-hank-oyama-dies/article_fa0197ee-9185-11e2-b1b5-0019bb2963f4.html

Rum Romanism Rebellion (by former State Rep. Tom Prezelski): http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/2013/03/21/dr-henry-hank-oyama-1926-2013/

Rest in peace civil libertarian and “father of bilingual education” Henry “Hank” Oyama.

Ted Prezelski, blogger at Rum, Romanism & Rebellion is reporting that injured Congresswoman “Gabby” Giffords will be attending the candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday 1/8/12 at the UA Mall, with her husband Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Retired). Here’s the link of his article with more information about that event:

http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/2012/01/04/january-8th-anniversary/

Ron Barber, her District Director will be the emcee at that vigil, with speeches by newly- elected Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Dr. Peter Rhee, Chief, Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, The University of Arizona Medical Center. Barber himself was shot twice on January 8, 2011 and is still recovering from the wound to his leg. Captain Mark Kelly is also listed as one of the speakers at the vigil.

For more information on the events of that day “Remembering January 8th”, the one year anniversary of the mass shooting on 1/8/11, click here.

Blogger & Democratic activist Ted Prezelski is reporting over at his Rum Romanism & Rebellion website that Republican Ron Asta will not be on the ballot for Mayor of Tucson:

http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net/2011/06/17/asta-la-vista/

Ted cleverly entitles his article “Asta la Vista” instead of Hasta la vista (see you later in
Spanish).

The family of the late Jennifer Reeves, who died (at age 18) in a car/truck accident back on August 8, 1994 involving Ron Asta, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to contest some of the signatures on Asta’s nomination petitions. The plaintiff was citizen Nicolle A. Callahan.
A hearing on this lawsuit was held today in Superior Court, and “Asta did not contest the evidence against the signatures he filed, subsequently the court ruled that he could not be a candidate” (per Ted’s blogsite).

Asta submitted 1205 signatures on his nomination petitions, but hundreds were disqualified by the Pima County Recorder’s Office, leaving him 73 signatures short of the required 1060 for a Republican Mayoral candidate. The maximum # of signatures he could have collected to qualify is 2119.

I first reported back in November when Asta was considering a bid (click here) and also in February when he took out papers to run for Mayor (click here), and announced his bid. Note comments from Jessica Reeves Foster (Jennifer’s sister) under my blogs, regarding that tragic car accident.

Asta’s campaign had also been troubled with allegations of a shoplifting incident of a steak from a store, prior to his campaign (then as a Democrat) for Mayor in 1983 against Republican Mayor Lew Murphy. One of our Tucsoncitzen.com readers known as “Fraser007″ has also maintained online in the comment sections that there was an earlier shoplifting at an EZ Save of a steak by Asta between 1969 and 1971, which Fraser says he personally witnessed.

With this news about Asta, the only Republican now running for Mayor is realtor Shaun McClusky, who is facing a legal challenge on Tuesday about the signatures on his petitions as well. Democratic contender Marshall Home withdrew his campaign for Mayor yesterday in Superior Court (click here), which I reported about earlier today.

Stay tuned for more developments in the race for Mayor of Tucson. Only 5 candidates left– Democrat Jonathan Rothschild, Independent Pat Darcy, Republican Shaun McClusky, Green candidates Dave Croteau and Mary DeCamp.