Paul Kusuda’s column
Personal recollections of Chicago: 1943-1949
Personal recollections of Chicago: 1943-1949
By Paul H. Kusuda
Jonathan Gramling’s three-part series in February-March issues of the Capital City Hues, “Obama’s Chicago;
A look at the Chicago crucible that helped form Barack Obama,” reminded me of my life in Chicago from May 1943
to December 1949, a relatively short period of time.
Many Nisei (Japanese Americans) moved during World War II from relocation centers in various parts of the
country to Chicago between 1943-1945. They were originally from California, Oregon and Washington. Their
parents and relatives joined them in the windy city after the first group found jobs and housing. Through services
provided by members of the American Friends Services Committee (AFSC), the Brethren Church and other
organizations that helped in the resettlement process, Nisei found places to live in various parts of Chicago.
Many found apartments in the near Northside, some in the near Westside, and others in the relatively near
Southside (that is north-south from about the 39th to 65th Streets and west-east between Cottage Grove Ave. and
Lake Michigan).
I moved from Manzanar Relocation Center near Death Valley, California, to Chicago in May 1943. Two AFSC
representatives met me at the train station and walked with me to an Illinois Central train depot. We rode a few
miles, got off at 57th Street, and walked less than a mile to a large mansion-like house where the students of the
Meadville Seminary School (Unitarian Church) lived. Efforts were being made to expose seminary residents to
people other than theological students. I was a temporary guest expected to move out as soon as I was able to
find other quarters. So, I did. However, after about a year or so, I returned as a paying resident while attending the
University of Chicago.
I found an apartment in the 1900 block on West Jackson Blvd. It was a one-bedroom with a shared bath. There
was one other Nisei whom I knew earlier as a fellow student at the Los Angeles City College. As I remember, all
tenants were men, and we didn’t have to pay too much. Actually, all of the tenants couldn’t afford more. There
were no cooking facilities. Most of us learned to get by without a refrigerator by putting cheese and other
perishables in a bag that we hung out the window during cold months of the year. Later, I found that other Nisei
friends had similar experiences.
Meadville Seminary House (it had a name, but I forgot it) was in an upscale neighborhood, practically on the
University of Chicago campus. Real estate in the area appeared to be subject to restrictive covenants. The few
Blacks who lived within blocks of campus were students.
The nearby Hyde Park district was almost all-White. Few Black families lived in apartments or owned homes.
Some organizations, like the YWCA, bought large homes and converted them into living quarters. When the group’
s members included non-Whites, they lived in the Hyde park area which included churches, synagogues, and
small businesses.
During the time I lived in Chicago, neighborhoods were “blockbusted.” It’s possible that Nisei relocates were
unintentional “blockbusters.” For a time, Chicagoans were not certain how to view the incoming Asians. Most
were absolutely certain that Japanese Americans were not in their midst. After all, we were at war with Japan.
Persons with Chinese faces had been around for years. Also, Native Americans were part of the community for
years, as were Hispanics. So, Japanese faces constituted an unknown phenomenon. While using public
transportation, I was asked more than once as to my tribal grouping because I appeared to be a Navajo or
perhaps a Winnebago (now known as Ho Chunk).
Nisei relocates from many camps (relocation centers) settled in various parts of the Chicago area, buying
homes when they are able to do so. Many relocated Nisei were able to help their parents, siblings, and relatives
relocate in the Chicago area. They encountered racial prejudice, but not as blatantly in the areas whence they
came – California, Oregon and Washington.
In the Chicago area, racial restrictive covenants may have been directed primarily against African
Americans. At any rate, Nisei were able to rent and buy in areas formerly peopled only by Whites. When they
moved, Blacks found it easier to move in. Disturbances were at a minimum. As time went on, Hyde Park, and
areas farther south and farther east of the University of Chicago, were racially integrated. The area bounded by
Cottage Grove and Stony Island by Lake Michigan became less and less all-White. Social progress continued,
and as Black families saved, they were able to afford home ownership in areas other than Bronzeville, Chicago.
Socio-economic movement became more evident. That was good.
[Note: All persons of Japanese ancestry, both aliens and American citizens, were forcibly evacuated in early
1942 from the three West Coast states – California, Oregon and Washington. The World War II evacuation,
legitimized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, was of only one racial group. Despite the
fact that we were in great war against the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan), only persons of Japanese ancestry
were evacuated to camps established in deserts and swamplands in California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Colorado,
Wyoming and Arkansas].
In a later issue, I plan to write what little I remember about “blockbusting” in Chicago when I continue
recollections of Chicago in the years 1943-1949.
Jonathan Gramling’s three-part series in February-March issues of the Capital City Hues, “Obama’s Chicago;
A look at the Chicago crucible that helped form Barack Obama,” reminded me of my life in Chicago from May 1943
to December 1949, a relatively short period of time.
Many Nisei (Japanese Americans) moved during World War II from relocation centers in various parts of the
country to Chicago between 1943-1945. They were originally from California, Oregon and Washington. Their
parents and relatives joined them in the windy city after the first group found jobs and housing. Through services
provided by members of the American Friends Services Committee (AFSC), the Brethren Church and other
organizations that helped in the resettlement process, Nisei found places to live in various parts of Chicago.
Many found apartments in the near Northside, some in the near Westside, and others in the relatively near
Southside (that is north-south from about the 39th to 65th Streets and west-east between Cottage Grove Ave. and
Lake Michigan).
I moved from Manzanar Relocation Center near Death Valley, California, to Chicago in May 1943. Two AFSC
representatives met me at the train station and walked with me to an Illinois Central train depot. We rode a few
miles, got off at 57th Street, and walked less than a mile to a large mansion-like house where the students of the
Meadville Seminary School (Unitarian Church) lived. Efforts were being made to expose seminary residents to
people other than theological students. I was a temporary guest expected to move out as soon as I was able to
find other quarters. So, I did. However, after about a year or so, I returned as a paying resident while attending the
University of Chicago.
I found an apartment in the 1900 block on West Jackson Blvd. It was a one-bedroom with a shared bath. There
was one other Nisei whom I knew earlier as a fellow student at the Los Angeles City College. As I remember, all
tenants were men, and we didn’t have to pay too much. Actually, all of the tenants couldn’t afford more. There
were no cooking facilities. Most of us learned to get by without a refrigerator by putting cheese and other
perishables in a bag that we hung out the window during cold months of the year. Later, I found that other Nisei
friends had similar experiences.
Meadville Seminary House (it had a name, but I forgot it) was in an upscale neighborhood, practically on the
University of Chicago campus. Real estate in the area appeared to be subject to restrictive covenants. The few
Blacks who lived within blocks of campus were students.
The nearby Hyde Park district was almost all-White. Few Black families lived in apartments or owned homes.
Some organizations, like the YWCA, bought large homes and converted them into living quarters. When the group’
s members included non-Whites, they lived in the Hyde park area which included churches, synagogues, and
small businesses.
During the time I lived in Chicago, neighborhoods were “blockbusted.” It’s possible that Nisei relocates were
unintentional “blockbusters.” For a time, Chicagoans were not certain how to view the incoming Asians. Most
were absolutely certain that Japanese Americans were not in their midst. After all, we were at war with Japan.
Persons with Chinese faces had been around for years. Also, Native Americans were part of the community for
years, as were Hispanics. So, Japanese faces constituted an unknown phenomenon. While using public
transportation, I was asked more than once as to my tribal grouping because I appeared to be a Navajo or
perhaps a Winnebago (now known as Ho Chunk).
Nisei relocates from many camps (relocation centers) settled in various parts of the Chicago area, buying
homes when they are able to do so. Many relocated Nisei were able to help their parents, siblings, and relatives
relocate in the Chicago area. They encountered racial prejudice, but not as blatantly in the areas whence they
came – California, Oregon and Washington.
In the Chicago area, racial restrictive covenants may have been directed primarily against African
Americans. At any rate, Nisei were able to rent and buy in areas formerly peopled only by Whites. When they
moved, Blacks found it easier to move in. Disturbances were at a minimum. As time went on, Hyde Park, and
areas farther south and farther east of the University of Chicago, were racially integrated. The area bounded by
Cottage Grove and Stony Island by Lake Michigan became less and less all-White. Social progress continued,
and as Black families saved, they were able to afford home ownership in areas other than Bronzeville, Chicago.
Socio-economic movement became more evident. That was good.
[Note: All persons of Japanese ancestry, both aliens and American citizens, were forcibly evacuated in early
1942 from the three West Coast states – California, Oregon and Washington. The World War II evacuation,
legitimized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, was of only one racial group. Despite the
fact that we were in great war against the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan), only persons of Japanese ancestry
were evacuated to camps established in deserts and swamplands in California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Colorado,
Wyoming and Arkansas].
In a later issue, I plan to write what little I remember about “blockbusting” in Chicago when I continue
recollections of Chicago in the years 1943-1949.