Minn Matsuda

Shizu "Minn" Matsuda (1911-2003) was a Japanese-American activist who co-founded the group Asian Americans for Action (also known as "AAA" or "Triple A") - one of the first East Coast pan-Asian organizations - with Kazu Iijima (1918-2007).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Minn Matsuda
Born31 May 1911 Edit this on Wikidata
Died6 August 2003 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 92)
WorksAsian Americans for Action Edit this on Wikidata

Born Shizu Utsunomiya in Seattle, Washington, in 1911, at some point she moved to the Bay Area where she earned an art degree at the California School of Arts and Crafts in 1933. She received some recognition for her watercolor paintings.[7][8] She worked for a time for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the federal art project.[9]

Matsuda and Iijima met in California before the war. Unlike Iijima, Matsuda avoided the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II because she had moved inland to Utah prior to the signing of Executive Order 9066.[10] In Salt Lake City, Matsuda managed to find a job creating ads for a retail store despite hostility toward people of Japanese heritage.[10] Her artwork from the WPA was included in an exhibit at the Utah State Arts Center in 1939.[9]

In 1969, Matsuda and Iijima founded AAA in New York City inspired by the Black Power movement.[1][11][12] The women originally conceived of an organization focused on Japanese-American identity, but were convinced by Iijima's son, Chris Iijima, to make it pan-Asian, that is to bring together activists from all Asian American groups.[13] The first meeting was held in New York City April 6, 1969.[14] One of the first members of AAA was activist Yuri Kochiyama.[12]

According to Iijima, AAA began with two old ladies sitting on a park bench worrying about their children's future.[1] In fact, Matsuda was approximately 58 and Iijima about 51 when they set up the organization in 1969. Both had been involved in pro-Asian movements for many years by that time. To enlist members they approached persons of Asian descent at rallies protesting the Vietnam War. The war, which they considered an act of American aggression, became the first cause they espoused. They also protested the renewal of the United States-Japan Security Treaty which allowed for American military bases on Japanese soil, including Okinawa.[13]

The Triple A dissolved after about ten years after losing membership to other more radical organizations.

Matsuda died on August 6, 2003, two years after witnessing the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.[15][10]

References
  1. "5 AAPI Women Who Made A Major Impact On History". Bustle. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  2. Wallace, Nina (8 May 2017). "Yellow Power: The Origins of Asian America".
  3. Positive experiences with Asian Americans for Action, retrieved 2023-03-31
  4. YAMAMOTO, J.K. (2014-09-08). "'The Mother Teresa of Human and Civil Rights'". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  5. Sagert, Kelly; Overman, Steven (2018). Japanese Americans : the history and culture of a people. Jonathan H. X. Lee. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4408-4190-3. OCLC 1003131677.
  6. Shimabukuro, Mira (2015). Relocating authority : Japanese Americans writing to redress mass incarceration. Boulder, Colorado. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-60732-401-0. OCLC 933434226.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. "Art School to Give Degrees". Oakland Tribune. May 3, 1933. p. 12. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. "Art Association of S.F. Holds its Water Color Show". Oakland Tribune. November 15, 1936. p. 18. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  9. Austad, Verla (December 3, 1939). "'U,' Dixie, Art Center Hold Exhibits This Week". Ogden Standard-Examiner. pp. 6–B. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  10. Lee, Chisun (2002-07-30). "Rounding Up the 'Enemy'". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  11. NAKAGAWA, MARTHA (2018-07-25). "Nisei Activist Played a Pivotal Role in Redress Movement". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  12. Hsiao, Andrew (1998-06-23). "100 Years of Hell-Raising". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  13. Wei, William (1993). The Asian American Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 24–29. ISBN 978-1-56639-183-2.
  14. Maeda, Daryl J. (2009). Chains of Babylon: The Rise of Asian America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-8166-4891-7.
  15. "Paid Notice: Memorials MATSUDA, SHIZU MINN.". The New York Times. 2004-08-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-31.


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