George Yuzawa

This same core group of activists confronted Paris clothing designer, Kenzo Takada.[1] Kenzo owned several worldwide boutiques, named "Société Jungle Jap," and used the trademarks "Kenzo of J.A.P." and "JAP" on his clothing. The group initiated a vigorous writing campaign to educate advertisers and department stores across the nation about Kenzo's use of the historically derogatory terminology, Jap. They demanded that newspapers like the New York Times stop accepting and printing Kenzo's advertisements and insisted that stores immediately stop selling his clothing. Despite this effort, some stores continued to carry Kenzo's line. In response, the activists organized a demonstration in front of the Bonwit Teller flagship store on Fifth Avenue and Macy's main department store at Herald Square. The New York City Commission on Human Rights assisted in this effort.

George asked Ruby Schaar, the president of the New York chapter of the Japanese American Citizens' League (JACL) for assistance. The chapter board contacted New York Nisei attorney Moonray Kojima who filed a lawsuit against Kenzo's Paris firm as well as its American distributor, Mallory Outerwear. The lawsuit sought to prohibit Kenzo from using either "JAP" or "J.A.P." on his labels and trademarks. On July 13, 1972, Kenzo agreed to stop using both "JAP" and "J.A.P." An entire Butterick Patterns shipment with the word JAP was recalled in 1972. The Butterick Fashion Marketing Company also agreed to remove "J.A.P." from its Kenzo-designed patterns and from their catalog.

George and this same group protested the ILGWU's (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) implied anti-Japanese racism in its "Buy American" campaign.[1] During the late summer and early autumn of 1972, the ILGWU produced a series of subway posters that contained anti-Japanese themes. One of the more provocative posters depicted a U.S. flag with the caption, "Made in Japan." Underneath the "Made in Japan" caption in smaller lettering was the question: "Has your job been exported to Japan yet?" The George and other activists physically removed the posters from subway trains. In October 1972, about 100 people participated in a rally in front of ILGWU headquarters. Professor Michio Kaku was the rally spokesperson. Later that autumn, George met with ILGWU officials and they negotiated an agreement to remove the posters.

The Kenzo and ILGWU incidents prompted George and others to organize Asian Americans for Fair Media, Inc. (AAFM) in 1973. This group of Nisei volunteers monitored local and national broadcasts and print media for negative Asian stereotypes and racial slurs.[1] In 1973, the AAFM published a booklet entitled Stereotypes and Realities: The Asian Image in the United States. In 1974, the Eastern Regional Office of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights asked George to serve as a consultant.

George also devoted much of his time attending to the needs of senior citizens. In 1965, he organized the Ad Hoc Committee of Concerned Asians in New York City to address the housing needs of Issei (first-generation Japanese American) and Nisei senior citizens. During the early 1970s, with a grant from the New York Community Trust (NYCT), Concerned Asians conducted a survey to assess the needs of these senior citizens living in New York City. The findings convinced George and other committee members that a permanent organization was needed to support the aging Nisei community.

Georged helped establish the Japanese American Help for the Aging, Inc. (JAHFA) in 1974. JAHFA was a non-profit organization that provided health, educational, informational, language, and social services to the elderly Japanese community in New York City. JAHFA located senior residential housing at the Methodist Home in Riverdale and began placing Issei and Nisei seniors there in 1974. In the early 1980s, JAHFA became a standing committee of the Japanese American Association of New York (JAA), to secure additional financial and manpower resources.

In the mid-1980s, George formed an affiliation with the Isabella Geriatric Center in upper Manhattan. Isabella offered both a nursing home and resident apartments for seniors. He formed an exchange program between eldercare professionals from Japan and the staff at Isabella.

George also helped to form the West Side Federation for Senior Housing, Inc., (WSFSH), due to the large population of Issei and Nisei residing on the West Side of Manhattan. George served on the organization's board of directors. Founded in 1977, the WSFSH assisted with the distribution of funds from federal and private sources to local residential construction projects on the Upper West Side.

In 1981, George served as a member of the East Coast Japanese Americans for Redress organization, which advised the federal Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. He helped organize the November 1981 commission hearings in New York City. The hearings in turn helped shape the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 in which President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Congress apologized for World War II evacuation and internment of Japanese American citizens and permanent residents, authorized the payment of $20,000 to each evacuee who was still alive, and allocated $50 million for a public education fund.

George served as a vice president, board member, and committee chair for the Japanese American Association of New York (JAA), and organized numerous Japanese cultural, educational, and preservation activities in New York City. Between 1968 and 2001, George helped plan cultural celebrations such as Nipponanza at the Beacon Theater in 1979. Nipponanza was part of a nationwide festival featuring Japanese arts and culture.

In 1980, George coordinated the renovation of a Japanese burial plot at Willow Grove Cemetery in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Established in 1870, the plot contains the remains of eight Japanese who died during the 1870s and 1880s and who were among the earliest Japanese settlers in the tristate region.

In 1982, George and the JAA helped establish the annual spring Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This festival continues to the present day. During the summer of 1985, George also served on the New York-Tokyo Sister City Committee, helping to plan events that celebrated the 25th anniversary of the New York-Tokyo sister city relationship. He and then JAA president, Shigeru Inagaki, helped raise 168 Japanese cherry trees between 1992 and 2001 in Van Cortlandt Park. In April 2001, the trees were donated to New York City and transplanted to Cherry Hill Slope, where they constitute the George Yuzawa Grove.

A devout Methodist, he negotiated the sale of the Japanese Methodist-Episcopal Church building following the church's merger with two other congregations. In 1969 and 1970, he helped design the interior of the then-new Japanese American United Church building. He also provided leadership as a longtime chair and member of the church's board of directors.

George worked with the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles to develop an Ellis Island exhibit called "America's Concentration Camps." He was also a founding member of the Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), a member of the National Parks Conservation Association, and an advisor to Harmonia Opera. In addition, George was a charter member of the Japanese American Lions Club of New York, a member and president of the Nisei Investors of New York, and a Day of Remembrance Committee member.