Alice Kasai
Alice Kasai (September 17, 1916 – January 6, 2007)[1] was a Japanese-American civil rights leader in Utah who advocated for Japanese Americans and other disenfranchised groups.
Biography[edit]
Born in Seattle, Washington on September 17, 1916, Kasai was the child of Japanese immigrants.[2] As a young child she was sent to live with her grandmother in Japan until she was six years old, before rejoining her family who had moved to Utah.[2] Kasai graduated from Carbon High School in 1935, and married Henry Kasai two years after. During World War II, her husband was arrested and placed in a Japanese American internment camp.[3]
Work[edit]
After her husband was sent to an internment camp, Kasai became the first woman president of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2] In 1983, the JACL awarded Kasai awarded her a medallion for 60 years of service.[1]
She also served as President of the Utah United Nations between 1985 and 1988.[2]
Additional Resources[edit]
Interviews with Japanese in Utah: Alice Kasai, University of Utah
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Alice Kasai dies, anti-bias activist". Deseret News. 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ a b c d "Alice Kasai". Better Days Curriculum. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
- ^ "Utah Women Lead: Alice Kasai And Meeting Injustice With Action". KUER. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2023-03-21.