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Monday September 9, 2002

Leader in Asian-American Civil-Rights Movement Dies at 66

TJ DeGroat

Yuji Ichioka, a professor and historian who coined the term "Asian American" died of cancer Sept. 1. He was 66.

Ichioka taught University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) first classes on Asian-American topics and helped found the school's Asian-American Studies Center in 1969. He was considered one of the countries top experts on Japanese-American history.

He was an influential presence on campus, Don T. Nakanishi, the center's director, said in a statement. "Our Asian American Studies Center and the fields of U.S. history, Asian American studies, and immigrant studies will forever benefit from professor Ichioka's path-breaking intellectual contributions, his courageous leadership and his fiery social commitment," he said.

Born on June 23, 1936, the San Francisco native and his family were placed in internment camps during World War II. He later testified at Congressional hearings that resulted in the official presidential apology in 1988.

Despite facing discrimination, Ichioka obtained his bachelor's degree from UCLA and his master's degree at UC Berkeley.

Ichioka organized the Asian American Political Alliance, the country's first pan-ethnic Asian American group, while working in Berkeley in the 1960s. He coined the term "Asian American" to unify Asians and to create a politically-minded group that could fight along with African Americans during the civil-rights movement.

Ichioka is best known for his books, including "Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924," which won the professor the 1989 U.S. History Book Award of the National Association for Asian-American Studies.

Ichioka is survived by his wife, Emma Gee. A public memorial is planned for October.

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