Grace Aiko Nakamura
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Grace Aiko Nakamura (February 18, 1927 – May 30, 2017) was a Japanese American educator and the first Japanese American teacher to be hired in the Pasadena Unified School District.[1][2]
On February 18, 1927, Nakamura was born Grace Aiko Shinoda in Los Angeles, California to Hide Watanabe and Kiyoshi Shinoda.[3][2][4][1] Her father, Kiyoshi, died when she was six years old.[1] Her brother was Larry Shinoda, who is known for designing the 1963 Stingray Corvette.[2][5] Nakamura and her brother were known to be avid drawers throughout their lives.[2][1][6][7] Her aunt was Megumi Yamaguchi Shinoda.[8]
In May 1942, Nakamura and her family were forcibly sent to the Manzanar concentration camp in California as a result of Executive Order 9066.[8][9][10] Nakamura and her family were released from Manzanar to go live with her uncle in Grand Junction, Colorado.[2] She would late go on to testify about her experience in Manzanar to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.[11]
She married Yoshio “Yosh” Nakamura in 1950 after meeting him at the Union Church in Los Angeles.[2][12][5][6] Yosh served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment during World War II.[2] They had three children together. Her daughter is Linda Nakamura Olberholtzer.[2][12][5][6] Her sons are Daniel Nakamura and Joel Nakamura.[2][12][5][6] As of 2017, she had two grandchildren.[2]
Education and career
With the assistance of a scholarship from American Friends Service, Nakamura started studying sociology and education in 1944 at the University of Redlands where she would graduate with a Bachelor of Arts.[2][1][6][13] After moving to South Pasadena, California with her husband, Nakamura became the first Japanese American teacher to be hired by the Pasadena Unified School District.[2]
In 1956, Yosh stated teaching art at Whittier High School.[2] Grace would go on to graduated from Whittier College with a Master of Arts in Teaching fine arts and a Master's degree in counseling in 1982.[2][7][13]
She would also work as a teacher for the Rowland Unified School District and the El Rancho Unified school district.[2]
In March 2007, her and her husband's multimedia artwork - “Twin Visions" - was exhibited by the Whittier College's Ruth B. Shannon Center for the Performing Arts.[14]
In 2008, her art work was featured by the Whittier Public Library in an exhibit called “Ah! New Mexico! Inspired Images from the Land of Enchantment.”[7]
Affiliations
Nakamura and her husband supported the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and it's “Go For Broke National Education Center.”[2] Nakamura had donated suitcases she had taken to Manzanar concentration camp to JANM's permanent collection.[15] Nakamura was interviewed by the National Park Service (NPS) twice - in 1999 and 2016 - for NPS Manzanar's Oral History Program.[16]
She was also active in her local community.[2] She was a Whittier Public Library trustee for eight years.[2][4][17] She was a member of the Hillcrest Congregational Church in La Habra Heights.[2] She was also a member of several organizations including the Whittier Area Audubon Society, the Whittier Art Association and the Rio Hondo Symphony Association.[2][17] The Whittier Area Audubon Society awarded her and her husband with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.[18][1]