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Okura (Pat and Lily) papers
LSC.2367
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Pat and Lily Okura papers
Creator:
Okura, Pat, 1911-
Creator:
Okura, Lily, 1919-
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2367
Physical Description:
90.2 linear feet
(184 boxes, 29 flat boxes, 15 shoeboxes, and 1 oversize box)
Date (inclusive): 1912-2009
Abstract: The lives of Pat and Lily Okura represent Japanese American civil rights leadership in the face of adversity and discrimination.
Their life histories give testament to service and dedication for social justice, especially for Asian American and Pacific
Islander (AAPI) communities. Their papers range from 1912-2009 and contain files that document K. Patrick Okura's professional
career, minority health advocacy, appointments, consultancies, community engagement, Lily A. Okura's life, involvement with
the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), World War II experience, personal records, correspondence, and resources.
Source: "K. Patrick and Lily A. Okura Collection: Registry." UCLA Asian American Studies Center. http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/okura/okura_registry.aspx.
Physical Location: Portions of the collection stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access
special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English and Japanese.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS UNPROCESSED DIGITAL/AUDIO/AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Digital/audio/audiovisual materials are not currently available
for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Glen I. Komatsu, 2005.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9990062293606533
[Identification of item], Pat and Lily Okura papers (Collection 2367). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
This collection was acquired by Library Special Collections Manuscripts Curator Genie Guerard and Asian American Studies Librarian
Marjorie Lee. The collection was transferred to Library Special Collections from the Asian American Studies Center for final
rehousing and description in August and September 2019.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
The Okura papers were appraised by Marjorie Lee in 2004. In 2005 Marjorie Lee handled the disposition and shipping from Bethesda,
Maryland to UCLA, where she re-boxed and brieflisted materials before they were transferred to Iron Mountain for climate controlled
storage. In 2011 the Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation granted generous funds for the archival processing of the collection.
Processing by Marjorie Lee began in 2011, with assistance from archival and research processing assistants Anna Lu, Krista
Chavez, Ann Matsushima Chiu, Garrett Giffin, Julie Yamashita, and Aidan Yun and student assistants Jessica Frierson, Michelle
Morimoto, Hope Shin, Hisa Tome, Kim Yamasaki, and Kelly Zhao. Processing was completed in 2019. Additional description by
Kelly Besser with assistance from Tess Livesley-O'Neill in 2020, utilizing guidelines outlined in the Japanese American Citizens
League's 2012 "Power of Words Handbook: A Guide to Language about Japanese Americans in World War II." Description decisions
were made to avoid neutral or euphemistic language, for example instead of "evacuation" we used "forced removal" and instead
of "relocation center" we used "detention camp."
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language
that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they
could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
located on our website:
Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special
Collections.
K. Patrick Okura (1911-2005) was born in Los Angeles, California, the eldest son of Japanese immigrants. He attended University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), obtained a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (1933), and became the first Asian American
to graduate with a Master's degree in Psychology (1935) at UCLA. He was also the first Japanese American to play on their
varsity baseball team. Later he received an honorary Doctorate from the Phillips Graduate Institute (2001). After UCLA, Okura
worked in various positions for the City of Los Angeles. From 1939-1942, he worked as Personnel Technician to the Los Angeles
City Civil Service, serving as the highest-ranking Japanese American in the city and the first Japanese American to be hired
by the city for an administrative position.
After Pearl Harbor was attacked, however, the Los Angeles Times and Examiner labeled Okura as "the most dangerous Japanese
American" and he faced accusations of plotting to sabotage the city's water and power supply. He was pushed to resign but
refused, and was eventually fired. World War II continued to impact Okura when he and his family, along with thousands of
other Americans of Japanese descent, were forcibly removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center and subsequently transferred
to various detention camps.
Lily and her family were also forcibly removed to Santa Anita, and upon closure of the center, Lily and Pat were married in
October, 1941. Offered a staff psychologist position by Father Flanagan of Boys Town, a boys' home in Omaha, Nebraska, the
Okuras decided to relocate to the Midwest and re-establish themselves for the next 30 years. Not only did he become well established
in his professional career and in the community, Okura also took an active role as a civil rights leader. A member of Japanese
American Citizens League (JACL) since the 1930s, he served as National President from 1962-1964. Under his leadership, JACL
participated in the first March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, and was actively involved with reparations from
the U.S. government for the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans. In 1978, the organization bestowed their highest
honor on Okura when he was named Japanese American of the Biennium for his contributions to the JACL.
Okura is a recognized pioneer in Asian Pacific American, minority, and community mental health communities. Beginning in 1971,
Okura became the Executive Assistant to Dr. Bertram S. Brown, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Okura was in a strategic position for more than two decades advocating for and endorsing financial support for the health
and welfare needs of Asian American/Pacifc Islander (AAPI) communities. In 1980, the UCLA Alumni Association bestowed on him
its Community Service Award.
Patrick and Lily used their reparation funds to co-found the Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation (OMHLF) to promote
leadership, research and training in human services. OMHLF has impacted U.S. Congressional Policy regarding Asian American
and Pacific Islander health issues. Okura also founded the National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
(NAPAFASA) in 1988, as well as the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA).
Lily A. Okura (1919-2005) was born in Santa Barbara, CA. In her younger years, she was recognized for her talent as a dancer
and also appeared in several movies including
Oil for the Lamps of China. She represented the city of Long Beach in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1936 and participated in talent contests during
Nisei Week. In 1939, she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Long Beach Business College and continued
her studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.
Once the Okuras relocated to Nebraska, Lily worked with the YWCA in Omaha, where she started off as a secretary and eventually
served as interim Executive Director. She moved on to become an administrator at the C. Meyer Louis Children's Therapy Center
at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and then later the Director of Volunteer Services. In 1972, hoping to rest,
she moved to Bethesda, Maryland, but was recruited by the Director of Public Relations at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and held the position of Director of Personnel until her retirement in 1982.
With her administrative experience, Lily managed the OMHLF and was also heavily involved in Altrusa International, a worldwide
organization of professionals that aims to better the lives of others. She was recognized for her leadership, consistently
serving on their Board of Directors and holding other positions. She took an active role with JACL at regional and national
levels, and was the first woman elected to their National Board of Directors. She served in positions such as National Vice
President of General Operations, Vice President, National Chair for the JACL's Japanese American of the Biennium Committee,
and Editor of the Washington, D.C. chapter's D.C. News Notes. Overcome by grief with Patrick's passing in January 2005, Lily
died less than five months later.
Source: "K. Patrick and Lily A. Okura Collection at UCLA." UCLA Asian American Studies Center. http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/okura/okura_about.aspx.
The Pat and Lily Okura papers range from 1912-2009 and contain files that document K. Patrick Okura's professional career,
minority health advocacy, appointments, consultancies, community engagement, Lily A. Okura's life, involvement with the Japanese
American Citizens League (JACL), World War II experience, personal records, correspondence, and resources.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
Series 1: K. Patrick Okura professional career files, 1934-1999
Series 2: Minority health advocacy files, 1961-2005
Series 3: Appointments and consultancies files, 1972-2003
Series 4: Community engagement files, 1930-2005
Series 5: Lily A. Okura files, 1941-2004
Series 6: Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) files, 1934-2004
Series 7: World War II experience files, 1941-1990
Series 8: Personal record files, 1912-2009
Series 9: Correspondence files, 1932-2005
Series 10: Resource files, 1915-2004
- Japanese American Research Project (Yuji Ichioka) collection of material about Japanese in the United States (Collection 2010). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
- Kay Sugahara papers (Collection 2354). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Okura, Lily, 1919- -- Archives
Okura, Pat, 1911- -- Archives
Japanese Americans -- Civil rights