Edison Tomimaro Uno was born in 1929 in Los Angeles. He was interned with his family in a camp in Crystal City, Texas during World War II. He graduated from Los Angeles State College in political science. He moved to San Francisco in 1956 and became operations manager of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Student Union in 1964, financial aid officer in 1969, and assistant dean of students from 1969-74. While assistant dean at UCSF he also taught various courses on Japanese American history and Asian American studies at California State University, San Francisco, where he was active in establishing an ethnic studies curriculum. He also taught at Stanford University, Lone Mountain College, and the California School of Professional Psychology. He served as one of the directors of the California Historical Society, and was the first Japanese American to serve on the San Francisco grand jury. Uno was active in grand jury reform, as well as other civil rights issues. He worked on the Farewell to Manzanar television program. He received various awards: the ACLU Alexander Meiklejohn Award, the San Francisco Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award, and the UCSF Chancellor's Public Service Award. The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, scrapbooks, committee records, subject files, speeches, clippings and other materials that relate to Uno's career as a California educator and civil libertarian, including material on ethnic studies curricula, grand jury reform and Japanese American community issues.

Edison Tomimaro Uno was born in 1929 in Los Angeles; he was interned with his family in a camp in Crystal City, Texas during World War II; graduated from Los Angeles State College in political science; from 1952 to 1955, he worked as advertising and publicity agent for Japanese English-language newspapers; moved to San Francisco in 1956; became operations manager of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Student Union in 1964, financial aid officer in 1969, and assistant dean of students from 1969-74; beginning in 1969, taught various courses on Japanese American history and Asian American studies at California State University, San Francisco, where he was active in establishing an ethnic studies curriculum; also taught at Stanford University, Lone Mountain College, and the California School of Professional Psychology; served as one of the directors of the California Historical Society, and was the first Japanese American to serve on the San Francisco grand jury; he was active in grand jury reform, as well as in such civil rights issues as the Wendy Yoshimura Defense Fund, Title II Repeal, Redress for Evacuation, and the Japanese American Citizens' League (JACL); worked on Farewell to Manzanar television program; recipient of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Alexander Meiklejohn Award, the San Francisco Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award, and the UCSF Chancellor's Public Service Award; he died in December, 1976.Edison Tomimaro Uno, born in Los Angeles in 1929, was the sixth son of George Kumemaro Uno and Riki Kita who were blessed with ten children, six boys and four girls. Uno's father, a native of Japan, came to the U.S. at the age of 19, like many immigrants to seek new opportunities and freedom. As a young man, he worked in various types of employment. At first he worked as a common laborer in a nursery in Alameda County for a relative, later he worked on the railroad in California, Nevada and Utah. The early history of the Uno Family was one of survival in as much as it was a large family and the income of the father did not meet all of the needs of a growing family. In the Spring of 1942 Uno's father was apprehended by the FBI and interned at Bismarck, North Dakota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Lordsburg, New Mexico; and Crystal City, Texas. At the age of 13, Edison Uno was taken to Santa Anita Assembly Center in the Spring of 1942 with his family and 110,000 other persons of Japanese descent. From Santa Anita they were later moved to Granada Relocation Center, Colorado in the Fall of 1942. Four of his brothers volunteered for military service while his mother and the younger members of the family were transferred to Crystal City Internment Camp in Texas to be united with their father. Fortunately, all of the Uno sons returned from the war alive. Older members of the family were relocated to Chicago, Minneapolis, Mississippi and eventually the family returned to California. Uno's father was one of the last to be released from camp while Uno had the dubious distinction of being one of the last Nisei to be released. By that time, he had been totally held for four and a half years. All of the family's personal belongings were lost during the war, and they had to start from scratch in 1945-46. The evacuation and relocation process changed the whole family structure and had an enduring and profound effect on Uno's life. Those years of hardship, toil and anguish in the relocation centers were never ever forgotten. A quote from the very touching introduction to Executive Order 9066, wrote Uno: Time has healed some of the old wounds, but the scars are not visible, they are there in the deep recesses of that psychological corner of our minds.

59.5 linear feet (119 boxes and 2 oversize boxes)

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