Edison Uno

Edison Tomimaro Uno (, 1929–1976) was a Japanese American civil rights advocate, best known for opposing laws used to implement the mass detention of Japanese Americans during World War II and for his role in the early stages of the movement for redress after the war. To many Japanese American activists, Uno was the father of the redress movement.

Uno was born in 1929 in Los Angeles, California. He was the son of George and Riki Uno. In 1942, Uno was interned with his parents and siblings at the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado. Not long after, he was transferred to the Crystal City Internment Camp in Texas, where he remained for the duration of World War II.

Following the war, Uno graduated from Los Angeles State College with a degree in political science. Later, he married Rosalind Kido, daughter of wartime national JACL president Saburo Kido.

SFSU, where Uno helped create one of the country's first Ethnic Studies programs, established the Edison T. Uno Public Service Award in recognition of his impact on the school and the larger community.

Early life Uno was born in Los Angeles in 1929 into a family of 11. As a young man, he was forced from his home during the World War II after Executive Order 9066 was signed. Uno was incarcerated at the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado, then subsequently transferred to the Crystal City internment camp. He stayed at the internment camp even after the war was over, and he was told that he was the last American citizen to be released, after 1,647 days in prison. After Uno returned to Los Angeles, he became the youngest chapter president of JACL in 1950.

Uno's father, George Kumemaro was a first generation immigrant who arrived in America at the age of 19. Like many of those who came to America seeking new freedoms and opportunities, Kumemaro often took various forms of employment as a means of subsisting his growing family. First working at a nursery, and later on railroad construction in Nevada, California, and Utah, Uno's father was unable to provide for the complete needs of his family. Transferred to the Grenada Relocation center, and later to the Crystal City Internment Camp, Uno reunited with his father in the fall of 1942. Although four of Uno's brothers volunteered for military service, all returned from the war without injury. However, he was forced to leave Hastings Law School where he attended, due to poor health.

Uno served on San Francisco Mayor Joseph Aliotio's Crime Commission and on the city's Grand Jury as a chairman of the reform committee.

Uno also taught ethnic studies at San Francisco State University in the 1960s.

Japanese American Redress Movement In 1988, Uno's campaign for redress gained popularity, twelve years after his death. The campaign hoped to both educate the public on the plight of the Japanese American people, and gain economic restitution for their mass internment.

Awards and recognition In 1972, Uno was the recipient of awards from the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Association as recognition for his position as national co-chairman of the push to repeal Title 2 of the 1952 Internal Securities Act, which authorized retention camps.

Personal life Uno was married to Rosalind Uno and had two daughters. He died on December 24, 1976, after a stroke at the University of California Hospital.