SunWuKong
05-05-2007, 11:10 PM
anybody know who Takuji Yamashita is? he was a social activist as early as the turn of the 20th century. he received a law degree from the University of Washington in 1902 and passed the state bar exam with distinction.
but the Washington State Supreme Court denied him entry to the bar on the basis that as someone who was born in Japan, he was not eligible for citizenship. he was not allowed to practice law because of the racist Exclusion laws at the time.
despite this, he challenged racist laws anyway. he is probably most remembered for challenging the Alien Land Law which essentially prohibited Asian people from owning land. the Washington state attorney general argued that Japanese people could not fit in, and that the "Negro, Indian, and Chinaman" had demonstrated they could not assimilate into American society. the case eventually went to the Surpreme Court, which heard the case but denied it. Washington's Alien Land Law would not be repealed until 1966.
in 2001, due to a petition from the University of Washington Law School and the state bar association, Washington's State Supreme Court reversed its decision and posthumously admitted Yamashita to the bar.
but the Washington State Supreme Court denied him entry to the bar on the basis that as someone who was born in Japan, he was not eligible for citizenship. he was not allowed to practice law because of the racist Exclusion laws at the time.
despite this, he challenged racist laws anyway. he is probably most remembered for challenging the Alien Land Law which essentially prohibited Asian people from owning land. the Washington state attorney general argued that Japanese people could not fit in, and that the "Negro, Indian, and Chinaman" had demonstrated they could not assimilate into American society. the case eventually went to the Surpreme Court, which heard the case but denied it. Washington's Alien Land Law would not be repealed until 1966.
in 2001, due to a petition from the University of Washington Law School and the state bar association, Washington's State Supreme Court reversed its decision and posthumously admitted Yamashita to the bar.