Alice Kasai papers

Collection

Identifier: ACCN 1091

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Alice Kasai papers (1911-2007) contain personal and biographical information, correspondence, reports, news clippings, articles, pamphlets, brochures, programs, awards, scrapbooks, and newsletters related to the private and public life of this Utah writer and community activist.

Dates

1911-2007

Creator

Kasai, Alice, 1916-2007 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

Alice Fumiyo Kasai (1916-2007) was born in Seattle, Washington, to immigrant parents. She was taken to Japan as a child and reared by her grandparents until she was ready to start school. The family settled in Carbon County, Utah, where Alice attended school, graduating in 1935. She married Henry Yoshihiko Kasai in 1937, and the couple had six children. Henry was detained by the FBI shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and remained in custody for two and a half years. During this time, Alice became an activist, participating in the Japanese-American Citizen's League (JACL) and providing support for families interned in relocation camps. After the war, she and Henry were active in community affairs and she continued her activism after his death in 1966. In addition to her work with the JACL and the Asian Association of Utah, Alice served on many boards and committees dealing with civil rights, women's rights, ethnic issues, and the welfare of the aging. She remained active in community affairs until her death in Salt Lake City in 2007.

Extent

70.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Japanese

Additional Description

Abstract

The Alice Kasai papers (1911-2007) contain correspondence, reports, news clippings, articles, pamphlets, brochures, programs, awards, and newsletters related to the public life of this Utah writer and community activist. Alice Kasai (1916-2007), raised in a small town in rural Utah, saw her husband taken away by the FBI and incarcerated in an internment camp in the early days of World War II. She has been active in community affairs for more than 50 years. She has been affiliated with the Japanese American Citizen's League, the Asian Association of Utah, the United Nations Association of Utah, and the Organization of Utah Citizens for Civil Rights. She was honored by YWCA of Salt Lake City with an Outstanding Achievement Award in the area of Human Services in 1994.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Alice Kasai (boxes 1-63) in 1989, 1991, 1994, and 1995

Donated by Alice Kasai (boxes 64-107) in 2003

Donated by Alice Kasai (box 108) in 2004

Donated by Raymond Uno (box 108, folder 20) in 2005

Donated by Una Kasai Nakamura, Kimiyo Kasai Johnson, Emi Kasai Toland, Hershy Kasai, and Lisa Kasai (boxes 109-136) in 2007

Related Materials

Forms part of the Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archives.

Forms part of the Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archives.

Separated Materials

Photographs and slides (P0442), videocassette tapes and filmstrips (A0250) were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Janet Smoak, Luke Kelly, and Karen Carver in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

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