A Tossed Salad America
...written on 2001-06-02, @ 7:40 p.m.
Sat May 26th 2001
"One day my little girl came home and asked me why the children at school had called her a "banana". I drew her close to my breaking heart and tried to find the words to soften the unrecognized cruelty of her schoolmates." said Yasko Nishimura, a 67 yr old retired Japanese businesswoman, living in Atlanta. She told us (me & Hide) how she explained to her daughter that the other children didn't understand how special Akko was to have light cinnamon colored skin, almond shaped eyes and a Southern accent. She told Akko that her uniqueness would give her untold strength in coping with the world and that she should never deny herself opportunites because of what other people may say or think.
As Akko grew, she disagreed with the concept of America as a "melting pot". She felt that image diluted the contributions of many people and cultures and began to talk of a "tossed salad" America, where each individual flavor could be recognized and enjoyed. At Brown University she started an Asian women's movement called "Ruckus" wherein the members practiced mental and physical skills to "make themselves bigger" , to have a voice in their homes, schools and communities.
I watched from the living room as Yasko told her story to Hide at the dining room table surrounded by mirrored walls. I saw her turn from Hide and look directly into the mirror as if she were giving an impassioned speech, reliving both painful and happy moments. I looked at the smiling picture of Akko on the white oak endtable and had to look away to discreetly wipe the tears from my eyes. Earlier Yasko had told us that her daughter was struck and killed by a car as she was walking in a crosswalk.
At 67, divorced and bereft of her only child, Yasko was alone in her swank plantation apartment surrounded by Ming Dynasty platters, Edo period artifacts, and pictures of herself with prominent world politicians, all things she would gladly trade for that precious bundle of light cinnamon colored skin, almond shaped eyes and a Southern accent.