Asian-American
Women and the Portland YWCA
Document
1
Document
2A
Document
2B
Veleda
Club
Frances Maeda
Pacific
Island Women
|
Asian-American
Women: Frances Maeda
Research
by Mary Gayne and Minhai Dao
|
Frances
Maeda
|
Frances
Maeda was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1912, the oldest of four children
of Japanese immigrant parents. Her family fostered her strong faith and
commitment to education. She
graduated from Jefferson High School, attended Willamette University and,
in 1936, graduated from the University of Denver. Maeda has had a long
and distinguished career in professional Christian service with the World
Council of Churches in New York City, where she worked from 1947 to 1977.[1]
After
college, Maeda became youth director at the Japanese Methodist Church
|
Japanese
American Citizens'
League Meeting, Portland, 1940.
Frances Maeda is seated on right.[3] |
in Portland and served on the
Oregon Christian Youth Council. In
1938, she was turned down for employment by the National Board of the
YWCA due to hiring restrictions against Asian-American women (see
document 1). In 1940, she became a Secretary in the Girl Reserve Department
of the Portland YWCA, where she worked for two years. Maeda extended her
service to organize local Japanese and Japanese American girls into Girl
Reserve clubs. "It really meant a lot to them," Maeda recalled in an interview.
"They treated the basketball team and went on to win. It was amazing."[2]
The
Maeda family endured incarceration during World War II and while at
Minadoka Relocation Center, Frances did organizing, advocacy, and casework
for detainees. In 1942, Maeda accepted a job with the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Boston and from there, made
her way to New York City. In the late 1970s, she returned to Portland
to care for her mother, where she still resides.
1.
Mary Gayne, "Interview with Frances Maeda," 1997, Portland
YWCA Archives, Portland, Oregon.
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Text
2.
Minahi Dao, "Interview with Frances Maeda," 2001, Portland
YWCA Archives, Portland, Oregon.
Back to
Text
3.
Negative #ORHi 103604, Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon.
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to Text
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