Ronald Takaki

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Ronald Takaki bigraphy, stories - American historian

Ronald Takaki : biography

April 12, 1939 – May 26, 2009

Ronald Toshiyuki Takaki (April 12, 1939 – May 26, 2009) was an academic, historian, ethnographer and author. Born in Oahu, Hawai’i, his work addresses stereotypes of Asian Americans, such as the model minority concept.Aguirre, Adalberto. (2003).

Honors

  • Association of Asian American Studies (AAAS), Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009.AAAS, Book award, Hawii, 2009:
  • Bay Area Book Reviewers Association, Fred Cody Lifetime Achievement Award, 2002.
  • Asia Pacific Council, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2002.
  • Society of American Historians (SAH), 1995.Quintero, Fernando. UC Berkeley Press Release. May 24, 1995.
  • Cornell University, Messenger Lecturer, 1993.

Early life

Ronald Takaki was raised in a low-income area of Oahu, Hawaii. He was the descendant of Japanese immigrants who worked on the sugar plantations. He was raised by his mother and Chinese stepfather following his father’s death at age seven. As a young boy, Takaki cared more for surfing than academics, earning the nickname "10-toes Takaki." During high school a Japanese American teacher encouraged him to pursue college and wrote him a letter of recommendation for the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

His undergraduate experiences there caused him to begin asking the kinds of questions which evolved into the foundation of his career.C-SPAN/Book TV: , 1 March 2009. As one of only two Asian Americans on campus, he gained a new awareness of his ethnic identity. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in history in 1961.University of Richmond:

His graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley led to a Masters degree in 1962 and a Ph.D in American history in 1967. His dissertation was on the subject of American slavery, focusing on the rationale for slavery.Ravitz, Jessica. CNN. June 6, 2009. This work later became his first book: A Pro-Slavery Crusade: the Agitation to Reopen the African Slave Trade.Takaki, Carol Rankin. AsianWeek (San Francisco). July 22, 2009

Takaki’s personal experiences inspired him to devote his life to working for equality for Asian Americans and others. A seminal event in his life developed when his wife’s family refused to accept him because they could only see him as a "jap" — not as a native-born American citizen just like any one else.

Notes

Academic career

His initial teaching experience was at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he taught the first Black History course offered at that institution. One of his students on the first day asked what the class was going to learn about "revolutionary tactics," and he later recalled that his immediate response was to suggest that he hoped students would learn skills of critical thinking and effective writing—and that these could be quite revolutionary.

In 1972, he accepted a teaching position at Berkeley where his general survey course, "Racial Inequality in America: a Comparative Perspective," led the development of an undergraduate ethnic studies major and an ethnic studies Ph.D. program. For the next three decades, he continued to be an important contributor in the growth of the program. He was involved in developing the school’s multicultural requirement for graduation: the American Cultures Requirement.Hyman, Carol. UC Berkeley Press Release. November 18, 2002. The long-time Professor of Asian American Studies retired in 2004. His views, his teaching and his published works led to opportunities to share his ideas in venues around the world.

Death

Takaki committed suicide on 26 May 2009 in Berkeley, California after suffering from multiple sclerosis for nearly 20 years, according to his son Troy.