The UCLA community lost a professor, scholar, mentor, author and
friend last Saturday, Oct. 19, when Harry Kitano, emeritus
professor of social welfare, passed away. He was 76.
Kitano’s 37-year professorial career in social welfare and
sociology was spent entirely at UCLA, beginning in 1958 and ending
with his retirement in 1995. Kitano was a two-time director of the
UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and in 1990 was the first
recipient of the Endowed Chair in Japanese American Studies at
UCLA.
Kitano was the author of over 150 books, articles, and reports,
which led him to be known the world over. Kitano has taught in
England, Japan and Hawaii as a visiting professor. He was currently
working on a sixth edition of his nationally recognized book,
“Race Relations,” which was prevalent in college
classrooms.
“Harry Kitano was one of the most influential and natural
teachers at UCLA,” said Professor James Lubben, chair of the
Faculty Advisory Committee of the Asian American Center.
Kitano had many friends and admirers at UCLA. Don Nakanishi,
director of the Asian Studies Center who worked with Kitano on
various things, remembers that Kitano did a lot with a smile on his
face and a sense of humor.
“He had a very strong inner passion and commitment towards
racial tolerance and trying to build positive relations in our
community,” Nakanishi said, adding that World War II had a
very profound impact on everything that Kitano did.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kitano and his family, who had
immigrated from Japan and were living in San Francisco, were
relocated to the Santa Anita race tracks where they lived in a
horse stall for six months. They were then transferred to the Topaz
concentration camp in Utah where they remained for three years.
This firsthand experience helped Kitano write his last book in
2000, “Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans
Achieved Redress.”
“I’m glad that in the end he could write a book
where he came full circle and got the American public and
government to recognize how awful things were during World War
II,” Nakanishi said.
Nakanishi also said that since Sept. 11 last year, Kitano would
talk about how similar the situations were, and how he was deeply
concerned with what would happen to Muslims.
Once Kitano was released from Topaz he worked in Milwaukee as
farmhand, then he played trombone in jazz bands in Minnesota.
Kitano attributed his sense of humor to this musical experience in
an interview with UCLA TODAY.
In 1946 Kitano studied at Berkeley where he received his B.A.,
M.A. in social welfare, and Ph.D. in psychology and education.
Don Harstock, who works for Omsbudsman on campus, was friends
with Kitano for 15 years and remembers him as being very open,
accommodating, and a good listener.
“Harry was one of those people I was always eager to run
across,” Harstock said.
He and his wife have treasured the ying and yang decoration that
Kitano gave them 20 years ago, and it still hangs over their mantle
to this day, reminding them of their dear friend.
“It is a constant reminder of the kind of guy he was. The
memory of Harry will be symbolized by his gift,” Harstock
said.
Kitano is survived by his wife, Lynn, five children, one
grandson, four sisters, and many nieces and nephews.
A public tribute for Professor Kitano will be held on Saturday,
December 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UCLA faculty
center.