Date: : 07/22/2004

Washington DC - Jefferson County Texas officials voted to change the name of Jap Road on Monday, following the vigorous effort from a coalition of civil rights groups including the local chapters of the Japanese American Citizens League, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Anti Defamation League, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP. The fate of nearby Jap Lane in neighboring Orange County is also facing discussion. The racial slur in the 100-year old name has been the focus of a name-change campaign for over a decade in the town of Fannett, in southeast Texas, 55 miles east of Houston.

OCA national President Raymond Wong said that the name change was a significant victory in the struggle for civil rights of Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APA’s).

“The name of this road only served as an ugly reminder of the racism APA’s still face. As a Texan myself, I want to stand in support of all the Americans in the civil rights coalition who acted on what they know to be right, which in this case would be renaming this road. Slurs like ‘Jap’ and ‘chink’ have no place in the America we live in. The good people of Fannett, Beaumont, and Texas deserve better. And the rest of the country ought to realize that America is changing, and Texans don’t stand for those kind of slurs to be on our street and place names.”

“Racial slurs are terribly hurtful to our community,” said Christine Chen, OCA Executive Director. “They have been used to dehumanize people of color and remind us of a shameful but very real part of American history. Asian Pacific Americans have made huge strides in the struggle for equality, but the use of such names devalues our progress and illustrates how much further we have to go. It is imperative that all Americans get behind this effort to change discriminatory names so we can put such blatant discrimination behind us.”

Citizens of Fannett have until next Monday to decide a new name for Jap Road. Suggestions have included Japanese Road and in honor of the Japanese American immigrant who first settled there, Yoshio Mayumi Road.