Beyond Black and White:

Identity and Inclusion in the YWCA

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	All too often when the subject of race relations and integration arises a mentally clear cut line of black vs. white enters the mind. While this is undoubtedly a major issue and has been in this country since the days of American slavery, it is not and never has been the only cultural struggle this country has faced. One could start with the problems European colnialists had with the Native Americans regarding looks, dress, religion, and their way of living. My purpose here is to address the "other", those ethnic groups who are often left out of the big picture, focusing specifically on Portland, Oregon's Young Woman's Christian Association(YWCA) of the 20th century.
		If you look at the visual record of the Portland YWCA, there are few photos which show inclusion of other races before the 1930's. Above is one of the few. It shows a black woman in the midst of a dozen white woman. In this pre WWI publicity photo for the YWCA's school of domestic sciences, which prided itself in producing high quality domestic labor, this was one place where colored woman could participate.

In the beginning, the YWCA was not what it is today. Today, the YWCA helps all woman of any religion who come to their door for aid. Today the YWCA has programs to reach out to those groups which in the past it overlooked. Today there are records of this inclusion. But in earlier years many cultural identities were left out. Of the progress with inclusion and integration of African-American's into the YWCA, there are a lot of records, because they made up a significant portion of the Y, enough that the Williams Avenue Branch was set aside almost solely for them. The same goes, though differently for the Japanese and Japanese-Americans in the YWCA. They were sometimes permitted to use the "white" facilities, but not neccesarily to join the "white" groups. Instead, they formed their own groups. But we know of at least one Chinese Girls Group, we have records of Native Americans, Jewish, and immigrant European participants who were identified differently. I have only the historical record and research of fellow students to go by, but as much as is possible I wish to make sure nobody is left out. Below I have a little bit of information about those groups which I could find a significant amount of information on and a few paragraphs about the YWCA's general approach to race and ethnicity. Below are also links to some of the student essay's I gathered my information from. Also, if you go to the Related Links page, you will find access to other student research papers. They will give you a broader understanding of race and identity in the YWCA.

In the YWCA Japanese-Americans are a fairly present voice in the late 30's. That is, until they dissapear into concentration camps in 1941. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the issei were arrested and put in a holding place. Shortly after, nissei and anyone of Japanese ancestry were also arrested. They were all eventually shipped to internment camps. In 1944, the Japanese were released, and the YWCA welcomed them back. Before this, there was a significant Japanese population in Portland. There were enough Japanese girls and young woman involved in the YWCA that they had their own Japanese clubs within the Y. The white girls also had their own clubs, and although the YWCA was supposed to be interactive, the Japanese girls did not always feel welcomed by the white girls. Perhaps the white girls felt intimidated by their contradicting religions. As time passed and attitudes changed the girls, though they still kept their seperate clubs, would participate in projects together. They also camped together at Camp Westwind. PSU Student, M.K. Gayne did a lot of reasearch and has written an excellent essay, "Japanese-Americans at the Portland YWCA in the Forties: Assimilation . . . , Evacuation . . . , Integration?" regarding the inclusion and exclusion of Japanese Americans in the YWCA during and shortly after WWII. Also, for a brief historical overview have a look at Japanese and Chinese Communities by Mihn and Frans. They also address briefly the role of Chinese in the YWCA. In my reading referance to Chinese came up only a few times, mainly in PSU student, Melanie J. Wright's article "Girl Reserves to YTeens: From Social Service to Social Involvement" which includes a paragraph on the Chinese Club Reserves of 1945.

Left: Fundraising for Camp Westwind. "Island Aventures" November 4, 1966. Roberta LeSav(right), and Nora Furuno(left)

Starting in the late 1800's the Jewish population in Portland steadily grew. Despite varying traditions within Judaism and countries of origins, the Jewish people had their own community. By the twentieth century, for the woman, there was the Council of Jewish Woman and Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society among others. With the available programs for mingling and working with one's own culture, it is not surprising that so few joined the YWCA, and those that did were mostly young woman in the Girl Reserves.

Here are a few telling quotes from PSU student, Anne Healey's essay "Diversity in Camp Westwind" that demonstrate the Y's mid-century approach to race and young people. While by 1945 it was the national YWCA's directive to become more interracially inclusive, the Portland Y's Camp Westwind manuals do not even address race until the 1960's. And then "very little construcive is said . . . attention is brought to Polish, German, and Italian immigrants regarding their accents" (3). But now, according to Healey, 1998 Camp Director, Linda West, says "she feels the ethnic population of campers is similiar to that of Portland" (6).

In the 1930's and 40's, one of the forms of entertainment at Camp Westwind was listening to Uncle Bliss tell "Injun stories". Sometimes he would even paint his face so he would look like an "Injun". Uncle Bliss was the campground caretaker and a tradition of the camp. Evidentally, it did not occur to anyone that this ungrounded imitation might be considered offensive to those whom he purported to be imitating. Uncle Bliss probably meant no malice, but this demonstrates a lack of cultural consideration and awareness. For more information and specifics on the involvement of Native Americans in the early years of the YWCA, see the tables in Eric Loomis, "In Flux: A Statistical Overview of the YWCA of Greater Portland in the Twentieth Century".

Left, Uncle Bliss, caretaker of Camp Westwind

Spanish Club, 1946.	Native Americans dancing, more recent than other photos Patricia, do you have any info?

With the change of purpose and increase in the Hispanic population which the 90's brought to Portland, today it is impossible for the YWCA to overlook this culture.

At the very end of the handbook for advisors of Y-Teens, there is a list of materials available through the YWCA on different topics. The longest list is for the topic "Interacial, Intercultural". While I do not know what the contents are, it is encouraging to see such titles as Distinguished American Jews, Peoples of the USSR, and Building Bridges between Groups that Differ in Faith, Race, Culture.