Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez on May 29 paid tribute to friend and community leader Kyoko Nancy Oda, who passed away on May 15, just five days before her 81st birthday.
Images of Oda were shown on screens in the council chambers as Rodriguez spoke.
“It was an honor to recognize the life and legacy of Kyoko Nancy Oda, a lifelong educator, historian, and community leader whose work preserved stories of justice, resilience, and remembrance,” Rodriguez said afterwards. “As a Japanese American, she devoted her life to ensuring the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II was never forgotten, while serving for decades as a dedicated LAUSD teacher and principal.
“She also led major efforts in historic preservation and civil rights education across the San Fernando Valley. Her decades of service were recognized internationally, including an honor from the government of Japan.
“Her legacy of truth, compassion, and service will continue to inspire generations. May she rest in peace.”
Rodriguez represents District 7, which is located in San Fernando Valley.
A leader of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center in Pacoima, Oda was instrumental in the City of Los Angeles’ designation of the Tuna Canyon Detention Center site in Tujunga as a historical-cultural monument.
Born in the Tule Lake Segregation Center, she was able to have her father Tatsuo Inouye’s wartime memoirs translated into English and published as “Tule Lake Stockade Diary.”
She was a driving force behind Day of Remembrance observances in the ABC Unified School District and the establishment of the World War II Camp Wall, to be built in Torrance, which will contain the names of 125,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated.