Remembering a pioneer

I remember the first time I went to the Denver Press Club and saw its wall of caracatures, I was surprised when I saw an Asian face on it. While my friends were trying to figure out the other faces, I just stared at the one of Bill Hosokawa.

The former Denver Post editorial page editor died on Nov. 9 in Sequim, Wash. He was 92.

In the interviews I've read, Bill said that he grew up in Seattle wanting to become a journalist. But at the time, “Asian American” and “journalist” didn't go together. While at the University of Washington, he said his professors told him to pursue a different career because no one was going to hire him.

It didn't deter him from getting his degree. But they were right about getting work – Bill had to travel abroad to find a job, working for various English-language Asian publications.

When he returned to the U.S. in 1941, it was five weeks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In May 1942, he and about 120,000 other Japanese Americans were forced out of their homes and sent to internment camps.

When he was released, he found a job on the copy desk in Iowa. In 1946, he was hired by The Denver Post where he would spend 38 years working and rise to editorial page editor – the highest-ranked position for any Asian-American journalist in his time.

When he retired, he was the only person of color in the newsroom.

Bill was a pioneer. He challenged the notion that Asian Americans couldn't be journalists. He went through the pain and struggle of rejection so that it would be easier for subsequent generations to enter the industry.

All the while he held true to his Japanese-American identity, inspiring others to do the same. In his blog, Examiner.com Director of Content Gil Asakawa said “having a historical giant like Bill Hosokawa in the area was like having a lighthouse in a fog.”

I never had a chance to meet Bill Hosokawa, but I thank him for helping me be where I am today. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to join him on that wall.