25:
149:
teacher Sandra Nakata, began pressuring the
Jefferson County commissioners to change the name. The county commissioners responded by stating that "Jap Road" was not an ethnic slur and honored the road's original Japanese residents. They did, however, give the road's residents the chance to change the
169:. Finally bowing to outside pressure, the Jefferson County commissioners ordered Jap Road's residents to select a new name by July 29, 2004. They chose opposition leaders Wayne Wright and Earl Callahan to oversee the selection.
172:
The options presented to the road's residents included "Mayumi Road', "Japanese Road", "Japan Road", and "Boondocks Road". Out of 170 voting residents, over 100 chose "Boondocks Road". The
Boondocks was a popular
177:
restaurant that had closed a decade earlier. Anger at outside groups characterizing them as racists is the common explanation for residents' decision to entirely avoid using any of the
Japanese-related names.
208:"Battle to Rename Texas Town's Road Turns Into War of Words : Teacher's fight to change 'Jap Road' angers some longtime residents, who say it honors the area's Japanese settlers"
150:
name if they so chose. Area residents, including descendants of the
Japanese settlers, were highly resistant to any name change. Further efforts in 1999 also met with no success.
166:
298:
104:
immigrant Yoshio Mayumi and his brother Yasuo settled in
Fannett, purchasing 1734 acres (7 km) of land. The two brought with them techniques for
115:
According to local tradition, in 1905 area residents collaborated to build a road to the Mayumi farm, and named the road "Jap Road" in their honor.
303:
134:
Although Jap Road was named to honor its
Japanese residents, by the end of the 20th century its name had taken on a new meaning. During
162:
118:
In 1924, Mayumi returned to Japan. Low rice prices and smaller harvests due to mismanaged land had rendered his farm unprofitable. The
254:
246:
154:
68:
46:
39:
207:
123:
33:
293:
119:
109:
158:
50:
139:
8:
241:
215:
126:
are also considered contributing factors to Mayumi's decision to leave the country.
146:
89:
287:
269:
256:
242:
Christian
Science Monitor - In an East Texas town, the fight is all in a name
219:
135:
187:
174:
138:, "Jap" went from being an abbreviation for "Japanese" to an
101:
108:
farming, which became the dominant agricultural activity of
105:
285:
167:Department of Housing and Urban Development
299:Transportation in Jefferson County, Texas
69:Learn how and when to remove this message
88:) is a 4.3-mile (6.9-kilometer) road in
32:This article includes a list of general
286:
205:
18:
13:
304:Japanese-American culture in Texas
38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
315:
235:
155:Japanese American Citizens League
145:In 1993, advocacy groups, led by
247:CNN - Name change for 'Jap Road'
23:
163:US Department of Transportation
199:
129:
1:
193:
16:Road in Texas, United States
7:
206:HART, LIANNE (1993-12-02).
181:
100:In the early 20th century,
10:
320:
161:filed complaints with the
95:
124:anti-immigrant sentiment
120:Immigration Act of 1924
53:more precise citations.
159:Anti-Defamation League
270:29.85861°N 94.22417°W
275:29.85861; -94.22417
266: /
212:Los Angeles Times
79:
78:
71:
311:
281:
280:
278:
277:
276:
271:
267:
264:
263:
262:
259:
230:
229:
227:
226:
203:
110:Jefferson County
74:
67:
63:
60:
54:
49:this article by
40:inline citations
27:
26:
19:
319:
318:
314:
313:
312:
310:
309:
308:
284:
283:
274:
272:
268:
265:
260:
257:
255:
253:
252:
238:
233:
224:
222:
204:
200:
196:
184:
132:
98:
75:
64:
58:
55:
45:Please help to
44:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
317:
307:
306:
301:
296:
294:Roads in Texas
250:
249:
244:
237:
236:External links
234:
232:
231:
197:
195:
192:
191:
190:
183:
180:
131:
128:
97:
94:
90:Fannett, Texas
82:Boondocks Road
77:
76:
31:
29:
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
316:
305:
302:
300:
297:
295:
292:
291:
289:
282:
279:
248:
245:
243:
240:
239:
221:
217:
213:
209:
202:
198:
189:
186:
185:
179:
176:
170:
168:
164:
160:
156:
153:In 2004, the
151:
148:
143:
141:
137:
127:
125:
121:
116:
113:
111:
107:
103:
93:
91:
87:
83:
73:
70:
62:
52:
48:
42:
41:
35:
30:
21:
20:
251:
223:. Retrieved
211:
201:
171:
152:
144:
136:World War II
133:
122:and related
117:
114:
99:
85:
81:
80:
65:
56:
37:
273: /
140:ethnic slur
130:Controversy
51:introducing
288:Categories
261:94°13′27″W
258:29°51′31″N
225:2016-03-27
194:References
84:(formerly
34:references
220:0458-3035
188:Boondocks
59:July 2010
182:See also
165:and the
157:and the
147:Beaumont
102:Japanese
86:Jap Road
175:catfish
96:History
47:improve
218:
36:, but
216:ISSN
106:rice
290::
214:.
210:.
142:.
112:.
92:.
228:.
72:)
66:(
61:)
57:(
43:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.