Sierra Leone RPCV Ted Cox shares his book about a 1925 incident as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
OSU alum details part of Oregon's racist past
Ted Cox shares his book about a 1925 incident as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
by Shannon Salyer
The Daily Barometer
It was July 12, 1925, when about 50 men of Toledo, Ore., brandishing wooden planks and rocks, threatened Japanese migrant workers who had been hired to work at the local lumber mill.
Cheered on by both women and children standing on a nearby bridge, the men smashed windows and forced their way into Japanese homes.
The message was that Japanese workers weren't welcome in Toledo.
By the next day, the Japanese workers and their families had been driven from town.
OSU students and faculty gathered in the MU Asian Pacific Heritage room Monday afternoon to hear Ted Cox, an OSU alumnus, speak of his recently published book, "The Toledo Incident of 1925."
The book goes into detail about the incident that occurred in Toledo and the landmark civil suit, filed by the Japanese workers, that followed.
The presentation was organized by the Minority Education Office and Asian Pacific American Student Union as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Cox said he was motivated to write the book by a close friend who lived in Toledo and told him stories of the incident.
"My love for Roy inspired me to write," Cox said. "He is a father figure to me."
Roy Green, now 95, and Cox have been friends for 28 years.
Every Wednesday, the two would go to get coffee on the coast.
"This was an offshoot of his life story and experiences," Cox said.
Toledo is located 11 miles up the Yaquina River from Newport on the central Oregon coast.
"The Toledo Incident of 1925," released in March, has extensive personal interviews, court records and newspaper accounts to document this history of race relations in the United States.
Sandy Tsuneyoshi, coordinator of the Asian Pacific American Education Office, knew Cox had written a book about Asian American experiences in Oregon and invited him to discuss specifically of it.
According to Tsuneyoshi, a majority of people believe there aren't Asian minority issues, but there are, and the book describes one of them.
"This is important, the struggles and courage of the people at that time was amazing," Tsuneyoshi said.
"This is a documented event in Oregon; we need to educate our students and the greater population."
Cox was born in Eugene, and holds a master's in education from OSU.
Prior to moving to Corvallis, he taught in Africa and Central America as a Peace Corps volunteer.
He is also the owner of Old World Deli on Second Street in downtown Corvallis, which has been in business for 28 years.
His research into the Northwest Native American history has led him to learn about the dead trade language known as "Chinook Jargon."
Cox is also working on two other books.
One is the historical biography of his friend Roy, and the other is about the history of wooden butter tubs in America.
Shannon Salyer, staff writer
