They are packed and at the ready at the Westin Hotel in Tokyo's Yebisu Garden Place. Ready to return home to America. Ready to give me the remaining few minutes of their precious time before boarding the bus for the airport. Talk about a rush.
Alice Thomas-Tisdale is associate publisher of the Jackson Advocate, the oldest newspaper for African-Americans still publishing in the U.S. and "the voice of black Mississippians." Her traveling companion is the paper's international correspondent, Anne Sutton, based in New York.
Arriving Feb. 28, the primary object of the trip has been to research business opportunities for African-Americans. Not in Japan -- "I don't think you need fear a rush (of immigration)," laughs Anne -- but back home. As she explains: "There are 30-40 million of us in the U.S., largely unengaged in economic activities. Sure we consume -- we're avid consumers -- but in general we don't produce or manufacture."