Fred Korematsu was recognized by the Oakland Unified School District in 2002. He was born in Oakland and attended Stonehurst Elementary School, Elmhurst Junior High School, and Castlemont High School. In addition to commemorating Korematsu’s story, the school board resolved to grant honorary high school diplomas to any district students unable to graduate because of Executive Order 9066 and to name a new or existing school after Korematsu.
WASHINGTON — Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CA-PAC) Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), First Vice Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), Second Vice Chair Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), and Executive Board members Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) released the following joint statement on Jan. 30 to honor the life of civil rights leader Fred Korematsu, who challenged the wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and whose legacy compels us to confront disturbing parallels emerging under this administration:
“Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Fred Korematsu, the civil rights hero who bravely fought against the forced removal and incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of them U.S. citizens, during World War II. Mr. Korematsu knew that standing up to the government would cost him his freedom and safety. He did so anyway — taking his case to the Supreme Court and devoting his life to seeking justice — because he believed future generations deserved a country that learned from its mistakes.
“That promise to future generations is now being tested. We are witnessing our nation’s leaders employ the same unjust laws and fear-mongering tactics once used against Japanese Americans to target and terrorize immigrant communities today.
“Federal agents are disappearing people from their homes based solely on their accent or appearance. The largest immigration detention center in U.S. history is operating on the grounds of a former Japanese American incarceration camp. The president is invoking the same racist law once used to brand Japanese Americans as ‘alien enemies’ to deny due process and justify his inhumane deportation agenda.
“Our communities know all too well the cost of silence in the face of injustice. When Japanese Americans were being targeted, few chose to speak out. We must not make that same mistake again. This moment demands that we stand up for our neighbors, for due process, and for the fundamental rights that define who we are as Americans.
“This is how we honor Fred Korematsu’s legacy and ensure one of the darkest chapters in America’s history does not repeat itself.”
Korematsu was born in Oakland to parents who had immigrated to the U.S. from Japan. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal of Japanese Americans to incarceration camps, yet Korematsu defied the orders.
He was arrested and detained at the stockade at the Presidio of San Francisco before being sent to the Tanforan Assembly Center, and later, the Topaz camp in Utah. Korematsu challenged his conviction and imprisonment, eventually bringing his case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s 1944 ruling in Korematsu v. United States upheld his conviction and the removal orders. By the end of the war, more than 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry were sent to the incarceration camps, with two-thirds being American citizens.
Nevertheless, Korematsu continued fighting and successfully overturned his conviction in 1983. He pushed Congress to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which included a public apology and compensation to Japanese Americans who were incarcerated. In 1998, Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against the wrongful imprisonment of Muslim community members who were detained under the guise of national security. In 2003, he filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for the rights of Muslim Americans and warn that the government’s extreme national security measures were reminiscent of the past.
He remained a civil rights activist for the remainder of his life and his legacy continues to inspire new generations in the continued fight for justice.