Fred T. Korematsu Day
January 30, 20?
"As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be
held in prison or concentration camps without trial or hearing. I would like to
see the government admit they were wrong and do something about it, so this
will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color."
—Fred Korematsu (1983), on his decision to again challenge his conviction
40 years later
History of Fred Korematsu Day Of Civil
Liberties and the Constitution (FKD)
• It is the first holiday named for an Asian-American.
• California’s legislature signed AB 1775, which
designated Fred Korematsu Day on August 24,
2010.
• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law
on September 23, 2010.
• FKD will be celebrated every January 30 in
California.
What is History of Fred Korematsu Day Of
Civil Liberties and the Constitution (FKD)?
• It is a day to celebrate our Constitutional Rights
which are stated in the US Constitution.
• The 5th and 14th Amendments protects are rights
like due process, life, liberty and property.
• Also it reminds us that our civil liberties are
protected but most importantly under the times
of “real or perceived crisis.
Who is Fred Korematsu?
•He was born on January
30, 1919 in Oakland,
California.
•He tried to enlist in the US
National Guard and US
Coast Guard, but rejected
for being “Enemy Alien.”
•He was an American
Citizen!
•He challenged Executive
Order 9066.
What was Executive Order 9066?
•President Franklin D.
Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 9066 that
authorized Japanese
Americans to be placed in
relocation camps.
•The Japanese-Americans
were “enemies of the
state.”
How was Fred Korematsu affected by World
War II?
•When World War II
started, F. K. suffered
discrimination at work, in
restaurants and at stores
for being Japanese.
What order did Fred Korematsu challenge?
•He refused to comply with the Exclusion Order No. 34
and then Executive Order 9066.
•He continued to live his life like an American citizen.
•He was arrested on May 30, 1942.
Fred Korematus was arrested
• He was arrested and challenged his case.
• He lost his case, and he and his family were
sent to Topaz, Utah, a relocation camp.
Supreme Court Case: Korematsu v. United States
• In a series appeals, KF’s case reached the
Supreme Court, which is the highest court in
United States.
• KF believed that his civil liberties were being
violated.
• His Constitutional rights were not being
protected.
• On December 18, 1944, The Supreme Court
ruled by 6 to 3 to uphold the original ruling.
Overview of the 1944 Case
• “Korematsu took his case to the courts. He
said that Congress, the President, and the
military authorities did not have the power to
send people to internment camps. He also
said that the government was discriminating
against him because of his race.”
Source:http://www.streetl
aw.org_
Overview of the 1944 Case
• “The government argued that the evacuation of all
Japanese Americans was necessary because there
was evidence that some were working for the
Japanese government. The government said that
because there was no way to tell the loyal from the
disloyal, all Japanese Americans had to be treated as
though they were disloyal”.
• “The federal appeals court agreed with the
government. Korematsu appealed this decision and
the case came before the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Korematsu v. United States: Court’s Ruling
• Exclusion Order No. 34, which the petitioner
knowingly and admittedly violated, was one of a
number of military orders and proclamations, all of
which were substantially based upon Executive
Order No. 9066, 7 Fed. Reg. 1407. That order,
issued after we were at war with Japan, declared
that "the successful prosecution of the war requires
every possible protection against espionage and
against sabotage to national-defense material,
national-defense premises, and national-defense
utilities. . . ."
• Ruling from the case
Korematsu v. United States:Court’s Ruling
• ..He was excluded because we are at war with
the Japanese Empire, because the properly
constituted military authorities feared an
invasion of our West Coast and felt constrained
to take proper security measures, because they
decided that the military urgency of the situation
demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry
be segregated from the West Coast temporarily,
and finally, because Congress, reposing its
confidence in this time of war in our military
leaders -- as inevitably it must -- determined
that they should have the power to do just this…
Source: Supreme Court Ruling
New evidence is discovered in 1982.
• An attorney and legal
historian, Peter Irons and
his researcher, Aiko
Yoshinaga discovered new
evidence.
• They challenged that there
was an error in the ruling
because evidence was not
properly presented.
Peter Irons
Korematsu case was overuled in 1983.
• Korematsu lawyers were able to prove that
fraud was committed when the evidence was
given in 1944.
• The court overturned the 1944 decision.
The Civil Liberties Act, 1988
• In 1988, The Civil Liberties Act was signed
into law by President Ronald Reagan.
• It was a public apology for JapaneseAmerican who were placed in the camps.
• They received compensation of $20,000.
Fred Korematus’ Legacy
• He received the highest
award for public service
Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1998.
• After 2011, he spoke on
behalf of Muslims inmates
who are being held in
military prisons.
• He passed away on March
20, 2005.
Fred Korematsu Final Thoughts
"As long as my record stands in federal
court, any American citizen can be held in
prison or concentration camps without trial
or hearing. I would like to see the
government admit they were wrong and
do something about it, so this will never
happen again to any American citizen of
any race, creed, or color." —Fred
Korematsu (1983), on his decision to
again challenge his conviction 40 years
later