Fred Korematsu
Activist who challenged Japanese American internment during World War II.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Fred Korematsu · see source
He refused to obey the 1942 military order for Japanese Americans to report to internment camps and was arrested.[1]
Key facts and history
Korematsu underwent plastic surgery on his eyelids and changed his name to Clyde Sarah in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the internment orders.[2] The American Civil Liberties Union director Ernest Besig asked Korematsu if he would use his case to test the legality of the internment.[1] He was tried and convicted in federal court on September 8, 1942, for violating Public Law No. 503.[3] President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.[4]
On May 30, 1942, Korematsu was arrested on a San Leandro street corner and then held in a San Francisco jail.[1] Korematsu agreed to let his case test the legality of Japanese American internment, and civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins was assigned to represent him.[5] In 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a proclamation that formally ended Executive Order 9066 and included an apology for the internment, stating: "We now know what we should have known then—not only was that evacuation wrong but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans."[6][7]
What the research sources say
The Fred T. Korematsu Institute promotes civic participation and education that advances racial equity, social justice and human rights for all.[8] A November 3, 1983 Christian Science Monitor article reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had requested the setting aside of Korematsu's 1942 conviction, affirming the "inherent right of each person to be treated as an individual."[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: David Margolick, "Legal Legend Urges Victims To Speak Out", The New York Times, November 24, 1984, p. 25. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Public Proclamation No. 4 (7 F.R. 2601).; Korematsu v. U.S., 1944 WL 42849, Appellate Brief, p. 4.; "3 Japanese Defy Curbs", The New York Times, June 13, 1942, p. 8.; Annie Nakao, "Overturning a wartime act decades later", San Francisco Chronicle, December 12, 2004, p. D3. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fournier, Eric Paul (Director). (2000). Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story. [DVD]. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parks, "Cherry Blossom Festival marks 31st year in S.F.", Asian Week (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Niiya, "Japanese American history: an A-to-Z reference from 1868 to the present", Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG, 1993, p. 210 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Fred Korematsu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks Upon Signing a Proclamation Concerning Japanese-American Internment During World War II", Ford Library Museum (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks Upon Signing a Proclamation Concerning Japanese-American Internment During World War II", Ford Library Museum. facts only, no text reused. fordlibrarymuseum.gov
- "Welcome", Fred T. Korematsu Institute. facts only, no text reused. korematsuinstitute.org
- "Racism in the US: lessons to learn from Japanese internment", Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 1983. facts only, no text reused. csmonitor.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fred Korematsu (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Fred Korematsu (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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