“Fred Korematsu was an American citizen and the son of Japanese immigrants who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered Japanese Americans from the West Coast to be put in internment camps. Korematsu refused to evacuate but was arrested, convicted, and sent to the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Ernest Besig, Korematsu unsuccessfully sued the U.S. government for violating his constitutional rights. Years later, law professor Peter Irons discovered new evidence and Korematsu re-opened the case. Thirty-nine years after Korematsu’s first arrest, a federal judge reversed Korematsu’s conviction. In 1998, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Korematsu’s civil liberties case bears renewed relevance today.” — www.trackedinamerica.org
On April 28, this year, the Asian Law Caucus launched the Fred Korematsu Institute. Inspired by Korematsu’s legacy, the purpose of the Institute is to advance the cause of Asian American civil rights and human rights through pan-Asian American alliances and programs that focus on education, activism and leadership.
To learn more about the Insitute and Fred Korematsu, go to: http://fredkorematsu.org/
