Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education

Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
Company typeNon-profit
Founded2009
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Key people
Karen Korematsu, co-founder; Ling Woo Liu, director
ServicesEducation
Websitekorematsuinstitute.org

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education is a non-profit organization which advances pan-ethnic civil rights and human rights through education.

History

Background

Further information: Internment of Japanese Americans

In 1942, Fred Korematsu was arrested for defying the government's internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.[1] He appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1944, which ruled against him, saying the incarceration was justified due to military necessity.[2] Four decades later, the discovery of new evidence allowed Korematsu to re-open his case with a team of pro-bono lawyers headed by legal scholar Peter H. Irons. In 1983, a federal court in San Francisco finally overturned Korematsu's conviction.[3] In 1988, the United States federal government officially apologized for its discriminatory wartime actions and granted reparations to all those who were being interned. In 1998, Korematsu received from President Bill Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.[4]

Establishment

In 2009, the Asian Law Caucus, together with Korematsu's daughter, Karen, launched the Korematsu Institute to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the removal of Korematsu's conviction.[5][6] The institute's members advocated for the designation of January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution in California, and the legislature approved this in 2010.[7] This was the first day in US history to be named after an Asian American.[8] To mark the first Fred Korematsu Day on January 30, 2011,[9] the Korematsu Institute began shipping out free Korematsu teaching kits to K-12 classrooms around California[10][11] and held a commemorative event at University of California, Berkeley.[12] Each year on Fred Korematsu Day, the organization honors Japanese Americans who have contributed to the advancement of civil rights.[13]

In 2014, the Institute partnered with the San Joaquin County Office of Education to provide professional development for teachers on several civil rights topics, and was awarded a grant of $180,836.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Dromm Honors Civil Rights Worker". Queens Gazette. February 18, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Bai, Matt (December 25, 2005). "He Said No to Internment". The New York Times Magazine. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  3. ^ Irons, Peter (1993). Justice at War. University of California Press. p. 91-93.
  4. ^ "Fred Korematsu -- he defied wartime order to internment camp". SFGate. April 1, 2005.
  5. ^ "Civil rights institute named for Korematsu". SFGate. April 28, 2009.
  6. ^ Kenney, Karen Latchana (September 1, 2012). Korematsu v. the United States: World War II Japanese-American Internment Camps. ABDO Publishing Company. pp. 133–. ISBN 978-1-61480-164-1.
  7. ^ Zhao, Xiaojian & Park, Edward J. W. (November 26, 2013). Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 112–. ISBN 978-1-59884-240-1.
  8. ^ Liu, Ling Woo (January 30, 2011). "Fred Korematsu Day: California Honors a Civil Rights Hero"". Time.
  9. ^ "Korematsu Day". The New York Times, February 4, 2011.
  10. ^ "Fred Korematsu Day a first for an Asian American". SFGate. January 28, 2011.
  11. ^ Danico, Mary Yu (September 3, 2014). Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. pp. 615–. ISBN 978-1-4522-8189-6.
  12. ^ Lee, Sophie (January 28, 2011). "Weekend Free-view: Be an Extra! See a Shipwreck! Celebrate F. Korematsu!". The Daily Clog. The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011.
  13. ^ Yamamoto, J. K. (February 4, 2013). "A Celebration of Heroes". Rafu Shimpo.
  14. ^ Roberts, Elizabeth (November 30, 2014). "Shining light on dark chapter of Stockton's history". RecordNet.