Most of the thousands of Americans protesting the ICE actions and the threat to civil rights and democracy may not know it but they are walking in the steps of Fred Korematsu.
Korematsu would have been proud to see the thousands of students walking out of their high schools today protesting against the actions of federal agents ignoring the Constitution.
“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 US citizens, during World War II.," said a statement from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
"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 fearmongering tactics once used against Japanese Americans to target and terrorize immigrant communities today," the statement continues.
Japanese Americans was among the first Asian American communities to protest the Trump regime's mass deportation policies and the denial of due process, and the detention of thousands of people, most of them people of color.
“Federal agents are disappearing people from their homes based solely on their accent or appearance. The largest immigration detention center in US 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."
Civil rights activist
Korematsu was born in Oakland, California to parents who had immigrated to the United States 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. Korematsu challenged his conviction and imprisonment, eventually bringing his case before the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s 1944 ruling in Korematsu v. United States upheld Korematsu’s conviction and the removal orders.
FYI: Read more about the life of Fred Korematsu.
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.
He remained a civil rights activist for the remainder of his life especially for the rights of Muslim Americans after 9/11. His legacy continues to inspire new generations in the continued fight for justice.
View from the edge
In 2010, the state of California passed the Fred Korematsu Day bill, making January 30 the first day in the US named after an Asian American.
Fred Korematsu Day inspires modern anti-immigration protests by serving as a warning against using national security to justify racial profiling, fear-mongering, and the violation of civil liberties, as seen with policies targeting Muslims and Latin American immigrants. His story encourages legal and grassroots resistance against similar government-sanctioned discrimination.
“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," states CAPAC leaders, including chair Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY.
"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.”
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