Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education

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.

Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
TypeNon-Profit
Founded2009
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Key people
Karen Korematsu, Co-Founder Ling Woo Liu, Director
ServicesEducation
Websitekorematsuinstitute.org

History

Background

In 1942, Fred Korematsu was arrested for refusing to be incarcerated in 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 UC 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.
  2. Bai, Matt (2005-12-25). "He Said No to Internment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  3. Irons, Peter. Justice at War. University of California Press, 1993, p. 91-93.
  4. "Fred Korematsu -- he defied wartime order to internment camp". SFGate. 2005-04-01
  5. "Civil rights institute named for Korematsu". SFGate. 2009/04/28
  6. Karen Latchana Kenney (1 September 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. Xiaojian Zhao; Edward J.W. Park Ph.D. (26 November 2013). Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 112–. ISBN 978-1-59884-240-1.
  8. "Fred Korematsu Day: California Honors a Civil Rights Hero"". TIME Magazine. 30 January 2011. Ling Woo Liu
  9. "Korematsu Day". New York Times, 2011/02/04.
  10. "Fred Korematsu Day a first for an Asian American". SFGate. 2011/01/28
  11. Mary Yu Danico (3 September 2014). Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. pp. 615–. ISBN 978-1-4522-8189-6.
  12. "The Daily Clog » Weekend Free-view: Be an Extra! See a Shipwreck! Celebrate F. Korematsu!". dailycal.org.
  13. "A Celebration of Heroes". Rafu Shimpo, J.K. YAMAMOTO, February 4, 2013
  14. "Shining light on dark chapter of Stockton's history". 'by Elizabeth Roberts, RecordNet. November 30. 2014
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