This was a message from Brandon this morning. I had never heard of Fred Korematsu before yesterday...which I hate to admit considering my heritage. But I learned of him when this link came across my desk. It started an email conversation with Brandon.
For those of you who do not know Brandon, he and I grew up in Central Maine together, best of friends from middle school on and even attended Middlebury together. He decided to return to Maine after graduation and was a teacher for many years. He is now the Schools and Curriculum Coordinator for the Maine Civil Rights Team Project. He is tasked by the Office of Maine's Attorney General to increase the safety for all Maine students by addressing prejudice and bias-based harassment at the school level...K-12.
Our world needs more Brandons....
Brandon and I got into a discussion about Fred Korematsu, Japanese internment (US and Canada), WWII and the implications that our American history has on the current environment we live in. Primarily, the general misconceptions we now have of the Muslim faith.
His message:
Thought I'd share...
I do a monthly newsletter. I needed a topic for my introductory column. I had a few ideas, but after exchanging e-mails on Fred Korematsu, I thought that he's be a good inspiration. Not enough people know about him.
He was one of millions. He was an American. He attended public schools. He played sports. He had a part-time job. He graduated. He got a full-time job. He was living the American Dream. He believed in his country.
Then he became one of thousands. He was Japanese. He was the enemy. He was not to be trusted. He was to be watched carefully. He was not allowed outside of Military Area No. 1. He was to be detained, interned, feared.
Then he became one. He would not submit. He would resist. He would cry injustice. He would fight. And he still believed in his country.
He was Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American in California who resisted Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order #9066 that allowed for Japanese internment during World War II. Korematsu fought his case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1944, who decided that the government’s actions, while extreme, were justified in times of emergency.
It took this country many, many years to admit that it was wrong. In 1983, a U.S. District Court judge formally vacated Korematsu’s sentence. He stood in front of that judge and said “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so that this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.” He devoted the rest of his life to that cause.
After the attacks of 9/11, Korematsu warned the U.S. government not to repeat the same mistakes of World War II. He was a vocal and visible advocate for civil rights and civil liberties until his death in 2005.
On January 30, California celebrated and observed the first-ever official Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. It’s a shining example of the greatness of America. In recognizing our past and presence failures, we offer hope for the future. This country and its constitution failed Fred Korematsu. His civil rights and civil liberties were violated. His faith in America, his identity as an American, and his life were shaken.
But Fred Korematsu believed in something. He believed in it even when he had no obvious reason to continue believing. Eventually there were apologies, pardons, compensation, honors, and ultimately recognition, but in the moment, there was only Fred Korematsu and his belief that he was right. Amidst his struggles, that must have offered some solace, knowing that eventually, what is right will inevitably gain acceptance. It takes hard work and struggle, but ultimately, for someone, it’s worth it.
“[D]on’t be afraid to speak up. One person can make a difference,
even if it takes forty years.”
-Fred Korematsu, 2005
For more information on Fred Korematsu and his amazing life, go to:
http://korematsuinstitute.org/
For those of you who do not know Brandon, he and I grew up in Central Maine together, best of friends from middle school on and even attended Middlebury together. He decided to return to Maine after graduation and was a teacher for many years. He is now the Schools and Curriculum Coordinator for the Maine Civil Rights Team Project. He is tasked by the Office of Maine's Attorney General to increase the safety for all Maine students by addressing prejudice and bias-based harassment at the school level...K-12.
Our world needs more Brandons....
Brandon and I got into a discussion about Fred Korematsu, Japanese internment (US and Canada), WWII and the implications that our American history has on the current environment we live in. Primarily, the general misconceptions we now have of the Muslim faith.
His message:
Thought I'd share...
I do a monthly newsletter. I needed a topic for my introductory column. I had a few ideas, but after exchanging e-mails on Fred Korematsu, I thought that he's be a good inspiration. Not enough people know about him.
He was one of millions. He was an American. He attended public schools. He played sports. He had a part-time job. He graduated. He got a full-time job. He was living the American Dream. He believed in his country.
Then he became one of thousands. He was Japanese. He was the enemy. He was not to be trusted. He was to be watched carefully. He was not allowed outside of Military Area No. 1. He was to be detained, interned, feared.
Then he became one. He would not submit. He would resist. He would cry injustice. He would fight. And he still believed in his country.
He was Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American in California who resisted Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order #9066 that allowed for Japanese internment during World War II. Korematsu fought his case all the way to the Supreme Court in 1944, who decided that the government’s actions, while extreme, were justified in times of emergency.
It took this country many, many years to admit that it was wrong. In 1983, a U.S. District Court judge formally vacated Korematsu’s sentence. He stood in front of that judge and said “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so that this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.” He devoted the rest of his life to that cause.
After the attacks of 9/11, Korematsu warned the U.S. government not to repeat the same mistakes of World War II. He was a vocal and visible advocate for civil rights and civil liberties until his death in 2005.
On January 30, California celebrated and observed the first-ever official Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. It’s a shining example of the greatness of America. In recognizing our past and presence failures, we offer hope for the future. This country and its constitution failed Fred Korematsu. His civil rights and civil liberties were violated. His faith in America, his identity as an American, and his life were shaken.
But Fred Korematsu believed in something. He believed in it even when he had no obvious reason to continue believing. Eventually there were apologies, pardons, compensation, honors, and ultimately recognition, but in the moment, there was only Fred Korematsu and his belief that he was right. Amidst his struggles, that must have offered some solace, knowing that eventually, what is right will inevitably gain acceptance. It takes hard work and struggle, but ultimately, for someone, it’s worth it.
“[D]on’t be afraid to speak up. One person can make a difference,
even if it takes forty years.”
-Fred Korematsu, 2005
For more information on Fred Korematsu and his amazing life, go to:
http://korematsuinstitute.org/
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