Fred T. Korematsu

Fred Korematsu Day

Fred Korematsu Day is a tribute to Fred T. Korematsu’s courage to stand up for civil rights and liberties by challenging President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 which authorized the removal of Japanese Americans from their homes and placement into internment camps during World War II.

Mr. Korematsu’s actions are truly inspiring. Arrested and convicted for defying Executive Order
9066, he took his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which upheld his conviction in one
of the Court’s most infamous decisions. He never gave up, and nearly 40 years later a federal
court overturned his conviction after a historian discovered that the government intentionally
concealed evidence that Japanese Americans did not pose a military threat. Mr. Korematsu
continued to be an outspoken civil rights activist, seeking redress for interned Japanese
Americans, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton, and fighting
discrimination against the Muslim American community after 9/11.

Fred Korematsu Day is celebrated every January 30th on Mr. Korematsu’s birthday. The number of states who have recognized Fred Korematsu Day is now up to five, with the most recent being Georgia (Fred Korematsu Day in Georgia, korematsuinstitute.org/2014/01/fred-korematsu-day-in-georgia/). Moreover, state representatives in three additional states have introduced resolutions to recognize the holiday (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virgini) Federal recognition of Fred Korematsu.