Gov. Neil Abercrombie has proclaimed Jan. 30, 2013, as Fred Korematsu Day in Hawaii, the first state outside of California to give recognition to this great American civil rights hero.
In 1942, Fred Korematsu was a 23-year-old U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, living in Oakland, Calif. He had tried to enlist in the U.S. military shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, but was denied due to his Japanese ancestry. He then went to work as a welder in the Oakland Shipyard.
Korematsu had risen to the job of foreman when he was abruptly fired due to his Japanese ancestry. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the U.S. military to remove more than 120,000 American citizens of Japanese descent from their homes and force them into American prison camps throughout the United States.
Korematsu chose to defy the order and carry on his life as an American citizen. He underwent minor plastic surgery to alter his eyes in an attempt to look less Japanese. He also changed his name to Clyde Sarah and claimed he was of Spanish and Hawaiian descent, not Japanese.
On May 30, 1942, he was arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, Calif., and taken to San Francisco county jail. On Sept. 8, 1942, he was convicted in federal court for violating Executive Order 9066. He and his family were sent to Topaz, Utah, where the government had set up one of 10 incarceration camps for Japanese-Americans.
Believing the discriminatory conviction went against freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, Korematsu appealed his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its December 1944 landmark decision, the high court ruled against him in a 6-3 decision, declaring that the incarceration was not caused by racism, and was justified. This case was overturned in 1983, and was a pivotal moment in our nation’s civil rights history.
In Hawaii, nearly 17 percent of the population is of Japanese descent. All citizens need to come together as a unified Hawaii to honor the bravery and sacrifice of Fred Korematsu.
I contacted Gov. Abercrombie’s office to see what the state has planned for Jan. 30, Korematsu’s birthday and a permanent commemoration in California since Jan. 30, 2011. At this time, I was told it has yet to be announced.
The Fred Korematsu Institute has several suggestions for how to celebrate and honor this civil rights pioneer. I would hope that the citizens of Hawaii, in conjunction with the governor’s office, would get busy and start planning this momentous day.
At the present time, this proclamation for Korematsu Day in Hawaii is only for Jan. 30, 2013. I would also hope that the governor and the Hawaii Legislature would make this holiday a permanent one, as has been done in California.
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On vacation: “Under the Sun” columnist Cynthia Oi is on vacation.
