January 31, 2022 - SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday issued a proclamation declaring January 30, 2022, as Fred Korematsu Day in the State of California.

The text of the proclamation can be found here and a copy is below:

PROCLAMATION 

In 1942, 23-year-old Fred Koremotsu, an Oakland-born welder, took a stand against Executive Order 9066, the federal government's demand that Japanese Americans report to incarceration camps. Korematsu's bold act of protest led to his arrest and conviction, which he fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

This year, as we commemorate the l 03rd anniversary of his birth, we look back on his extraordinary fight for civil rights - born out of a belief in basic human decency and fundamental human rights - that resonates to this day. Though the Court ultimately ruled against him, Korematsu was exonerated 40 years later. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel said then, "a grave injustice was done to American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry who, without individual review or any probative evidence against them, were excluded, removed and detained by the United States during World War II."

In 1998, President Bill Clinton·awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom, acknowledging his tireless and often thankless work to ensure Americans understood the lessons · 1earned from one of the dark chapters of our history.

This work is far from over, as made clear by the increase in anti-Asian sentiment seen .across the country. Korematsu's legacy reminds us that we ·can all take action in our daily lives to fight injustice and forge a more equal .tomorrow.

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim January 30, 2022, as "Fred Korematsu Day."


Source: Office of the Governor