From the Michigan Department of Civil Rights on Korematsu

Official Media Advisory from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights on Korematsu:

Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan

Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission to

Recognize Fred Korematsu

At Huron High School on January 30, 2014

Lansing—The Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC) will recognize and honor Fred Korematsu on Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 12:30 pmat Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Road, Ann Arbor. 

Attendance at the event is by invitation only, however members of the news media are welcome to attend. 

Japanese American Fred Korematsu is an American civil liberties icon. Born on January 30, 1919, he courageously defied the US Government’s order to report to an assembly center after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Korematsu was convicted for his refusal but appealed his case all the way to the US Supreme Court, which ruled against him in a 6-3 decision in 1944.

After World War II, Korematsu moved to Michigan. His conviction was formally vacated on November 10, 1983 by US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel based upon information that the War Department misled the Supreme Court with false allegations of espionage and sabotage.

Fred Korematsu’s story is one of triumph over the civil wrongs committed against the Japanese American community following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mr. Korematsu was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Michigan Department of Civil Rights Director Matt Wesaw will read a Certificate of Recognition signed by Governor Snyder at this event. A panel of speakers including MAPAAC Chair Dr. Jamie Hsu, Commissioner Roland Hwang, Mary Kamidoi, Ron Aramaki and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang will discuss the Japanese American internment experience, Korematsu v. United States, and the post-911 world.

To learn more about the Commission and the Department of Civil Rights, please visit www.michigan.gov/mdcr.