SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring Fred Korematsu Day.

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

Fred Korematsu did not set out to become a civil rights hero, but his bold decision at the age of 23 to challenge the policy of Japanese internment forever altered the course of history. This year, as we commemorate the 104th anniversary of his birth, we reflect with gratitude on his brave crusade for civil rights.

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

Though the Court ultimately ruled against him, Korematsu found vindication forty years later, when a federal court overturned his criminal conviction. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Throughout his life, Korematsu worked tirelessly to ensure Americans understood the lessons learned from one of the dark chapters of our history. Today, as we confront attacks on our fundamental rights and freedoms and hate-fueled violence across the country, it is clear that Korematsu’s extraordinary fight for civil rights is far from over. His legacy is an inspiration and reminder to all of us that we must continue to strike out against injustice in our daily lives.

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim January 30, 2023, as “Fred Korematsu Day.”

GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California

ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State