Basic Information
Name: Fred Korematsu
Nicknames: Fred, Clyde Sarah
Born: January 30th, 1919
Died: March 30th, 2005
Nationality: American
Hometown: Oakland, California
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Civil Rights Activist
Education: Castlemont High School
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Kotsui Aoki, Kakusaburo Korematsu
Spouse: Kathryn Pearson Korematsu
Children: Karen Korematsu and Ken Korematsu
Friends: Japanese Americans
Foes: FDR, Henry L. Stimson, John L. DeWitt
Analysis
Here's another palate cleanser from the parade of powerful racists who helped get E.O. 9066 off the ground: Fred Korematsu.
Like Hirabayashi and Yasui, Fred Korematsu was arrested in 1942 on grounds of violating restrictions for Japanese Americans in designated military areas. By that time, he had already experienced a difficult life. He was frequently unemployed, excluded from military service, and even underwent plastic surgery in an attempt to alter his facial features.
Oof. That's some heavy stuff.
Unlike Hirabayashi and Yasui, Korematsu didn't deliberately get arrested to challenge the constitutionality of E.O. 9066; he just happened to get nabbed one day on a street corner. But when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) got involved as legal support, his case took on new significance in the fight for civil rights.
Not surprisingly, Korematsu v. United States went the way of Hirabayashi v. United States and Yasui v. United States. The court determined that the security of the country in the face of potential espionage by Japanese Americans overshadowed the rights of a single individual, and it found Korematsu guilty of violating the codes of conduct within military areas. In addition to slapping him with a heavy fine, the court also ordered Korematsu and his family into the internment camps.
Korematsu would later benefit from the 1980s discovery of misconduct by the Office of the Solicitor General during his court case. Though his conviction would never officially be overturned, it was essentially deemed invalid.
Korematsu would spend the remainder of his life actively involved in politics as an outspoken advocate for civil rights. He was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and his legacy lives on in the namesake Fred T. Korematsu Institute.