Bill Text: MI HR0208 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Enrolled

Michigan House Resolution 208 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: A resolution to declare January 30, 2016, as Fred Korematsu Day in the state of Michigan.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 26-6)

Status: (Passed) 2016-01-27 - Adopted [HR0208 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2015-HR0208-Enrolled.html

Reps. Singh, Chang, Zemke, Schor, Brinks, Moss, Greimel, Durhal, Sarah Roberts, Townsend, Hovey-Wright, Love, Gay-Dagnogo, Dianda, Pagan, Smiley, Byrd, Greig, Derek Miller, Wittenberg, Irwin, Hoadley, Rutledge, Cochran, Glenn, Heise, Leutheuser, Howrylak, Hughes, Faris, LaVoy and Potvin offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 208.

A resolution to declare January 30, 2016, as Fred Korematsu Day in the state of Michigan.

Whereas, The legislature recognizes the contributions to civil liberties made by Fred Korematsu; and

Whereas, Fred Korematsu was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Oakland, CA, on January 30, 1919, the third of four sons; and

Whereas, Fred Korematsu was one of the many American citizens of Japanese ancestry living on the west coast during World War II; and

Whereas, Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7, 1941, where 2,403 Americans were killed and over 1,000 others were wounded, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order No. 9066 that authorized the Secretary of War to require all Americans of Japanese ancestry to be placed in internment camps; and

Whereas, Fred Korematsu is famously known for his arrest, at the age of 23, on May 30, 1942, and conviction for defying the government�s order to report to an assembly center to be moved to an internment camp; and

Whereas, Following World War II and the release of Japanese Americans from the internment camps, Fred Korematsu moved to Detroit, MI, where he met his wife Kathryn and married before returning to California; and

Whereas, The decision of Korematsu v United States that declared his incarceration justified was overturned on Nov. 10, 1983 by United States District Court of Northern California in San Francisco. This action, considered to be a pivotal moment in civil rights history, cleared Fred Korematsu�s name; and

Whereas, In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Fred Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation�s highest civilian honor; and

Whereas, Fred Korematsu was recognized in 2010 when the State of California passed the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution bill, making January 30th the first day in United States history designated to honor an Asian-American; and

Whereas, Fred Korematsu is considered by many as a national civil rights hero whose growing legacy continues to inspire people of all backgrounds; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare January 30, 2016, as Fred Korematsu Day in the state of Michigan. We recognize the contributions that Fred Korematsu has made.