REFERENCE TITLE: Fred Korematsu day; observed.

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

2021

SB 1800

Introduced by

Senator Borrelli

AN ACT

amending Title 1, chapter 3, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 1-320; relating to holidays.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 1, chapter 3, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 1-320, to read:

START_STATUTE1-320. Fred Korematsu day of civil liberties and the constitution

A. January 30, in each year, shall be observed as Fred Korematsu day of civil liberties and the constitution.

B. Fred Korematsu day of civil liberties and the constitution is not a legal holiday. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Purpose

A. This state declares January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution because this state stands strong in its commitment to equal justice under the law.

B. Fred T. Korematsu was an American citizen born on January 30, 1919 and raised in Oakland, California. Mr. Korematsu was one of approximately 120,000 innocent people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, who were subject to Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that required Japanese Americans be removed from their homes and placed in internment camps.

C. Two large internment camps were located in Arizona. Approximately one-fourth of all those interned, 31,000 men, women and children, were placed in camps in Arizona.  The Colorado River Relocation Center, operating from April 1942 to March 1946, near Poston, in La Paz County, (formerly part of Yuma County) had a population of approximately 18,000 persons.  The Gila River Relocation Center, operating from May 1942 to February 1946, at Rivers in west central Pinal County, had a population of approximately 13,000 persons.  Mr. Korematsu refused to comply with this order and was arrested and later convicted in federal court and placed in an internment camp along with his family members.

D. Mr. Korematsu courageously appealed his conviction to the United States Supreme Court.  The United States Supreme Court voted 6 – 3 in the landmark case of Korematsu v. United States that the enforced internment was justified based on "military necessity".  A review in the early 1980s found that the United States Solicitor General had intentionally withheld reports from military intelligence confirming Japanese-Americans had not committed any wrongdoing.  Mr. Korematsu's conviction was overturned in 1983 and Mr. Korematsu spent the remainder of his life on a quest to ensure civil liberties for all Americans. Before his death in 2005, Mr. Korematsu traveled the nation teaching the next generation to "protest, but not with violence, and don't be afraid to speak up. One person can make a difference, even if it takes 40 years."