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WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. lawmakers are pushing to posthumously award a civil rights activist held in the Japanese internment camp in Topaz, Utah, during World War II with the Congressional Gold Medal.
U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy and three congressional colleagues have introduced a measure to grant Fred Korematsu the recognition in light of his "contributions to civil rights, his loyalty and patriotism to the nation and his dedication to justice and equality," reads a press release from the Utah lawmaker. Reps. Mark Takano, Vince Fong and Young Kim, lawmakers from California, are also sponsors of the Fred Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act. Kim and Fong are Republicans while Takano is a Democrat.
Korematsu, born in Oakland, California, to immigrants from Japan, spoke out against internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. He spent more than two years in prison as a result, and in 1942 was transferred to the Topaz internment camp.
"Though a reminder of one of the darker parts of our history, Fred's life teaches us that our liberties can easily be taken away, and it's up to each generation to fight to protect them. It is only fitting that he receives the highest honor Congress can bestow," Maloy said this week in a statement. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award granted by the U.S. Congress.
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He appealed his conviction in the case, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1944 upheld it. In 1983, however, a U.S. district court judge in California overturned his conviction after learning the federal government had suppressed information showing Japanese Americans, in fact, had not posed a threat.
"Fred Korematsu's conviction to stand up for what was right, his faith in the Constitution and his patriotism gave him the strength to endure and persevere through much adversity," Fong said in a statement. Korematsu died in 2005 at the age of 86.
