Fred Korematsu: Biography

Freed Korematsu Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland, California on January 30, 1919. His parents had immigrated to the United States from Japan in 1905. Despite the fact that he was an American citizen, Korematsu, being a Japanese-American, faced overwhelming racial prejudice while he was growing up. He was often bullied at school and discriminated against. Even the family of his Italian American girlfriend, Ida Boitano, felt that the Japanese were inferior to whites. In the years approaching World War II the hatred grew more intense. He was rejected by school clubs and activities. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States officially entered the war many Americans were chomping at the bit too enlist in the military. Due to stomach ulcers, Korematsu was unable to join the armed forces. Instead, he trained to become a welder in an attempt to contribute his services to the defense effort. Despite this obvious display of patriotism he did not receive much admiration in the work field. He received a job at the docks in Oakland as a shipyard welder and quickly rose through the ranks to foreman. One day, when he arrived to punch in his time card, Korematsu found a notice on his desk. The notice informed him that he was being fired from his job due to his Japanese ancestry. Only two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed Executive Order 9066 which authorized the U.S. military to remove over 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes and place them in concentration camps dispersed throughout the country. Upon hearing this news, Fred Korematsu had plastic surgery performed on his eyelids in an attempt to look less Japanese. He also changed his name to Clyde Sarah and claimed to be of Spanish and Hawaiian ancestry. Despite his attempts to hide from authorities, Korematsu was recognized as being a “Jap” on May 30, 1942 while walking down a side street. He was arrested and taken to San Francisco County

Bibliography: "CAPAC Members Commemorate Fred Korematsu Day." Asian Pacific American Congressional Congress. N.p., 30 Jan 2013. Web. 09 Mar 2013. <http://capac-chu.house.gov/press-release/capac-members-commemorate-fred-korematsu-day-0>. Chin, Steven. When Justice Failed: The Fred Korematsu Story. Austin: Steck-Vaughn Company, 1992. Print. "Pelosi Statement on Fred Korematsu Day." Democratic Leader. N.p., 30 Jan 2013. Web. 09 Mar 2013. <http://www.democraticleader.gov/Pelosi_Statement_on_Fred_Korematsu_Day_2013>.