Senate Engrossed

Fred Korematsu day; observed.

State of Senate Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session 2021

CHAPTER 233

SENATE BILL 1800

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)

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S.B. 1800

1 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: 2 Section 1. Title 1, chapter 3, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, 3 is amended by adding section 1-320, to read: 4 1-320. of civil liberties and the 5 constitution 6 A. , IN EACH YEAR, SHALL BE OBSERVED AS FRED KOREMATSU 7 DAY OF CIVIL LIBERTIES AND THE CONSTITUTION. 8 B. FRED KOREMATSU DAY OF CIVIL LIBERTIES AND THE CONSTITUTION IS 9 NOT A LEGAL HOLIDAY. 10 Sec. 2. Purpose 11 A. This state declares January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu 12 Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution because this state stands 13 strong in its commitment to equal justice under the law. 14 B. Fred T. Korematsu was an American citizen born on January 30, 15 1919 and raised in Oakland, . Mr. Korematsu was one of 16 approximately 120,000 innocent people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of 17 whom were American citizens, who were subject to , 18 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that required Japanese 19 Americans be removed from their homes and placed in internment camps. 20 C. Two large internment camps were located in Arizona. 21 Approximately one-fourth of all those interned, 31,000 men, women and 22 children, were placed in camps in Arizona. The Colorado River Relocation 23 Center, operating from April 1942 to March 1946, near Poston, in La Paz 24 County, (formerly part of Yuma County) had a population of approximately 25 18,000 persons. The Gila River Relocation Center, operating from May 1942 26 to February 1946, at Rivers in west central Pinal County, had a population 27 of approximately 13,000 persons. Mr. Korematsu refused to comply with 28 this order and was arrested and later convicted in federal court and 29 placed in an internment camp along with his family members. 30 D. Mr. Korematsu courageously appealed his conviction to the United 31 States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court voted 6 – 3 in the 32 landmark case of Korematsu v. United States that the enforced internment 33 was justified based on "military necessity". A review in the early 1980s 34 found that the United States Solicitor General had intentionally withheld 35 reports from military intelligence confirming Japanese-Americans had not 36 committed any wrongdoing. Mr. Korematsu's conviction was overturned in 37 1983 and Mr. Korematsu spent the remainder of his life on a quest to 38 ensure civil liberties for all Americans. Before his death in 2005, 39 Mr. Korematsu traveled the nation teaching the next generation to 40 "protest, but not with violence, and don't be afraid to speak up. One 41 person can make a difference, even if it takes 40 years."

APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR APRIL 14, 2021.

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FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 14, 2021.

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