SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT, WAGERING, TOURISM & HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION No. 98

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  NOVEMBER 7, 2022

      The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee reports favorably Assembly Joint Resolution No. 98.

     This joint resolution designates January 30 of each year as Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution in New Jersey.  Fred Korematsu overcame racial discrimination in his youth and racial prejudice during World War II. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34, which imposed strict curfew regulations and required 120,000 permanent residents and American citizens of Japanese descent to forcibly leave their homes to be imprisoned in American incarceration camps. Mr. Korematsu was sent to jail for defying that order, and was later sent with his family to an American incarceration camp. Fred Korematsu maintained his innocence, pleading his case all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.

     Even after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, Fred Korematsu fought ceaselessly to advocate for the importance of preserving the constitutionally mandated guarantee of liberty for all Americans. Following Fred Korematsu’s eventual exoneration in 1983, he continued to advocate for civil liberties by speaking out against racial injustices and cautioning the federal government against repeating mistakes of the past that singled out individuals based on ethnicity, race, nationality, or religion. His daughter, Karen Korematsu, continues his legacy with the establishment of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute.

     Fred Korematsu’s strength, courage, and legacy should be remembered and honored among all citizens and residents of this State.

     Assembly Joint Resolution No. 98 is identical to Senate Joint Resolution No. 69 of 2022-2023.