PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona is honoring late civil rights icon Fred Korematsu, whose fight against Japanese American internment went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday signed legislation establishing a “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” on Jan. 30, Korematsu’s birthday. The legislation comes as the nation continues to see a rise in anti-Asian crimes that started with the pandemic.
A coalition of local Asian American groups, including the Arizona chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, sent Ducey’s office a letter last week urging him to address the issue. A formal condemnation of anti-Asian violence is among their demands.
