Banned Books Week: Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

For Banned Books Week (Sep. 24-30, 2017), the ACLU of Northern California is organizing a series of free events reflecting on the life and work of Fred Korematsu and the importance of speaking out against forces that would seek to silence and censor you.

Fred Korematsu defied the government’s WWII orders that Japanese Americans be forcibly relocated from their homes and incarcerated in camps. The ACLU-NC represented Korematsu in his battle for justice all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today, the lessons of Fred Korematsu’s life are all the more important. Over the next week, Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi will hold a series of events for their new children’s book, Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, which tells the story of Fred Korematsu and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans, and links his fight against injustice to other groups who also spoke out against those who threatened their rights.

With politicians citing the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans as a precedent for a Muslim registry, Fred Korematsu’s story of defiance is particularly relevant for all people in America, especially youth, to understand.

To RSVP, click here.

For more information, email ACLU.AlamedaCounty@gmail.com.

Co-presented by the Alameda County Paul Robeson and Berkeley North East Bay ACLU of Northern California Chapters