2008 Woodie Awards
Delta instructors took on U.S. vs. Korematus
Karyn Gilbert
Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: News
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President George W. Bush separated a day from the rest to be called "U.S. Constitution Day" for the U.S. public to learn more about the constitution, and intended it to be a day of celebration of the U.S. Constitution. Delta College honored this event by offering three presentations developed by the Social Science Division on three different days.
Nelson Nagai and Matt Wetstein, Ph.D. presented "Korematsu vs. U.S. (Japanese Internment Case), Thursday, Sept. 22 in the North Forum. This debate brought facts about the case with Fred Karematsu comparing containment with people working with Al Queda told by Nagai and how Karematsu's case wasn't the best choice to be used in comparison with the case of Jose Padilla, described by Wetstein.
Nagai asked what does the Korematsu case have to do with the people today? It's an example.
"As one of the examples when the Americans justice system broke down," he said.
Karematsu was born in 1919, an American boy with Japanese ancestry. He was just like any other American, Nagai explained, stating that he could barely speak Japanese and had a white girlfriend, but that didn't matter when Japan attacked the U.S. on Dec. 7, 1941.
Karematsu was clumped in with anyone would had Japanese blood running through their veins. A "national panic" was going on in America as the 9066 exclusive order was released, removing all Japanese to concentration camps.
They only had a time frame from Jan. to March to pack up and leave the state or they would be contained in camps. Karematsu's family didn't leave, nor did he when they took his family to a racetrack in San Francisco. He stayed behind and lived with his girlfriend in Oakland, saying that he was Hawaiian and continued to work welding ships for the U.S. Navy.
Later, he was found out, and what was believed was that either his girlfriend or employer ratted him out. He fought his arrest by the Fifth Amendment, unlawful imprisonment.
"He was a very loyal man," said Nagai.
Nelson Nagai and Matt Wetstein, Ph.D. presented "Korematsu vs. U.S. (Japanese Internment Case), Thursday, Sept. 22 in the North Forum. This debate brought facts about the case with Fred Karematsu comparing containment with people working with Al Queda told by Nagai and how Karematsu's case wasn't the best choice to be used in comparison with the case of Jose Padilla, described by Wetstein.
Nagai asked what does the Korematsu case have to do with the people today? It's an example.
"As one of the examples when the Americans justice system broke down," he said.
Karematsu was born in 1919, an American boy with Japanese ancestry. He was just like any other American, Nagai explained, stating that he could barely speak Japanese and had a white girlfriend, but that didn't matter when Japan attacked the U.S. on Dec. 7, 1941.
Karematsu was clumped in with anyone would had Japanese blood running through their veins. A "national panic" was going on in America as the 9066 exclusive order was released, removing all Japanese to concentration camps.
They only had a time frame from Jan. to March to pack up and leave the state or they would be contained in camps. Karematsu's family didn't leave, nor did he when they took his family to a racetrack in San Francisco. He stayed behind and lived with his girlfriend in Oakland, saying that he was Hawaiian and continued to work welding ships for the U.S. Navy.
Later, he was found out, and what was believed was that either his girlfriend or employer ratted him out. He fought his arrest by the Fifth Amendment, unlawful imprisonment.
"He was a very loyal man," said Nagai.