photo by Shirley Nakao, courtesy of the Korematsu Institute
A report from the Sunday inauguration of Fred Korematsu Day, the first day ever to celebrate the life of an Asian American. Fred T. Korematsu was a national civil rights hero. In 1942, at the age of 23, he refused to go to the government’s incarceration camps for Japanese Americans. After he was arrested and convicted of defying the government’s order, he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled against him, arguing that the incarceration was justified due to military necessity.
In 1998, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Bill Clinton. And, last September, Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed January 30th Fred Korematsu Day. For more information or to donate a Korematsu teaching kit to a classroom visit korematsuinstitute.org
photo courtesy of shakuhachi.com
Also, live in the studio, Masayuki Koga plays the shakuhachi and discusses the art of Japanese flute playing. In 1981, Masayuki Koga founded the Japanese Music Institute of America (JMI) to introduce the highest-quality Japanese classical music to an American audience. Currently Masayuki Koga is the general director and principal shakuhachi instructor.
With Hosts Karl Jagbandhansingh and Ellen Choy.
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