81 years ago, thousands of Japanese Americans were evacuated from the country or imprisoned solely because of their Asian origin, a fact that was otherwise a racist and xenophobic act, for which the governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed February 19 as a day of remembrance, so that acts like this are never repeated, but they are not forgotten either.
Thus, Newsom issued the proclamation declaring February 19, 2023 as "A Day of Remembrance: Evacuation of Japanese Americans."
Issued on February 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 authorized the forced evacuation and imprisonment of thousands of loyalist United States citizens because of their Japanese ancestry.
For two and a half years, the US government drove Japanese Americans from their West Coast homes without trial or due process, forcing them into camps in unknown lands.
"Uprooted from their lives and livelihoods, they endured miserable conditions and treatment by military guards," the proclamation reads.
Newsom recalled that despite all those experiences, thousands of young Japanese Americans enlisted in the US military and bravely fought to defend a nation that was curtailing their own freedoms at home.
“We honor their sacrifice, as well as the resilience that made it possible for thousands of Japanese American families to recover and rebuild their lives after the war,” the California governor stressed.
The decision motivated by discrimination and xenophobia, "the internment of Japanese Americans was a betrayal of our most sacred values as a nation that we must never repeat," Newsom said.
"This stain on our history should remind us that we must always stand up for our fellow citizens, regardless of their national origin or immigration status, and protect the civil rights and liberties we hold dear," he added.
In response, Newsom called on all Californians to commemorate President Gerald R. Ford's rescission of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1976.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
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