Fred Korematsu: All American Hero

Abstract

Can the life of a Japanese American interned in World War II be relevant to a young girl today? This graphic novel tells the story of Fred Korematu, a young man who was imprisoned by the United States along with a hundred and twenty thousand other Japanese Americans, young and old, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The text of the graphic novel is drawn from the historical records and reports on the debates both in the Japanese American community and in the courts. The novel carries the story from the 1940s internment and court challenges to the 1980s, when Fred, now in his sixties, reopened his case based on evidence that the government had withheld crucial information from the courts when Fred had been convicted of violating the internment orders. The story shows a young girl struggling with her identity as an American learning a key lesson from Fred’s life: If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.

Keywords: Constitutional law, equal protection, legal history, civil liberties