Forwarded from Stephen Cassidy:

Dear Friends,  

Fred Korematsu was arrested in San Leandro, California, in 1942, for simply being of Japanese ancestry and refusing to obey the military orders to report to internment camps for Japanese-Americans for the duration of the war. 

Sixty-seven years later, the San Leandro School Board is taking nominations for the naming of a new school, the new 9th grade campus for San Leandro High School.  Many persons in San Leandro, including myself, believe the school should be named after Korematsu. I have been in communication with Karen Korematsu and this effort has the support of the Korematsu family.  

Korematsu was a true hero of the civil rights movement. While he lost his case in 1944, the reasoning of the dissenting justices in the opinion twenty years later became the majority view on the Supreme Court and was cited in one landmark civil rights case after another.  

In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, saying, "In the long history of our country's constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls. Plessy, Brown, Parks . . . to that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu."

Naming the 9th grade campus after Korematsu provides the opportunity to inspire students of today and tomorrow to achieve educational success and become active participants in our democracy.  It will show that we admire the determination Korematsu in standing up for his rights and that of all Americans to not be deprived of their liberty simply because of their race, ethnicity or national origin.  

Please consider sending a nomination in support of Korematsu to the school board.  Let's show that persons in Northern California and across the nation are in support of this effort.

Nominations must be submitted in writing no later than November 18, 2009 via email to newcampus@sanleandro.k12.ca.us or mail to: Board of Education, 9th Grade Campus Naming. 14735 Juniper Street, San Leandro, CA 94579.  Please include your contact information and use the following format:

____________ Campus.

Why the campus should be named this (150 words or less):

All the best,

Stephen

P.S.  Feel free to pass this onto other interested persons.  You can find more details on Korematsu, his accomplishments and nexus to San Leandro at http://gosanleandro.blogspot.com/2009/10/fred-korematsu-worthy-name-for-new-9th.html