“[B]y birth, we are American citizens; by the principles of the Declaration of Independence, we are American citizens; within the meaning of the United States Constitution, we are American citizens; by the facts of history; and the admission of American statesmen, we are American citizens; by the hardships and trials endured; by the courage and fidelity displayed by our ancestors in defending the liberties and in achieving the independence of our land, we are American citizens.” – Frederick Douglass, 1853  

Plessy v. Ferguson (May 18, 1896), Brown v. Board of Education (May 17, 1954), Loving v. Virginia (June 12, 1967), and Obergefell v. Hodges (June 26, 2015), are all Supreme Court cases, which are all well known for their topics of litigation but also hark back to our foundational rights as Americans. What they all have in common is the 14th Amendment, used in each decision, making strides for civil rights by clarifying what it means to be an American. As one of the Reconstruction Amendments of the 1860s, abolishing slavery, defining citizenship, and guaranteeing the right to vote, the 14th Amendment, along with the 13th and 15th, was meant to pivot the country towards fairness as our nation grew and evolved.

But it was only generations ago, in our living history, when the U.S. government put more than 100,000 Japanese immigrants and American citizens of Japanese descent into camps based on their ethnicity, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That number would grow to 125,000 by the time World War II ended in 1945. Lives were upended, homes were lost, and families were uprooted from their communities. The Japanese American Incarceration remains one of the most consequential events in our modern American story, and the repercussions have permeated civil rights, civil liberties, and legal debates for decades.

Woven together with the story of the Japanese American Incarceration are the broader issues that impact all of us, such as the right to due process in the Fifth Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the civil liberties guaranteed to every American citizen. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, the loyalties of all Japanese Americans and their families were questioned, and they were punished simply for looking like the enemy.

As part of the legacy of the Incarceration, we can hope for a future where we never allow the same fear and ignorance to grab hold to repeat the mistakes of our past. At the Korematsu Institute, we believe the fight for justice and human rights begins with education. And there is no place more important than the classroom for sharing the truths, histories, and voices of all our people and the power of the Constitution. As 23-year-old Fred Korematsu asked after his arrest for defying the unjust incarceration orders: “Am I an American, or am I not?” This is our story. And this is about all of us.

Learn More:

“AM I AN AMERICAN OR AM I NOT?” Virtual Exhibit. “When the Constitution Doesn’t Count.” Fred T. Korematsu Institute. Link: https://amianamerican.org/s/aiaa/page/intro2

Brown v. Board of Education. National Constitution Center. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/brown-v-board-of-education

Civil Rights and Reconstruction. “Reconstruction Amendments.” Historical Society of the New York Courts. Link: https://history.nycourts.gov/democracy-teacher-toolkit/civil-rights-and-reconstruction/

Plessy v. Ferguson. National Constitution Center. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/plessy-v-ferguson

Loving v. Virginia: National Constitution Center. Loving v. Virginia (1967). Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/loving-v-virginia

Obergefell v. Hodges. National Constitution Center. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Link: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/obergefell-v-hodges