February 8, 2022 

Dear Oakland Unified School District Board of Directors, 

I was saddened to learn that the Oakland County School Board is considering closing down the Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy. After the Oakland Unified School Board was taken over by the California State Administration in 2003, it was determined that Stonehurst Elementary in Oakland would be renamed in honor of my father, Fred T. Korematsu. This was one of the few times in my life, where I saw my father so moved by an honor. It was officially named the Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy in November 2006. I know my father would have been proud to be there himself. 

This school was important to my father and his story because he and his brothers lived on Edes Avenue and attended Stonehurst Elementary as children. It dates back prior to the atrocities of 1942 and Executive Order 9066 when Japanese Americans were rounded up and taken away to camps, losing their homes, their businesses, and their communities. Before this stain on our history when local children of diverse backgrounds attended the school in their local neighborhoods. After all of the instances of educational institutions being named for historical heroes and sometimes unworthy men in history, The Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy was named for an American who represented his community and championed free speech, civil liberties, and racial equality. My family has been working on plans to have the Stonehurst/Korematsu Discovery Academy & Esperanza School designated as an historical site. 

As a champion of education to eradicate prejudice and ensure one’s civil rights and liberties, it was meaningful to him that his childhood school would be named after him. I only learned of the plan to close down the school in the last few days. It broke my heart to learn that this school named after a local man, my father, who lost so much and fought for civil rights for all, might be closed. 

I do understand and appreciate the challenges you have with under-enrollment and budget constraints especially, under the cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic. When schools are named after individuals the purpose is as a positive role model for the students. Fred Korematsu fought for justice (Korematsu v. U.S.) in the face of adversity for all Americans without the support of his own community both in 1944 and 1983. He did this without bitterness and didn’t blame anyone for EO 9066. My father thought he was right to “stand up for what is right” and the Government was wrong. 

I know these are tough times, but I would ask that the Board think of the man the school was named after and what he represents and find another avenue to move forward beyond shutting down the Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy. 

Sincerely yours,
Dr. Karen Korematsu,
Founder & Executive Director
Fred T. Korematsu Institute
California State Ambassador of Education