Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Lawmakers push to take Fred Korematsu Day national
During World War II, Fred Korematsu, in a photograph displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, defied an incarceration order for people of Japanese descent.
(
Mandel Ngan
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Southern California members of Congress are helping lead a bipartisan effort to get Congress to award its highest civilian honor to the late civil rights pioneer Fred Korematsu. The Japanese American man from California was convicted for defying incarceration orders for people of Japanese descent during WWII.
Who is Fred Korematsu: Korematsu, born to Japanese immigrants in Oakland, was arrested for refusing to be incarcerated based on his ethnicity. He fought his conviction and appealed to the Supreme Court. Justices justified the wartime incarceration in a 1944 decision that was thrown out seven decades later in 2018.
Why the bill matters now: This is the fourth time a bill to grant Korematsu a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal has been introduced — and the first time it has GOP support.
Support for LAist comes from
Who's backing the bill: The bill's lead sponsor over the years has been Mark Takano, with support from other Asian American Democrats in Congress. This year, three Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors: California Reps. Young Kim and Vince Fong and Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy. Fong and Maloy both won their first full terms in November 2024.
A second Korematsu bill: Takano also has re-introduced a bill to have Fred Korematsu Day, marked in California and six other states, observed at a national level. The bill does not have GOP co-sponsors.
Go deeper: California marks first 'Fred Korematsu Day'
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist