California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring Saturday, February 19, 2022 “A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Evacuation.” According to NBC Bay Area, the proclamation was released in recognition of the 80th anniversary of the United States Executive Order 9066, issued on February 19, 1942 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. This executive order “authorized the forced evacuation and incarceration of thousands of citizens because of their Japanese ancestry” to concentration camps over the next two and a half years.
Newsom’s proclamation, released by his office on the 19th, begins by explaining the history of Japanese American internment. He then acknowledges the bravery of Japanese American soldiers during the time. “We honor their sacrifice, as well as the resilience that made it possible for thousands of Japanese-American families to reclaim and rebuild their lives after the war,” the declaration reads. He writes, “A decision motivated by discrimination and xenophobia, the internment of Japanese Americans was a betrayal of our most sacred values as a nation that we must never repeat.”
He ends by calling on Californians to “always stand up for our fellow Americans, regardless of their national origin or immigration status, and protect the civil rights and liberties that we hold dear.”
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