Many assume the wartime detention of Japanese Americans happened in a distant past, and that since the Korematsu verdict was overturned, we've moved beyond such injustices. Yet following September 11th, hate crimes and discriminatory profiling targeting Muslim and Arab American communities—and those mistaken for them, including Sikh Americans—surged dramatically nationwide. Tragically, the first hate crime victim after 9/11 was Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American with roots in India. During that period, voices even emerged calling for mass detention of Muslim and Arab Americans, echoing World War II's darkest chapter. Fortunately, many Japanese Americans stepped forward, declaring "Never again." Their moral witness prevented history's repetition, underscoring why examining the Korematsu case remains vital for understanding our collective future.
Left to right: MAPAAC Commissioner Roland Wong, Huron High School senior Hao Hao Wang, Japanese American internment survivors Mary Kamidoi and Mae Watanabe, Principal Dr. Arthur Williams holding Fred Korematsu's state recognition certificate, U-M professors Ron Aramaki, MAPAAC Chair Dr. Jamie Hsu, and Mary McLellan from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights at the 2025 tribute program.
Why Today's Generation Must Remember
Fred Korematsu's determination to challenge his case before the Supreme Court stemmed partly from his desire to ensure no community would ever again face such treatment. His message was clear: stand firm for what's right and protect each other. As young people, we must remain vigilant for our friends and neighbors, confronting ignorance and bigotry wherever they appear. Though the targets shift—Japanese Americans in the 1940s, African Americans in the 1960s, Asian Americans in the 1980s, Muslim, Arab, and Hispanic Americans today—any of us could be next. Moreover, those who discriminate aren't particularly skilled at distinguishing between different communities.
The Problem with "Suspicious Activity"
Another troubling pattern is how discrimination gets justified under the banner of "suspicious activity"—a term so vague it can encompass nearly anything. After 9/11, for instance, Indian and Pakistani families gathering for community potlucks found themselves reported to the FBI simply because neighbors observed groups of brown-skinned people carrying large cooking pots. This pattern repeated after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2022, when Talal Al-Rouqi, a Saudi student at Michigan State University, brought rice and meat dish called kabsa to a potluck—transported in a pressure cooker. Someone called the FBI to investigate his cooking.
On September 11th, 2022—the tenth anniversary of the attacks—Frontier Airlines Flight 623 from Denver arrived in Detroit escorted by F-16 fighter jets. News reports stated three passengers had been detained for "suspicious behavior," then released. At first glance, security precautions seemed reasonable on such a significant anniversary. But then Shoshana Hebshi, who describes herself as "half-Arab, half-Jewish, a suburban Ohio housewife and mother of two," shared the full story on her blog. She detailed her experience: handcuffs, jail cell, and strip search—all because she happened to sit in the same row as two South Asian men who didn't know each other, didn't speak to each other, but happened to use the restroom sequentially. When released, an FBI agent told her there had been fifty similar incidents nationwide that day. His words: "It's 9/11 and people are seeing ghosts. They're seeing things that aren't there." She and the ACLU subsequently filed a racial profiling lawsuit.
When Prejudice Surfaces Closer to Home
Sometimes racist and discriminatory language erupts far too easily, revealing persistent divisions. Last fall, Vietnamese American students from the University of Michigan traveled to Lansing wearing maize and blue for the annual UM-MSU rivalry game. They faced harassment not just for their team loyalty—which they expected—but for being Asian. And not only from MSU students, but from fellow Michigan students as well. More recently, when University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise, who is Asian American and a woman, announced classes would proceed despite severe weather, students unleashed ugly racist, sexist, and violent commentary on social media. Her race and gender made it easier for them to view her as "The Other." Fortunately, other students and alumni used the same hashtag to call out this behavior.
Building Understanding Across Communities
We need deeper connections with one another so we can see each person as an individual, not through the distorted lens of stereotypes and unfounded fears. Everyone remembers Trayvon Martin's case, but closer to home in Dearborn, nineteen-year-old Renisha McBride had a car accident late one night in November 2022. She knocked on a nearby house seeking help. The homeowner opened his door and shot her in the face with a shotgun, killing her. He claimed he thought she was breaking in. The community responded: this could have been any one of us.
Fred Korematsu was just twenty-three when he resisted the internment order—not much older than many of us. He later reflected that he simply wanted to live his life, but realized fighting for justice was essential. Other second-generation Japanese American men, also barely older than today's students, volunteered for military service with the celebrated 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Infantry Battalion—the most decorated units in U.S. military history. They sought to prove their loyalty and their families' loyalty to America. Yet the racist fears that fueled wartime internment haven't completely disappeared from our society, state, or schools. We must invest time in knowing each other better, standing together, and speaking up against prejudice and injustice whenever we witness it. This concerns all of us. As Mr. Korematsu said: "If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don't be afraid to speak up" and "Stand up for what is right."
Learn more about this landmark civil rights case at the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, and read the White House statement honoring Fred Korematsu.