Governor Declares “A Day Of Remembrance” For Japanese Evacuation
Sacramento, CA– Governor Gavin Newsom has declared February 19, as “A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American Evacuation” to commemorate the issuance of Executive Order 9066 on the same day in 1942. This order, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorized the forced evacuation and incarceration of thousands of United States citizens of Japanese ancestry. Over two and a half years, Japanese Americans were uprooted from their homes on the West Coast and forcibly relocated to internment camps, enduring harsh conditions and treatment by military guards without a fair trial or due process.
Despite these injustices, thousands of young Japanese American men enlisted in the U.S. armed forces, bravely fighting to defend their country. Governor Newsom urges all Californians to remember this dark chapter in history and to commemorate the rescission of Executive Order 9066 by President Gerald R. Ford on February 19, 1976. He emphasizes the importance of standing up for the civil rights and liberties of all Americans, regardless of their national origin or immigration status, to ensure that such injustices are never repeated.
