“Am I An American or Am I Not?” – Fred Korematsu

Description

“Am I An American or Am I Not?” asks visitors to think about examples of unfair treatment from our country’s past and present in order to protect the American promises of life, liberty, and justice for all.

The exhibition’s title comes from Fred Korematsu, who famously challenged the mass imprisonment of over 125,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. When faced with criminal charges for not following the military orders to leave his home without due process, the U.S. born citizen remembered his Constitutional rights and asked, “Am I an American or am I not?”

Developed in partnership with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, the exhibition draws on timeless themes to bridge past and present, highlights stories of connection, and encourages civic participation to stand up for equal rights. It features stories of loyalty and resistance, belonging and othering, and solidarity and resilience. “Am I An American or Am I Not?” explores how fear, discrimination, and government actions led to the violation of Constitutional rights during the war and how this history relates to the experiences of other communities, including Native Americans and African Americans.

Importantly, the exhibition addresses stories of other historic and modern-day events that parallel aspects of the incarceration of Japanese Americans to encourage visitors to take action today and stand up for the rights of all Americans.

“Am I An American or Am I Not?” was developed in partnership with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, AGH Arts Strategies, and Exhibit Envoy, with funding from the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and the JA Community Foundation.

This project was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government.