Institute

Empowering Communities: Asian Law Caucus in Action from arowana films on Vimeo.

The Asian Law Caucus launched the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education on April 30, 2009, at the organization’s 37th annual dinner in San Francisco. The Institute will advance the cause of Asian American civil rights and human rights through pan-Asian American alliances and programs that focus on education, activism and leadership.

Fred Korematsu was a courageous individual who stood up not only for his own civil rights, and those of fellow Japanese American internees, but also for the civil rights of the entire Asian American community. He inspired countless Asian American activists and through the example of his own life, demonstrated the importance of alliance building among Asian American communities in order to defend the civil rights of all people of color.

In the first three years of the Institute, we plan on rolling out programs that complement the existing legal programs at the Asian Law Caucus.

The Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education at the Asian Law Caucus is funded in part by grants from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and the Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation.

Korematsu Online

Korematsu Online will serve as a portal to creative tools that build a culture of racial equality, civil rights and human rights. It will host interactive content including videos, games, educational materials and advocate messaging toolkits in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic and Tagalog.

Original content will be developed for the website through the Korematsu Creative Content Prize and partnerships with social justice media organizations. Korematsu Online will also enable Asian communities to access, in language, new strategic messaging and media tools that are currently being developed at a rapid pace in the National Security and Human Rights field.

The portal can thus serve an important link among diverse ethnic communities and promote access to this information by recent immigrant and limited English proficient communities.

The initial focus would be on reframing the discourse on national security and civil rights to emphasize that there are mutually complementary values, as opposed to conflicting objectives.

Fred T. Korematsu Creative Content Prize

Through a Fred Korematsu Creative Content Prize, each year promising young developers of media and popular culture content which promote Korematsu’ legacy and human rights values will be recognized and their content will be hosted on an online interactive platform.

Criteria:

  • Primarily developed by individuals under age 30 by application due date
  • Is an innovative use of media and technology to advance a culture of equality, civil rights and human rights
  • Was intended for an educational and social justice purpose
  • Can be made available for use by the general public free of charge
  • Preference will be given to candidates who do not yet have wide recognition or a strong institutional base of support

Korematsu Activist of the Year Award

Fred Korematsu was a courage individual who stood up not only for his own civil rights and those of fellow Japanese American internees, but also for the civil rights of the entire Asian American community. He inspired countless Asian American activists and through the example of his own life, demonstrated the importance of alliance building among Asian American communities in order to defend the civil rights of all people of color.

The Korematsu Activist of the Year Award honors an emerging leader with a deep commitment to racial equality and a track record of transforming this commitment to effective action. Recipients should have demonstrated leadership ability, integrity and a strong ability to build alliances across ethnic communities.

The award carries a cash prize of $2,000 and an opportunity to be resident at the Fred T. Korematsu Institute at the Asian Law Caucus for up to a year. Those who chose to be resident at the Institute will be eligible for an additional living stipend.

Criteria:

  • Under age 30 by application due date
  • Engaged in activism for social change, promoting the values of racial equality in and across Asian communities
  • Considered by others to be an inspirational leader or motivating force
  • Preference will be given to candidates who do not yet have wide recognition or a strong institutional base of support

We will soon open up nominations.  The nominations process will close by January 31, 2010 and decisions will be announced by April 1, 2010.