One person can make a difference, even if it takes forty years.
Fred KorematsuRead
I lost everything when they put us in prison. I was an enemy alien, a man without a country.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the profound loss of identity and belonging experienced by those unjustly imprisoned due to their heritage.
Fred Korematsu's quote encapsulates the emotional and psychological trauma of being labeled as an enemy alien during wartime. In his case, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II stripped him of his rights, freedoms, and sense of belonging, illustrating the devastating impact of discrimination and injustice on individual identity and community.
Themes
IdentityInjusticeBelongingDiscriminationTrauma
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used to emphasize the importance of standing against racial discrimination in a speech.
More from Fred Korematsu
All quotes βAs long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or concentration camps without a trial or a hearing.
Fred KorematsuRead
All of them turned their backs on me at that time because they thought I was a troublemaker.
Fred KorematsuRead
Every day in school, we said the pledge to the flag, 'with liberty and justice for all,' and I believed all that.
Fred KorematsuRead
I'm Asian, so they assumed I'm not an American and that I come from Japan. Restaurants would refuse to serve me, and places would refuse to give you a haircut.
Fred KorematsuRead
My folks were so worried about what they were going to do. All they can take was what they could carry with their hands. What they had for twenty-five years of building their business was going to go out the door, or they're going to lose it.
Fred KorematsuRead
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