Gordon Hirabayashi was a Japanese American who became known for his resistance to the Japanese American internment during World War II. He was born on April 23, 1918, in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in a family of farmers.
Hirabayashi attended the University of Washington, where he studied sociology and became involved in civil rights activism. During World War II, he refused to comply with the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans, and instead, he challenged the government's actions in court.
Hirabayashi was arrested and later convicted of violating curfew and exclusion orders. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where he argued that the internment violated his constitutional rights. In a landmark decision in 1943, the Supreme Court ruled against Hirabayashi, upholding the government's internment policy.
After the war, Hirabayashi continued his activism and pursued graduate studies in sociology at the University of Washington. He worked as a teacher and academic and was an advocate for civil rights and social justice. He remained active in the movement to redress the injustice of the internment, and in the 1980s, his case was reopened, leading to a new hearing in which his conviction was overturned.
Hirabayashi's legacy as a civil rights activist and resister to unjust government actions has continued to inspire generations. In 2012, President Obama posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. He died on January 2, 2012, at the age of 93.
Hirabayashi was also a prolific writer and scholar, and his work focused on social and political issues related to race, ethnicity, and citizenship. Some of his most notable works include "The Impact of the War on Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest" and "A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States."
Through his activism and scholarship, Hirabayashi made significant contributions to the struggle for civil rights and social justice. His unwavering commitment to the principles of democracy and equal treatment under the law serves as an enduring reminder of the power of individual action in the face of injustice.