CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA
O rotamation l
WHEREAS, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the authorized forced evacuation and incarceration of thousands of loyal United States citizens because of their Japanese ancestry; and WHEREAS, for over two and a half years, the U.S. government removed Japanese Americans from their homes on the West Coast - without a trial or due process - forcing them into internment camps in unfamiliar lands; and
WHEREAS, uprooted from their lives and livelihoods, they endured miserable conditions, loss of property and liberty; and
WHEREAS, despite these experiences, thousands of young Japanese-American men enlisted in the U.S. armed forces, bravely fighting to defend the nation that was abridging their freedoms at home; and WHEREAS, we honor their sacrifice, as well as the resilience that made it possible for thousands of Japanese-American families to reclaim and rebuild their lives after the war; and WHEREAS, a decision motivated by fear, discrimination and xenophobia, the internment of Japanese Americans was contrary to our most sacred values as a nation that we must never repeat; and WHEREAS, this stain on our history should remind us to always stand up for the fundamental rights of our fellow Americans, regardless of their national origin or immigration status, and protect the civil rights and liberties that we hold dear; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, John B. Stephens, Mayor of the City of Costa Mesa, do hereby proclaim February 19, 2022, as Japanese Internment Camp 80th Anniversary Day of Remembrance and call upon all Costa Mesa residents to commemorate this injustice against civil liberties and commit to eradicating systemic racism to heal generational trauma in our communities.
DATED this first day of March 2022.
John B. Stephens, Mayor of the City of Costa Mesa