“Am I An American or Am I Not?”

This traveling exhibition from the Fred T. Korematsu Institute 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 is named after a quote from Fred Korematsu, who famously challenged the mass imprisonment of 125,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. When faced with federal criminal charges for not obeying military orders to leave his home, the 23-year-old U.S. citizen remembered his Constitutional rights and asked, “Am I an American or am I not?”
• 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.