CA AR77

California Legislature apologizes to all Americans of Japanese ancestry for its past actions supporting the unjust exclusion, removal, and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Assembly acknowledges its failure to support and defend the civil rights and civil liberties of Japanese Americans during World War II, including approval of discriminatory legislation and resolutions questioning Japanese American loyalty.

Resolution documents California's role in supporting Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the incarceration of more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry in 10 concentration camps during World War II.

Assembly recognizes that the 1980 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians concluded EO9066 was not justified by military necessity but was caused by "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."

Resolution emphasizes learning from past mistakes to ensure such violations of freedom and civil liberties never happen again to any community in the United States.