Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi

HIRABAYASHI G (Sala)

                                                                                                                                      

Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi (1918-2012)

b. Seattle, Washington

Hirabayashi v. United States (1943)

Do You Know? Gordon Hirabayashi was born a Christian and later became a Quaker.

What: Hirabayashi was arrested after violating the curfew and relocation order directed at the Japanese in the United States during World War II.

Decision: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States, declaring the law was a wartime necessity and was not passed because of racial discrimination.

Today: Laws made against specific ethnic groups are unconstitutional.

(Portrait by True Sala, SFSU 2020)