NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 1999 (see Note) Contact: Mary Farrell (520) 670-4564; FOREST RENAMES SITE FOR FAMOUS PRISONER, GORDON HIRABAYASHI (TUCSON, AZ)-- The former Prison Camp site on Mt. Lemmon, northeast of Tucson in the Santa Catalina Mountains of the Coronado National Forest, will undergo a name change on Sunday, November 7, during a special dedication ceremony to honor its most famous prisoner, Gordon Hirabayashi. Hirabayashi, an American citizen of Japanese descent, believed that the wholesale incarceration of citizens based solely upon race or ancestry was unconstitutional. As a senior at the University of Washington during world War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered internment of persons with 1/16 or more Japanese ancestry to relocation centers, Hirabayashi helped family and friends prepare for evacuation. But instead of boarding the detention bus, Hirabayashi turned himself into the FBI, reasoning that he would be in violation of the United States Constitution if he, too, complied with the incarceration order. After spending several months in the county jail, the Supreme Court upheld Hirabayshi's conviction for failure to comply with incarceration, in effect, upholding racial discrimination as constitutional. Hirabayashi was ordered to the Santa Catalina Mountains prison camp to finish his sentence; however, having no money, he hitchhiked to Tucson where he had to convince the Federal Marshall to find his papers and take him to Prison Camp, which had been designated a federal "honor camp." In 1987, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Hirabayashi's conviction after it was revealed that the Department of Justice had evidence that relocation was unnecessary, but withheld that evidence from the court. In 1988, President Ronald Regan signed the Civil Liberties Act which stated that evacuation, relocation, and interment of Japanese citizens during World War II was motivated by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and failed political leadership. The Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site will undergo improvement of its current recreational facilities within the next few years, including the addition of interpretive signs which will focus on prisoners' experiences, and Constitutional rights of all Americans. --30-- NOTE TO EDITORS/REPORTERS: Due to the site's limited capacity, the November 7 ceremony is by invitation only; therefore, this news release serves as an announcement only and not as an invitation for public attendance. News media is cordially invited to cover the event. All reporters and crews are requested to RSVP to Diane Maxwell or Gail Aschenbrenner no later than November 1, 1999, so that space accommodation and interviews can be arranged. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. HOME | DOCUMENTS | STUDY CENTER | NEWS | LINKS | ABOUT US | E-MAIL Updated: November 2, 1999 |