Google runs tribute today to Fred Korematsu, who sued over FDR's Exec.Order interning Japanese-Americans:
(He lost 6-3 at SCOTUS in 1944) pic.twitter.com/qsyn4y2aeE
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) January 30, 2017
Google used its daily doodle to send a message to Donald Trump and his immigration ban. This doodle of civil rights activist Fred Korematsu holds special significance, for he sued Franklin Roosevelt’s executive order over the internment of Japanese-Americans during Wold War II.
A furor has erupted over Trump’s refugee ban, with protests popping up across the country and celebrities reacting to his decision with every human emotion possible. And Google made their stance clear with its doodle of Korematsu. In 1942, Korematsu was forced to leave his home after FDR’s order moved Japanese-Americans to internment camps. He even sued the order in the Korematsu v. United States case of 1944, although he lost the case in a 6 to 3 vote.
The sub-doodle may have been a coincidence, as Monday was Korematsu’s 98th birthday, but Mashable noted Google co-founder Sergey Brin is himself an immigrant (born in Moscow, Russia) and was spotted during a protest in San Francisco.
Google cofounder Sergey Brin at SFO protest: "I'm here because I'm a refugee." (Photo from Matt Kang/Forbes) pic.twitter.com/GwhsSwDPLT
— Ryan Mac 🙃 (@RMac18) January 29, 2017
The Wall Street Journal reported the Trump refugee ban affected 187 Google employees, with Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai saying, “We’re upset about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the US.” And the tech giant had created a crisis fund for immigration clauses, so the doodle may not have been a coincidence.
(Via Mashable, Wall Street Journal & USA Today)