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Former Colorado governor honored for his aid to Japanese-AmericansDrpccDENVER - In February 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all Japanese-Am-ericans to internment camps, Colorado Gov. Ralph Carr offered sanctuary instead — and those he helped never forgot it.“(Carr) felt very strongly about human and civil rights,” said Bob Sakaguchi, president of the Mile-Hi chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League.“He must have believed in (the Constitution) so deeply, because he held to that principle. And he took a lot of heat for it.”Sakaguchi was one of nearly two dozen members of Colorado’s Japanese-American community who stood recently in the chilly winds and bowed before a $25,000 bronze bust of Carr in Sakura Square in downtown Denver.Carr, who died of a heart attack in 1950, would have been 100 on Friday.The Rev. Joseph Sakakibara, of Simpson United Methodist Church, recalled the Japanese beliefthat you should never forget a gratitude or favor” and offered a prayer in Japanese for Carr“As long as we’re alive, we should never forget those who helped us when we were in need,” he said.Carr’s invitation to Japanese-Americans to come to Colorado was offered in the midst of World War II, when prejudice was mounting against Japanese-Americans.Some governors refused entrance to their states to those migrating east from the Pacific Coast. Hearing of Carr’s invitation, as many as 30,000 evacuees eventually settled here.“They are loyal Americans, sharing only race with the enemy,” Carr said.“Why did Governor Carr stick his neck out for such a small minority of people?” asked Mayeda.Robert F. Carr, son of the late governor, offered this explanation.“He was a great student of (Abraham) Lincoln,” whose “emotional ties to the public” compelled him to speak up for those with no voice.
Newspaper Details
Colorado Springs Gazette
Colorado Springs, Colorado, US
Sun, Dec 13, 1987
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Library O.
DC, USA 12 Aug 2019
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