Bill Text: NY J02472 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Honoring Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto in recognition of their accomplishments and their critical work to achieve recognition of Fred Korematsu's life and work to protect civil liberties

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 41-21)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-21 - ADOPTED [J02472 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J02472-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 2472

BY: Senator MAYER

        HONORING   Takeshi   and   Carolyn   Furumoto   in
        recognition  of  their  accomplishments  and   their
        critical   work   to  achieve  recognition  of  Fred
        Korematsu's  life  and   work   to   protect   civil
        liberties,  and  their  work to preserve and promote
        knowledge of Japanese-American history

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize  the
profound  impact of those exemplary organizations and individuals within
the great State of New York which proactively work for  the  empowerment
of  cultural communities, and the importance of such work which benefits
all citizens of this State, and indeed,  all  citizens  of  the  Nation,
should be rightfully commended; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern  and  in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto in recognition of their accomplishments and
their critical work to achieve recognition of Fred Korematsu's life  and
work  to protect civil liberties, and their work to preserve and promote
knowledge of Japanese-American history; and

  WHEREAS, Carolyn Namie Furumoto's parents were interned at Tule Lake
Segregation Camp; after their release, they moved to Los Angeles,  where
their  children  were  born and raised; Carolyn attended University High
School and graduated from California State University at Northridge; and

  WHEREAS, Takeshi "Tak" Furumoto was born in  Tule  Lake  Segregation
Camp in 1944; after being released from the camp his family relocated to
Japan  to  help  families  devasted  by the war, before returning to the
United States in 1956; in 1968, Tak volunteered for  the  United  States
Army,  serving in Vietnam; he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in 1971,
but suffered from PTSD and exposure to Agent Orange; and

  WHEREAS, Takeshi and Carolyn met when he was  in  Officer  Candidate
School  in  1968; Takeshi Furumoto was sent to Vietnam in February 1970;
by the time he saw Carolyn again, he  had  spent  six  months  in  heavy
combat in Vietnam; and

  WHEREAS,  Upon  his  return  home to the States in 1972, Takeshi and
Carolyn Furumoto were united in marriage and together  they  raised  one
son;  the  couple  relocated to the East Coast, where they started their
own company, Furumoto Realty, in 1974; and

  WHEREAS, Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto  were  awarded  the  Fort  Lee
Chamber  of  Commerce,  Man  and Woman of the Year in 2000, and in 2015,
received the Key to the Borough of Fort Lee; and

  WHEREAS, Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto campaigned tirelessly for  the
passage  of  Fred Korematsu Day in New Jersey, which was signed into law
on January 30, 2023; this vital day of recognition honors Korematsu,  an
American  who  was  not allowed to serve in the U.S. military due to his
Japanese ancestry; when Executive Order  9066  was  issued  in  February
1942,  Korematsu refused to move to an incarceration facility because he

believed his civil rights were being  violated;  Korematsu  pursued  his
constitutional claim all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court; and

  WHEREAS,  Among  his  other  civic  and  humanitarian  achievements,
Takeshi Furumoto is a founder and currently an Honorary Chairman of  New
York  Hiroshima-Kai,  an  association  that cultivates mutual friendship
among people  in  Hiroshima  and  the  Northeastern  United  States;  in
addition,  on August 5th each year, Hiroshima-Kai hosts a peace memorial
event in New York City to commemorate the atomic bomb victims in  Japan;
and

  WHEREAS,  Furthermore,  he is a Life Member of the Japanese American
Veterans' Association, helping to organize events in the New  York  City
area,  and is also a founding member of Digital Museum of the History of
Japanese in New York; this museum collects and  shares  the  stories  of
thousands  of Japanese and Japanese Americans who have lived in New York
since the first Japanese official delegation arrived in 1860; and

  WHEREAS, Our society is greatly benefited by the purposeful  efforts
of  individuals who unite for the cause of improving the quality of life
for others, and who proactively work toward the goal of dignity for all;
now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
honor   Takeshi   and   Carolyn   Furumoto   in   recognition  of  their
accomplishments and their critical work to achieve recognition  of  Fred
Korematsu's  life and work to protect civil liberties, and their work to
preserve and promote knowledge of Japanese-American history; and  be  it
further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto.