Lincoln Kanai facts for kids

Lincoln Seiichi Kanai (1908–1982) was a social worker who bravely challenged the rules that forced Japanese Americans to leave their homes on the West Coast during World War II. He was one of several Japanese Americans who took legal action against these unfair orders.

Kanai was born on December 5, 1908, in a small town called Koloa in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. He earned his college degree in English from the University of Hawaii in 1930. After a long trip to Japan, he started working for the Lihue, Kauai YMCA in 1935. In 1937, Kanai moved to California to work at the Buchanan Street YMCA in San Francisco, where he stayed until the war began.

Standing Up for Justice

The Start of World War II

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, fears and prejudice against Japanese Americans grew. Many people worried about their loyalty, even though most were American citizens. The government began to consider removing all people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.

Lincoln Kanai spoke before a special committee called the Tolan Committee. He also wrote to many important political and military leaders. He tried to convince them not to remove Japanese Americans from their homes. He also worked to stop the strong anti-Japanese feelings that caused many Japanese Americans to lose their jobs.

Kanai's Ideas and Their Rejection

Kanai suggested that the government should hold hearings to check if Japanese Americans were loyal citizens, instead of moving everyone. He also asked that students, older people, and those with disabilities be allowed to stay. Sadly, his ideas were not followed.

In May 1942, the Western Defense Command ordered all Japanese American residents of San Francisco to prepare for "evacuation." This meant they had to leave their homes and move to special camps. The order said they had to report on May 20, 1942.

A Legal Challenge

Defying the Order

Lincoln Kanai did not follow the order to leave San Francisco. He stayed in the city and kept working to help Japanese Americans. On June 1, he left the Bay Area to attend meetings and conferences about the forced removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans.

On July 11, the FBI arrested him at a YMCA meeting near Milwaukee. He was arrested for breaking Public Law 503. This law made it illegal to go against President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which allowed the creation of "exclusion zones" and the forced removal of people.

The Court Case

Kanai's lawyers filed a special legal request called a writ of habeas corpus. This request asked the court to decide if his imprisonment was legal. They argued that creating the West Coast exclusion zone was against the U.S. Constitution. However, the court did not agree with them. The court said that Kanai had admitted he knew he was breaking the law when he left California.

He was tried in San Francisco under Public Law 503. On August 27, he was sentenced to six months in prison. On February 6, 1943, he was "released" early for good behavior. But this release meant he was sent to the Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming. This was a camp where Japanese Americans were forced to live during the war.

Life After the War

In October 1943, Kanai was allowed to leave the camp and move to Milwaukee. There, he found a job helping boys who didn't have many resources. In 1950, he moved to Battle Mountain, Michigan, where he lived until he passed away in 1982. Lincoln Kanai is remembered for his courage in standing up for what was right during a very difficult time in American history.