Khizr Khan
Seattle’s Densho organization invited Khizr Khan to speak at the Seattle Center, at a special Day of Remembrance event on Feb. 19.
Khan, a Gold Star parent who emigrated from Pakistan, made headlines in 2016 for speaking out against then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign proposal of a Muslim ban.
He says he sees parallels between the treatment of Muslim Americans today and that of Japanese Americans, more than seven decades ago.
Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, sent nearly 120,000 people to internment camps.
Densho, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of Japanese Americans during WWII, counts one of its responsibilities as making sure history doesn’t repeat itself against any other group.
“Because of your sacrifices and courage,” Khan told the crowd. “I say never again, never again.”