By Ashley Baca
NAP Contributor
Portrait of Minoru Yasui from 1946
Portrait of Minoru Yasui from 1946 Another honor has been bestowed on the late attorney Minoru Yasui. Yasui’s lifelong commitment to civil rights, democracy, and justice for all earned him the honor of the first Oregonian to receive the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and have March 28th designated in perpetuity as Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon. The Minoru Yasui Legacy Project (MYLP) is proud to announce that the legacy of Yasui is featured in Power of Words, one of the signature storytelling installations at the Barack Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago.
Rising 88 feet through all four levels of the museum, Power of Words is a monumental, digital experience that explores the power of speeches, voices, poetry, music, and language to inspire, empower, and connect people in the pursuit of social progress. Through immersive storytelling, the installation features the words of former U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, alongside changemakers and everyday people, whose voices have shaped history and continue to inspire civic engagement.
The featured footage of Yasui comes from a 1986 guest lecture he delivered to students in an Asian American Studies course at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). It was one of the first courses of its kind in the U.S. In the footage, Yasui reflects on the responsibility of every citizen to stand against injustice:
“But this is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, founded in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. And this was happening in our country. As an American citizen [and] as a lawyer, I felt that we owed at least the obligation AS A CITIZEN to tell our government THEY ARE WRONG. That is the sacred duty of every citizen because what is done to the least of us can be done to all of us. I KNEW that we had to protest it.”
The archival footage was originally featured in the documentary, Never Give Up! Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice. Working in collaboration with the foundation, the MYLP helped connect the foundation with retired UCSD Professor Jim Lin to obtain permission for the footage and clip featured in the exhibit.
“Min’s picture at the top of the Obama Presidential Center’s 88-foot exhibit brings tears of joy. It’s a powerful recognition that he was an extraordinary person willing to speak up and act on what is right, regardless of the personal cost,” said Peggy Nagae, co-founder of the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project. “As Min said, ‘When you suppress or oppress any group of people, you are really derogating the rights of all people.’ Min knew at a deep level that shaking up the status quo was necessary and he was willing to do just that. He knowingly put his personal liberty and professional career at risk. That’s extraordinary.”
Born in Hood River, Oregon, Yasui is known for his courageous stand on March 28,1942, against the wartime military curfew imposed under Executive Order 9066. It was a defining act of protest against the unconstitutional policies that led to the mass incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans and people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
Yasui’s stand became a defining moment in the pursuit of constitutional rights and equal justice.
Yasui will continue to inspire people of all ages as visitors to the museum encounter him as one of the signature storytelling experiences. Elsewhere in the museum, Yasui is recognized among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded during the Obama administration. Honoring his unwavering commitment to justice, President Obama posthumously awarded Yasui the Medal of Freedom in 2015, calling his life “a reminder of the power of one voice echoing for justice.”
About the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project
Founded to preserve and advance the legacy of Minoru Yasui, the mission of the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project (MYLP) is to defend civil rights and advance social justice through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Through educational programs, public events, community partnerships, the annual Min Yasui Day celebration, and the national Minoru Yasui Student Contest, MYLP shares Yasui’s story and the broader history of the Japanese American experience during World War II. It is to inspire people of all ages to uphold constitutional rights, defend our democracy, and recognize that the pursuit of justice remains the responsibility of every citizen. To learn more about the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project, visit: www.minoruyasuilegacy.org.
About The Barack Obama Foundation
The Barack Obama Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. That mission begins on the South Side of Chicago where the foundation built the Barack Obama Presidential Center. The center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American president and first lady. It is steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where, together, they made their home. Not only will the center generate billions of dollars of economic opportunity and help reconnect and revitalize Jackson Park, it will also serve as a reminder to young visitors from around the city and from around the world that their potential is limitless. To learn more about the Barack Obama Foundation and the Barack Obama Presidential Center, visit: www.obama.org.
