Another honor has been bestowed on Oregon-born attorney Minoru Yasui.
Yasui’s lifelong commitment to civil rights, democracy and justice for all earned him the honor of being the first Oregonian to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom and have March 28 designated in perpetuity as Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon.
The Minoru Yasui Legacy Project (MYLP) is proud to announce that now his legacy is featured in “Power of Words,” one of the signature storytelling installations at the 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 President and Mrs. 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 UC San Diego — one of the first Asian American studies courses in the U.S. In the footage featured at the Obama Presidential Center, 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, 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 Obama Foundation, MYLP helped connect the Foundation with retired Professor Jim Lin of UCSD to obtain permission for the footage, and provided the 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 MYLP. “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.”
A video of Minoru Yasui (upper left) is included in “Power of Words” at the Obama Presidential Center.
Born in Hood River, Ore., Yasui is known for his courageous stand on March 28, 1942, against the wartime military curfew imposed under Executive Order 9066 — 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. His stand became a defining moment in the pursuit of constitutional rights and equal justice.
Today, Yasui will continue to inspire people of all ages as visitors to the Obama Presidential Center encounter him as part of one of the museum’s signature storytelling experiences. Elsewhere in the museum, he is also recognized among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded during the Obama Administration.
Honoring his unwavering commitment to justice, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Yasui the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, calling his life “a reminder of the power of one voice echoing for justice.”
For more information about Yasui, visit www.minoruyasuilegacy.org.
To learn more about the Obama Foundation & Obama Presidential Center, visit www.obama.org/.