Graham O. Bertram

2026 Student Art Contest: Junior Division, Honorable Mention

8th Grade – Arts & Communication Magnet Academy, Beaverton, OR

Seeking justice for all means following the constitution, defending others, and protecting the standards our founding fathers put in place, regardless of people’s race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or appearance. The constitution is challenged every day, and seeking justice helps defend it, one step at a time.

In Minoru Yasui’s time, Japanese-Americans were treated like dirt, taken away, and killed because of the fear that people held in their hearts. If you compare this to what’s happening currently, we can see that the hateful banners and concentration camps from World War II America aren’t too different from ICE buildings and detention camps we see today. This is a problem because it was deemed unconstitutional to pull the Japanese-Americans away from their families, and it was acknowledged and apologized for by president Reagan in 1988. Now, we have a tyrant ruler that is driven by hate, once again disregarding the constitution.

In October of 2025, protesters gathered around the Portland ICE facility in inflatable costumes. I believe that the spirit of Minoru Yasui lived on inside of them, driving their initiative and helping them uphold the rule of law and seek justice for immigrants and others of a different race and nationality.

Minoru Yasui ended up arrested for violating the curfew set against Japanese-Americans on March 28th, 1942. This day would later be known as Minoru Yasui day, celebrating one of the most prominent justice-seekers in our community.