Miko Brooks

Student Art Contest: Senior Division, Honorable Mention

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10th Grade – Nathan Hale High School

My ideal democracy is the involvement of a diverse group of people, free of judgment and all having the right to voice their opinions. In my art piece, half the page depicts the capitol attack on January 6th, 2021. The Republican party sought to prevent Congress from finalizing Joe Biden’s win, therefore crushing the idea of democracy. I painted the background red to symbolize the Republican party. The conservative flag in the front of the capitol, represents the attempt to overthrow Congress. On the right half of my painting, the background is blue symbolizing the Democratic party. Barbed wires take up the mid ground, and the front is a ballot box, which stands for the right to vote. This right was stripped from Japanese Americans during World War II, as they were interned in concentration camps. Minoru Yasui fought to change this mistreatment. Putting his career on the line, he intentionally broke curfew in the name of justice. As a country, we need to take stands like Yasui, voice our opinions without violence, and be patient and understanding. He became chair of the Japanese American Citizens League, specifically on the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans in World War II. Against all odds, he fought for democracy, and the rights of Japanese Americans. I included a quote from Yasui, “If we believe in America, if we believe in equity and democracy, if we believe in law and justice, then each of us, when we see or believe that errors are being made, has an obligation to make every effort to correct them.” This topic means a lot to me as my grandparents and great-grandparents were interned along with so many other Japanese Americans. To protect a true democracy, everyone’s rights must be preserved.