Minoru Yasui continues to inspire at the Obama Presidential Center

Portland, Ore. — Another honor has been bestowed on Oregon-born attorney Minoru Yasui. Min’s lifelong commitment to civil rights, democracy and justice for all earned him the honor of the first Oregonian to receive the Presidential medal of Freedom and have March 28^th designated in perpetuity as Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon. The Minoru Yasui Legacy Project (MYLP) is proud to announce that now the legacy of Min 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.

https://youtu.be/95DHUHVEHhc?si=unM_fHDEWAv_F3U3

This video offers a glimpse of the experience created by the full-scale installation in the Museum.

The featured footage of Min comes from a 1986 guest lecture Yasui delivered to students in an Asian American Studies course at the University of California, San Diego—one of the first Asian American Studies courses in the United States. 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 this."

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/071eb8_d04b4e7d2ad84b528d17ea00e35d3d82/240p/mp4/file.mp4

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 the University of California, San Diego 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 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, Min 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. Min’s stand became a defining moment in the pursuit of constitutional rights and equal justice.

Today, Min will continue to inspire people of all ages as visitors to the Obama Presidential Center encounter Yasui as part of one of the Museum's signature storytelling experiences. Elsewhere in the Museum, Min 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 Minoru Yasui the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, calling his life "a reminder of the power of one voice echoing for justice."

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About the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project

Founded to preserve and advance the legacy of Minoru Yasui, the mission of the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project 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 Min's story and the broader history of the Japanese American experience during World War II 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.

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About The Obama Foundation

(Excerpt from the Obama Foundation website)

The 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 is building the Obama Presidential Center. The Obama Presidential 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, 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 Obama Foundation & Obama Presidential Center, visit www.obama.org/.