Minoru Yasui was the child of fruit tree farmers in Hood River, Oregon, and the first Japanese American admitted to the Oregon State Bar. He is among the most distinguished Oregonians in our state’s history. March 28 is recognized in the State of Oregon as Minoru Yasui Day.
During World War II, when the United States used laws like the Alien Enemies Act to impose racist military curfews on Japanese Americans, “legally” steal their property and assets, and intern them in concentration camps, Yasui challenged the injustice, racism, and xenophobia wielded by the U.S. government with immense courage, conviction, and integrity.
On March 24, 1942, the U.S. government imposed a military curfew on all persons of Japanese ancestry, including Japanese-American U.S. citizens This curfew was not imposed on U.S. citizens of German or Italian ancestry. On March 28, 1942, Yasui challenged the military curfew by breaking it and getting arrested. A judge found that the curfew was lawful and that Yasui had violated it.
While appealing his case, Yasui spent nine months in solitary confinement in a 6-by-8 foot windowless cell in the Multnomah County jailhouse. In June 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to do justice for Japanese Americans — holding that the military curfew against Japanese-American U.S. citizens was constitutional due to military necessity.
However, Yasui never gave up his pursuit of justice and equality under the law. He spent the rest of his life seeking justice for himself — by trying to get his criminal conviction overturned — and seeking justice for his community — by fighting for redress for Japanese Americans interned during World War II.
In 2015, Yasui was recognized posthumously with a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama who honored Yasui with the following words:
On a Saturday night in March of 1942, Minoru Yasui left his law office to walk around Portland, Oregon. It was a seemingly ordinary act that defied the discriminatory military curfew imposed on Japanese Americans during World War II. Min took his case to the Supreme Court and lost, a decision he fought for the rest of his life. Yet despite what Japanese Americans endured — suspicion, hostility, forced removal, internment — Min never stopped believing in the promise of his country. He never stopped fighting for equality and justice for all. "We believe in the greatness and in the great ideals of this country," he once said. "We think that there is a future for all humanity in the United States of America." Today, Min’s legacy has never been more important. It is a call to our national conscience; a reminder of our enduring obligation to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave” — an America worthy of his sacrifice.
The 2025 Minoru Yasui Activism Award and Tsuru for Solidarity — “Never Again is NOW”
Minoru Yasui’s family established the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project to defend civil rights and advance social justice. On April 5, 2025, the ACLU of Oregon was honored to receive an Activism Award from Minoru Yasui Legacy Project. Another honoree of this award was Tsuru for Solidarity, whose mission is to prevent the experiences of Japanese Americans, during World War ll, from happening again.
During these dark days when the Trump administration is trying to re-weaponize laws like the Alien Enemies Act with injustice, racism, and xenophobia — as Japanese-Americans experienced before — the ACLU of Oregon is particularly inspired by the work of Tsuru for Solidarity. Their mission statement reads:
Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates and allies working to end detention sites and support directly impacted immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. We stand on the moral authority of Japanese Americans who suffered the atrocities and legacy of U.S. concentration camps during WWII and we say, “Stop Repeating History!” Never Again is NOW.
Our mission is to:
- educate, advocate, and protest to close all U.S. concentration camps;
- build solidarity with other communities of color that have experienced forced removal, detention, deportation, separation of families, and other forms of racial and state violence;
- coordinate intergenerational, cross-community healing circles addressing the trauma of our shared histories.
Actions to Take Now
The ACLU of Oregon believes that we must learn and remember our history and use that knowledge to stop our government from repeating the injustices that it has carried out before, especially towards our communities of color. This is how we honor Americans of immense courage, like Minoru Yasui.
Please contribute to justice work, and honor Minoru Yasui, by taking the following actions:
- Learn more about Minoru Yasui and support the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project
- Learn about and support Tsuru for Solidarity