Minoru Yasui

Minoru Yasui is the only Oregonian to have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Born and raised in Hood River, Oregon, Yasui was the first Japanese American admitted to the Oregon Bar Association. During World War II he initiated a legal test case to challenge the incarceration of over 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry. He spent nine months in solitary confinement awaiting his appeal to the US Supreme Court and the rest of his life fighting for the civil rights of all people.

The Japanese American Museum of Oregon is dedicated to educating and spreading awareness about his life’s work of fighting against all forms of racial injustice.

Minoru Yasui Resources
• Visit the Japanese American Museum of Oregon to learn more about Yasui’s life and see the Multnomah County Jail cell where Yasui spent nine months in solitary confinement.
• Never Give Up: Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice Documentary and Educational Package
• Minoru Yasui Student Contest is an annual contest held in March for middle and high school students, organized by the Japanese American Museum of Oregon and the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project.
• Full Biography of Minoru Yasui in Oregon Encyclopedia