Perspective
Sarah Segal's students
send a video letter
to President Obama,
urging that Minoru
Yasui be honored as an
Unsung Hero.
A LOCAL HERO, A CLASSROOM LESSON,
A NEW STATE LAW
Students Testify to Name March 28 after Hood River’s Minoru Yasui
BY SARAH SEGAL / 6th Grade Teacher, Hood River Middle School
E
very community holds a complex
history; sometimes there is
greatness, and sometimes darkness.
In the end, it is the actions of
individuals and groups of people
that ultimately define history.
In Hood River there is knowledge of
the town's treatment of its own Japanese
American neighbors during WWII,
and until recently little was taught in
local schools about this chapter of our
community’s history. For years I have
taught an Oregon History elective course,
where 6th-8th grade Hood River Middle
School students explore Oregon through
environmental changes and a social justice
lens. In the Fall of 2014, interviews with
local community members and analyzing
historical documents led to a unique
opportunity.
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TODAY’S OEA | SPRING 2016
Students learned that in the Spring of
1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive
Order 9066, which essentially led to the
removal of all persons of Japanese ancestry
from the West Coast. While on a walking
tour of Hood River landmarks, we carried
with us historical images to connect these
places with past events. Standing at the
Mount Hood Railroad Station, the same
depot many students excitedly visited as
young children to board the Polar Express
and Thomas the Train excursions, we
analyzed July 1942 photographs of the
Japanese American deportation, and
realized this site also marks a place of
sadness and loss in Hood River’s history.
One individual, Hood River-born
Minoru ‘Min' Yasuim, continued to surface
in our learning and discussions. The first
Japanese American to graduate from
the University of Oregon School of Law
Perspective
STANDING AT THE MOUNT HOOD RAILROAD STATION, THE SAME DEPOT MANY STUDENTS
EXCITEDLY VISITED AS YOUNG CHILDREN TO BOARD THE POLAR EXPRESS AND THOMAS THE
TRAIN EXCURSIONS, WE ANALYZED JULY 1942 PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE JAPANESE AMERICAN
DEPORTATION, AND REALIZED THIS SITE ALSO MARKS A PLACE OF SADNESS AND LOSS IN
HOOD RIVER’S HISTORY.
had attended high school at what is now
Hood River Middle School. On March
28, 1942, Minoru Yasui began testing
the constitutionality of EO 9066. He
intentionally defied the race-based curfew
against Japanese Americans by walking the
streets of Portland in order to be arrested.
As he wandered, his secretary repeatedly
called the police to find and take him into
custody. Approaching an officer on the
streets, Min produced his birth certificate
and the Public Proclamation establishing
the curfew, and demanded to be arrested.
The officer told him to go home. Min then
walked to the Portland Police station,
where he was finally arrested. Min’s case
went to the Supreme Court, where the
ruling delivered stated that the curfew was
constitutional as a “wartime necessity.”
Inspired by Minoru Yasui’s actions, and
astonished that this civil rights leader
once walked the same halls and sat in the
same classrooms we inhabit every day,
students decided to take civic action and
write a letter in support of celebrating
this Unsung Hero. In collaboration with
the Minoru Yasui Tribute Project and
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, these
Oregon History Elective students wrote
a letter to President Obama, which was
turned into a video-letter asking that
Minoru Yasui be honored as a Hero. In
early November 2015, a White House press
release announced “Minoru Yasui was a
civil and human rights leader known for
his continuous defense of the ideals of
democracy embodied in our Constitution”
and would posthumously be awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom on
Tuesday, November 24th, 2015.
In February 2016, continuing to bring
their learning to action, Hood River Middle
School students testified at the Oregon
Credits:
Sarah Segal; Nikkei Legacy Center
Legislature in support of House Bill 4009.
Passing both the House of Representatives
and Senate unanimously, when Governor
Brown signs HB 4009 into law, March 28
Minoru Yasui Day will have permanent
designation in the State of Oregon.
The year 2016 marks Minoru Yasui’s
100th birthday. Educators can learn
more about how Minoru Yasui dedicated
his life to social justice through the
upcoming documentary release, “Never
Give Up! Minor Yasui and the Fight for
Justice” narrated by George Takei and
“Minoru Yasui: From Roots to Results”
curriculum educator workshops presented
in collaboration with the Oregon Nikkei
Legacy Center and Minoru Yasui Tribute
Project.
All Oregon educators, students, and
community members are invited to the
March 28 Minoru Yasui Day “March for
Justice” to take place at 4:30pm, gathering
at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center (121
NW 2nd Avenue) and walking 6 blocks
to SW 2nd Avenue and Oak Street (the
historic location of the Portland Police
Department where Minoru Yasui was
arrested).
Sarah Segal was a 2014-2015 Lowell Milken
Center for Unsung Heroes Fellow. The
program encourages teachers to guide their
students in uncovering and celebrating local
heroes.
Selfie time! Sarah Segal and her class of middle school students get a snap with the Governor, following their
testimony at the State Capitol.
TODAY’S OEA | SPRING 2016
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