Mayor Wilson proclaims March 28, 2026 Minoru Yasui Day

In accordance with this acknowledgement, we recognize:

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes Minoru Yasui for his work and legacy challenging the discriminatory military curfew imposed on people of Japanese ancestry that led to the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during WWII and for his leadership in civil and human rights; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes Minoru Yasui was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, for his lifelong advocacy fighting against all forms of racial injustice; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognized that the Aliens Enemy Act of 1798 was used to support Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes the current use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport immigrants from the United States of America; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes that currently Senate 193 and House Bill 630, the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, would repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes its historic participation in the racial profiling and removal of Japanese Americans prior to and during WWII, leading to the forced removal of Japanese American communities from Portland and the erasure of Portland's Japantown, Nihonmachi, in Old Town; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes the courage and moral authority of Japanese Americans who suffered the atrocities and carry the legacy of U.S. concentration camps during WWII; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes the daily reminders of the past happening in our community and our country today, and the unjust detention of immigrants and refugees who are being actively targeted by racism, state violence, injustice and oppression in the United States; and

Whereas, the City of Portland recognizes the 10^th anniversary of Oregon's designation in perpetuity of March 28^th as Minoru Yasui Day, and encourages the public to learn more at the Minoru Yasui Legacy Project's free celebration at the Oregon Historical Society on March 28 from 1-3pm;

Now, therefore, I, Keith Wilson, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the "City of Roses," do hereby proclaim March 28, 2026 to be Minoru Yasui Day in celebration of his legacy of challenging injustice, racism, and xenophobia wielded by the U.S. government, and our enduring obligation to fight for a future for all humanity in the United States of America.