“Never Give Up! Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice” will be screened on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo.
The documentary tells the story of Minoru (Min) Yasui, son of Japanese immigrant parents, born in 1916, and raised in the farming community of Hood River, Oregon. He was the first Japanese American attorney in Oregon, and during World War II, he initiated the first legal test challenging the forced removal from the West Coast and subsequent incarceration of over 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry in U.S. concentration camps.
The film documents his and his family’s experiences during the war and his nine months in solitary confinement awaiting his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. It also depicts Yasui’s postwar life, including his ongoing defense of the human and civil rights of all people; his leadership role in the Japanese American redress movement; the reopening of his legal case; and the posthumous award of a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
The director, Yasui’s youngest daughter, Holly, will be on hand for a post-film discussion.
Included with museum admission. RSVPs are recommended. For more information, call (213) 625-0414 or visit www.janm.org.
The DVD is now available at the JANM Store.
“Never Give Up!” will also be screened on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 2115 W. 182ndSt. in Torrance.
The event, which will include Q&A with Holly Yasui, is hosted by Faith UMC’s Social Action Committee and the Greater Los Angeles JACL.
Free; all are welcome. For more information, contact Louise at (310) 327-3169 or [email protected].