Minoru Yasui, a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom later this month, according to a press release from the White House. 
Yasui was a member of The Phi Beta Kappa Society at the UO in 1937 and was the first Japanese-American member of the the Oregon State Bar, according to the Minoru Yasui Tribute Project. A civil and human rights leader, Yasui fought against the military-enforced curfew order on Japanese Americans during World War II, as it was based on racial discrimination. He intentionally broke the curfew so that he could fight the order in court. During the legal battle, he spent nine months in solitary confinement.
In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the curfew and Yasui spent the rest of his life appealing the conviction. A federal judge overturned the conviction the year of his death in 1986. “Minoru Yasui Day” is celebrated each year on March 3 in honor of him.
Yasui will be posthumously honored with the award on November 24 along with 17 others, including musician James Taylor, baseball player Yogi Bera and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.