Holly Yasui, who carried on her father’s legacy of fighting for civil rights and educating the public about the injustice of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, is dead of COVID-19, reports Rafu.
Yasui, 67, is the youngest daughter of Minoru Yasui who challenged the curfew orders of Japanese Americans during WWII. He lost his court case, but in 1980, a court overturned his conviction.
According to film producer Frank Abe in his blog Resisters, Holly contracted COVID-19 while traveling from her home in Mexico to Denver to get vaccinated.
She produced a documentary in 2017 about her father, Never Give Up: Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice. It won numerous film festival awards including the best film award from the National Association of Multi-cultural Education, the Films of Remembrance Award from the Nichi Bei Foundation, and the Social Justice Award from the Asian American Film Festival of Oregon.
“Never give up! Keep on fighting, stand up and speak out,” Holly responded when asked about the message from her father. “Work for the common good, help to make the world a better place in whatever way you can, according to your own convictions and passions and life experiences,” she said in an interview with Discover Nikkei in 2017.
According to Rafu, Holly was born to Min and True Yasui on Dec. 29, 1953 in Denver.
“She was such a beautiful light, and I know she made her father proud,” said Zainab F. Chaudary, communications director at The Hive Fund for Climate & Gender Justice on social media.
She helped pass a resolution in Oregon declaring a permanent Minori Yasui Day.
“She was a friend, colleague, and fellow traveler on this road. In tribute to Holly, may we live our best lives, fight for justice, and Never Give Up. I will miss you, my friend,” said Peggy Nagae, Min Yasui’s lead attorney in the 1980s to Rafu.
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