gordon hirabayashi knew what it was like to stand alone. dent at the university of washington, gordon was one of only three japanese americans to defy the executive order that forced thousands of families to leave their homes, their jobs, and their civil rights behind and move to internment camps during world war ii. he took his case all the way to the supreme court, and he lost. and it would be another 40 years before that decision was reversed, giving asian americans everywhere a small measure of justice. in gordon's words, "it takes a crisis to tell us that unless citizens are willing to standup for the [constitution], it's not worth the paper it's written on." and this country is better off because of citizens like him who are willing to stand up. similarly, when cesar chavez sat dolores huerta down at his kitchen table and told her they should start a union, she thought he was joking. she was a single mother of seven children, so she obviously didn't have a lot of free time. but dolores had been an elementary school teacher and remember

[applause] >> susan carnahan, accepting on behalf of her husband, gordon hirabayashi. in his open defines of discrimination against japanese americans during world war ii, gordon hirabayashi demanded our nation live up to its founding principles. in prison for ignoring curfew and refusing to register for internment camp it's, he took his case to the supreme court which ruled against him in 1943. refusing to abandon his belief in an american, he pursued justice until his conviction was overturned in 1987. his legacy reminds us that patriotism is rooted not in ethnicity but in our shared ideals and his example will forever call on us to defend the liberty of all our citizens. [applause] >> dolores huerta. one of america's great labor and civil rights icons, dolores huerta has devoted her life to advocating for marginalized communities. alongside cesar chavez, she co-founded the united farmer workers of america and fought to secure basic rights for migrant workers and their families. helping safe thousands from neglect and abuse. dolores huerta has never lost faith in the

hirabayashi knew what it felt to stand alone. as a student in the university of washington, gordon was only one of three japanese-americans to defineced thousands of families to leave their home, jobs and civil rights behind and move to internment camps in world war ii. he took his case all of the way to the supreme court and he lost. it would be another 40 years before that decision was reversed giving asian-americans everywhere a small measure of justice. in gordon's words, it takes a crisis to tell us that unless citizens are willing to stand up for the constitution it's not worth the paper it's written on. this country is better off because of citizens like him who are willing to stand up. similarly when ceasar chavez sa down dolores huerta and told her they should start a union she thought he was joking. she was the single mother of seven children so she obviously did not have a lot of free time, but dolores had been an elementary school teacher and remembered seeing children come to school hungry and without shoes so in the end she agreed. workers everywhere are glad she agreed. without negotiating experience, dolores helped