Asian PaCIFIC AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION oF colorado  

Past Minoru Yasui Community Service Award and Governor Ralph Carr Award Recipients

Minoru Yasui Community Service Award
Each year, APABA and the APABA Foundation award the Minoru Yasui Community Service Award.  The award goes to an individual or group whose community service exemplifies the achievement of Mr. Yasui, who challenged the laws applied to Japanese-Americans during World War II and advocated for civil rights and liberties of American citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Governor Ralph Carr Award
The Governor Ralph Carr Award is given to a young attorney (10 years of practice or less) who has exhibited a commitment to public service through public sector work or a substantial commitment to community service. The award winner will be directed to spend the stipend toward CLE or repaying law school loans.  Governor Carr went against popular anti-Japanese sentiment by urging Coloradans to welcome evacuees during the government's decision to resettle Japanese-Americans from the West Coast to a camp at Amache near Granada, Colorado.  Carr's advocacy for racial tolerance and for protection of the basic rights of Japanese-Americans are generally thought to have cost him his political career, including his ambition for election to the United States Senate.