February 3, 2022

Since the late 1970s, Japanese Americans across the country have held an annual Day of Remembrance on the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, to honor the memory of those imprisoned during WWII and fight against the repetition of this dark history today. February 19, 2022 marks 80 years since EO 9066 set into motion the forced removal and incarceration of some 125,000 Japanese Americans. We’ll be taking part in these virtual and in-person events to remember, reflect, and inspire continued action — and we hope you’ll join us!

Alternative Facts Film Screening + Panel Discussion

When: Saturday, February 12, 3-5pm PST

Where: Ethnic Cultural Theater (3940 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105)

Join OCA Greater Seattle, Seattle JACL, Densho, and the University of Washington Department of American Ethnic Studies for a screening of the award-winning documentary, Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Jon Osaki, the film’s director as well as Executive Director of the Japanese Community Youth Council in San Francisco; Lorraine Bannai, Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality at Seattle University; and Stan Shikuma, Seattle JACL President.

Masks and proof of vaccination required to attend. Food will be provided. For further information, contact Connie So at ccso@uw.edu.

2022 Japanese American Day of Remembrance at University of Puget Sound

When: Wednesday, February 16, 6-7:30pm PST

Where: Online

A virtual presentation by Densho’s Deputy Director Geoff Froh, and Content Director Brian Niiya on Sites of Shame, an interactive mapping application of the nearly one hundred sites in which Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II.

Remember and Resist: Day of Remembrance, 1942-2022

When: Saturday, February 19, 10am-1pm PST

Where: Puyallup Fairgrounds and Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma

Most Japanese Americans in the Seattle area spent their first few months in detention at the Puyallup Fairgrounds (“Camp Harmony”) until their transfer to concentration camps at Minidoka, ID, and Tule Lake, CA. The trauma of family separation, child imprisonment, poor sanitation, bad food, inadequate health care, and uncertain futures persists—and continues today at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. 

Join Tsuru for Solidarity, Seattle JACL, Puyallup JACL, Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee, Densho, and La Resistencia for a car rally at the Puyallup Fairgrounds and NWDC. Together, we will Remember and Resist these past and present injustices. 

Details: At 10 am, meet at the Puyallup Fairgrounds (Blue Lot Parking, 311 10th Ave SE, Puyallup, WA 98372). At 11 am, we will move to the Northwest Detention Center (1623 E J Street, Tacoma WA 98421) for a continuation of the program starting at 12 pm. Weather permitting, there will be some outdoor programming. Masks and social distancing required.

For RSVP or information: info@seattlejacl.org 

Emerging Radiance: Honoring the Nikkei Farmers of Bellevue

When: Saturday, February 19, 12pm PST/3pm EST

Where: Online

Join Emerging Radiance artist Michelle Kumata, creative director Tani Ikeda, and Densho founding director Tom Ikeda for a live Day of Remembrance broadcast. The program will highlight the stories of Bellevue’s Nikkei farmer community, introduce descendants of the farmers depicted in artist Michelle Kumata’s Emerging Radiance mural, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the installation at Bellevue Arts Museum.

Day of Remembrances: Standing for Redress and Reclaiming History

When: Saturday, February 19, 2pm PST/5pm EST

Where: Online

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the signing of EO 9066, we must also take time to celebrate how the community has reclaimed this date to seek justice. Frank Abe helped organize the first Day of Remembrance in Seattle in 1978 with Frank Chin and Henry Miyatake, sparking a wave of such events across the country. These events became the center of the movement to demand an apology and monetary redress from the federal government. In this panel, Frank Abe and other early organizers will discuss the evolution of these events. Historian Brian Niiya and JACL Executive Director David Inoue will reflect on the legacy of the Day of Remembrance, and discuss its role in the Japanese American community today.

Moderator: Erin Aoyama

Speakers: Frank Abe (writer, historian); Susan Hayase (San Jose Nikkei Resisters); David Inoue (JACL); Brian Niiya (Densho)

Memory Net Remembrance Project Unveiling

When: Saturday, February 19, 3pm PST/6pm EST

Where: Online

In recognition of the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, Densho is launching a new community art initiative: the Memory Net Remembrance Project. In collaboration with Densho resident artist Lauren Iida, we invite submissions of “memory objects” that symbolize hope, strength, and/or resistance for you or your ancestors during WWII Japanese American incarceration. Lauren will select from these objects to incorporate into a 30-foot-long cut paper net to be hung as a semi-permanent installation in Densho’s community room. This project lives at the intersection of Densho’s shared commitment to art, archives, and activism, and we hope it prompts reflection and dialogue as we approach this upcoming milestone.

The Memory Net will be unveiled live on February 19th at 3pm PST. Please join us in this powerful act of remembrance!

Pictures of Executive Order 9066

When: Saturday, February 19, 1pm – 7pm PST

Where: Raisbeck Music Center, Seattle

Seattle Symphony presents “Pictures of Executive Order 9066,” a collaboration between award-winning filmmaker JJ Gerber and singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kishi Bashi that explores the stories of those impacted by Executive Order 9066 in an interactive exhibit. Inspired by the breathtaking photo documentation of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II by seminal photographer Dorothea Lange, this 10-minute self-guided multi-media experience, created especially for the immersive screens in Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center, also features oral histories supplied by Densho.

Tickets: $12 admission; EO9066 concert ticket holders will receive free entry on the day of their show with their concert ticket.

San Francisco VA: Honoring Japanese American Incarcerees

When: Wednesday, March 2, 11:30am – 1pm PST / 2:30-4pm EST

Where: Online

Join Tom Ikeda, Chizu Omori, and Herb Tsuchiya for a panel discussion and Q&A in honor of the 2022 Day of Remembrance, hosted by the San Francisco VA.

Looking for more? Check out this list from the Japanese American Citizens League to explore Day of Remembrance events happening across the country.

[Header: Participants in the 2020 Day of Remembrance, Day of Action holding up signs bearing the names of WWII incarceration camps. Photo by Glenn Nelson.]