Seattle, WA
Mural for incarcerated Japanese Americans during WWII vandalized in Seattle
Japanese-American WW2 mural vandalized with Bible verses in Seattle
Artwork dedicated to Japanese Americans incarcerated in WWII were discovered vandalized on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.
SEATTLE – Artwork dedicated to Japanese Americans incarcerated in WWII was discovered vandalized on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District.
Timeline:
Jeff Liang, Interim Executive Director with Chinatown International District’s Business Improvement Area (CID-BIA) says he was alerted of the defacement on Monday in Nihonmachi Alley, the Japantown area of CID.
“It’s like trying to wipe away or hide history,” said Liang. “They wasted a lot of anger and went through a huge amount of effort just to do this, to target us.”
It’s unclear when the vandalism happened or who committed the act.
CID resident Luc Glasco says they saw the mural smeared in black paint on Sunday.
“I noticed it was just smeared, and it had some Bible verses written on it,” said Glasco. “The people right there were covered in crosses and what not.”
The vandalism is being discussed among advocacy groups such as OCA Greater Seattle – Asian Pacific American Advocates.
“So earlier, we googled what the verses are actually supposed to mean, and we can’t really find a connection,” said Stella Liu, a UW student and intern for OCA Greater Seattle.
What they’re saying:
Fellow intern Dylan Lai admits he doesn’t understand what the verses are supposed to mean, but he believes he knows what they’re meant to do.
“[The vandalism] is so disrespectful because it’s a tactic to separate us and who they think belongs here,” said Lai.
CID residents like Christopher Yip said the vandalism was “shameful.”
“These art pieces have a lot of meaning for people in this part of town,” said Yip.
For now, Liu believes solidarity needs to be shown and people need to speak up.
“Just let people know this is happening so that it doesn’t continue happening in silence,” said Liu.
As of Tuesday morning, Liang with CID-BIA says crews have already cleaned up the graffiti and he is working with the building’s owner in Nihonmachi Alley to file a police report.
The Source: Information for this report comes from Chinatown International District’s Business Improvement Area (CID-BIA) and original interviews from FOX 13’s Nia Wong.
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Davis, 26, had been one of the Mariners’ surprise standouts during camp after arriving on a minor league contract. The former top prospect went 12 for 34 over 15 games while producing a .353/.450/.824 slash line with a 1.274 OPS, four homers, four doubles, six RBIs and five walks to 11 strikeouts.
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Arozarena came off the bench with runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and he reached on an infield single that gave Seattle its first run of the game, cutting the A’s lead to 3-1.
And Arozarena, who hit his first homer of the spring on Wednesday, wasn’t done. He then stole second, which allowed him to score the second of two runs on a Ryan Bliss single that tied the game.
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A few batters later, after a Brock Rodden single and Luke Raley hit by pitch loaded the bases, it was Big Dumper’s turn, and he delivered with a bases-clearing double off the tall wall in center field at the Athletics’ spring home, Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.
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Cesar Chavez name to be removed from Seattle garden after abuse accusations
SEATTLE — César Chávez’s name will be removed from a Seattle institution after newly public sexual abuse allegations.
At El Centro de la Raza in Seattle, Executive Director Estella Ortega said a garden named for Chávez would be renamed and that other tributes at the building would also change.
“The farm worker movement is bigger than just one person,” Ortega said. “We’ve got a garden named after him, those things will change.”
A photo of the garden on March. 19, 2026. (KOMO){ }
The renewed debate in Seattle follows a New York Times report published this week that detailed allegations Chávez sexually abused women and girls, including fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta. The revelations have prompted officials and institutions around the country to reconsider Chávez commemorations, with California leaders backing a proposal to rename César Chávez Day as Farmworkers Day and other communities moving to review streets, schools and monuments that bear his name.
In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson already said he will not issue a proclamation for César Chávez Day this year and instead plans to celebrate Dolores Huerta Day on April 10.
Asked Thursday whether he would press local agencies to remove Chávez’s name from places such as the garden outside El Centro, Ferguson said the state had already decided to stop honoring Chávez in the ways he directly controls, while broader changes would require more discussion.
“My view is the movement’s bigger than any one individual,” Ferguson said. “The farm worker movement did so much for farm workers, for labor rights, for human dignity. It’s bigger than any one person.”
Ferguson said he had met with Ortega and lawmakers before speaking publicly and described the allegations as so serious that many people were still “reeling” and trying to decide what would be appropriate next.
Seattle’s César Chávez Park, in the South Park neighborhood, is managed by Seattle Parks and Recreation. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, when asked about the park, did not indicate a change would be immediate.
State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña said Latino leaders in Washington were urging that this year’s March 31 observance move away from celebration and instead focus on community service, survivors and the broader farmworker cause.
“At this moment, I think the Latino Democratic caucus will be saying, we need to pause,” Saldaña said. “This March 31 this year should be about community service. It should be about making sure that the farm worker movement and the farm worker cause is what’s centered.”
Saldaña stopped short of immediately endorsing a permanent name change for the holiday, saying it was still too soon and that leaders should follow survivors’ lead. But she said she expected more conversations about accountability, healing, and how public spaces should be named going forward.
Across the country, those conversations are already underway. The Associated Press reported Thursday that communities and institutions nationwide are distancing themselves from Chávez, identifying more than 130 sites that bear his name, including parks, schools, and other public landmarks.
For Ortega, the question in Seattle was more immediate.
“We cannot just let the lie continue to live in our way,” she said.
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