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.

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