On Thursday, June 11, a permanent version of Erin Shigaki’s public artwork, “Never Again is Now,” was unveiled on the Bellevue College campus. As the event has already been widely reported (e.g., Paige Cornwell, “Seattle Times,” June 11; James Tabafunda, “Northwest Asian Weekly,” June 12), here I complement earlier coverage with the complete texts of the two key speeches of the day, those delivered by Dr. David May, Bellevue College President, and Erin Shigaki, public artist.
Placing these remarks in the public domain seems important because the artwork has been controversial and will likely continue being so. (See, for example, the International Examiner articles by Vince Schleitwiler in 2020 and 2021; David Neiwert in 2022; and Ana Tanaka in 2026). Thus, it seems worthwhile to document the current thinking of the two principal parties involved so they are publicly available to present and future readers.
Moreover, those who were present will remember the day as one of exceptional speeches. Such words should be widely shared, instead of being consigned to the limited capacity of memory.
The text is reproduced exactly as received from the speakers, except that statements are condensed into paragraphs, for space efficiency. Quotation marks and minor punctuation have been added for clarity.
Dr. David May, Bellevue College President
“Good afternoon. Thank you for being here.
“Before we unveil this permanent installation, I want to acknowledge something plainly. What happened to this mural in 2020 was wrong. Harm was done to this artwork, to the history it represents, and to members of our community. On behalf of Bellevue College, I apologize for that harm.
“Today, however, is about more than the history of this mural. It is about the history this mural asks us to remember.
“Erin Shigaki’s ‘Never Again Is Now’ tells the story of one of the most painful chapters in our nation’s history: the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. It reminds us of what happens when fear overtakes principle, when prejudice is given legitimacy, and when entire communities are treated as suspect rather than recognized for their shared humanity.
“The incarceration of Japanese Americans did not begin with barbed wire. It began with fear, suspicion, and the belief that some people could be treated differently and should be excluded from the American story.
“That is why this mural matters. History is not only something we remember. It is something we must continue to recognize in the fears, assumptions, and divisions that emerge in every generation, including those we are encountering today.
“The title of this mural is ‘Never Again Is Now.’ Those words remind us that history is not simply a record of the past. It is a responsibility carried into the present. The lessons of history matter most when they help us recognize the warning signs before harm is done, not after.
“That is also why this installation is permanent. We are not placing this mural on our campus simply to commemorate the past. We are placing it here because the questions it asks remain with us.
“As a college, we exist to pursue knowledge, to challenge assumptions, and to help people understand both the world they inherit and the world they are helping to create. This mural asks us to do exactly that. It asks us to remember. It asks us to learn. And it asks us to remain vigilant in protecting the dignity and humanity of one another.
“I want to express my gratitude to Erin Shigaki for her extraordinary work and for her partnership in helping ensure this story has a permanent place on our campus. I also want to thank the members of the Japanese American community and members of the college community who have shared their history, their experiences, and their guidance. We are honored by your presence and your trust.
“Today we dedicate not only a work of art, but a commitment. A commitment to remember. A commitment to learn. And a commitment to ensure that the questions this mural asks remain visible to everyone who passes by it for generations to come.
“Before I invite Erin to speak, I want to thank her once again for her artistry, her partnership, and her commitment to ensuring that this history continues to be seen, remembered, and understood. Erin Shigaki is an artist, designer, and community activist whose work helps connect history, memory, and social justice. Her family’s own history is connected to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and through her art and advocacy she has helped ensure that these stories are neither forgotten nor repeated.
“We are grateful that ‘Never Again Is Now’ has a permanent home on our campus. Please join me in welcoming Erin Shigaki.”
Erin Shigaki
“I am the middle of three daughters of John and Polly Shigaki, who are here today. I am part of the Shigaki, Otani, Kawakami, and Murakami clans, all who immigrated to the U.S. around the turn of the century.
“There was no dedication ceremony in 2020 when a small (Bellevue College) team asked me to create a mural for our Day of Remembrance – could Belle, Leslie, Anne, and Nan, and anyone else involved at that time please be acknowledged? Thank you for starting this journey.
“No, I stood up here in front of you in 2020 because our mural had been censored by a BC administrator. Her action spoke loudly to me: our already censored history was being whited out again. The name of one white man was more important to protect than that of more than 125,000 human beings. It was then that I knew what intergenerational trauma really felt like: I was scared, scraped and hollowed; sorrowful, angry, and confused by that cocktail of feelings.
“I stood up here and cried because YOU were here with me, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bore down, you came to gather, to support, to make ceremony, to be the opposite of silent.
“So yes, A HUGE reason why my work is focused on the World War II mass incarceration of JAPANESE AMERICANS, which separated families and children, is that I am the product of fierce community care, born of my peoples’ decision to return to the Pacific Northwest from which they had been forcibly exiled, stripped of possessions and dignity for more than three years during WWII.
“Another reason why the focus of my artistic practice is the WWII mass incarceration of JAs, which separated families and children, is that it was HYSTERICAL, RACIST, and UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
“Yes, my work is focused on the WWII mass incarceration of JAs, which separated families and children, because that history rhymes so chillingly well with chattel slavery, Indian Boarding schools, and modern day human rights violations in the name of immigration “enforcement.”
“I have spent many hours looking through archival photos of this history – and I thank the kamis (Japanese gods) that the camera existed to document truths in this way. Dorothea Lange’s images – which by the way, are not without controversy – she has angered many JAs including one of our great leaders, Dr. Satsuki Ina, for not asking permission to capture extreme moments of trauma, and most often not naming them AND she was working for the government who ultimately found her images too real. They didn’t want her to capture chaos, fear, inequity – she was subsequently fired and her images were censored until the 70s. I digress.
“Look closely at this image on the permanent mural. I began to work with this image in 2019 because I saw:
“These precious children and their scared, sad faces
Their bowlish cuts and shabby clothes
Their nervous fingers
The sleeves and pant-legs left long, as if Mama prayed he’d survive to grow into them
The prison tags that everyone had to wear.
Children in PRISON TAGS.
“These children reminded me of my Uncle Dale and Auntie Irene, American citizens who before they were rounded up had only known their small slice of the Central District and Japantown, before their little brother, my dad John, was born a prisoner in his own country.
“I work with this image to provide healing for the children who were locked up and to thank them… the children who have grown up to be my fierce and wise elders.
“Please, could all survivors of the JA incarceration stand up and be acknowledged? Onegai shimasu! (Japanese for “please do so.”)
“And even though I can’t go back and help children escape from slavery or boarding schools, I work with this image because I can stand up for children who are now being imprisoned by our government in the same horrid conditions as any prison camp. And we must stand up and say NO this time. We can’t be silent; we can’t let history keep repeating. We can break this cycle of state violence!
“So, when BC asked me if I’d like to create a permanent version of the “Never Again is Now” mural, I accepted and I want to right now thank Dr. May, Dr. de la Torre, Consuelo, Sean and the communications team in particular for being partners in making this happen.
“I wondered if BC, an institution made up of people, understood the responsibility that comes with telling this history – especially here, in Bellevue.
“Because of the more than 125,000 stories of the JA incarceration, you can’t talk about the 300 Bellevue JA stories without mentioning the name of Miller Freeman.
“Miller Freeman (is) often referred to as the “godfather of Bellevue.” He envisioned and built so much, and he used his power to create anti-Japanese organizations and sentiment. He supported the mass incarceration of my people. Facts.
“So when the mural rededication was announced, almost immediately a racist call came in calling me the J- epithet six times, and slinging around phrases familiar to most of us people of color like “go back where she came from.”
“I will be honest, I have a critique of how that call was handled, I didn’t think folks were told quickly enough, I think new protocols must be adopted here. But it’s happening: you, BC, are helping us carry some of the weight of this history now. Please use what happened on this campus to teach; don’t be afraid of mistakes, keep talking through them as we have done.
“There’s a guiding question that came out of an organizing training some years ago—my friend Nina Wallace flagged it. I’ve adopted it in my art and have shared it out, so many in my community are familiar with it; it’s a very simple question:
“WHAT KIND OF ANCESTORS DO WE WANT TO BE?
“Do we want to be silent and complacent and turn our eyes from injustice?” (Ask the crowd and wait for: NO!)
“Let’s be loud and fierce and stand for those being harmed the way our families wished more people had. Let’s break patterns and become ancestors who created a world where children are NOT locked up, where families are NOT separated, where we all are liberated.
OKAGESAMA DE.” (Japanese for ‘I am what I am because of you.’)
Closing ceremony
(Shigaki, in collaboration with Stan Shikuma, Japanese American Citizens League and Tsuru for Solidarity, ringing a singing bowl)
“There were 75 sites of wartime incarceration.
“We are going to name a handful of them, to console the spirits, console ourselves and send energy to all who suffer under U.S. ICE enforcement.
“Close your eyes if you are comfortable.
Hear the singing bowl ripple out.
Feel in your body what this moment is bringing up.
“Puyallup Assembly Center
“15 other temporary prison assembly centers
“Ten War Relocation Authority concentration camps that held people of all ages,: elderly to newborn:
Manzanar, California
Poston, Arizona
Tule Lake, California
Minidoka, Idaho
Gila River, Arizona
Topaz, Utah
Heart Mountain, Wyoming
Amache, Colorado
Jerome, Arkansas
Rohwer, Arkansas
“Northwest Detention Center
“May you be happy
May you be peaceful
May you be free of all danger, both inner and outer.
“May all beings be happy.
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be free of danger, both inner and outer.
(She introduced Seattle Kokon Taiko.)
“Raise these sounds to the spirits for additional guidance and protection of all people, for liberation of all people.”
A freelance writer’s perspective
As a final commentary on the day, I remain impressed with BC’s ultimately thoughtful handling of Shigaki’s campus artwork. Its present leadership turned an unfortunate incident into a place-based teaching opportunity. If Bellevue and BC’s pasts include participating in racism, the suppression of free speech, and the like, BC is also choosing to publicly address and correct them. From now, the artwork will forever foster campus conversations.
Hearing Shigaki’s remarks, I was also struck at how much she remains her mother’s daughter. For many years, Polly Shigaki, a UW art major, ran a T-shirt shop on Beacon Hill featuring local Japanese American artwork. Polly has also long been a deacon at St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish, Seattle.
David is a freelance writer and photographer. He believes there are many unsung heroes in the Seattle Asian American community. He previously wrote and edited at the North American Post, the Seattle Japanese community newspaper.
