Pike Place Market Foundation in Seattle is under fire for canceling a Day of Remembrance event to commemorate the incarceration of Japanese Americans
Pike Place Market Foundation in Seattle is under fire for canceling an event to commemorate Day of Remembrance. This is equally ironic and sad considering that more than 75% of the Pike Place Market farmers were Japanese before they were forced into concentration camps in 1942.
@PikePlaceMarketFoundation had agreed to co-sponsor a Day of Remembrance event with the Japanese American social justice organization @TsuruForSolidarity, but the market abruptly canceled the event less than two weeks before it was scheduled to take place.
For the planned event, Tsuru for Solidarity wanted to connect Japanese American history with Trump’s current mass deportation strategy, the federal raids targeting immigrants, and the national expansion of mass detention sites. Apparently, Pike Place Market Foundation didn’t like that messaging and said it didn’t align with its values and they could no longer sponsor or endorse the event.
But to commemorate Day of Remembrance in 2022, Pike Place Market Foundation shared on their site, “…we remain fully committed to dismantling barriers, promoting stability, and centering equity…”
Canceling an event that honors the very Japanese farmers who are the reason for Pike Place Market’s historic success, just because it doesn’t serve the Market in today’s political climate, seems incongruent with their promises.
Pike Place Market Foundation did issue an apology saying in part, “We at the Pike Place Market Foundation apologize to our community. We acknowledge our decision around Day of Remembrance and Resistance created direct harm and impacted our entire community, specifically Japanese American advocates and neighbors who are threatened by federal deportation policies and orders. We want to be better allies moving forward. We are in communication with Tsuru for Solidarity and are requesting the opportunity for a repair process.”
Watch the video above to learn more about Day of Remembrance which takes place every year on Feb. 19. May we never forget this part of American history, and may these acts never be repeated.
