Kilmer Announces New Federal Funding for Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (WA) and Maria Cantwell (WA) announced new federal grants, including one for the completion of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Visitor Center.
The Japanese American Confinement Sites grants are awarded by the National Park Service (NPS) to preserve and interpret incarceration sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. A total of 14 grants totaling $3,408,083 were awarded nationwide.
“I’m proud to see the National Park Service taking important steps to preserve and illuminate the stories of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II, including those who called Bainbridge Island home,” said Rep. Kilmer. “A new visitor center will help future generations better understand the heartbreaking stories chronicled at the Bainbridge Island memorial, describing how families were forcibly removed from their homes, and will help remind us that we must always be vigilant in fighting prejudice and discrimination.”
“The internment of Japanese Americans during WWII is one of the most painful chapters in Washington state’s history and in the history of our country—when tens of thousands of people were forcibly removed from their homes and kept against their wills in internment camps, for no reason but their ancestry. It’s so important that we teach future generations about this wrenching part of our history,” said Sen. Murray. “This funding will help ensure that the realities of internment, and the stories of the Japanese Americans who lived through it, will continue to be told and remembered in Washington state and around the country—so that nothing like this is ever again repeated.”
“Japanese Americans throughout the State of Washington were unjustly detained and confined during World War II,” said Sen. Cantwell. “These sites and organizations honor the strength and sacrifice of internment survivors and helps Americans heal and reflect on this terrible chapter in our country’s history. I am thankful for the vital work organizations in Washington are doing to document and educate current and future generations about these troubling times to help ensure they never happen again.”
The NPS awarded a total of $613,150 to fund the completion of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Visitor Center project.
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial Association (BIJAMA) has worked with stakeholders for over a decade to complete the Exclusion Memorial on Bainbridge Island. The Story Wall was dedicated in 2011 and the Departure Deck was dedicated in 2021 to provide an overview of the forced removal of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island and subsequent incarceration. This project will complete the third and final element of the memorial – a visitor center. The visitor center will house interpretive and archival materials in a space that allows for reflection in light of contemporary events. This phase includes finalizing design and engineering documents, obtaining permits, completing site work, and installing utilities for the visitor center.
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