Learning about the Injustice Done to Japanese Americans on Bainbridge Island

Bainbridge Island is a quiet and picturesque suburb of Seattle.

 To get to the island, you need to take a 35 minute ferry ride from  the Seattle terminal.

The population of Bainbridge Island is only about 25,000 people, with many of the residents commuting daily to work in Seattle.

There are a lot of parkland and forests around.

Right by the ferry terminal, we saw a market for commuter as well as a bike storage place.

Since we only had a few hours to learn about this island and its history, we visited the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum.

Displays in front of the museum

Only a stone throw away from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal, the museum was easy to find after a 5 minute walk.





















We toured the museum, listened to the museum staff and watched a 20 minute video and learned about the mistreatment of Japanese Americans by its government at the time.



















In March of 1942, two months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 and ordered Japanese Americans to be evacuated from Bainbridge Island.

All people of Japanese decent
 ( aliens and American citizens)  had six days to prepare for their evacuation.

At the time, Bainbridge Island was a small rural community with a population of about 3000 people.

On March 30, 1942, 227 Japanese Americans, men, women and children were removed by armed military personnel to a relocation camp in Manzanar, California.

Bainbridge Island was the first community on the west coast affected by this unjust wartime decision.

In the end, about 110,000 to 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were interned in the western interior camps. 62% of those interned were US citizens.

Source - Wikipedia

Chief Seattle speech was on display in the Bainbridge Island Museum

A force evacuation meant that Japanese Americans lost their civil liberties, their jobs, properties and businesses at the time.

A perceived threat by the American government that Japanese Americans could be spies for the enemies drove them to intern an entire segment of the population by race.

I often wonder Germany and Italy were also at war with the allies at the time. However, no German or Italian Americans were forcibly removed from their home towns in America during WWll.

Therefore, what was the real motive behind the Japanese Americans' internment?

An antique shop on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

America always prides itself as the land of the free? How true is this, really?






















After visiting the museum, we strolled along the main street in the Bainbridge downtown.

Downtown Bainbridge is small and neat reminding me of a small village.

Downtown Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

There were bistro tables and chairs put out for visitors and pedestrians visiting the area.

Winslow Mall, Bainbridge Island

 Winslow Mall is located on the downtown main street.

Since it was a cool winter and rainy day, there was little vehicle or pedestrian traffic on the streets or in the mall

But the area was quaint and pretty, a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Seattle.

Night View of the of Seattle's Waterfront, USA

The Great Wheel at night, Seattle

We bought some small souvenirs from one of the stores and took the ferry back to Seattle.

The night view of Seattle from the ferry was awesome!

We had dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel.

It was a tiring but fun day for all of us!




R.T.
Bainbridge Island
Washington State
USA