In commemoration of Day of Remembrance 2026, join us for a reading and discussion with David Neiwert, journalist and author of the book Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community.

David Neiwert’s Strawberry Days shares local knowledge about the creation and WWII-era eradication of Bellevue’s once-vibrant Japanese American community. With compelling storytelling, firsthand interviews, and analysis of previously suppressed documents, Neiwert vividly presents the history of our Eastside community and the racist schemes that prevented families from returning or reclaiming their land after being wrongfully incarcerated by our government. Strawberry Days invites us to think about the kind of community we want to belong to, and ways to help ensure it is a place where all of us are respected.

David Neiwert is a veteran Northwest journalist who was news editor of the Bellevue Journal American in the 1990s; Strawberry Days began as a historical project for the JA. Since then, Neiwert has gone on to work at MSNBC.com and as the Northwest correspondent for the Southern Poverty Law Center. He has also authored nine other books, including his most recent, The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right’s Assault on American Democracy (2023). He lives in Friday Harbor. David will be joined in conversation by Alice Ito.

Alice’s late father Toshio Ito was a Veteran of the U.S. Army. He was born on his parents’ farm and graduated from Bellevue High School before being removed and incarcerated along with all other community members of Japanese descent. Toshio spoke with David Neiwert about his experiences, and warned that our government was likely to take similar actions against other community members.