This Happened Here: Bainbridge Island and the First Japanese American Exclusion

Join us for a presentation by Ellen Sato Faust, Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.

What would you take if you had just six days to leave your home—knowing you might never return?

In March 1942, 276 Japanese American residents of Bainbridge Island were forced onto a ferry and sent to incarceration camps. It was the first removal of an entire community in the United States during World War II—and it started right here in our region. This presentation from the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial brings the story to life through history, images, and personal accounts. Designed for teens and adults, it goes beyond the textbook to ask harder questions: How did this happen? Who spoke up—and who didn’t? And what can we do to prevent it from happening again? Come learn the story of a community that endured—and why its lessons still matter.

"Nidoto Nai Yoni—Let It Not Happen Again."

This presentation is a part of Kitsap Regional Library's participation in One Book, One Coast. One Book, One Coast is the largest book club on the West Coast, with over 140 library systems participating. By connecting readers across California, Oregon, and Washington through a single shared title, One Book, One Coast highlights the power of libraries and stories to bring people together for conversation and reflection. The 2026 One Book, One Coast selection is They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger, and illustrated by Harmony Becker.

For more information about the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial please visit their website, https://bijaema.org/.

This event will be hosted at the Port Orchard Library. No registration required.