SEATTLE – Councilmember Debora Juarez (District 5, North Seattle), Chair of the Council’s Public Assets and Native Communities Committee, joined with constituents and community members on Friday at the Lake City Library to celebrate the renaming of 28th Avenue NE to ‘Hayashi Avenue’.
The community-led street renaming was memorialized with Resolution 31967 and honors the Hayashi family. The Hayashi Family once owned the property between 28th Ave and 30th Ave NE, where the Bank of America now stands. The land was their home and where they grew and sold produce from their farm. They donated decorative trees and plants to the community for nearby schools and other civic activities.
The Hayashi family lost their farm and their home when they were incarcerated by President Roosevelt during World War II through his executive order. After their removal, they never returned to the neighborhood where they once were valued members.
“Today’s renaming honors the contributions the Hayashi family made to Lake City, and serves to remind us of the harm the government policy of internment caused to the Hayashi family and many others during a dark time in our nation’s history,” Juarez said.
“It’s high time this community-led effort culminate with the new street signs,” says Chris Leverson of Build Lake City Together, a community organization that led the fundraising for the project, “The signs have paid for with generous donations from Lake City residents and businesses, and are long overdue. Hate has no place here in Lake City and today’s redesignation is a tangible demonstration that our neighborhood stands against xenophobia, racism and nativism in all its forms.”
“I was both grateful for the unanimous support of my Council colleagues and proud to sponsor Resolution 31967 to help make this corrective action a priority. There has never been a more important time to right the wrongs and injustices of the past. Today’s action has been a long time coming, and it’s not only the right thing to do but appropriate in this moment of our country’s racial reckoning,” Juarez concluded.
Photos from event:
