Author | Lightnews

Naomi Ishisaka

Naomi Ishisaka

@naomiishisaka.bsky.social

12K followers 7.4K following 200 posts

Seattle Times Social Justice Columnist / Assistant Managing Editor for Diversity and Inclusion. AAJA Seattle President. www.naomiishisaka.com she/her 🏳️‍🌈

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Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · 4h

Thank you Jon! 🙏🏼

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · 2d

"A number of Pride Place residents spoke about the ongoing danger of e-scooters and e-bikes in front of their building, with one resident saying that as a person with a disability, they were especially fearful they could be taken down just trying to walk down the street."

Silent and speedy, these devices are scary for pedestrians

Pedestrians and e-scooters have become a contentious mix in Seattle, with older adults often suffering the most, columnist Naomi Ishisaka writes.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · 10d

Today's story for @seattletimes.com: "Local journalist and author Ken Mochizuki believed that we could only paint a complete picture of our communities if we told our own stories with honesty and courage." @aajaofficial.bsky.social

Seattle author leaves behind books so honest, some want them banned

"Baseball Saved Us" was a surprise best-seller about a Japanese American boy incarcerated during WWII. And it's now one of the most-challenged books in the U.S.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · 12d

By Lauren Girgis: "The Black Lives Matter street mural on Capitol Hill, the work of 16 artists that has both brightened a stretch of pavement and left an assertive cultural mark, has been defaced, with a letter with racist rhetoric found nearby."

Black Lives Matter mural on Capitol Hill vandalized

The mural dates to 2020, weeks after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers and begun just 36 hours into what would become known as CHOP.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · 19d

Thank you Bridget!

Reposted by Naomi Ishisaka

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 19d

Over 2 million people across Italy have rallied in more than 100 cities for a one-day general strike.

2 million rally in Italy for Gaza as general strike halts key services

Over 2 million people across Italy have rallied in more than 100 cities for a one-day general strike.

Reposted by Naomi Ishisaka

Crystal Fincher @finchfrii.bsky.social · 28d

“Earlier this year, Taylor told Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka that the information on the site had become even more valuable amid “a direct frontal assault on African American history.””

Reposted by Naomi Ishisaka

Crystal Fincher @finchfrii.bsky.social · 28d

Rest in Power, Dr. Taylor

Quintard Taylor, UW professor and Black history archivist, dies at 76

Quintard Taylor, UW professor and Black history archivist, dies at 76

Quintard Taylor, Jr., professor emeritus of history at UW and founder of an online archive of Black history, died Sunday.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Sep 22

Today's column: "But in the days following the assassination, it became no longer enough to say you condemn the killing. No, you also had to praise and valorize Kirk, a man who was outspoken on his opinions about Black people, immigrants, transgender people and others."

What can we say about Charlie Kirk? Only what those in power want us to

In the days following the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk, it became no longer enough to say you condemn the killing. No, you also had to praise and valorize him.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Sep 8

Today's column for @seattletimes.com: "In addition to the concerns and stresses that everyone has, trans communities have to keep their “head on a swivel,” Jaelynn Scott said, anticipating when the next threat might come. #seattle

How joy, beauty and affirmation disrupted the culture wars in Seattle

Louder than Hate countered Let Us Worship’s anti-gay, anti-trans Revive in 25 event at Gas Works with an outpouring of support and solidarity at Washington Hall.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Sep 5

By Kai Uyehara in @seattletimes.com:
"Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, according to UNICEF. But Seba could not be treated with artificial legs in Gaza, Sosebee said." 📷: Jennifer Buchanan and Nick Wagner

Battered by war, refugee finds 'kindness' in Bellevue

Seba lost both her legs after an Israeli airstrike. The 12-year-old girl from Gaza could learn to walk again with the help of prosthetics from Seattle-area doctors.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Sep 1

Today's column for @seattletimes.com: "But for many others, Katrina affirmed what they already knew: The color of your skin and the size of your bank account determined whether you could flee or were left to die, or whether you could rebuild or were displaced." #katrina

20 years after Katrina, we’re less prepared for disaster than ever

Two decades after a trip to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, columnist Naomi Ishisaka sounds an alarm about the inadequacy of disaster preparedness in the U.S.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Aug 19

Thank you!

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Aug 18

Today's column on wrongful arrests and convictions: "As with everything else in the criminal legal system, the outcomes vary dramatically along racial lines."

What the arrest of an innocent Seattle man shows us about the legal system

The arrest of an innocent Seattle man highlights persistent inequities in the criminal legal system, columnist Naomi Ishisaka writes.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thank you 🙏🏼

Reposted by Naomi Ishisaka

Crystal Fincher @finchfrii.bsky.social · Aug 12

“I used to think that across all nationalities and beliefs, if a child was wandering into the street in front of an incoming car, it was a core human instinct of every human adult to grab the child and get them to safety.

Now, I know better.”

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Aug 11

Today's column: “You feel like you’re living in a parallel universe, where this can’t be reality, where the bombs are being dropped on people that share the same name as me, or people that could have been me,” Sabrene Odeh said. #gaza

'You need to make a choice' about Gaza. 1,700 people at Marymoor Park did

Evidence is mounting that people — children — are starving in Gaza. People of conscience have a decision to make.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Aug 11

Today's column: “You feel like you’re living in a parallel universe, where this can’t be reality, where the bombs are being dropped on people that share the same name as me, or people that could have been me,” Sabrene Odeh said. #gaza

'You need to make a choice' about Gaza. 1,700 people at Marymoor Park did

Evidence is mounting that people — children — are starving in Gaza. People of conscience have a decision to make.

www.seattletimes.com

Reposted by Naomi Ishisaka

Bethan @bethan.bsky.social · Aug 11

The moral path forward is as clear as daylight: Cease fire and restore unobstructed food and medical aid services to Palestinians.
As ever, @naomiishisaka.bsky.social shares the message people need to hear. Via @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

'You need to make a choice' about Gaza. 1,700 people at Marymoor Park did

Evidence is mounting that people — children — are starving in Gaza. People of conscience have a decision to make.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jul 31

60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names.

Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

www.washingtonpost.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jul 24

Gazans Are Dying of Starvation

www.nytimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jul 21

Today's column in honor of next week's Asian American Journalists Association @aajaofficial.bsky.social convention in #Seattle! Gratitude to Lori Matsukawa, Ron Chew and Frank Abe for founding our chapter 40 years ago!

1,300 Asian American journalists are rolling into Seattle

The national Asian American Journalists Association convention will be in Seattle, July 30-Aug. 3. Around 1,300 journalists are expected to take part.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jul 7

Today's column: “From the sugar cane plantations, to the ranch, to the hotel resort, to those rich millionaires who came from the mainland,” Goo said, “It’s a miracle that any of that land, in some ways, remains in our family.”

The history of Hawai‘i you may not know

More Native Hawaiians now live in the continental U.S. than in Hawai‘i, with Washington having the second highest continental population behind California.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jun 23

Today's column: "But as quickly as the signs were raised, I saw a barrage of criticism from both right and left over the actions and their perceived uselessness. … From my perspective, both arguments betray a fundamental misunderstanding of movement building..."

Protests like ‘No Kings’ are vital in more ways than you think

Seattle’s "No Kings" protest on June 14 was one of the largest in the city’s history. Over 70,000 came out on Capitol Hill to protest the Trump administration in just one of many local events. Nation...

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jun 23

"Mehdi Nakhjiri hasn’t slept well in days. He’s been refreshing his WhatsApp constantly and exhausting himself with the 24-hour news cycle.

Nakhjiri, a 70-year-old engineer who lives in Kirkland, said he hasn’t heard from his extended family in Iran since Friday morning."

Sleepless nights, conflicting emotions for Iranian Americans in WA

“How can one even imagine that your adopted country is bombing your homeland,” said a Kirkland man, 70, who hasn't heard from his family in Iran since Friday.

www.seattletimes.com

Naomi Ishisaka @naomiishisaka.bsky.social · Jun 22

By Dan Beekman: "State Rep. Darya Farivar, the first Iranian American woman elected to the state Legislature, said she and other Iranian Americans are “bracing for impact” from a U.S.-Iran conflict."

Seattle-area elected leaders react with alarm after U.S. bombs Iran

Seattle's U.S. representatives condemned President Donald Trump's strikes. A state lawmaker expressed concern for how a war could harm Iranian Americans.

www.seattletimes.com