Naomi Ishisaka

CA shootings show no ethnic group has a monopoly on violence

There has been a lot of soul-searching over the past week in the Asian American community as we try to process two back-to-back massacres of mostly Asian Americans. There has been collective grief. Fear. Mourning. Frustration. Weariness. Over three…

Teens carry a threat to mental health in their pockets

Every generation has angst over what a particular cultural shift is doing to the minds of our youth. When I was a kid in the mid-’80s, it was Tipper Gore and the Parents’ Music Resource Center coming after rock and rap for what they considered…

How to dismantle the pipeline from poverty to prison

Ubuntu. I am, because we are. The South African philosophy means the essence of humanity is to recognize the humanity of others. The concept of Ubuntu was invoked Thursday night at Washington Hall at a workshop for the Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing…

Dear Dry January, we need to talk

A lot of people I know are weeks into what has now become an annual tradition: Dry January. The concept behind Dry January is that with the revelry of the holidays behind us and the new year beginning, the consumption of alcohol is reined in for a…

Proliferation of GoFundMes reveals a dirty little open secret

This time of year, we find ourselves touched by the generosity, grace and kindness of people helping people. Extending ourselves to others reveals the best of who we are as humans, and that emerges so clearly during the holiday season. Yet as moved…

6 sources of social justice joy in 2022

As the social justice columnist at The Seattle Times, I typically write about heavy topics. Racism, homophobia, systemic injustice of all kinds. It’s par for the course when there are so many tough issues that need exposing and wrongs that need…

Long COVID: a ‘massive disabling event’

Is the pandemic over? Not for millions of people like Robin Jackson. Jackson first got sick in early March 2020, when there was barely even a name for what she had. There were no tests for it at that time, but Jackson was told she likely contracted…

After Club Q, we must envision a loving, nonviolent ‘world beyond binaries’

It was only a matter of time before the explosion of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in recent years led to the kind of violence that struck Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our community is, once again, reeling from the violation of a space meant to provide…

Why I’m not celebrating Twitter’s troubles

Since joining Twitter in 2008, I have always had an uneasy relationship with it. As a writer, the original 140-character limit was frustrating. As an editor, having to write using truncated words and abbreviations (and not being able to correct…

Gun violence is the problem. Young people have some solutions

“Angry and sad.” That’s how former Ingraham High School student Amelia Payne Garcia described feeling the day after last Tuesday’s killing of a 17-year-old student at the school she graduated from in 2022. The 18-year-old Seattle Central College…

Asian Americans: Resist racist rhetoric about affirmative action

It seemed like back to the future last week. Lula is back in power as president in Brazil, Netanyahu is likely back as prime minister in Israel and, once again, affirmative action is back before the U.S. Supreme Court. But this time, Asian Americans…

Anand Giridharadas’ ‘The Persuaders’ seeks offramp from political gridlock

When I wrote my first column for The Seattle Times three years ago, I said we must be “brave enough to talk to one another, with respect, humility and honesty.” I still believe that. But in the years since, it seems we have become even more reluctant…

Why Seattle needs to start taking wildfire smoke more seriously

Feven Breuner just wants to breathe. That’s not been easy the past couple of months for the 14-year-old Summit Sierra High School student. Like 1 in 12 people nationwide, Feven and I both have asthma. In the U.S., the condition is more prevalent…

Seattle social justice leader Garry Owens dies at 77

Often when we think about social justice leadership, the people we celebrate are the firebrands, the orators, the ones in front of the microphone. But the engine of social change is also found behind the scenes in quieter places, where polarized…

Why we should transfer ‘land back’ to Indigenous people

“Land Back.” You may have seen this slogan recently on T-shirts or hashtags, but its roots are as old as the colonization and displacement of Native people in the U.S. In recent years, Washington has seen several new Native land reclamation efforts,…

How King County piles its problems on the Chinatown International District

Over the past few weeks, I have watched with increasing dismay as, once again, the Chinatown International District is being asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of responsibility for filling resource gaps it did not create. As reporter Greg…

A complicated goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” This proverb, amplified by renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1994, might help to explain the chasm in perspectives between the mourners of…

Sue Bird spoke out — and Seattle was never the same

As Sue Bird said goodbye after playing her last game on Tuesday, the fans’ chants of “Thank you, Sue!” “Thank you, Sue!” spoke to her beloved status not just on the court, but off as well. Bird’s accomplishments in basketball are legendary, with one…

This Labor Day, give ‘hustle culture’ the boot

When I first heard the term “quiet quitting,” I assumed it meant people quietly ghosting their jobs in a tight labor market. Then I learned it meant people doing what was required of them at work but not putting in extra unpaid hours. This was…

Leaf blowers: Gas vs. electric shouldn’t pit people vs. people

If you grew up in Washington in the 1980s and ’90s, like I did, there was no escaping the furious fight over the spotted owl. Owls versus loggers was how the conflict was framed, with protesters chanting “families first, owls last” and a restaurant…