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A college in Washington State issued an apology after one of its administrators changed part of an art installation on Japanese American incarceration during World War II.
A Seattle artist’s 11-foot-tall mural of two children at an incarceration camp in California was brought to Bellevue College last week, The Seattle Times reported. The display included an artist’s description with the sentence “After decades of anti-Japanese agitation, led by Eastside businessman Miller Freeman and others, the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans included the 60 families (300 individuals) who farmed Bellevue.”
But photos showed the reference was whited out, and then a laminated description without the sentence was taped over the original description, the Times reported.
Bellevue identified its vice president of institutional advancement, Gayle Colston Barge, as responsible for removing the reference. The college’s president, Jerry Weber, issued a letter of apology Monday.
“It was a mistake to alter the artist’s work,” the apology said. “Removing the reference gave the impression that the administrator was attempting to remove or rewrite history, a history that directly impacts many today.”
The sentence was pasted back onto the description, according to the Times.
Barge has been placed on paid administrative leave, the college said Thursday. (This piece has been updated to note the personnel action.)
