Never Again is Now! Mural

Never Again is Now!

Disrupting Silence and Memorializing Japanese American Incarceration at San José State University

DONOR MATCH OPPORTUNITY

We’re proud to share that this campaign is part of a matching gift challenge with the K/T Foundation!
The K/T Foundation will match every dollar donated up to $75,000, helping us reach our goal of $125,000 to support the creation and long-term preservation of the Never Again is Now! Mural.

Never Again is Now! is a student-led movement to confront San José State University’s role in the incarceration of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066 during World War II. In 1942, approximately 2,500 people, including 125 SJSU students, were forcibly removed through this site, were processed at what is now Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, and 125 SJSU students were forced to leave campus—many never returned. We’re raising funds to create a permanent mural at Uchida Hall, transforming a site of displacement into one of remembrance, resistance, and healing. This mural will honor those who endured incarceration, those who spoke out, and those still fighting injustice today.
Help us make history visible. Donate to the Never Again is Now! Mural Project.

CAMPAIGN HISTORY

In 1942, San José State University—then San José State College—played a direct role in the incarceration of Japanese Americans. The Spartan Complex Boy’s Gym, now Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, served as a processing center under Executive Order 9066, where local Japanese Americans were ordered to appear before being sent to incarceration camps across the country. Years later, the gym was renamed in honor of Yoshihiro Uchida, a Nisei SJSU alumnus, legendary Judo coach, and U.S. veteran whose own family was incarcerated in a U.S. concentration camp.

In April 2023, after years of student and community advocacy, the SJSU Academic Senate passed a Sense of Senate Resolution formally acknowledging the university’s role in the forced removal and incarceration of local Japanese Americans. The resolution memorializes those who faced discrimination and injustice, ensuring that their stories are permanently part of SJSU’s history of social change.
Read the Resolution (SS-S23-4): https://www.sjsu.edu/senate/do...

THE MURAL PROJECT

The Never Again is Now! Mural will be a permanent public artwork at Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, transforming a place once associated with forced removal into a space of reflection, resistance, and hope. Rather than depicting a linear timeline, the mural will center around themes of resilience, solidarity, accountability, and collective healing. It will tell a story of survival and strength—of students, families, and allies who refused to let history be erased. This mural is both a memorial and a movement: a call for truth, justice, and remembrance that will live on through future generations of Spartans.

WHY IT MATTERS

This mural represents the power of allyship, accountability, and community healing. By recognizing San José State’s role in the incarceration of Japanese Americans, we also honor the coalitions, past and present, who continue to fight for equity and inclusion. The mural will serve as a space for learning, reflection, and solidarity, reminding us that the lessons of 1942 remain urgent today: justice depends on all of us.

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS

Your contribution will directly fund:
- Artist design and mural materials
- Construction and installation at Yoshihiro Uchida Hall
- Community engagement and educational storytelling events
- Oral history projects and archival preservation efforts
Every donation brings us closer to transforming this vision into a lasting monument of truth, healing, and solidarity.

WHO WE ARE

The Never Again is Now! Mural Committee is a coalition of San José State students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Japantown community members united in one mission: to amplify, preserve, and honor the stories of those affected by incarceration and discrimination — from 1942 to today.
We are committed to ensuring these voices are heard by past, present, and future Spartans, and that this chapter of history continues to inspire movements for justice across generations.

Never Again is Now! Mural Advisory Committee Membership

Nina Chuang, Project Convener / Assistant Director of Community and Government Relations Office of the President
Conor Uyekawa, Former SJSU Student, Captain of SJSU Judo Team
Jake Shimada, SJSU Student, San Jose Japantown
Sam Brown, SJSU Student, President of JSS
Sristi Sinha, Director of Intercultural Affairs, Associated Students
Roy Hirabayashi, Co-Founder San Jose Taiko, California Arts Council
Bonnie Sugiyama, Director of SJSU PRIDE Center & Gender Equity Center
Edwin Tan, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Operations, Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs
Jinni Pradhan, Program Director of Center of Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE)
Kingson Leung, Associate Director of Programs & Marketing, Associated Students
Victoria Taketa, Japantown Community Congress San Jose
Sharon Uyeda and Kendall Hearney, San Jose Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Chapter President
Susan Hayase, Co-Founder San Jose Nikkei Resisters
Tom Izu, Co-Founder San Jose Nikkei Resisters, President Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj)
Will Kaku, San Jose Nihonmachi Outreach Committee
Yvonne Kwan, Associate Professor Asian American Studies
Alena Sauzade, Chair of University Art Committee, Gallery Director and Collections Manager
Stacey White, Senior Director of Planning and Real Estate Office of Facilities Development and Operations

Help us transform silence into solidarity.
Donate today to the Never Again is Now! Mural Project.