“Voices from Inside”shines light on art by the Black Prisoners’Caucus

On a leafy street in Seattle’s Central District, a two-story family home has welcomed visitors as a gallery space since 2019. Wa Na Wari, which means “our home” in the Nigerian language of Kalabari, is featuring art from the Black Prisoners’ Caucus from June 6th – July 13th, 2025. The center for Black art and belonging is showcasing beadwork, poetry, sketches, paintings, and video work centered on incarceration.

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Ross Ishikawa’s Illustrations Illuminate Japanese American History

Bellevue College and the King County Library System are partnering to celebrate alumnus Ross Ishikawa, a Northwest artist who illustrated the graphic novel, “We Hereby Refuse,” at an event on July 31 on the campus of Bellevue College. As part of King County Library’s 2025 One Bellevue One Book: Intergenerational Book Club, Ishikawa will discuss his creative process for the graphic novel, which is based on acts of resistance to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The event is free and open to the public and you can click this link to go to the registration page.

The graphic novel, published by the Wing Luke Museum and Chin Music Press, took nearly four years to complete and involved four creators in a process that Ishikawa found similar to his days of doing group projects at Bellevue College.

Written by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura, the text is drawn from the true stories of Jim Akutsu, who resisted the draft because he was classified an enemy alien; Hiroshi Kashiwagi, who refused to fill out the “loyalty questionnaire” required by the US government and renounced his citizenship; and Mitsuye Endo, whose Supreme Court case helped end the incarceration of thousands in 1944. Artist Matt Sasaki illustrated the Kashiwagi story while Ishikawa illustrated the stories of Akutsu and Endo.

Ishikawa first learned about the project in 2017. Since he was working on a graphic novel about his Japanese American father, who was among those deported from the West Coast, he was intrigued by the call for artists to work on “We Hereby Refuse.”

“This was perfect timing for me,” he recalled. “I had a few pages from my graphic novel project, which was from the same time period, so I submitted those.”

For the next four years, deadlines came and went as the creators layered more and more complexity into the original idea. Creating the images required hours of research, using hundreds of reference photographs and other materials so Ishikawa could accurately portray the real people and physical setting of these stories.

An interview with character Endo’s best friend inspired Ishikawa’s favorite drawing: a scene of Endo dancing around the room when she learned that the Supreme Court ruled in her favor.

“The imagery in the interview was so evocative,” he said. “That scene was the first thing I sketched out in the very early stages of getting to know the writers. In my talk, I discuss how the sketch evolved over the four years. The basic bones of the scene were right but there were some nuances that changed over time as we found more information about where it happened and other things.”

The resulting 150-page nonfiction graphic novel was published in 2021.

The project required four people with very different backgrounds to come together to achieve a common goal. This period reminded Ishikawa of his student days at Bellevue College, with a group of people working together on a classroom assignment. Working with different levels of experience during his classes at Bellevue College helped Ishikawa with the group dynamics of creating a graphic novel with three other people.

“I was the only one with graphic novel experience,” recalled Ishikawa, who also acted as an animation consultant for a follow-up project by the Seattle Channel TV station when they wanted to animate one chapter from the book. But he emphasized that he learned from the others, particularly from Abe’s profound knowledge of the real people involved, which helped inform his illustrations.

Like many Bellevue College students, Ishikawa returned to school seeking a new career after decades working as a design lead and project architect. Changes in architecture software meant either undergoing extensive training to continue his career or he could pivot to something new. Ishikawa decided that he’d like to learn more about game design.

“I always wanted to be a cartoonist as a kid. Game design sounded like a fun thing and appropriate for a former architect, as they need someone who can think in 3D to design places (in a video game),” Ishikawa said.

But the more classes he took, the more animation and 2D art began to capture his interest. He found the exposure to many different types of graphic software extremely useful. Prior to coming to Bellevue College, all his cartooning was done by hand with pencil and paper. Adapting his skills to digital tools also helped when the graphic novel came along, when he trained himself on a type of software commonly used for making manga.

Ishikawa took an internship with an animation company while at Bellevue College, which led to a decade of creating 2D animations after graduation.

“It was a good experience, just drawing fun cartoons. I didn’t know a job like that existed,” he said. “It was what I wanted to do as a kid. I went into architecture instead because that was a ‘real’ job. Growing up in my small town, I didn’t have exposure to cartoons as a career.”

Today, he works as a Motion Graphic Artist for Black Spectacles, an eLearning platform serving the architectural community. This combination of his past career and his new one proved to be a perfect job, Ishikawa said. He’s also returned to working on his original idea of creating a graphic novel about his parents’ courtship during World War II.

Listen to Ishikawa discuss the graphic novel at the “One Bellevue One Book: We Hereby Refuse Illustrator Ross Ishikawa” at 2 PM on Thursday, July 31 at the N Building on the Bellevue College campus.

Join KBCS at the 54th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival

Elimination of Public Media Funding Requested by White House

The White House has put forth an annual budget that requests eliminating public media funding at the federal level for FY26. The proposal asks Congress to eliminate nearly all $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports more than 1,500 non-profit stations across the country, including KBCS.

As it stands, the White House’s proposed budget would eliminate the federal investment that powers trusted journalism and educational programming that local communities rely on every day. It’s part of a bigger goal to destabilize independent journalism.

On June 3rd the President also sent a recission package to congress which would strip away funds already allocated to public media stations across the country.

Under the rescissions process, once the White House submits the package, Congress has 45 days to vote on whether fundning will continue or be stripped away. But a vote could happen at any point during that window. The Senate can pass a rescission with just a simple majority of just 50 votes, making every vote critically important.

That means Congress could revoke public media funding that’s already been approved and committed to stations — all within a matter of weeks.

We are following next steps closely and will provide updates as we know more. In the meantime, we thank you for your steadfast support of KBCS and independent media as a whole. 

We rely on two pillars of support: federal support and private support from listeners like you. Right now, KBCS needs your help more than ever. While federal support only makes up 10% of KBCS’s budget, that translates into a funding gap of $120,000 annually that we will have to make up in order to continue the programming you and our community rely on. 

What You Can Do

Financial Support

Individual listeners are, and always have been, KBCS’s most reliable source of funding. That’s why I ask that if you’ve yet to do so, become an active KBCS contributor now. If you are already giving, I cannot thank you enough, and hope you’ll consider an additional gift or an increase to your monthly contribution. Your support is the most effective way to insulate KBCS from the threat of this potential loss of funding. 

Advocate

You can also take action by emailing or calling your representative and urging them to oppose the elimination of public media funding to stations like KBCS. To find your representative and contact them, we recommend visiting the Protect My Public Media website: protectmypublicmedia.org.

What Happens Next

The Caravan with John Gilbreath Returns to KBCS

We’re excited to announce that long-time KBCS program, The Caravan, hosted by John Gilbreath, will return to KBCS on Tuesday, May 13th.  

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KBCS Message on White House Executive Order to Cut NPR and PBS Funding

We are deeply concerned by the executive order to cut NPR and PBS funding. On May 1, 2025, the White House directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and federal agencies to end funding for NPR and PBS. While KBCS is not directly affiliated with NPR, we stand firmly with our colleagues in public media who are being targeted by this decision.

The goal is unmistakable: to dismantle public media as we know it.

Public media was founded on the principle that access to free, non-commercial journalism and educational content strengthens our democracy. Local stations across the country, including ours, rely on the infrastructure and support made possible by the CPB to serve diverse communities with trusted, fact-based information. NPR and PBS are pillars of that ecosystem, producing high-quality journalism and programming that reflects the breadth and complexity of American life.

The claim that public media is inherently biased misunderstands the mission and editorial standards that guide our work. Independence, accuracy, and public accountability are not threats—they are our commitments.

This decision threatens not only two nationally recognized institutions, but also the hundreds of local stations—urban and rural, large and small—that serve the public interest every day. We know the vital role that public broadcasting plays in civic life, from educational children’s programming to coverage of local issues that commercial media often overlooks.

We join with stations across the country in reaffirming our support for public media and our belief that it must remain a trusted, nonpartisan, and publicly accountable source of information for all.

We urge lawmakers, community leaders, and citizens to stand with us—and with NPR, PBS, and the CPB—in protecting the future of independent public broadcasting.

You can take action to stop this attack on NPR, PBS, and public media by contacting your local representative at protectmypublicmedia.org.

– The KBCS Team

50th Anniversary of the end of Vietnam War

April 30th marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army and the end of the Vietnam war.   Many thanks to Nam Nguyen, Executive Director of WA State Commissions on Asian Pacific Affairs, and Jennie Cecil Moore, Independent Journalist and Producer and KBCS Contributor for this interview featured on our community radio station.

Events

Local community organizations like Friends of Little Saigon are commemorating this milestone with events and exhibitions.

FILM SCREENING – Sàigòn to Seattle: 50 Years After the War – Saturday, May 3rd, 10am to 4pm at Hoa Mai Park, 1224 S King St, Seattle, WA 98144. Follow their YouTube account to view the official film trailer. 

PHOTO EXHIBIT – We Were Soldiers, Too/Chúng Tôi Cũng Là Lính – April 5 to June 14 at Friends of Little Saigon. Featuring curated images and ephemera by Thanh Tan and portraits of South Vietnamese veterans by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Marcus Yam.

Auntmama – DJ Appreciation Spotlight

In 2001, Mary Anne Moorman (Auntmama) was awarded a contract with Bellevue College to create an operational plan for KBCS. Consulting led to telling stories on Walkin’ the Floor and in 2003 she began co-hosting Sunday Folks on Sunday’s, 9am to Noon. “Playing music for the KBCS community is an honor.” (more…)

Levi Sweeney DJ Appreciation Post

Hi, I’m Levi Sweeney. I’m one of the newest hosts at KBCS, and I host the 12 AM to 1 AM Saturday show The KBCS Retro Radio Theatre. I’m a pioneer in applied AI audio and radio dramas. If you tune in to my late, late, show at midnight, you’ll hear me playing the character of “Jack Newman,” unlicensed, back-alley dealer of Old Time Radio. (more…)

Roots Rock + Soul-Wednesday Wax

KBCS 91.3FM Roots Rock + Soul brings listeners selections from the KBCS music library. Host Greg shares sound selections until 7pm Monday through Friday with Wednesday’s dipping into a selection from the KBCS Vinyl Library.   And today, April 9th, we share The Lebron Brothers Orchestra and their first release, Psychedelic Goes Latin!  

Starting off this evenings mix with My Cool Boogaloo!  Tune in and listen to check out the other selections from this 1967 release from Cotique Records.  And stay on KBCS to hear the rest of Roots Rock + Soul evening mix for an eclectic celebration of the sounds from the KBCS Music Library.

Lebron Brothers – Psychedelic Goes Latin