OCA Greater Seattle honored four nationally recognized community organizations during its Golden Circle Awards & Lunar New Year Celebration on Jan. 31—marking a departure from past ceremonies that traditionally recognized individuals.
The event paid tribute to Densho, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), the Wing Luke Museum, and the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association (BIJAEMA) for their long-standing work preserving Asian American, Pacific Islander (AAPI) history.
According to the event program, organizers described the selection as unprecedented, choosing to honor four local organizations whose work has had national impact. The celebration was themed “Wonton Soup of the Soul: Comfort Food for Discomforting Times,” reflecting a focus on resilience, healing and cultural continuity.
Densho was recognized for its digital storytelling and archival documentation of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. FANHS, founded in Seattle in 1982, focuses on collecting and sharing Filipino American history nationwide and was instrumental in establishing Filipino American Heritage Month.
The Wing Luke Museum is the only pan-AAPI art and history museum in the United States and is known for its community-led exhibitions. BIJAEMA was honored for its work maintaining a civil rights memorial at the site of the 1942 forced removal of Japanese American residents from Bainbridge Island.
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