U.S. Government Appropriates Federal Funds To Establish National Center For The Preservation Of Democracy At Japanese American National Museum

The Japanese American National Museum and the Chairman of its Board of Governors, The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator from Hawai‘i, announced today the appropriation of $20 million in federal funds to establish the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy which will be affiliated with the National Museum in Los Angeles. The new National Center will be headquartered in the National Museum’s Historic Building. The purpose of the National Center is to examine the rights and freedoms of all Americans through the lessons learned from the Japanese American experience.

In making the announcement, Senator Inouye stated, “The Japanese Americans’ story celebrates the triumphs of American democracy. I am proud to be able to announce that the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy will be affiliated with the Japanese American National Museum which is an institution that is dedicated to the study, preservation and interpretation of democratic issues. The National Center’s development of nationwide programs about the issues of democracy and its education and public programs examining democracy in action will be a natural complement to the important work being done by the National Museum.”

The National Center will provide a wide array of educational programming that includes exhibitions, media arts presentations, public programs, conferences, and civic dialogue/ public forums. The educational programming will be multi-faceted, using Japanese American history as the lens to look at U.S. constitutional and civil rights issues and the experiences of a broad range of ethnic and racial groups. Inouye noted that the National Center will “present a long-term, audience-focused exhibition addressing American democracy through the Japanese American experience, including the military service of Japanese Americans in World War I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.”

“The establishment of the National Center is a milestone in the history of the Japanese American National Museum and further reinforces our mission of promoting understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by preserving, interpreting and sharing the experience of Japanese Americans,” Irene Hirano, Executive Director of the National Museum, explained. “It is also an important statement about the role of Los Angeles as a city of the 21st century. We are looking forward to the process of working with other institutions and members of the community to make plans for the Center.”

The Japanese American National Museum, which was founded in 1985 and is located in the Little Tokyo Historic District of Los Angeles, has appointed an interim Board to oversee the process of establishing the National Center. The Board will conduct an assessment and begin dialogue with federal agencies, national leaders, and community organizations to determine the ways in which the National Center can best serve the public through its mission.

The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy will pursue and make accessible key civil and military materials for a comprehensive collection while creating and establishing new opportunities for civil and military research, especially through collaboration with federal institutions such as the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution and the Department of Defense. The National Center will also document the story of the Japanese American experience which includes the unconstitutional incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II and the eventual recognition by the United States government of the grave injustice of this act.

In a speech to Congress in June of this year, Senator Inouye stated, “One of the more magnificent examples of American democracy at its most powerful form is the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, in which the United States recognized its grave and fundamental injustice of violating the civil liberties of its own citizens. Advanced by many Japanese American war veterans, the law makes a formal apology and provides token restitution to former internees. No other country in the world can make the claim of acknowledging and apologizing for its mistakes—a point that further illustrates the grand majesty of the United States.”

George Takei, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Japanese American National Museum, noted, “It is appropriate that the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy will be a dedicated space in the National Museum’s Historic Building. The Building, a National Historic Landmark as designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is considered the largest artifact in our collection,” Takei explained. “Marking its 75th anniversary this year, the Historic Building has been a focal point of American history, serving as a U.S. government assembly point where Japanese Americans were ordered to report before their unconstitutional World War II incarceration. What better place to learn the lessons of American democracy than at this historic site?”

Plans are being developed for the adaptation of the existing Historic Building to provide expanded space for exhibitions, education, and public programs.

For more information, call the National Center for the Preservation for Democracy at (213) 830-5638 or fax to (213) 830-5674.