JANM’s Democracy Center Launches Inaugural Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture January 31

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will present the inaugural Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture with guest speaker Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on Friday, January 31, 2025, at JANM’s Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center). Secretary Bunch will speak in conversation with Lisa Sasaki, Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects at the Smithsonian Institution. The program will begin with a reception honoring Irene Hirano Inouye at 4 p.m., followed by the lecture at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are free and open to the public. Reservations are required and are available at janm.org/democracy. 

The Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture Series centers on the leadership values and principles that inspired Irene Hirano Inouye to empower community, uplift women, and build bridges between the US and Japan. The series will feature national leaders and voices who are shaping democracy to provoke thought and inspire change in the US, and is one of two signature Distinguished Lecture Series of the Democracy Center, the other inspired by the late Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.

“The Japanese American story is filled with challenges, injustice, joy and great triumphs,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch. “By exploring and educating ourselves about the Japanese American experience, we better understand the rich complexity and beauty of American history. This is the part of our Smithsonian mission that we share with the Japanese American National Museum and with Irene Hirano Inouye, whose leadership enriched both of us.”

Irene Hirano Inouye (1948–2020) was the inaugural executive director of the Japanese American National Museum, later becoming its president and CEO. Hired in 1988, she guided the institution for twenty years, overseeing the Museum’s renovation of a former Buddhist temple in Little Tokyo as its first headquarters in 1992 and the construction of the 85,000-square-foot Pavilion expansion in 1999. In 2005, JANM opened the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, which included the newly-built 200-seat Tateuchi Democracy Forum. Under Hirano Inouye’s leadership, the Museum traveled exhibitions nationally and internationally, became an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and was accredited by the American Association of Museums. 

“Irene’s remarkable legacy of leadership at JANM and beyond is inspiring. Her courage, determination, and vision laid the strong foundation on which all of us at JANM stand today. She made extraordinary contributions to the museum field and to democracy.  JANM and the Democracy Center are proud to present the Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture Series in her honor,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of JANM. 

“Irene Hirano Inouye, a cherished friend for more than two decades, was a leader who helped guide the museum field toward being more inclusive of untold stories and elevating the importance of preserving our democracy,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch. “Her legacy ensures that we continue to strive to better understand the rich complexity and beauty of American history with its challenges, joys, and great triumphs. This is part of our Smithsonian mission that we share with the Japanese American National Museum.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. As Secretary, Bunch oversees twenty-one museums, twenty-one libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers and several education units and centers. He has held various positions at the Smithsonian, including the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He also served as the curator of history for the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. A widely published author, Bunch has written on topics ranging from the Black military experience, the American presidency and African American History in California, diversity in museum management and the impact of funding and politics on American museums. He has held numerous teaching positions at universities across the country and has served on the advisory boards of the American Association of Museums and the American Association for State and Local History. Among his many awards, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House in 2002 and reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2010. In 2019, he was awarded the Freedom Medal, one of the Four Freedom Awards from the Roosevelt Institute, for his contribution to American culture as a historian and storyteller. In 2021, Bunch received France’s highest award, The Legion of Honor.

Lisa Sasaki is the Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects at the Smithsonian Institution, where she provides leadership for the institution in America’s semiquincentennial celebration and in efforts that maximize the institution’s impact online and in communities across the country. Previously, she served as the interim director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, which advances the understanding of women’s contributions to various fields throughout history that have influenced the direction of the United States. She also served as the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, where she provided vision, leadership and support for Asian American and Pacific Islander initiatives across the institution. Sasaki has provided further service to the museum field as president of the Western Museums Association’s Board of Directors, as a member of the American Alliance of Museums’ Facing Change working group, the Center for the Future of Museums’ Horizon Initiative steering committee, and as an advisory council member of the Council of Jewish American Museums.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over one hundred exhibitions onsite while traveling forty exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM’s Pavilion will close for renovation on January 5, 2025; programs will continue on the JANM campus, throughout Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Southern California, and beyond from early January 2025 through late 2026. For more information, visit janm.org/OnTheGo or follow us on social media @jamuseum.

About the Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center)

The Democracy Center is a place where visitors can examine the Asian American experience, past and present, and talk about race, identity, social justice, and the shaping of democracy. It convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement; educates and informs the public and public officials about important issues; creates strength within and among communities to advocate for positive change; and explores the values that shape American democracy. The Democracy Center looks for solutions that engage communities in self-advocacy, explore the evolving idea of what it means to be an American, and result in actions that bring everyone together.