JANM’s Democracy Center Reschedules Inaugural Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture to March 14

Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – Due to the recent Los Angeles fires, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) has rescheduled the inaugural Irene Hirano Inouye Distinguished Lecture with guest speaker Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to Friday, March 14, 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. Tickets reserved for the original January 31 date will be honored on the new date, March 14.

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.

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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 is closed for renovation; 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. JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; Democracy Center 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 @democracyjanm.