JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE AND RACISM IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

Los Angeles, CA—The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) denounces the violence that recently took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, sparked by white supremacists who promote hate based on racism and bigotry. We mourn the three people who lost their lives and send hopes for speedy recoveries to those injured as they stood up for the real values of the United States and its diversity.

“As an institution, we stand with those who fight against individuals and groups—be they white supremacists, neo-Nazis, or any others—who foment fear and hate based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other single factor,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of JANM.

The Japanese American community knows first-hand how racism can engender tragic actions and long-lasting impacts. It was, in part, race prejudice that led to the unlawful incarceration of nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry in the Western United States during World War II—one of the most shameful chapters in this nation’s history. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, in 1982, found that the broad historical causes for the mass incarceration were “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.” The Commission’s findings ultimately contributed to the United States government issuing a formal apology and paying reparations to the Japanese Americans it had forcibly removed to concentration camps—the tangible results of the bipartisan passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum 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 hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite and traveled 17 of its exhibitions to locations around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America.

JANM is located at 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. General admission is $10 adults, $6 students and seniors, free for members and children under age five. Admission is free to everyone on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every third Thursday of the month from noon to 8 p.m. General admission prices and free admission times may not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions. Closed Monday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. For more information visit janm.org or call 213.625.0414.