JANM’s annual gala becomes a defiant forum of commitment to its mission.

By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU STAFF WRITER

Rarely has a two-word slogan on a T-shirt spoken so loudly.

“Some institutions are scrubbing their websites and modifying their missions, to remove any reference to social justice and DEI to protect their federal funding,” warned William T. Fujioka, chair of the Board of Trustees, at the Japanese American National Museum’s annual benefit gala and auction on April 12.

JANM will “scrub nothing,” he said defiantly, stepping away from the podium to reveal those words on his shirt.

The packed ballroom at the JW Marriott in Downtown L.A. heard from a lineup of speakers and honorees, all in solidarity against the ongoing threats of the Trump Administration to withhold federal funding cuts from museums, universities, school districts and other institutions that do not follow its directive to eliminate all language and programs associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.

Fujioka reiterated that the mission of JANM is rooted in civil rights, and that teaching of the injustices forced upon the more than 125,000 Japanese Americans wrongly incarcerated during World War II provides hope that such an atrocity will never happen again.

“Today, that hope has become a feared and sad reality,” he said.

Fujioka’s remarks came less than a week after JANM defiantly rejected the demands of Trump Administration, despite losing a key grant of $190,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts, one that was instrumental in hosting the museum’s workshops on the history of the Little Tokyo.

Ann Burroughs, JANM’s CEO and president, was informed of the cuts “due to a change in the administration’s funding priorities.” The workshops have reportedly trained more than 100 teachers in 31 states, and is estimated to have already served over 20,000 students.

“In response, JANM has stepped forward with clarity and conviction – shaping how we speak out, how we program and how we lead,” Burroughs said, adding how to date, JANM was the only museum in the country to take such a “powerful and public stand.”

Trump’s March 27 Executive Order in part instructed Vice President J.D. Vance to “remove improper ideology” from musuems and institutions that receive federal funding, including the Smithsonian.

“It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing,” Trump wrote. “Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

Burroughs advised the gathering that now is “a moment of profound urgency.”

“Across this country, we are witnessing a danger ous rollback of civil rights, a resurgence of hate and an assault on diversity equity and inclusion – as if these were threats, rather than the foundation of a just and equitable society,” she said. “Our democracy is being tested as never before.”

Echoing Fujioka’s comments, Burroughs was steadfast that JANM and communities across the nation “cannot remain silent amid attempts to erase history, to erase people’s names and to erase humanity.”

Last month, the U.S. Department of Defense removed all information detailing the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team from the U.S. Army’s official website. A page was restored days later, after public outcry over scrubbing the history of the most decorated combat unit for its size and length of service in the history of the American military. However, it was part of a section about AAPI soldiers that remains offline.

Ken Inouye, son of the late U.S. senator and 442nd RCT veteran Daniel Inouye, said his father would be filled with pride at JANM’s resolve.

“He would be proud that JANM stands unbowed and uncowering, and by JANM’s commitment that our story will be told and our history will not be erased,” Inouye said.

When word of the funding cuts was announced, the museum reported an almost instantaneous influx of small and large private donations to cover the shortfall, including anonymous contributions that will help JANM continue its local workshops.

On Tuesday this week, JANM revealed that more than $1.2 million was raised at the benefit, to help the museum support and continue its mission and educational programs.

JANM is currently closed for its largest renovation project since its main pavilion opened in 1999, an endeavor Burroughs said will “reimagine the museum’s programs and expand our reach across the country and beyond.”

She announced at the gala that $74 million of the $85 million goal has already been reached.

“We’re telling the Japanese American story as an American story – complex, multiracial, multiethnic, multigenerational and diverse,” Burroughs added.

Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Kenko Sone measured his words more carefully, but still alluded to the current upheaval that has come with Trump’s second term in office.

Citing the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the alliance between the U.S. and Japan since then, Sone said JANM’s role is “more important than ever in the current complex international situation.”

In addition to the fundraising and speaking to the urgency of the moment, the yearly JANM benefit is also an occasion to celebrate some of the community’s most dedicated leaders.

This year’s recipients of JANM’s Lifetime Achievement Award were longtime museum partner and philanthropist Tom Watanabe and cross-generational activist and musician Nobuko Miyamoto. The Award for Excellence was presented to Judi Oyama, pioneer of women’s skateboarding and member of the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

Miyamoto, founder of the multi-ethnic performing arts organization Great Leap, interspersed her acceptance speech with passages sung from “We Are the Children,” her 1970 anthem composed with the late Chris Iijima.

“JANM, your presence says we will not be disappeared. We will not be erased,” she insisted.

A native of Santa Cruz, Oyama recalled the skepticism she faced as a young female rising in the male-dominated skateboarding world during the 1970s and ‘80s. She expressed confidence that skateboard racing and slalom will find their way into the Olympics.

Now in her 60s and a dedicated instructor to a new generation of skaters, Oyama accepted her award with thanks to her husband and sons, who she said watching her continue to step on a board have long realized, “Moms can kick ass, too.”

As the event wrapped for the evening, conversations around the hall remained squarely on the topic of what many across the nation are viewing as challenges to democracy in the U.S. Fujioka insisted that remaining strong and unbending are as important as ever.

“There’s an old saying that you never fight the bully behind the school, you fight the bully in the courtyard,” he said. “You may get beat up, but everyone will see you fight. I encourage each of you to join JANM in the courtyard.”

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