The Democracy Center, a program of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), will host Lonnie G. Bunch III on March 14 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, 100 North Central Avenue in the Little Tokyo community of Los Angeles, as part of its Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS).
Bunch, the first Black person to hold the office of Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, is the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the first history curator at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park.
“One reason I’m coming to L.A. is to honor Irene Harada [the Japanese-speaking U.S. citizen on the island of Niihau, Hawaii, following the attack on Pearl Harbor],” he said.
“The other is because I would not be who I am without my time at the California African American Museum, where I had the freedom to learn, make mistakes, and grow. Los Angeles is the foundation of my career.”
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Bunch will meet with Lisa Sasaki, the deputy undersecretary for Special Projects at the Smithsonian, to discuss race, identity, and social justice issues.
“Lisa also worked at JANM. We’ll talk about what [first-generation Japanese immigrant] Irene Hirano exemplified, why culturally specific museums are important, what roles they play and the challenge of history. A great country never runs away from its history.”
Bunch, who previously lived in Altadena, all commented on the impact of Eaton fire. For Altadena residents, the combined wildfire loss of life, property, generational wealth, and personal heirlooms is forever indescribable.
“As a former Altadena resident,” he recalled, “I am so sad for what the city went through. I remember watching the news and seeing the camera turn to Glenrose Avenue where I lived. My first house was probably destroyed in that fire.”
Citing The Great Migration of six million African Americans from the rural South to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970, Bunch noted, “What’s important for me as a historian is to understand the appeal of African Americans who saw California not as a place free of racism, but that didn’t have the same violence as Alabama or Mississippi.
“In the early 20th century, [California] had the highest percentage of home ownership anywhere. Black people came to try and find ways to raise a family and for economic opportunities. Altadena became a beacon for Black culture, art, and celebrity, but more importantly, of community. A place to call home,” he stated.
Bunch is also charged with developing two new projects: The National Museum of The American Latino, “which will tell the story of the diverse experiences of the Latino community, be they Chicano from L.A., Cubano from Miami, or Puerto Rican from New York,” he stated, “and the American History Women’s Museum, which looks at how women have shaped this country.
“I’m a big fan of the L.A. Sentinel,” he exclaimed. “Your readers should attend this discussion to engage around the importance of culture and history which are the glue that holds communities together.
“The other reason to attend is because the Japanese American National Museum is special. It’s a powerful space built around an original temple in the early 20th century. This is our opportunity to introduce different parts of L.A. to a great treasure,” he concluded.
The DLS features national leaders and voices shaping democracy to provoke thought and inspire change in the United States.
To learn more, visit anm.org/democracy/about-democracy-center.
