The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) celebrates Civic Season (Juneteenth-July 4) with three L.A.-area events.
Civic Season unites America’s newest and oldest federal holidays together, creating a movement to understand the past and shape the future. Tickets for all three events are available at janm.org/democracy/democracy-center-events.
On Friday, June 19, the Democracy Center will host “Sip of History: Baseball and Japanese American History” from 6 to 7 p.m. at Far Bar, 347 First St. in Little Tokyo. The program explores how baseball became a powerful source of resilience and connection for the Japanese American community during times of hardship and beyond.
Hear from JANM’s director of collections management & access and curator, Kristen Hayashi, about how baseball brought hope, unity, and a sense of normalcy during World War II incarceration. Learn how these moments on the field went far beyond recreation and became acts of strength, identity, and belonging.
On Saturday, June 27, the Democracy Center will host a film screening of the short documentary “Unseen Territories” and an accompanying community workshop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Democracy Center, 100 N. Central Ave. in Little Tokyo. The film highlights 14 artists who examine and reimagine the American flag through powerful, personal perspectives. Through personal flag-making, ephemeral interventions, and collective performance, the artists confront colonial iconography and its enduring imprint on public space.
Following the screening is a conversation with Sydney Galindo, the film’s director, and Jesus Orozco, an artist featured in the film, about their processes and intentions for the film. Following the panel discussion, guests can participate in a community workshop where they create their own interpretation of the American flag inspired by the ideas and styles explored in the film.
On Sunday, June 28, JANM will be a community partner at This Land Is …Community Festival at The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, which includes performances, dancing, storytelling, artmaking, film screenings, and exhibition spotlights that reflect on revolutionary and collective efforts that have shaped America — over more than 250 years and into the future.
Guests can visit JANM’s community partner booth, make a wish at the Democracy Center’s Wish Wall for the 250th, and catch a special screening of “Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement.”