Democracy Center
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, influence culture, and promote civic engagement. Democracy Center is a place for dialogue about race and social justice, where visitors can examine contemporary and historical frameworks, including the Asian American experience.
The Democracy Center envisions an enduring American Democracy where all people have the right and responsibility to participate.
Utilizing JANM’s historical collection of artifacts, stories, and cultural perspective, Democracy Center explores the rights, freedoms, and enduring fragility of democracy, helping to build bridges and find common ground between people of diverse backgrounds and opinions. Working at the nexus of community, arts, and social justice, Democracy Center surfaces solutions for the most pressing issues facing democracy.
GET INVOLVED
The Democracy Center will relaunch in 2023 with a range of thought-provoking new programs. Join our mailing list to stay informed!
Current Projects
Arts Writing Fellowship
The Democracy Center is thrilled to announce that Raquel Gutiérrez and Chrystel Oloukoï are the recipients of the inaugural Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship.
Upcoming Events
Climates of Inequality Pop-Up Exhibition
Saturday, September 23 – Saturday, September 30, 2023
Visit Climates of Inequality, a week-long pop-up exhibition featuring stories of environmental justice from the US, Mexico, and Colombia. Interactive displays bring you to the frontlines of community organizing in twenty-two localities, where the majority of residents are immigrants, low-income, Native American, and people of color. Though they have contributed the least to the climate crisis, these communities bear its most immediate and heaviest burdens.
From the Ground Up: Creating Heat and Climate Resilient Communities
Thursday, September 28, 2023
It is well documented that the impacts of climate change are felt the most in underserved communities of color. How do we begin to address historically disinvested areas of Los Angeles where climate, health, and equity are inextricably tied? How do we tackle those issues with broader engagement that values the perspectives of communities bearing the burdens?
Climates of Inequality Symposium
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Join us for a lively conversation with environmental justice leaders from Southern California as they discuss how their communities mobilize storytelling for change and to save lives. The daylong symposium includes the following speakers, as well as a screening and discussion of the documentary, Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust (2021). Spanish/English interpreters will be available throughout the day.
Empathy & Democracy: A Live Podcast and Pop-Up Art Series with Gratitude Blooming—Part 2
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Spaces—public, sacred, natural—are necessary to reflect and dream new ways forward. This four-part live podcast and pop-up art series will follow the seasons of the year and include an exploration of our fears and hopes for democracy.
Live Talks LA: Morning Talk with Adam Kinzinger
Friday, October 27, 2023
Join Adam Kinzinger as he discusses his new book, Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country. Once a rising star of the Republican Party, Adam Kinzinger voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Now he shares a gripping firsthand account of the events that led to this moment, and the sacrifice required to do what is right.
Empathy & Democracy: A Live Podcast and Pop-Up Art Series with Gratitude Blooming—Part 3
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Spaces—public, sacred, natural—are necessary to reflect and dream new ways forward. This four-part live podcast and pop-up art series will follow the seasons of the year and include an exploration of our fears and hopes for democracy.
Empathy & Democracy: A Live Podcast and Pop-Up Art Series with Gratitude Blooming—Part 4
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Spaces—public, sacred, natural—are necessary to reflect and dream new ways forward. This four-part live podcast and pop-up art series will follow the seasons of the year and include an exploration of our fears and hopes for democracy.
Recent Projects
Artist Fellowship—An American Vocabulary
An American Vocabulary: Words to Action was a collaborative project by visual artist Audrey Chan and rapper jason chu. This set of flashcards and exhibition portrayed figures, events, and practices rooted in community, care, and action.
Artists At Work in Los Angeles County was produced by THE OFFICE performing arts + film and made possible with generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Asian Arts Initiative, and the Ford Foundation.
Kalief Browder Box
NCPD@JANM hosted Coby Kennedy’s Kalief Browder: The Box to commemorate Black History Month in Los Angeles. These sculptures invited viewers to examine themes of colonization, oppression, subjugation, privilege, Black middle-class labor, the decline of industry, as well as Black power, pride, and joy.
Fighting for Democracy
Fighting for Democracy: Who is the “We” in “We, the People”? was an experimental exhibition that features seven real people and traces their stories throughout the pre-war, World War II, and post-war periods. This self-guided storytelling format was made possible through the generous support of The Boeing Company and the U.S. Army Center for Military History.
Past Events
- Live Talks LA: Daniel Ziblatt in Conversation with Terrence McNally (9/21/23)
- Empathy & Democracy: A Live Podcast and Pop-Up Art Series with Gratitude Blooming—Part 1 (7/15/23)
- The Grand Event: 10 Short Plays (7/16/23)
- NCPD Civic Season Celebration (6/24/23)
- Comedy Night: Democracy on the Rocks...with a Soda Chaser (5/28/23)
- How to Report on Health in Any Beat (5/18/23)
- Addressing the Roots of Antisemitism Within Marginalized Communities (5/16/23)
- JANM Book Club: ac•tiv•ist with Warren Furutani (2/25/23)
- Bringing An American Vocabulary: Words to Action into the Classroom (1/21/23)
- An American Vocabulary: Words to Action Unveiling (10/8/22)
- Screening and Q&A—Who Killed Vincent Chin? (7/14/22)
- Screening and Q&A —The Race Epidemic: Resurgence of the Yellow Peril (10/14/21)
- Author Discussion—When Can We Go Back to America? with Susan Kamei (9/25/21)
- Screening and Q&A—100 Years from Mississippi (9/12/21)
- One Year Later: Gender & Anti-Asian Violence (6/3/21)
- Not Yo’ Butterfly with Nobuko Miyamoto (ft. Quetzal Flores) (7/10/21)
- Health Care—A Conversation Determined by You (SoCal Solutions) (6/19/19)
- Crime and Policing—A Conversation Determined by You (SoCal Solutions) (5/22/19)
- Common Ground: A Screening & Dialogue On New Muslim Cool (1/28/10)
- The True Patriot (10/9/08)
- Global Jazz at the National Center: Iraida Noriega & Trio (5/4/07)
- Eric Alterman, "Is Democracy in America Even Possible?" (3/6/07)
- LA Freewaves 2006 presents Screening and speak out: Media that Matters and other youth videos (11/18/06)
- Town Hall Los Angeles presents Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union (11/16/06)
- Loose Ends: Los Angeles Government in the 21st Century (10/25/06)
- Community Advocates, Inc. presents "Critical Issues Seminars: Beyond the Boundaries" (10/5/06)
- Town Hall-LA: How Education in California Really Works (7/14/06)
- A Place at the Table (Un Lugar en La Mesa) (6/24/06)
- Town Hall on Student Issues: Students Speak-Out. Live Broadcast (3/31/06)
- Town Hall Los Angeles at the National Center: U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (1/11/06)