Celebration of Life for Secretary Norman Y. Mineta June 25 at LA’s Japanese American National Museum

WHAT:     A celebration of the extraordinary life of U.S. Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, chair of the board of trustees at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Secretary Mineta died May 3 at age 90. Read JANM’s statement on his legacy and passing.

WHO:      Local, national and international guests will gather at JANM to celebrate and remember Secretary Mineta, who was imprisoned at the Heart Mountain concentration camp as a child during World War II and served in the administrations of two U.S. Presidents.  

Confirmed participants include: 
•    U.S. Representative Mark Takano 
•    Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis 
•    Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, Akira Muto 
•    Stuart Mineta, son of Norman Y. Mineta 
•    JANM President and CEO, Ann Burroughs 
•    Shirley Ann Higuchi, JD, Chair of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation 
•    David Ono, Co-anchor for KABC7 (Who will serve as event emcee) • Interfaith and community leaders

VISUALS:      The event will include an honor guard of Heart Mountain Nisei Boy Scouts, and musical tributes from Kinnara Taiko, Helen Ota, and Michael Murata. 
 
WHERE:     Japanese American National Museum 100 N. Central Ave, Los Angeles

WHEN:      Saturday, June 25, 2022, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. PDT 
 
Additional opportunities: 
•    One-hour screenings of the documentary, Norman Mineta and His Legacy: An American Story, will be held in the Tateuchi Democracy Forum at 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. with seating 15 minutes before each screening. Screenings are sponsored by JANM and the Mineta Legacy Project. 
•    Following the Celebration of Life, JANM will be open 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., and admission will be free.  
•    The Celebration of Life will also be livestreamed on YouTube. 
 
HOW:     Please RSVP online. Seating will be located in the Aratani Central Hall and begin at 9:45 a.m. Overflow seated viewing of the event livestream will be available in the Tateuchi Democracy Forum. 

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)  
 
Established in 1985, JANM 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 in 1992, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite while traveling 17 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.