JANM Condemns Reshaping of Smithsonian Museums to Fit Administration’s Historical Interpretation

Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) condemns the Administration’s directive to reshape Smithsonian museums to conform to its prescribed historical interpretation ahead of the US semiquincentennial in 2026. In a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, the Administration announced plans to review exhibitions, collections, internal processes, and artist grants to ensure they align with a vision of the United States that emphasizes “unity, progress, and enduring values.” This sweeping review targets even exhibitions planned as part of the semiquincentennial.

JANM’s critically acclaimed traveling exhibition Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo—now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, one of the institutions targeted under this new directive—sheds long-overdue light on three Japanese American women artists whose careers were profoundly disrupted by wartime incarceration during World War II.

“History does not yield to censorship. These latest attempts to sanitize and reshape history to fit a narrow ideological narrative amount to nothing less than the erasure of history. We cannot reverse America’s journey toward a more just and equitable future. Museums must be places of truth, not propaganda—spaces where the next generation can confront the complexity of our nation’s injustices, mistakes, and darkest chapters; where empathy, social responsibility, and the courage to defend democracy are nurtured. As a cultural history institution, and a proud Smithsonian Affiliate Museum, we stand in solidarity with our colleagues at the Smithsonian in defending the integrity of public history. We must ensure that the richly diverse stories and untold histories that define America are never silenced. To do so would be to sever the threads to the future,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO.

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