The Japanese American National Museum’s Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy will host “Our Fragile Democracy: The Role of State Attorneys General in Upholding the Law in Times of Crisis” on Thursday, June 5, from 2 to 3 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public. Tickets are available at janm.org/democracy.
During this town hall, keynote speaker Rob Bonta, attorney general of the State of California, will be joined by Ann Burroughs of JANM, Connie Chung Joe of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, and Lisa Holder of the Equal Justice Society for a discussion about immigration and deportation policies, threats to democratic institutions and the rule of law, and cuts to education, the arts, and cultural nonprofits.
Bonta, the state’s 34th attorney general, is the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian American to occupy the position. In the State Assembly, he enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions.
As the people’s attorney, he sees seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important duties of the job. He has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians.
Burroughs, the president and CEO of JANM is an internationally recognized leader in the fight for human rights. She is currently chair of the board of Amnesty International USA and was previously chair of Amnesty International’s Global Assembly. She is also chair of the Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium and serves on the board of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation.
Her lifelong commitment to racial and social justice was shaped by her experience as a young activist in her native South Africa when she was jailed as a political prisoner for her opposition to apartheid. Previously, she served as executive director of the Taproot Foundation and LA Works and worked for the Omidyar Network and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Joe is CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Previously, she served as executive director of Korean American Family Services and was a public interest lawyer at the Housing Rights Center in Los Angeles, where she represented clients in fair housing cases, and at the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago, where she worked on immigrant rights, reproductive rights, post-9/11 racial profiling, police accountability, and First Amendment cases.
Holder is president of Equal Justice Society, a leader and premier coalition partner of the reparations movement in California and across the nation. Under her leadership, EJS continues to build its dynamic civil rights practice to dismantle discriminatory school discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline, create a just and equitable legal system, promote and protect Black women’s health, and combat white supremacy and the extremist forces that threaten democracy.
She is a nationally recognized, award-winning trial attorney specializing in equal protection, education equity, employment discrimination, constitutional policing, and international human rights law.
The Democracy Center is a place where visitors can examine the Asian American experience, past and present, and talk about race, identity, social justice, and the shaping of democracy. It convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement; educates and informs the public and public officials about important issues; creates strength within and among communities to advocate for positive change; and explores the values that shape American democracy.
The Democracy Center looks for solutions that engage communities in self-advocacy, explore the evolving idea of what it means to be an American, and result in actions that bring everyone together.
JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; Democracy Center programs will continue on the JANM campus, throughout Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Southern California, and beyond from early through late 2026. For more information, visit janm.org/OnTheGo.