Las Vegas – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles is facing potential program cancellations due to subsidy cuts tied to a federal overhaul led by the Elon Musk-backed “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE.
At risk are the museum’s educational workshops for teachers, which focus on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The museum had anticipated receiving approximately $190,000 in funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a major source of support for public institutions such as museums and libraries. That funding is now uncertain following DOGE’s decision to eliminate subsidies for the agency distributing NEH grants.
In the past two years, more than 100 teachers from 31 states have attended JANM’s workshops. This year, 72 educators were expected to participate, but the museum remains $93,600 short of the funding required to proceed.
While some donations have come in following local media coverage, museum officials say the gap remains significant.
“These cuts, affecting museums and libraries nationwide, are part of the current administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion and its ongoing efforts to erase history,” said William Fujioka, chair of JANM’s board of trustees, in a statement.
President Donald Trump, now in his second term, has prioritized dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies. Many organizations have since removed references to DEI from their platforms.
Fujioka emphasized the museum’s commitment to preserving history and fostering civic awareness. “Our museum stands as a place of memory, truth, and justice, where history is not only preserved but actively used to confront contemporary threats to democracy and human dignity,” he said. “At a time when many agencies and organizations have scrubbed their websites of references to DEI, JANM vows to scrub nothing.”
