Hiroshima protest at Disneyland proves it is a "Small World" afterall

INSTAGRAM

A sooty doll was sneaked into Disneyland's Small World exhibit as a protest against the massive
 military budget of the United States. and to mark first use of the atomic bomb.

A small, ash-covered doll holding a "Remember Hiroshima" sign was recently placed inside Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride as a form of protest.

The purpose of the jarring protest, according to Cohen and the Up In Arms campaign, which he spearheads, was to draw attention to the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing that occurred on Aug. 6, 1945 and to protest unchecked Pentagon spending, Ad Age reports.

This brief protest action, which occurred on Sunday, August 3 was led by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, and organized by the agency DCX Growth Accelerator. The jarring sight of the sooted doll contrasted with the upbeat song with its positive message that plays through the exhibit in a number of languages.

“The whole idea of the small world exhibit is that it’s a small world after all,” Cohen said. “You got all the children from the different countries around the world being together, loving each other. And we put a doll in there that says, ‘Remember Hiroshima.’ I mean, that’s what was supposed to happen after the bomb in Hiroshima. We were supposed to remember what we did there and say, ‘Never again.’ And we’ve, we’ve ignored that.”

August 6 marked the anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. It was followed by the Nagasaki bombing on August 9. The attacks killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people.

With the familiar "Its A Small World, Afterall" song in the background, the 3-foot doll was positioned near the Japan exhibit within the ride and was intended to spark a conversation about the impact of war on children.

As images and videos of the doll began flooding throughout social media that went viral, TikTok user mamahuahua revealed herself as the Disneyland visitor who had brought it into the park and placed it in the exhibit. Her Tik Tok account shows her toting putting the makeup on the doll and carting it through Disneyland to the Small World exhibit.

"The CURRENT, already-built U.S. nuclear arsenal can kill everybody in the world several times over," she stated on her acount.

"And yet our government is planning on spending ~$2 trillion~ on a whole new arsenal. Ummm $2 trillion!? And we don’t have money for healthcare and homelessness and education!?!?!

"We can build a world that actually looks more like the utopia in It’s a Small World — a world made for children, not for war," she posted.

DCX founder Doug Cameron, accompanied by his young daughter, was responsible for placing the doll and was subsequently detained by Disney security and banned for life from Disneyland. The incident garnered significant attention, with reports appearing in outlets like Politico, Fox News, and Ad Age.

While Ben & Jerry's has a history of political and social justice activism, this specific act was a personal initiative by Cohen and the Up In Arms campaign, and definitely not a collaboration with Disney.

The sooty doll, set against the colorful backdrop of “It’s a Small World,” was intended to spark debate on what war does to children.

INSTAGRAM

The Hiroshima doll was quickly removed from the Small World ride.

A Disneyland spokesperson told Fox that a Cast Member quickly removed the doll from “it’s a small world” and reminded the guest who placed it — mamahuahua — of park rules. The spokesperson said the guest then left without incident.

The protest did spark a lot of pro and con commentary on social media, many critical of the protest in Disneyland, where it might offend some of the children there for amusement. Others saw the demonstration as an anti-US act by defending the use of the atomic bomb.

Still, some visitors and online commenters resonated with the "Remember Hiroshima" message, seeing it as a poignant reminder of the horrors of war and the importance of peace.

“Americans are compassionate,” Cohen said. “We don’t want to kill families just like ours in other countries, we just want a good life for ourselves and our kids. People want a decent place to live that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, good schools, affordable childcare, but they say there’s not enough money, and what they don’t say is that they’re spending it all on preparing to kill literally millions of people around the world.”

Cohen said he is just beginning a four-year campaign protesting the US military budget in an effort to get the funds “toward the things that people really want.” For Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), the US Department of Defense (DoD) budget request is $961.6 billion, including discretionary and mandatory funding.

The activist Ben & Jerry founder launched the Up in Arms campaign in June with a sculpture in Washington, D.C., representing the $100 billion the US has spent on nuclear weapons.

“If we take half the money budgeted for the Pentagon and invested in the things people need and want, the American Dream can become a reality again,” Cohen said told Common Dreams. He also was temporarily detained earlier this year for interrupting a Senate hearing on the military budget.

"There will be no peace, there will be no security, until we start using our resources to provide for the needs of our people at home and around the world," Cohen said at the kick-off event inJune. "And we have the money to do it, at no additional taxpayer expense. If we take half the money budgeted for the Pentagon and invested in the things people need and want, the American Dream can become a reality again."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

22 to be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame

Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim, the Panda Express founders, Grammy Award winners and US Sen. Tammy Duckworth are among the people to be inducted in the Asian Hall of Fame this year.

Twenty-two honorees in the fields of politics, sports, business, entertainment and community advocacy will be inducted in dual ceremonies that will be held in Glendale, Calif. and Seattle on Nov. 12 and 18.

On November 12, the Induction Ceremony at Alex Theatre in Glendale, California honors 17 Inductees and Artist Ambassador Ed Roth. Inductee Hiroshima headlines one of their last concerts. Ed Roth performs with Robby Krieger and special guests. Celebration of Life honors Inductee Norm Mineta and Inductee Phil Chen. Frank Buckley of KTLA 5 is Master of Ceremonies. 

On November 18, the Founders Gala at Sky View Observatory in Seattle, Washington immortalizes six Inductees and Artist Ambassador Krist Novoselic of Nirvana. Artist Ambassador Danny Seraphine & CTA headlines with The Temptations vocalist Tony Grant. Ed Roth performs with Inductee Daniel Pak, Inductee Hiro Yamamoto of Soundgarden and Krist Novoselic. Mimi Jung of KING 5 is Master of Ceremonies. VIP seats are invite-only. 

Inductees (in first-name alphabetical order) are Panda Express founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng, Olympian Chloe Kim, GRAMMY Award-winner Daniel Ho, first Indian Louis Vuitton brand ambassador Deepika Padukone, Crustacean founders Helene An and daughter Elizabeth An, Jiaoying Summers, Joseph Bae and Janice Lee, Margaret Cho, Momo Wang, Omar and Christine Lee, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Tia Carrere, and NYX founder Toni Ko.

Seattle Inductees are Daniel Pak, Hiro Yamamoto, Karen Wong, Pat Chun, Robert and Ruth Chinn in memoriam and first indigenous Inductee Virginia Cross.

For more information, visit asianhalloffame.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Asian Americans push for a gallery of their own in Washington DC

SMITHSONIAN

Linda Sasaki, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, at the National Mall in Washington, DC.

The drive for permanent gallery space on the National Mall in Washington D.C. was launched 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles with Hollywood celebrities and politicians.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Saturday (May 18) launched a $25 million fundraising drive for a proposed museum or exhibit space dedicated to the history and future of Asian America with an event simply called The Party.

"Museums preserve what's important to society. They tell our stories, give historical context to contemporary issues and help us imagine a better future," said Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums.

"The ability to have that visibility and recognition is so important," said Lisa Sasaki, the center's director, to the Associated Press. Despite temporary exhibits along the mall, she said, "there has never been a dedicated space where the public could consistently visit and find out about the history and culture of Asian Americans."

Asian Americans are the nation's fastest-growing minority and number about 22 million, or roughly 6% of the population. They come from more than 20 countries, with the largest populations from China, India, Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. They range from recent immigrants to descendants of laborers who migrated in the 19th century to build the Transcontinental Railroad and work sugar cane fields in Hawaii.

About Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center

From its establishment in 1997 as an initiative critical to the mission of the Smithsonian until today, the vision for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center has been to enrich the American story with the voices of Asian Pacific Americans.

Asian Pacific America is the story of a vibrant, diverse, and resilient set of communities that have been part of the American experience for more than 200 years. It is the story of two continents and a constellation of islands joined by the migration, exchange, and competition of people and ideas. Yet, across museums and galleries in the nation’s capital and around the country, most people find only fragments of America’s rich Asian Pacific heritage.

There are more than 22 million people of Asian or Pacific Islander descent in the United States. In less than 50 years, nearly one of every ten people in America will trace his or her heritage to Asia and the Pacific — a region that is home to nearly half of the world’s population, natural life, nations, economies, major faiths and languages.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center believes that understanding all of America and America’s standing in the world is richer, more compelling, and more powerful when it includes the Asian Pacific American story. The center serves as a dynamic national resource for discovering why the Asian Pacific American experience matters every day, everywhere, and all of the time.

It's too early to say how large a gallery would be or when it might be secured, but Sasaki says they are looking at several locations along the mall. The 4,500-square-foot (418-square-meter) Molina Family Latino Gallery is scheduled to open in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2021. 

DIOKNO

A diorama at the Smithsonian American History Museum depicts Chinese workers in a California field.

The Smithsonian already has separate museums for the American Indian and African American history and arts.

Presently, parts of the AAPI history are on display within the Smithsonian American History Museum and AAPI art is exhibited in a separate building. For lectures or additional exhibits, the Center has to seek space in other institutional buildings. For its recent 3-day literary festival, for example, the Center had to hold it July literary festival events had to behdl at the Phillips Gallery, the Library of Congress and the Dupont Underground.

"I don't know that we have an Oprah," said former Center director Franklin Odo, referring to Oprah Winfrey's charitable foundation, which donated $21 million for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. But "we have lots of people with immense means, so there's no question in my mind we can do it."

The launch for a museum or permanent gallery space on the Mall took place at The Party, the first fundraising event of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, a migratory museum that shares Asian Pacific American (APA) history, art, and culture through innovative community-focused experiences.

The Party emceed by Harry Shum, Jr., celebrates "the indelible contributions of Asian Pacific Americans to the American experience,” said Lisa Sasaki, the director of the Smithsonian APA Center. 

“From music to technology, sports to entertainment, these modern history-makers inspire Americans of every ethnicity, religion and socioeconomic background by demolishing barriers and challenging time-worn stereotypes with their talents, perseverance, and ingenuity.”

Inaugural awards

Spanning categories including Culinary Arts, Music, and Sports, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center recognized the contributions of the following:

• Pioneer Award in Culinary Arts to Helene An, the chef known as “the mother of fusion cuisine,” and her family.

• Legend Award in Music to Hiroshima, the Grammy-nominated and first Asian American R&B jazz band.

• The Game Changer Award in Music to Jay Park, the multi-platinum global hip-hop and R&B artist, choreographer, entrepreneur, and songwriter.

• The Titan Award in Sports to Vivek Ranadive, the founder of TIBCO and owner of the Sacramento Kings.

At The Party, the iconic blue dress worn by Constance Wu's character in Crazy Rich Asians was presented as a donation from Marchesa to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The 2018 Hollywood film was the first in 25 years to feature an all Asian and Asian American cast.

“For over 200 years, Asian Pacific Americans have been an integral part of America’s cultural fabric,” said Rep. Doris O. Matsui, Smithsonian regent and a member of the Center’s Advisory Board. “It is time for our struggles to be recognized and our diverse contributions honored within the respected halls of America’s Smithsonian Institution.”

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The Hiroshima bomb had long-lasting impact on writer's family

Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park includes a bombed out shell of a building (background).

TO JOHN NISHIO, the Aug. 6 anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb is more than a date in history. It's personal. He shares his thoughts with AsAm News:
Every August 6th, since I was a kid, I get a knot in my throat. The same goes for December 7th. I used to dread having to go to school if it was a December 7th, as I knew there would be stares and comments directed at me. We avoided going shopping or eating at regular restaurants, except the Far East Cafe, for the same reasons, on Dec. 7th.

I visited Japan, four times from 1965 – 1973, living there two whole summers. I spent much of our time, when not sightseeing or studying Japanese art and architecture, visiting relatives on my mom’s side.

Of course, we always visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and saw the Atom Bomb museums there. Looking at the artifacts, and photos of the destruction and victims, I always teared up, but it didn’t seem personal. I didn’t think it involved my family.

When I went back to Japan with my Dad, in 2005, and again in 2006, with both my parents, we were on a mission to gather genealogical information about the family, to get to know the Nishio side of the family, and to take a lot of photos for the family back home.

It was only then, when my relatives took us to the Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum, that I learned just how personal the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima really was.

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Read the rest of his commentary here.