Back to Blog
Reflect studio twitter6/13/2023 ![]() ![]() And when this month comes each year, I know many of us brace ourselves for the sting of exclusion as celebrations sideline some of us, especially South, Southeast Asian and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.īut when I honor this month, I use it as an opportunity to reflect on the historic contributions of our people to the fabric of this nation, including the AAPI community organizers whose power-building paved the way for us all - and for the Black and brown allies who stood by us. For example, I often see institutions celebrate AAPI Heritage Month without fully embracing us for our full selves outside these four weeks. On the other, I'm skeptical of initiatives that feel at times to only center the more surface-level parts of our identities. On one hand, I love any opportunity to celebrate our communities. I have a complicated relationship with AAPI Heritage Month. − Clayton Park, business editor, Daytona Beach News-Journal 'The joy and beauty of our communities' Finally, we Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are not only being seen, but are accepted as Americans. It would make me feel invisible.įast-forward to today: To have the entire month of May designated as national AAPI month gives me a tremendous feeling. I often would be asked by those I met where I was from, and when I would answer that I was from Seattle, they would respond, "No, where are you really from?" And when people would talk about minorities, often they would refer to African Americans and those of Latino descent, but not Asian Americans. ![]() When I was growing up, I don't believe the term "AAPI" existed. 'We only ever learn about white men' in U.S. We asked members of our ERG, one of 12 in the USA TODAY Network, to answer this question: " What does AAPI Heritage Month mean to me?" In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Gannett’s Asian American Forward Employee Resource Group, which connects almost 130 Asian American employees and allies across the company, wanted to highlight the many rich traditions across cultures. Welcome to This is America, a newsletter all about social justice issues. I'm Jennifer Sangalang, a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida and co-chair of Gannett's Asian American Forward employee resource group. We just weren't necessarily seen or heard. With global success stories such as "Crazy Rich Asians" (ahem, the books and the film) and " Everything Everywhere All at Once," (a spot-on Asian-mother-Americanized-daughter relationship) it might seem like Asian Americans are everything and everywhere − all at once. Perhaps you never realized the impact you had − many of us can relate to being "the only" in the room, striving for perfection or success "to make our parents proud." This roundup is for the Asians in news and pop culture who influenced so many of us growing up in the States. "Maraming salamat po!" "Xiexie!" "Cam on!" "Kamsahamnida!" "Arigato!" "Khob Khun!" ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |