I Am Who I Say I Am
I Am Who I Say I Am
Queer Memories
Through a thought-provoking piece of creative non-fiction, Karen recollects queer memories from her childhood.
An Overpriced Coffee Shop and Me
Erica shares how the pressures to Americanize has caused a disconnect between her and her family's history since they immigrated to Washington, DC's Chinatown in the early 1900s
iLove to Hate the Language
Jesie shares how the Filipino language can create a multitude of difference experiences that can negatively impact our relationship with our cultural identities, reminding us that our journey to find peace in our identities does not make us any less Filipino.
Diversifying the Asian American Narrative
Intelligent. Docile. Hardworking. Passive. Diligent. All words used to describe America’s “model minority.” The oxymoronic status of Asian Americans’ role within the American hierarchy has continuously enforced systemic racism against other minoritized communities. However, it has also been used to oppress Asian Americans through the erasure of their narratives and hardships.
Uncomfortability
I’m curious about how we can look at these hate crimes and acts of violence as a learning experience. How can we dismantle systemic racism without restructuring those systems that allow it to perpetuate? I urge you to: think about how you use language and how you have done so in the past? How can previous experiences teach you to unlearn and relearn new rhetoric so as not to offend or trigger or retrigger someone’s old pain that they might have covered for years?
Cà Phê 179 (I have never been to Vietnam)
In the spring of quarantine, I brought up the dust-filled books and photo albums from our family basement. Printed films of my parents’ wedding and The History of Vietnam took over my bedside table. Thus began a well-awaited search for identity, history, any semblance of home that was not the refurbished house I spent my days in.