“The Power of Community”
Hello, dear friends!
We’re just about halfway through Asian American-Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I’ve been thinking, writing, and talking a lot about what it means for me to own my identity, especially in the context of fighting for equity, justice and liberation.
It’s something I’ve grappled with for much of my life. When you grow up brown in the Midwest, as I did, you quickly learn that you’re supposed to be either white or Black–to exist as something outside this binary didn’t fit within the “rules” of a social structure that was constructed through decades of policy-driven racial segregation.
My sense of who I am has evolved significantly over the years. It’s a process I explored in an essay I cowrote with my dear friend Esther Lee for the Community Centric Fundraising Hub (and then discussed further in an Instagram Live CCF hosted last night).
Esther and I are eager to engage with more folks about how those of us who identify as Asian/of the Asian diaspora navigate our roles in justice movements.
The bottom line is this: I have come to realize a couple things about my identity that feel desperately relevant in this particular moment:
First: There are ways in which my various identities afford and/or deny me privilege, and that there will always be more to learn – and to UNlearn.
Second: We can’t figure this out on our own. We need community – for healing, for safety, and for power. Community is survival.
Esther and I feel so lucky to have found one another. There is something really powerful when you have someone whose lived experience is so similar to your own – and we’re looking for (and creating!) spaces where we can connect with more people like us who are ready to build and mobilize our community to stand in solidarity with other people of color.
Friends, we need to get real clear, real quick about how each one of us can leverage our respective power and build to stand up against the relentless assault on our rights, our basic humanity, and, yes, our lives.
If this sounds like something you’re down for, LFG.
I hope you’ll consider joining our upcoming virtual discussion (below) – and if you have an idea or opportunity you think we should know about, please send me a note!
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Upcoming Events
Virtual Discussion:
Asians in Community Centric Fundraising + Justice Movements
Friday, June 13 @ 1:00pm CT
Open invitation to all Asian folks in CCF and/or justice work to join a Zoom call to discuss how we can mobilize our community towards collective liberation.