Asian Pacific American Heritage Series: Reflection
Video Description: Jerrin George, Indian, wears bright orange kurta and black glasses. He is standing in front of a blue background
JERRIN GEORGE:
Have you seen the videos that were featured in honor of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month? Kavita Pipalia mentioned the term, “Desi” and how it originally refers to individuals who originated from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The term has evolved through time, it now represents individuals who self identity as South Asian.
(Image of Southern Asia)
Coco Cabral explained a little bit about Hawaii culture. Did you know there are eight islands in Hawaii? Well, actually, only seven islands you can visit. One island - Ni’ihau is closed to native Hawaiians only. Only the island residents can “invite” you in. If you are not invited, you can’t visit.
(Image of Hawaiian islands with Ni’ihau emphasized)
Leang Ngov expanded on the history of Cambodia in the US. Many cities throughout the country have a neighborhood area called Chinatown.
(Image of Chinatown)
Did you know there’s a place in California called Cambodia Town?
(Image of people holding a sign that reads “Cambodia Town”)
[Sponsored Video from Convo]
During Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. East Asia (Japan, Korea, and China) are often spotlighted leaving the rest of the Asia and Pacific Islander in the dark. Why?
History will tell us why. Model Minority Myth (M3). This pertupates the narrative that “Asians” are the most successful in intelligence, income, and stability compared to other minority groups. The “measurement” of our success varies widely depending on where we come from and the barriers we face. Some Asian countries find success and some countries have a lot of barriers. United States data often focuses on East Asians and not so much when it comes to Southeast, South, Central, nor West Asians. Asia as a “model minority” forces us to lump ourselves together and erase our differences. This causes the majority of brown Asians and Pacific Islanders to be overlooked during the Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.
I hope this month gives you the opportunity to reexamine individual Asian communities and celebrate their legacies. To wrap up APIHM, I invite you to join us at a town hall on May 30th to discuss how Asians and Pacific Islanders experience racism especially during the covid-19 pandemic. This space is for us to unpack on our experience. This is a closed space for Asian Pacific Islander signers: Deaf, Hearing, Hard of Hearing, and CODA.
(Flyer with the words, “FINISH EAT? PRESENTS ANTI-ASIAN RACISM TOWN HALL FOR API SIGNING COMMUNITIES. This event is a closed space for Asian & Pacific Islander Signers. May 30, 2020 1 pm - 2:30 pm PST, 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. LIVE SUMMARY TRANSCRIPTION WILL BE PROVIDED. JOIN THE WEBINAR ON ZOOM, PLEASE REGISTER AT: HTTP://TINY.CC/FETOWNHALL.” There are images of five people: Nayo Lim Franck, Moderator, Jerrin George, Panelist, Lina Hou, Panelist, Leang Ngov, Panelist, and Sasha Ponappa, Panelist)
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Previous Videos in API Heritage Series on "The Daily Moth":
Introduction: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/introduction-to-api-heritage-month
History of Asian Immigrants and Cambodia: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/history-of-asian-immigrants
Desi: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/asian-pacific-american-heritage-series-desi
Pacific Islanders: https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/asian-pacific-american-heritage-series-pacific-islanders