Podcasts about hmong americans

Some much needed rain is coming to the state and it has the potential to come in the form of severe weather. We learn more from our meteorologist Mandy Thalhuber.The rain could help contain wildfires in northeast Minnesota that are still raging today. Minnesota's legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz have reached a budget deal just in time before the session ends. We learn more about their dash to tie up loose ends.We hear the story of the first Hmong-American to have a musical professionally produced right here in Minnesota, as part of our ChangeMakers seriesAnd do you have a tree climber in your life? A competition this weekend highlights the dare devils at the top of their game.The Minnesota Music Minute was “Sugar” by FenixDion. The Song of the Day was “Baby Girl” by Eleanor Sievers.

Send us a textCalling from prison, former Minneapolis Police officer Tou Thao spoke to Liz Collin about his faith and what he thinks really needs to happen for justice to be restored in America. Thao, a Hmong American, was one of the four officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.Support the show

Ted Ludolph shares his journey from a young drummer to a seasoned percussionist in the AVB Community Band, emphasizing the joy of rediscovering music later in life. The AVB, an all-volunteer group, gears up for a grand finale concert coming up on May 12th. Then Ali Smurawa and Nicole Singkhammee highlight the cultural vibrancy of the Hmong American community through a dedicated day at the Neville Public Museum. Maino and the Mayor is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-9 am on WGBW in Green Bay and on WISS in Appleton/Oshkosh. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast lineup. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with Maino and the Mayor! Guests: Ted Ludolph, Ali Smurawa, Nicole Singkhammee

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this week's episode of APEX Express, we are joined by Yi Thoj and Belle Vang from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF) who will go into depth about these very tough but very real and needed conversations about abusive relationships, especially within the Hmong community, where 70% of Hmong Americans are under 24 years old.   Important Resources: Hmong Innovating Politics website California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures website Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships infographic How to Spot Abusive Relationships infographic Do you know someone in an abusive relationship? infographic Are you in an abusive relationship? infographic What does consent look like? infographic Transcript Cheryl: Good evening, everyone! You are tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl and tonight is an What is AACRE?, you might ask. Well comprised of 11 grassroots, social justice groups, the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network, leverages the power of its network to focus on long-term movement, building and support for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Speaking of AACRE groups, APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's episode, we will be spotlighting the work of AACRE group Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP. Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from HIP will be in conversation with Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from the California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures, also known as CHAN-BOF.  They'll be in discussion on the importance of teen dating violence awareness, especially in the Hmong community as they are among the youngest of all ethnic groups in the United States with about 70% of Hmong Americans being under 24 years old.   I know somebody, you might want to learn more about HIP and CHAN-BOF so I'll let our speakers introduce themselves. And don't forget. All of their socials and websites will be linked in the show notes.    Belle: Hi, everyone, thank you so much for making time in your night to join us. We really appreciate it. Today we're going to be having a panel discussion in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. I really want to thank CHAN-BOF for collaborating with Hmong Innovating Politics. We're very excited to do this collab together. We're going to do a brief introduction. So, hi, everyone. My name is Bella Gaonoucci Vang. I'm with Hmong Innovating Politics as a Communication and Narrative Manager. If you're not one of our followers, make sure to follow us.  Hmong Innovating Politics is a grassroots organization focused on strengthening political power within Hmong communities through civic engagement. And with that being said, I'll go ahead and pull in one of our HIP members, Yi.  Yi Thoj: Hi everyone, my name is Yi and I use she, her pronouns, and I been a HIP young adult for around three to four years. I'm also working on the Bright Spots project.  Belle: And then if we can have Pana join the conversation.  Pana: Hi, everyone. I am Pana with CHAN-BOF champion stands for California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future. We were two grassroots organizations in community and outreach and this past year we have been able to provide mobile direct services to our Hmong survivors of domestic violence across the Central Valley– so from Sacramento to Fresno. Jennifer Xiong: All right. And that leaves me. Hi, everyone. My name is Jennifer Xiong. I use she/her pronouns and I work as a program specialist with CHAN-BOF and Banak, who actually serves as my supervisor. I'm really excited and happy to be here and really grateful for HIP for giving us a space time and platform to have this conversation  Belle: Thank you again CHAN-BOF for collaborating with us here at HIP. We really appreciate all the work y'all do in the community. I know y'all individually are really great folks. I'm really excited to dive into today's conversation. In your experience, I'm just asking everyone in the panel, where are some cultural norms or expectations within the Hmong community regarding relationships and dating, and that could be anything that you'd like to share from your own personal experiences. Pana: I think I can go. So I think growing up in the eighties, cultural expectations for women, Hmong women, We were expected to just cook, clean, and take care of our younger siblings and our parents. Right? So if you were dating, your relatives would just look down on us. Dating was frowned upon. I remember it was expected that if a guy is interested in you, they would have to come by your parent's house and your parents would have to approve. I remember guys come in and during our teenage years, my mom would have to be present. Right. My parents are really strict. Their limit was they could only stay two hours. And so my mom would ask fast questions. If they don't qualify, they don't meet expectations, they better be out ASAP. My parents are really, really strict.  So those were our expectations back in the 80s. We weren't really allowed to date during my younger days that's what we had to go through. Yi Thoj: I feel like a lot of the gender expectations of my generation is still very much by heteronormative and patriarchal norms and construct.  I'm the youngest of 7 girls, so all of my, 6 older sisters– they're fierce and they're also wonderful, powerful women who have helped me navigate through a lot of the contentions that I held before, interacting with romantic encounters and engagements. And so I think having that model definitely helped me navigate through my experiences as well. I feel like our parents are like, oh, if you want to engage in romantic encounters at a young age, that's welcome. But thankfully, they also didn't pressure us to do so. Jennifer Xiong: It's got me thinking about my own experiences, very little experiences, I might add. I think about some of the things my mom has said to me, which still stick around, it's kind of like embedded in my mind where she says Oh, ([Jennifer speaks in Hmong) meaning when your partner is visiting or at our home, you guys shouldn't be in your bedrooms. You should be out in the living rooms because that's really disrespectful. It, it invites negative perceptions about the person and about the relationship and it is a form of disrespect toward the, the parents and the home. I've also felt and seen from my older cousins or distant relatives who've gotten married– I think it's centered a lot around saving face. I remember hearing stories about my cousins. If they had gone out and they came home late, for example, and the parents were extremely displeased or unhappy, and they're like, no, you dishonored me and my daughter. You have to marry my daughter now because you took her home late, even if they didn't do anything salacious, so to speak. I'd hear those a lot. And, for me, those are always scary. Like, Oh my gosh, they would just do that! And you're a kid and you're growing up hearing these and actually, I think I heard it more commonly than I expected– people marrying young because of the whole consequence of arriving home late from a date or a hangout. So those are some of my experiences or what I've, I heard and witnessed. Yeah.  Belle: Thank y'all for sharing. I love hearing about your experiences. I It's really interesting how we all have different experiences, but it's still in the same realm of a very similar community, right? Very tight knit community. I echo both Jennifer and Yee's experience where my parents are a little bit more lax, but at the same time, it's like, make sure you marry someone who's a quality person. Right? I think that's really telling of how we see dating in the Hmong community. We don't date to date, right? We date to commit forever. And especially, I know all of us on this panel are women identifying and that can be a very dangerous tool, right? To just date to only marry– you're willing to put up with a lot, even if it's not really what you want for yourself, because the way the culture shapes us is if you are dating, you're only dating seriously. It's not to explore, not to be curious about yourself. And so I really appreciate the way that y'all frame it and the way that you share your experiences too. And I know we touched a little bit on this as well, but kind of gauging what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship. How would you say a healthy relationship is defined within the Hmong community? And what are qualities that you consider important? For a positive and respectful relationship within the community? Pana: So you all heard the word [Pana speaks in Hmong], right [Pana speaks in Hmong] right? [Pana speaks in Hmong] We We hear this over and over. I think even with my age, I've heard that. I'm pretty sure some of y'all have heard that to even my parents or friends or family, right? To me, what's considered positive in a relationship is really compromising and allowing you to have your own space, really meeting each other in the middle, trusting each other, having boundaries, appreciating each other, respecting, having that respect, right? Effective communication, being able to communicate with each other and having empathy. Also consent. Really having the permission of something to happen or agreement. Be able to agree with something and being committed to your relationship.  Jennifer Xiong: Yeah, I wanted to add, and also share that I think a lot of the times traditional expectations around what a healthy relationship looks like in the Hmong community generally entails being constricted and confined to your pre established roles that have been gone for generations. But I think that how we can further redefine that nowadays is to really think about how everything that Pana has already listed and shared. Right. I think it's important that those things like healthy boundaries and having balance within a relationship, I feel a lot of those things should be contextualized to the relationship. That's one, but also, I think it should be formed organically, which is difficult, and there will always be ongoing conversations about what a romantic commitment looks like, and what does that mean for the exact couple, but I think it's important to have an ongoing conversation about it, and then also it's important to understand these layers, that , If the couple is both Hmong, it's important to put that in context, and then it's also, what if it's a multiracial or multiethnic relationship? I think that's also very important. Understanding the values, and how these things can be formed organically as well. There are certain learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, that we pick up as we grow up and what the kind of relationships and dynamics we witnessed as we're growing up and then getting or getting involved in our own romantic relationships with people, and the things we witness and see can also really shape the way we go into relationships and the way we show up as partners.  I really don't know how to define it within the Hmong community, but I will say that I have seen when relationships and dynamics of dating are built on a foundation of patriarchy, it can, relating back to what Yi and Pana says, it can build really toxic and concerning, unhealthy relationship dynamics of power and control, and not knowing how to allow your partner to have autonomy to themselves, or knowing that it's two different people coming in together to a relationship. Power and control, when it gets mixed into this relationship, it can become really unhealthy and toxic. So I think it's also about unlearning those and realizing that certain attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs don't serve in creating a healthy relationship between a partnership or a romantic relationship. Within the Hmong community, a lot of us I've seen unlearning those behaviors and attitudes that we may have witnessed and maybe even internalized growing up. To answer the second part of the question what qualities are considered important for a positive respectful Relationship. I think it's really all that you you both named. Those are important like compromise and y'all named so many other great stuff, but then I was also just cranking up the things in my mind, but I just want to echo back what Yi and Pana said, and I'll leave it at that. Yi Thoj: What Jennifer just shared, about what we witnessed growing up sparked something in my mind as well about the media that we consumed growing up too. I watched a ton of Tyler Crohn's and Southeast Asian media growing up, and so much of the representations of love in there. It's so romanticized that abuse is okay. Non consensual engagements is okay. The media and real life relationships that are reflected and also modeled throughout our lives hold such a big factor into how we view love growing into a young adult and further. I know it definitely impacted me because I was always like, Oh, I think that's what love is, right? That's what it's showing on TV and things like that. Yeah, definitely holds weight.  Belle: Yeah, I love that you mentioned that Yi. I didn't really seriously start dating until I was in college and a lot of our generation grew up watching kdramas. Like, oh so romantic, super rich Boy is in love with super poor girl and he dictates her life and buys her everything like so romantic. And I tell my partner now that i'm married, if you ever do anything like in kdramas we are not messing around. That is not cool I don't want you to decide anything for me. I don't want you to pretend like you're in the hospital just as a prank You know boys over flowers. It's really interesting how love is framed growing up and how, just like you said, it's super romanticized. And like, you know how K dramas, you feel that excitement, like that, it's not necessarily love, right? That's just the thrill of being in something new, experiencing something different, but not necessarily love itself. And I really resonate with what you said earlier, Yi, about how it's really important to form those healthy boundaries and organically. And I really closely ties to Pana's comment about being able to create a consensual relationship and, Just like Jennifer said to like dismantling that patriarchy and foundation that we were built on.  We;re Belle: Learning those things are really hard to because initially I thought that drama was what love was supposed to be, but love is supposed to be safe and supposed to protect you, make you feel like you belong. Right? Because we like do grow up in a society that perpetuates love in honestly a violent way, I also just kind of want to know like y'all's thoughts on do you think there's enough awareness about dating violence within our communities, particularly the Hmong community? And how do you feel like it's generally perceived or even discussed amongst one another? Pana: I actually think there's not much awareness happening in the Hmong community. We really need to continue and bring more awareness. And it's awareness. Prevention. Intervention. We need to continue to do that. Some parents don't talk much to their youths about teen dating violence, what's healthy and what's not healthy, or actually like what to look for in a relationship.  In my household, I have only boys. And so we talk about safe sex, healthy boundaries, healthy relationship. What would they like to see in a relationship. I do this because, I've had experience working in the domestic violence field, sexual assault field for a long time. And plus, that's something that I never got from my parents. So my goal was, from now on, when I have my kids, these are stuff that I'm going to teach them. And so I kept my goals, you know, that was something that I told myself that I promised myself that I would do this, to continue to teach my kids healthy boundary, healthy relationship and dating violence., Most parents were taught when they were young you're going to get married and just have a good life, have a good family.  Yi Thoj: All points that are so valid and so true. There are generational gaps, between the elders and ourselves and myself. My parents are around mid 60s. As much as I think I try to bridge that gap sometimes, I think youth just don't have the language as well to fully explain to them.  There's even the conversation about like mental health and how romantic relationships are embedded in mental health and even that in itself is a difficult conversation to start. More tangible resources to learn more about communication in terms of learning the Hmong language and whatnot would definitely help with outreach and building awareness in the community. But I think a lot of recent events as well have also shown to me about where The reflection of culture and the communities as well Which I would also like to provide some sort of affirmation for any youth who's watching this that these contentions and frictions within the community– it's never a reflection of you. You know, it's always a reflection of the larger culture and what is happening. And something that we all need to advocate for and invest into to change.  Jennifer Xiong: yeah. I agree that Bottom line, there isn't enough awareness about dating violence within the Hmong community on many different fronts, like Pana mentioned, the prevention piece and the intervention piece. How does someone recognize or learn to recognize signs of I might be in a toxic, unhealthy relationship that is or can eventually lead into something that's violent? Or maybe I am in a current relationship where there is violence, but I don't know how to pick up on the signs and actually realize that, hey, I'm not in a safe place in this relationship, or in a safe relationship.  And then if your loved ones or family members or friends are recognizing it from an outside perspective, like, we lack a lot of resources and information out there for our community to engage with to learn how to intervene or also recognize it among our loved ones and the people we care about if they may be in those types of dynamics and relationships. And then when we do recognize it, how do we step in and help? What do we do? How can we help? And yeah, so bottom line, there isn't enough resources out there. I think it's still really on the, I guess the loose term, up and up. I really have a lot of faith and hope and I've seen, the work continue to expand and grow and obviously CHAN-BOF is a part of that, along with so many other organizations, statewide organizations that are trying to build more resources and information and push it out there into our communities, so that they know this information, they have access to it and can tap into it with our youth and young adults , and maybe even with our older folks or generations, cause I know you mentioned brought up a really great point too,in that , there's different gaps or different ways of understanding how to talk about dating violence within the Hmong community. Pana: Yeah, I remember my parents would tell me, [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] and I'm like I never understood that. And so growing up, getting older, I kind of understood it. And again, they said the same thing. We were talking, me and my kids were sitting in the table and we're talking about healthy relationship and stuff. What do you look for? How would the relationship look like? What's healthy? And then again, my dad says, yeah [Pana speaks in Hmong]  And my son was like, I don't understand that mom. It was just very generalized, and I had to like recorrect that. This is what he means. My definition of what my dad said was Look for a healthy relationship. Get to know the person Date them Belle: I love that example Pana because growing up everyone always told me that, and I took it at face value. You know when we speak in moments like poetry, right? but growing up I took that at face value saying like when you grow up make sure you marry someone who has Power, who has good reputation in the community, and then As I got older, my mom's like, that's never what I was telling you. Jennifer Xiong: I was just telling you, marry someone who makes you happy. And I was like, Oh, how come you didn't just say it that way? Then like you put it in a way that I was like, Oh man, I have to make sure I marry someone who's brings honor to my family, right? Like what a Mulan way of thinking. But I feel like that's always how I really perceive dating. And tying how Hmong is very much like poetry in our communities, I really like what Yi's comment earlier about how there's not really a lot of terminology in our community for even awareness about the mental health in our community. It's very much how medical terms have only really come to fruition in our community within the past like 50 years. We don't have anything regarding terms that we can use for mental health or dating violence, like the only thing we can use is sick, like that's pretty much how you say when you talk about mental health.   You just say basically, you have a sickness in your head, but there's not actual terms. When we talk about diabetes, like, [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] which literally translates to sweet blood or blood. Well, that is sweet. I hope to see, the next, I don't want to wait 50 years. I hope in the next 20 years there is verbiage that can help the community decipher and break down and bring more awareness to the violence that's being perpetrated in our communities as well. Belle: I love this conversation. I really love that. You showed examples of your son, and it really feels like how intergenerationally we think. We all think so differently, even though we have good intentions it doesn't get translated across the board. I kind of want to elaborate a little bit more when we talked about how it's really important to have consent when it comes to dating, how you really teach your sons that. Would you mind elaborating a little bit more about what consent looks like when it comes to dating, your perspective and how you see it within our communities as well. Pana: Have y'all seen the little video about drinking tea ? Sometimes you can drink the tea and you're like, I don't want to drink it no more. You know, and so you can change at any moment, right? And being able to understand okay, I This person might not want to, so I need to be able to give that respect and step away, right? And so, getting them to understand that. So if you all watched that video, the tea consent video. It's really cute, and It's really good for the youth, even for the kids. They understand it real quick. In a relationship, you should be able to give them that space and say, Okay, I get it. I'm gonna be able to understand if someone says no, then no means no. And then their body gestures are like they're pushing back, that means no. If my face is looking like, i'm shaking my head or you can see in my eyes like I don't like you stay away Right? And so being able to understand that Jennifer Xiong: I think one thing I want to add to that which is great. Like the tea consent video is super amazing at just Easily explaining under the understanding of consent, but also when someone can't consent like when they can't answer yes or no. For example, they're at a party and they've passed out drunk. They're just not conscious and awake and they can't answer yes or no, decline or accept. That also is not an invitation or permission. That is not a consent, basically. So I'm going back and forth. When a person can't answer, it's definitively no, because they're not consciously aware and awake enough to give that response. So I think that is also something I wanted to add. Yi Thoj: Yeah, I don't have much to add to this question. I've never seen the tea consent video, but putting that into perspective, that is such a great analogy and wonderful example and easy way to explain things can change right in the middle of an interaction.  Also just wanting to provide admiration to Pana as well to opening up the conversations with your sons because I think that's so important. A lot of the times younger Men or Hmong youth who are male identified. A lot of the times their influences are from other male figures in their lives who may not be the best role model. And so I'm totally leaning in towards the Hmong woman leaders in people's lives, especially Hmong youth, and just really loving that. Belle: I love that affirmation. we are right now a room of powerful women in our community itself. So I really, I want to like, double up on that echo Yi's statement as well.  Cheryl: You are currently tuned in to APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA and 88.1 on KFCF. You have so far been listening to Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future (CHAN-BOF). We are going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. More on breaking the silence about teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong community after our break.  Welcome back. You were tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA 88.1. KFCF in Fresno. And online at KPFA. Dot org. You were just listening to your track off of the Anakbayan LB May Day mix tape called “Letter to Mom” by shining sons. Anakbayan LB is a Filipino youth and student organization based in long beach, California, working to arouse, organize and mobilize the community to address issues that impact Filipinos in the U S and in the Philippines.  Now, back to the show. We are here, with belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong. From California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF). We're talking about teen dating violence awareness and its impacts and implications in the Hmong community.  Belle: Jennifer, you talk about patriarchy and shared about how, you really tried to shape your son because you also work in this field you are definitely more eloquent work in addressing these issues. I want to dive more into what that looks like within our community and in our culture. Do you feel like there are specific cultural or community barriers that may prevent individuals, particularly Hmong individuals, from seeking help or disclosing incidents of dating violence? And what does that look like? Especially since I know CHAN-BOF does a lot of that direct work with clients. Pana: I think because we're so closely knitted, that's a barrier too, being afraid of, okay, this person might know me. One example is while growing up, I was taught men were more valuable than women. I think in our family, my parents really wanted a son and they kept on trying and trying until after they got 7 daughters, they finally got their son, right? And so we were told, you have to be patient because boys, [Jennifer speaks Hmong] and as a teenager, I was like, I guess I held no value. And so, and also keeping in mind for a long time, a lot of our culturally specific organizations were mainly ran by Hmong men. Hmong men are the main person who makes the decisions Jennifer Xiong: Some of those barriers are they don't seek help or support. The other barrier that I experienced in high school is I had a friend who was dating someone who was really abusive and verbally abusive, physically abusive. He sexually assaulted her. When she came to me. I was like, Oh, no, you need to go to your parents. The minute she told her parents, she was forced to marry him to save face. And so, after watching what had happened to my friend made me feel like if that happened to me and I went and told my parents. But these are back in my days, though, right? I would be forced to get married, like, and that time I didn't know that that was not okay. If someone raped you and forced you, that is not okay, but I wasn't aware of that. She wasn't aware of that. And so, again, we said, you know, back, awareness needs to happen. Awareness and education. That was something I remember for a long time and I felt guilty and I, I felt bad because I didn't know who to send to go for help. I referred it back to her parents and said, yeah, your parents would help you go for it and go for it. And that's, that's what happened. That's one of the other barriers. Some of our parents are not very educated in this topic, and it's a topic that we don't talk about. I do want to add, there's still strong sentiments of, victim blaming, shaming, disempowering. I've heard statements, or I will say, I was doing my research paper on DV in the Hmong community. My sources were like YouTube videos. And so, I found these videos of these women speaking out about their experiences of DV. In this particular example, she's married she was pregnant and her husband was abusing her. So much so that he was dragging her down the stairs of their apartment building. And so she mentioned her stomach was basically getting shaped. She was somehow able to escape his grasp and run to a neighbor and ask them to call law enforcement. And so law enforcement came and took away the husband because they visibly could see what, what had gone on. Her mother in law had said to her, Oh. [Jennifer speaks Hmong], meaning, oh, daughter in law, why did you call law enforcement and have them take away my son? It dawned on me how we perceived some of these dynamics and abuses when it happens in relationships. And again, the whole, why did you do that instead of are you okay? What happened to you? Why did they do that to you? Or really focusing on the wellness and safety of the person being in a violent relationship, violent abusive relationship. And to add to that, the terminology and the way we frame some of the resources out there, I remember a lot of the [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] the elders, would call DV shelters [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] right. The term, the explanation of it is like the place for runaway women or wives or mothers. But in fact, these shelters meant to house and keep individuals, women, children, who were experiencing abuse and violence in their relationship safe. But then we use negative connotations and terminology to label them because it brings a lot of shame and hesitation to seek out help. The fact that the resources that are available mainstream wise for those who are seeking help and resources because they may be in an abusive violent relationship is that there's also a lack of culturally responsive resources and services to aid and assist our specific community members when they're out trying to get the help that they need. I've witnessed and heard that a lot from the clients that I directly support and assist. Like, oh, we've gone here and then they mentioned not having a great experience, or being misunderstood, or I'm not feeling even safe or comfortable enough to talk about their experiences and get the resources and help that they need because some of the agencies really lacked the cultural understanding awareness or the intersection of that when it comes to dating violence or domestic violence in our own community. Yi Thoj: Yeah, all of this is like really great examples. Also, unfortunate. I think that from my own experience with dealing with victims around me who have undergone a lot of these violences, what I've seen is that a lot of it is them recognizing that the harm that is being done to them is wrong. Very much so. But they've also internalized and conditioned themselves to accept it as something that is normal and okay, even if a lot of the times there's this back and forth resistance of wanting to debate themselves from the situation, but then at the same time, them like always going back and this is the cycle of abuse, right, and how it works. But one note that I would also like to make is that what I've also seen is that it's really, really important that male perpetrators, especially Hmong men, it's important that there are other Hmong men who are holding them accountable, is what I found to be true. Because as much as Hmong women who are victims and other Hmong women bystanders who are wanting to advocate for these victims try to stand up for them, These perpetrators and also the culture inherently does not change if people who are in power and have that privilege don't actively help dismantle it, too. So, I think that it's important to note. There's so much power that goes into having woman led spaces and woman voices because that's so important, but I also think there should be so much more work done from the cisgendered male counterparts in our lives and in the community Belle: Thank y'all for that. Your sentiment is so powerful, yi and it's Very valid. A lot of times the folks that were leading this work are often the women in our communities Like that's just straight up facts, right? I attended a Boys and men of color conference, and one of the panels said the one time that men have these spaces together is also when women created. Right? As women, we build a lot of community for our community and at the same time, don't get the recognition of the work that is being done. So, it's really important that those who do have power, make sure that they implement it correctly and support communities that minorities within their communities that need that extra support.  The examples provided to I felt were very powerful, but also very traumatizing. When I was listening to your story, when you were talking about how you advise your friend to go to their family and they were forced into marriage. I know that we are different generations, but I feel like I definitely have met folks who are my age who were still forced to the situation. Those culture practices are so very normal and not unheard of. Like it's not completely cultural shift within one generation. And I'm sure When you witnessed that, that it was very traumatizing for you too, even though you were not the one immediately affected by it, but it also shifted the way you saw community, the way you viewed culture itself. And you even expressed you felt a lot of guilt and responsibility for that. It's really interesting that when there are those traumatizing, abusive relationships happening to those folks, and even at the third per person party that you feel that trauma in other ways as well. You mentioned how the patriarchy does affect our communities in that way. What is being done? What is being said to help heal our communities and work past these issues that are obviously very much rooted in our communities. I know we talked a little bit about the way cultural identity influences our communities. I know we specifically talked about the Hmong community too as well. I know we only have about 10 minutes left and so I kind of just want to dive into, not necessarily solutions, but what are things that we can take, what are steps that we can take to make progressive action and change in our community? So in your opinion, what role can the Hmong community play in addressing and preventing this deep imbalance? And Are there any community led solutions that you feel could be effective within our community? Yi Thoj: Yeah, I think as we've mentioned throughout the conversation, it's important to emphasize and highlight prevention work that can be done. And that is teaching the young boys and men and ongoing older Hmong men in our lives to. Because that is community, right? Folks who are directly within our circles, as well as people who we interact with. I think it's important to teach them very simple things that should already be fundamental, but unfortunately are not. Such as informed consent, and then also just normal consent. I think to echo back on what I just shared as well, having more male mentors who are very much progressive and radical in their work, and also centered in the actual tangible dismantling of the culture and harmful aspects of the system, I think is, A really big part of it. The reason why I think I'm bringing this up is because my experience with younger men who still hold a lot of these traditionalist and violent behaviors and mentalities receive a lot of their mentorship from other male mentors in their lives, and also just media consumption such as Andrew Tate and whatnot. A lot of folks in my own young adult experience very much religiously follow Andrew Tate and I had believed that we were at a point in our progressive history to where we have gone past that, but it's still very rampant in the community and it's affecting The youth, and it's affecting how they interact with and also date other Hmong women as well, assuming that this is a binary relationship.   Pana: It's time to talk about it, supporting each other, talking about what health relationship really is. And It doesn't have to just come from the school. For a long time, a lot of our parents, we depend on the school. Oh, they'll figure that out, right? it needs to come from everyone, every one of us. Even as a friend, as an individual, we all need to support in that piece like supportive organizations such as CHAN-BOF and HIP, right? Continuously talking about this, bringing the awareness. If you're feeling uncomfortable, if we're really uncomfortable talking about a certain topic, we do need to talk about that and really addressing that. Getting to understand what's healthy and what's not healthy. What are the signs of an abusive relationship? I think if we really want change, change needs to happen especially as parents and it comes from the youth too. We want a better future for our youth so I think really continue to really address this and doing a lot of prevention work because we tend to deal with a crisis and we're forgetting about the prevention part. How do we prevent this stuff. One great example that I always use is we're constantly supporting and trying to jump in and support people who are drowning, but we keep forgetting about, what's happening on the other side of that river. Something's happening and it's the prevention education piece that we need to start doing and continue to do. Cheryl: We're going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. Next up,. You're going to be listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle. More on the ways we can work towards. Teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong Comunity when we return.    Cheryl: And we're back!. You are tuned in to KPFA on 94.1, KPFA 88.1 KFCF F in Fresno and online at kpfa.org. You were just listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle, a Filipino beat rock music artist based in the bay. We're currently here with Belle and Yi from Hmong innovating politics, hip. And Jennifer and Pana from California Hmong advocates network, building our futures, cHAN-BOF as we discuss the ways we can address teen dating violence in the Hmong community.    Jennifer Xiong: I'm gonna echo, I mean, both of you brought up the same points, but in really distinctive examples of your own, and I really appreciate that. It is about really bolstering, our community up to be proactive and engaged and informed about this, and really equipping and building them up to be a part of this, that it's not oh, you know, I think it's great that obviously we do this work as current active advocates who've had previous quote, unquote, professional experience dealing with , crisis like this, or dealing with and supporting directly individuals who have gone or are going through this and that, like, everyone is more than capable of being equipped with the knowledge and being enforced with the knowledge and the ability To learn and understand this and be proactive about it in our community. It does lead a lot back to the whole prevention and intervention work and building up our youth and young adults. Cause you know, okay. So a side note is, so we did a lot of outreach and engagement work this past year, really putting it out in front of our community, in the Hmong community. And let me tell you, I was scared to do this because I was like, oh my gosh, people are going to be bringing their pitchforks and torches and, and they're going to come around and be like, who's this girl going on TV, talking about DV and providing resources and services for our community. Interestingly enough, I got like so much of the opposite reaction and responses. And I think to me, that's really heartwarming. And it gives me a lot of hope because I got so much positive affirmation and reinforcement and feedback from even our older generations in our community and young folks too, saying this is so needed. This is critical, important. I'm so glad you're out here. Or how can we get involved? Even being like, , I'm so happy that you guys are doing this work. And we really have a lot of faith because so much of our younger folks, younger generations are stepping up to do this sort of work. So I think it's really the community, a large portion of the community, from what I've experienced, really recognize how important and needed this work is to implement this and incorporate this into our community so they know and understand like, Hey, violence is not okay. Dating violence is not okay. Domestic violence is not okay. But what can we do? , what do we do about it? And I think we're at that place where people are really curious and desiring to really step up and do something about it. And again, I think what Pana and Yi mentioned.  Belle: Thank you. I love those ideas on how the Hmong community can take action to change the violence that happens in our communities, right? I love dismantling the patriarchy and empowering our youth. I think that also really comes with, I know we didn't really touch on this, but, the 18 class system. How there really needs to be more, you mentioned, women leadership. We have a lot of women leadership in our communities, but not within our 18 class system. And why is that right? And how do we convince them that we need women in those leadership roles within our communities to represent our communities. That also ties into the same thing with Jennifer, how we really want to empower youth. We should also have youth leadership because then the folks who are in those important seats are 60 plus and so disconnected with the reality that we're living in today. So, you know, I just really appreciate everything y'all brought to the table today. I know we only have a few minutes left. , I know we talked a lot about youth empowerment, how there's a lot of women leadership. Since we're focusing on teen dating violence today, what is a tip or advice that you would have liked to receive as a teenager, now being a little bit more experienced with your relationships. And if you could say it really quick. Any of the teenagers listening out here, perk your ears up– there's a lot of great advice in here, so make sure that you absorb it like a sponge. And I'll just go ahead and leave it at that.  Pana: I think with me– it's okay to not be okay, right? It's okay to not be okay, and it's really okay to talk to someone. And really reach out for help and, you know, really understand that it's okay to say no, and we are all equal. Jennifer Xiong: For me, Oh gosh, this is hard. First things first is like, I think my teen self would have loved to know dating during your teen years. It's not a big deal. Like, it's okay. Don't feel like you're missing out or that there's something wrong with you if you aren't in a relationship while you're in your teen years. Really spend that time cherishing and valuing the time you have with yourself and getting to know yourself first, so that when you do get into a relationship, you know what you want, you know, the values that you want in a relationship, the values you want to bring into a relationship, you know yourself. And also don't forget that you are you're worthy. You matter, you're important. And that, anyone who disrespects you or does not value your work in a relationship more than likely aren't worth your time and aren't worth your tears. And so I think that's what I would have wanted to know.  Yi Thoj: for mine, it's very specific. How I came to be with my current partner. It was through an intersection of events with a lot of things that we've already discussed today as well. And so I think what I would have wanted to know is that It's very difficult to try to empower and change the hearts and minds of people on the ground level. Even if you're going in head strong. please treat yourself with grace in all of that. And then lean in on your partner to help you navigate that. It's so important. I think a lot of Hmong women and Hmong girls are taught to be hyper individualistic and independent, and it's needing to teach that sometimes you can lean into your femininity. Sometimes you can lean in on support from other people. And also from your partner, it's really important. C: Thank you. I love all the self love in the room and just really great advice on being gentle with yourself and recognize that you are deserving of all the good things in life. I hope that everyone really takes that to heart and it's just friendly reminder to continue loving yourself in the process of loving others. Love is abundant. It's not scarcity mindset. We are here to share our love and that love should be shared with ourselves as well. We're going to wrap today up and I just want to say thank you so much to Yi, Pana, Jennifer for joining us and thank you so much CHAN-BOF for collaborating with HIP for dating violence awareness month. We really appreciate all your effort and all the work you do in our communities as well. If you haven't already in the audience, please make sure to follow and like HIP and CHAN-BOF so you can continue following the work that we do and support our endeavors as community members, because you are part of the change in our communities as well. Well, all so much and have a good rest of your night. Thanks everyone.  Cheryl: And that's the end of our show. Learn more about the incredible work being done by Hmong innovating politics and CHAN-BOF by checking out our show notes.   Also HIP and CHAN-BOF ask work together to create these really helpful infographics on themes of teen dating violence awareness, such as what is consent? How do you know you're in an abusive relationship. How can you help someone who's in it? I found them to be really helpful. So I will also make sure to link those in the show notes as well.  Cheryl Truong: Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – 01.23.25 – Hmong Teen Dating Violence Awareness appeared first on KPFA.

Ger Xiong/Ntxawg Xyooj was born in Thailand and immigrated to the US in 1993 as a Hmong refugee of the Vietnam War. He grew up in NE Wisconsin and currently resides in Saint Paul, MN. His work explores his cultural identity through his Hmong American experience utilizing metals and jewelry and textiles as a way to negotiate and navigate his identity. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Metals and Jewelry at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and his Master of Fine Arts at New Mexico State University. Website: gerxiong.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gerxiong55/

  A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists.   In this episode of APEX Express, host Cheryl shares Part 1 of a powerful intergenerational conversation featuring the OG organizers of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and young leaders from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP). The discussion highlights the challenges and inspirations that drove CAA's founders to join the Asian American Movement of the '60s and '70s, offering valuable lessons for sustaining activism across generations. Important Links: Chinese for Affirmative Action: Website  |  Instagram Hmong Innovating Politics: Website  |  Instagram Transcript   Cheryl Truong: good evening and welcome to tonight's episode of apex express. I'm your host, Cheryl Truong and tonight is an AACRE night. Now you might be wondering what is AACRE. AACRE stands for the Asian Americans for civil rights and Equality network, which is made up of 11 grassroots, social justice groups. Together leverage the power of our network to focus on longterm movement, building and support for Asian-Americans committed to social justice. And speaking of AACRE groups. APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's show, I'm thrilled to share a really special and intimate recording from a panel discussion we hosted here at the AACRE network that bridges generations of organizing. This panel brought together the OGs– originals– who helped build chinese for Affirmative Action or CAA into the esteemed 50 year old civil rights organization it is today. Alongside young organizers from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, who are paving the way for Hmong Americans in Sacramento and Fresno. Both hip and CAA are vital groups within the AACRE network. The purpose of this exchange. To spark an intergenerational dialogue between seasoned CAA leaders and current hip staff and exploring how their roles in the movement have evolved over time.  Together, they delve into the strategies they've employed to sustain their impact over decades of organizing. However, this is only part one of what is and was a much longer conversation. So for tonight's episode, we'll focus on getting to know some of the CAA OGs. You'll hear them introduce themselves. Share some of the hardships they faced as pivotal organizers during the Asian-American movement of the tumultuous sixties and seventies. And reflect on what catalyze them to get involved in the movement. Through the stories we hope to uncover lessons from the past that can guide us in sustaining and evolving the fight for justice today. So stay tuned. It's going to be an inspiring and reflective journey into the heart of activism.  So I'm pleased to introduce. The panel facilitator, Miko Lee who is AACRE's director of programs. And CAA OGs Germaine Wong Henry Der Laureen Chew Stephen Owyang and Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee  Miko: Yvonne,  what was a kind of chrysalis moment for you in terms of social justice? Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee: First of all, when I got the email, I didn't know what O. G. was, so I said “Oh Geezer!” That's how I interpret it. I said “Oh, I'm there!” This is going to be a really honest and frank family gathering so thank you inviting me and I'm really excited to be here with my, peers and colleagues and more importantly to really hear from you, your experience. I am a first generation immigrant. My parents were very well to do business people in Hong Kong. They decided to immigrate to this country with three young kids. My father when he was young, he was the richest boy in his village. Overnight, people came and forced his father to give up 98 acres of their 99 acre farm. So from being the richest boy in town, in his village, to have to go to Hong Kong to live with this uncle. My mom was from a rich family in China also. Her father was one of the few merchants who came to the U.S. after the Chinese Exclusion Act, he went to New York, opened up a pastry shop, but he found his goal. He won second prize of a New York lotto. So he decided to go back to China because even though he was a merchant, he experienced a lot of discrimination. He never talked about his experience in America. But my mom was a little princess. You know, we used to call her , and her friends, the little Paris Hilton of the group, because that's what they did. They went to school as ABC's, never had to work a day in their life. But one thing, She and my father, because they were both from richest families in different villages, they were supposed to be matched up. But by the time they were at marriage age, he was already a poor kid. But my mom told the father, said, a promise is a promise.. So she married this poor guy, moved to Hong Kong, and he did quite well for himself. So we were brought up, ” money is not what should drive you in your life. You can lose it in one day. The most important thing is to have a good heart, to make sure that everything in this world, you have to make a difference. Whether it's to your family, or to others. You cannot be angry, because someone else is going to make you angry. When we came, it was a really tough time for him. You know, we lived really well in Hong Kong. Coming here to live in Chinatown back in the 60s really wasn't that pleasant. But, we made do based on the three principles. We came here for freedom. We came here for knowledge. And knowledge doesn't mean just college. So we were lucky. We never were forced to study certain fields so that we can make money because for him, it was always experience to really, really take in the nourishment for yourself, but give out whatever you have to others. So based on the guidance and that's how, that's my North Star. That's what's driven me. So I went to Davis. Yay Davis and the Cows! They're still there. What really got me to community activism was when I was 16, I was in the hospital. And They put this, at the time I thought she was elderly, but thinking back she was probably in her 30s. But when she was 16, anyway over 20 is elderly. And she could not speak English. And they could not communicate with her. And half of the hospital staff was making fun of her. And that was in, 70? 1970? It wasn't that long ago. It was still in my our lifetime. So, I was young but I acted as her translator. It was very difficult because she has women issues. And I didn't know her. And her husband was standing there. And she had to tell me her most intimate thing. And all the room of doctors, nurses and everything– they were very dismissive of her because of the fact that she did not speak their language. So because of that I felt that that's wrong. Because prior to that, even when we were living in Chinatown, I still felt I was privileged. You know, we weren't poor. We were still doing well. But after seeing that experience, it really taught me that even though we came to America for freedom, freedom is only for those who could really stand for themselves. And there are some who, if they cannot, send someone else in to fight with them. Not for them, but with them. So that's how I started my career, and I jumped from place to place. I'm not the CAA member, but I'm the honorary member of CAA because I had the privilege of working with Henry. All the meetings that we had back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and everything with Ted and Steve on redistricting, immigration reform, census, welfare reform, everything that we today take granted. We don't even think about it. Came from here. This room. Before this room, it was another room. It was a little less, little place. We, we moved up by, by moving here in the 90s. So, thank you so much for this privilege and I look forward to our conversation. Miko: Thank you, Yvonne. And I just, OG, just so you know, does not mean OG. Does anybody want to explain what OG means? Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) Staff: Old Gangster   Miko: It's actually a hip hop terminology for gangster, but it actually means the original. Who's the original, the source of the knowledge, the source of the power. So it's, we use it with love and honor.  Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee: Intergenerational communication.  Miko: I'm sorry I did  Henry Derr: I have to say, I never liked the term O. G. when I first heard it. Because I thought it meant an old guy, Even though I'm old, I didn't want to admit that I was old. , one thing I have to say straight away is, you all are happy about this weather, I'm very unhappy about this weather, because I, even though I'm a native of San Francisco, Chinatown, at the age of seven, my family moved into Stockton. I went through all my schooling till I graduated from Franklin High School on the east side of Highway 99. Some of you may have, your high schools may have competed against Franklin High School. When we moved into Stockton for the longest time, We could never figure out why in the hell our father moved us into Stockton, because we were the only one or two Chinese family on the east side of Stockton right there on Main Street. And then over time, and actually very recently when I think about it, there was, he probably had a good reason for moving us into Stockton. Because my father was actually quite clever in terms of circumventing the discriminatory impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act. As some of you may know, a lot of Chinese men who came here to the United States after the Exclusion Act had to lie about who they were. They would claim that they were sons of U. S. citizens in order to enter the United States. Well, it turned out that my father and my mother on paper had 17 children. And in our family, there were really only just eight of us who were born from our parents and my oldest brother who was adopted. The rest were actually paper sons. So my father moved the family into Stockton because I remember very clearly when I was less than five years old, my mom said to us, children, don't say anything about the family when you go out the streets and I could never understand why don't say anything about that. Well, it turned out that. There were a lot of immigration agents prowling around Chinatown during the fifties, during the confession program. So, I think my father made the right choice to move the family into Stockton. And we always longed about coming back to San Francisco. But also looking back at it, it was actually a blessing in disguise. Because I actually grew up, as some of you may know, from Fresno, Sacramento, Visalia, Ceres, Modesto, then, not now. It was actually, I lived in a very diverse neighborhood. There were blacks, there were Mexicans and there were whites and the whites were not rich. They were like the rest of us. They were poor from Oklahoma. So probably the first social, I would consider this first social justice consciousness that I developed during the 19 50s and 60s when I was growing up. In addition to following what was going on and unfolding with the Black Civil Rights Movement in the South, was that Stockton Unified was impacted by school desegregation and there was busing. So there was a lot of talk that kids from our high school in Franklin were going to be bused to Stagg High School. And at that time, in the 50s and 60s, Stagg was all white, they were all wealthy, and we basically protested, said, we are not going to go, that we're not, we don't need those rich white folks. We're okay by ourselves. So that kind of built a consciousness in me. And I would say the other big social justice consciousness was really actually during college, when many of us protested against the war in Vietnam. We marched to the Oakland Army Induction Center in Oakland. We had a sleep in, in the old student union on the college campus. We didn't get arrested like the kids are being arrested today who are protesting the atrocities in Gaza. During my last year in college, There wasn't anything known as Asian American Studies, but there were enough black students who wanted black studies on the campus. So, we just joined in and helped protest that there was an absence of black studies on the college campus. After I graduated from college, I knew that I was going to go into Peace Corps because I was inspired by President Kennedy. And it didn't make, truth be told, it made no difference what college I was going to go to. I knew I was going to go into Peace Corps, and that's what I did, because the last year I was in college, they offered Swahili, and I said, oh, that's perfect, I'm going to enroll in Swahili, and I end up going to Kenya for two years. And after two years of service in Kenya, you know, it kind of made sense for me to say, you know, if I can go halfway around the world to do public service work, I can certainly come back to Chinatown and do community work. And that's how I end up coming back to San Francisco in 1970. And then, The rest is whatever I did.  Female speaker: The rest is history.  Female Speaker 2: The rest is documented history.  Miko: We'll get into that a little bit more. Steve, what about you? What was your first kind of experience of recognizing social justice?  Stephen Owyang: Okay, so, Both sides of my family came to the U. S. a long time ago in the 1870s from Southern China. And they were in San Francisco until the big earthquake in 1906, after which point most of the family went into the Sacramento Valley. So I was born in Sacramento. I was raised in, down the river in the Delta. I'm really excited to meet you because my father had a small business back then and we went up and down Highway 99 all the time. So, Stockton, Lodi, Modesto, Merced, Kingsburg, Fresno, Hanford, Ripon, Visalia. And my father's business was basically delivering stuff to little mom and pop grocery stores run by Chinese families, mainly from one little county in Guangdong province. There was no I 5 back then, just 99, and you know, in the summer, as you know, it gets really hot. So it was a treat for me to go along with my father because I always got free sodas at every store, so I would go out with him and you know after six or seven sodas It was like, it was a great day. My first glimmers about social justice were just growing up in the Delta and I'll give you three stories.  It's the town of Walnut Grove, and the town of Walnut Grove on Highway 160 is one of the few delta towns that are on both sides of the river. There's a bridge that connects it. And on one side of the river, it's middle class and upper middle class and wealthy white families. Our side of the river, you had the folks from the Dust Bowl days, as Henry mentioned, people from Oklahoma and Texas who came out during the Depression. You also had a small Chinatown, a small J Town, a small Filipino area, a small Mexican area. And that just reflected the social conditions of California agriculture, because each one of those communities at one time was the main source of farm workers. And in fact, my own family, because of the alien land laws, they were farmers, but they couldn't own farmland, right? And so they were sharecroppers. Just, you hear about sharecropping happening in the South, but it also happened in California. So when I was growing up, three things. On the rich side of town, the white side of town, there's a swimming pool that was only open to white families. It was a private pool. You could only go there if you were a member. You could only be a member if you were white. The only way I could go there is if a friend who's a white, from a white family, who's a member, takes you there as a guest. So that's number one. Number two. My best friend was from one of these landed white families, and we were, we were very close. We were good students in elementary school. And then one day in the seventh grade, he, he takes me aside and he says, You know, I can't hang out with you anymore because my mom says I need to have more white friends. So he just cut it off like that. And I, that's the, that's, that's the truth. That's just how it happened. I guess the other thing that affected me back then was I used to go to a little American Baptist church and we had, I guess visits to black churches. And I remember going up to Sacramento on one of these visits and one of the kids there did Martin Luther King's, I have a dream speech from memory. And, it's like amazing oration. And I thought, wow, there's something. going on here that you sort of opened up my eyes to the situation in this country.  So basically until high school, I was a country kid, you know, but then we moved out to San Francisco and it was a big culture shock, big shock. So I was in, I basically came out for high school and this was in the late 60s and I remember it was 1968 when Laureen was on strike for, uh, Ethnic Studies and the Third World Strike in SF State. My high school was literally a few blocks away. I was at Lowell High. And students from SF State were coming over and leafleting us. I started reading that stuff and that's when I really got interested in what was going on at State and later on when I was at Berkeley, you know, in Ethnic Studies. So I think my grounding came from Ethnic Studies, the anti war movement, and, you know, I would love to talk to you about the whole thing about the Vietnam War because, You know, I'm guessing maybe your parents or grandparents were involved in the secret war in Laos, a war that the U. S. wouldn't even acknowledge happened even though we were bombing Laos. So it was ethnic studies, the civil rights movement, and the anti war movement that got me involved. In Berkeley, I was involved in some of the ethnic studies stuff. Even though I'm a fourth generation Chinese American, it's always been very important to me to try to learn the language so I was in the Cantonese working group. So I helped put together the curriculum stuff that was going on in Asian American Studies. I think before Germaine was there, or maybe around the same time. Yeah, I've known these folks for literally 50 years. It's kind of scary. So, um, I was inspired by what was going on at CAA, what Laureen was doing at SF State. So I joined CAA. Biggest mistake of my life. Because I saw this little ad in East West newspaper, used to be this community newspaper, and there was literally a coupon that you would clip out. And I sent in the coupon with a 5 check. It's like the most expensive 5 I've spent in my whole life. And then I went to law school, and I was involved in the law caucus and a number of other things, but my first job out of law school was Right here at CAA. Well, not here, but up on Stockton Street. Henry was my boss. You know, I feel like I would have been less burned out had we done some of this stuff. But we didn't do any of this. I remember my first desk had literally a door on top of like cardboard boxes. That was our office back then. And in one form or another, I've been involved in CAA ever since. I've been in a couple of organizations. Other organizations, but CAA is the one that's closest to my heart, and I'll tell you why. One, I met my wife here. And number two, I feel like the great thing about CAA is it's never lost its real community roots. I feel like other organizations do great work, don't get me wrong, but I feel like CAA has always maintained a real close connection to the community, and that's why everybody. I wrote that 5 check and, and several others. So yeah, that's, that's my story.  Miko: Thanks, Steve. Laureen, what about you?  Laureen Chew: Wow, this is amazing. Listening to everybody else's story, really. I guess I'll start pretty much how, my family was. My grandfather came in 1870s. I think I found out when I went to the roots program, which is only like five years ago, that was an adventure. so my parent, my father and his whole family was born here and born during Chinese exclusion. And so obviously they lived in Chinatown and nowhere else to go, even though they, my father and especially his, younger siblings. They all spoke English. Interestingly, his first two sisters were born here too. They didn't speak a lick of English because they never went to school. So what was really interesting for me, so I was born and raised in Chinatown. Okay. I wasn't born in Chinese Hospital. I was born in Children's Hospital, which everybody thinks is odd. But that's another story. My mother is actually an immigrant. She's a first generation, but she didn't come until 1947. So what's interesting is that I'm always kind of stuck between generations, like one and a half. But having a very strong mother who spoke only Chinese and my father's side, who's mostly English speaking. But a lot of them, my cousins or whatever, they were a lot older. They did speak Chinese also. But what's really stark to me is because growing up in Chinatown, you go to school with basically majority Chinese kids, right? And so you live in this community that on the one hand is very nurturing, very safe. Very intimate in a lot of ways. All my cousins and whatever are here. I mean, to show you how large my father's side was, when my aunt, the oldest aunt had her 50th anniversary wedding anniversary, she married when she was 14 because otherwise women, people forget. I I'm probably the first generation of women that either had a choice to not get married and I was still able to eat because I made my own money. Okay, my mother's generation, no, all her friends, no, you know, so don't take that one for granted either as women. So what was interesting was the fact that because she is very strong in being Chinese and then my father's side are total assimilationists, mainly, which was really interesting because many of them who grew up during Chinese exclusion. It was horrific, but you would never, I never heard one story. His family must have had over 300 people because his sister had 13 kids. Okay, then they had all had kids, one at 10, one of her daughter in law. So it was like huge. Growing up in this area, I just never felt I was different than anyone else because you don't come in contact with anyone that's really different until I went to high school. My mother is the immigrant. She wanted to send me to a school that was not a public school that a lot of the Chinatown kids went to, which was Galileo, because she somehow felt that I would be the kind of kid that would go not the straight and narrow, but more towards the the More naughty kids, to put it mildly, she knew that. So what she did was that she sent me to a Catholic school, okay, because she, God knows, oh yeah, she went to school for two years in Hong Kong. She's another story, she didn't have any money, and so she was given to an aunt to be raised. So she married to get out of Hong Kong because At twenty, she told me the only thing she told me was at twenty seven, I was considered an old maid. And then my father, who was, didn't have, there weren't very many women here because of Chinese exclusion, and he had to marry Chinese, actually saw my mom, and my mom's a picture bride, so they didn't even know each other when they got married. But she took over. My mom is like the queen of the family and the decision maker. And my father made the money and she spent it however little she had. Okay. And going to Catholic school was one thing that she felt that would help me become a good girl, except that I had never been to a where there were white kids. And so this school Was not only Catholic, but it was also a school that was considered kind of the, the best girls, Catholic high school. It was at the end of Chinatown. And that's the only reason why she wanted me to go there because I didn't have to take the bus. I can walk home. It's, it's a French school called Notre Dame de Victoire. So I went there and I thought I would have a really good time, just like all, all the high school. My problem was, was that. I was different, but never to know that you're different until you're in high school. Because you know, you know how mean girls can be in high school. And then they're all, it's an all girls school and it's a small school. And so my mom told me very clearly, you know, it's $150 a year. We really don't have that money, but. You know, we'll scrape and do whatever we can to send you through that. I said, Oh, okay, cool. Right. Except I had no friends. I mean, I was one of three Chinese girls in the school and I never knew how different I was until I got there because I used to get home perms, you know, permanence. And all the other girls had money. They were at least middle class, if not richer, and they all went to beauty parlors. My mom cut my hair and gave me the home perms, and she was into saving money, like I said, so she always kept the perm on longer than you should have it. I swore one year it came out like I had an afro, and I was so embarrassed. I made her cut it just to make it look straighter, but it was horrible. I don't have a picture. No, first of all, pictures aren't that common back then, you know, it costs money to have film and a camera. You didn't even have a camera. Yeah. So anyway, plus another thing is that because I wasn't the smartest Chinese girl either. Okay, the other two Chinese girls did pretty well. They were smart, and they were good in sports. I was neither. And I looked like a dork. Then what would made it even worse was that my mother spoke no English. My father did, but he might as well be absent because he slept during the day and worked at night. So we have things called mother daughter fashion shows. Mother, daughter breakfast. And I saw the way those mothers were dressed and I saw the way everybody acted and my way of dealing with it was I had no mom. I never brought her to the school. Any mother, daughter thing, I didn't go to. You didn't have to. I mean, that made me even less part of the school. And it was very painful because I didn't understand why I would be treated that way. Just because I looked, but I spoke English, it didn't matter. I did look a little weird, you know, so to this, I think it influenced me a couple of ways. One, whenever I had money, clothes was going to be my big deal. It still is, you know, it's kind of psychological. And then secondly, then that was a time that I figured out like, how come I don't, I hate myself and my family versus versus hating those girls. Right. I mean, that's how I dealt with it. It was, I call it a form of self hatred and it's, it's done by schooling. It's done by not only schooling in terms of omission about who we were as a people here, but omission about racism. Omission about discrimination and just about our histories here. But I didn't have a label for it in high school. I just, I really thought there was something wrong with me and my family. And that's the greatest danger about racism, is this form of internalizing it and not having a vehicle to deal with it. And there was nothing in our schools that dealt with it, you know, and I think what I came out of there realizing was that. Oh, another thing, I had mixed messages about what was happening because Martin Luther King was already on TV, and I was trying to watch it, and then I was still in high school, and my mom would, and my cousins, American boys, don't watch the black people. They're troublemakers. You know, all they do is make trouble, you know, they don't, they should be like us. We don't complain, right? We don't make trouble. And that's how you succeed. You succeed, I think, in my, what I was raised with, with the older generation of American born who had to go through this horrific history, you know, one, you don't get a job in Chinatown. You should get a job outside of Chinatown because it means that you're working for white folks and working for white folks is better than working for your own. So self hatred doesn't just run in yourself. It kind of permeates how we feel. feel as, as a group of people, right? And so, my whole thing was that I was looking for answers as to why, why I felt the way I did. And not only that, I wasn't the only one. That's what was interesting. And I didn't realize that until I went to San Francisco state, you know, because I was told, my mom said, you want to go to college, you're going to have to You know, find your way up to court because she, you know, she spent that on my fabulous high school education, which I came up miserable and, and I would tell her I want to go to Galileo. I want to go there. She said, no, you're not going to go. I said, she goes, what is wrong with you? Because I started crying certain times and she would just say, well, you're going to school to learn, not to make friends, so forget about it. I'm giving you the best with best intentions. But then when I went to college, this one girl who grew up in South City, similar experience because South City was all white back then. So she said to me one day, she was, she's Chinese too. And she says, you know, there's a meeting there that's huge. The people are talking about all this stuff. We talk about how we were mistreated in high school and how people are blah, blah. There's a name for it. It's called racism. I was called what racism. Okay. She goes, you want to go? I said, well, who's there? She said, black people. But I said, Oh, my mom would kill me. I mean, I was really worried because my mom doesn't even know what I do at state. So I went. I think that time we had some pretty interesting people. One time there was Eldridge Cleaver, who was the head of the Black Panther Party. Um, there were people like Carlton Goodlett, who was from the Bayview Hunters Point, who had certain people from the mission. They were all kind of leaders of different communities. There was Yuri Wada, who was a Japanese American. He was very prominent in dealing with civil rights. Chinatown, I, George Woo, George Woo is an infamous person also. He was the spokesperson for gang kids in Chinatown. He was very, very, very alive and took over in terms of the whole thing about the youth problems in Chinatown. So he was not part of this group, but just hearing the stories of these other ethnic groups that were very similar, not the same, but this whole thing of like just being dissed for the way you look, the way you speak, and supposedly your values. And my whole thing is that, that thing opened my eyes to the extent that helped me to release a lot of my anger towards something I didn't know who to be angry at, right? So you have to, I felt that the San Francisco State Strike, I mean, I was all in and with a small group of Chinese that were there, including Mason, all these people. And we had to really open our eyes to working with other people that were not like us. And what was more interesting for me to see was that every single group said that if we're ever going to have classes on ethnic studies, a key part of those classes should be why we are getting an education. And why we're getting an education primarily is to serve our communities. So there is a real strong component to ethnic studies that was community based. And because of that, during my college years, I actually came back, I mean came back, I was still living in Chinatown, but I actually placed myself in the Chinatown that I knew nothing about, which is our issues, our problems. And during my time, it was mainly about youth problems. We had a gang problem. We had girls that were on drugs. We had immigrant kids that didn't speak any English and just thrown into schools nilly willy without anybody helping them. So I was lucky enough for three years or four years during college that I worked as a house parent for runaway girls. I worked trying to tutor immigrant kids, you know, and I was trying to become a teacher. So those formative years, in terms of just having my feet in different things really showed me that, you know what, I don't want next generations of people who kind of look like me to have to go through the struggle of hating myself. Because of things that are my home, that are based home base, you know, this country, this is what I feel that very strongly about the United States, that I think people are losing sight of, especially now that we're all in very ethnic silos. This country is very different in the sense of just the whole fact of different groups mixing, you know, you go to China or whatever it's still basically you. you're Chinese, even in my north, south, pink, whatever direction you are. It's still basically Chinese, but in this country you can come from different areas and different places of the world and still have a vision that ties you together. That should be a singular vision, which is a democracy at this point. And then also this very simple statement of justice. And equality for all. We sometimes forget about the all, if we're just kind of in our little silos. But I think that's the reason why, from state on, and reacquainting to my community, it was life changing. Whatever job I took after that, whether I was a teacher, a faculty, associate dean, chair of the department. My main focus was that I'm here for the students and the people, quote unquote, who are here with me that have this similar vision, that we all have a place here. And in order to, for us to really respect others, we have to respect ourselves. And that includes what we're raised with in terms of our values and also our history here. Miko: Thanks, Laureen. Germaine?  Germaine Wong: Oh. well, my experience is similar to many of yours and a little bit different. I grew up in Oakland, Chinatown, and Went to a school that was only three blocks from where I live. And the school was Mexicans, blacks, as well as Chinese. Although I would say maybe half the school, at least half the school was Chinese. And I didn't, I didn't speak any English until I went to school, so I had that experience too. And then, my father was always very upwardly mobile, wanted to live the white middle class life. And I didn't know it at the time, but, he managed to buy property in Castro Valley, Southeast of Oakland. At the time, they wouldn't sell to Chinese. So he got somebody at work to buy the property for him. And then sold it to my father. That's how we got to move there. So I started high school in Castro Valley. I was the only non white in the whole school. The janitors, the cafeteria workers, everybody was white. I was the only one in that school who was not white. But I'm a little bit more dense than all of you, so I was not aware of whatever racism there was. At that time Castro Valley was really white. And also very affluent. So most of my classmates. It's unlike in Oakland, Chinatown, these classmates, they were children of doctors and lawyers and engineers and dentists and most of the people in my high school, they, the kids either had horses or cars. At that time, Castro Valley was not the suburb it is today. Our neighbors, for example, our next door neighbors had chickens and goats So it was really different. So it was all so different from Oakland Chinatown. And then I finally experienced some racism the following year when a black family moved in and somebody really literally did burn a cross in their front lawn. Wow. Yeah. And she was in the same grade I was in, one of the daughters. And then another Chinese girl moved in. And I recognized her, but we were never friends in Oakland Chinatown. And that's where I first experienced reverse discrimination. Because I met the stereotype of an Asian student, right? So I did well in math and all the classes. Well, she was definitely a C student and the teachers treated her as if she was an F student. Teachers just expect us to excel in our classes. So that was my first, really, where it hit home for me. And then in the 50s, in Oakland, Chinatown, I experienced what Henry did during the confession program. So my mother was going through all these things. These are your aunts and uncles and these are not your aunts and uncles. And so if any white person comes and starts asking you about your family, just remember these people are not related to you because all of us had paper names. Like I'm not really a Wong. My family's really a Kwan. But in my situation, I had a great grandfather who was here legitimately. And then the next generation, when they went back, they decided we're never coming back to the United States. So they sold their papers. So then when the next generation decided to come back, they had to buy papers. So my family went through that situation. I had jobs where I lived in, during college, I, I had live in jobs, I lived with a family first when I was going to UC Berkeley, and then later on when I transferred over to San Francisco State, I worked for an older white woman, and so I, I got to see what upper white middle class families lived like, and then with this older woman that I lived in with here in San Francisco, what the rich people lived like, so that was kind a different world. And then somebody asked me to work at the Chinatown YWCA here. And I got to experience San Francisco Chinatown then. I was assigned to work in a pilot program where I worked with third grade Chinatown girls. One group were immigrant girls who lived in the SROs here. They literally are eight by eight rooms with a whole family lives in them. And the kitchen and the bathrooms are down the hall. So that was the first time I had ever seen people living like that, in such crowded digits. And the other group of girls I worked with, again, were middle class, upper middle class Chinese girls whose parents were doctors and dentists and like that. And the woman who was the executive director was a Korean American woman named Hannah Sir. And this was all when I went to college when President Kennedy was assassinated and then Lyndon Johnson became president. And so it was during this time that this Korean American woman said to me, you have to apply for this program because right now, President Lyndon Johnson only thought about blacks and Hispanics who needed help. And we really need to get Asian Americans in. So she convinced me to apply for program and some miracle happened and I got into the program. After I went to that summer training program, I came back here to San Francisco and I was assigned to work in the Bayview, Hunters Point, and Fillmore areas of San Francisco working with black gang kids. That was a new experience for me too. Then from there, then I went to grad school, then when I came back, I got assigned to working here in Chinatown, where I worked mainly with immigrant adults looking for jobs as well as the gang kids, both English speaking as well as Chinese speaking. And, from there, I met people like Ling Chi Wong and Eileen Dong. who were already working in Chinatown before I was. And that's when we got together and Ling Chi was actually the organizer, the lead person. And, we started CAA. So all of us had other jobs. We had full time jobs and so we were doing this kind of on the side. I think Ling Chi was the only one who didn't have a job. He was a graduate student. And I want to tell you, he was a graduate student in Middle Eastern ancient languages. That's what he was studying at UC Berkeley at the time. And, uh, but all the rest of us had full time jobs. We started CAA as a volunteer organization. We had no office, no staff, no money. And that's how we started. And eventually I first met Laureen, who really helped us out with one of our first major projects. Teaching English on television, remember? You and Helen, yes. You and Helen Chin really helped us out. Laureen Chew: Okay, nice to know.  Germaine Wong: And then I remember meeting, and then when Henry came to Chinatown and his Swahili was better than his Cantonese. Wow. Yes. Wow. Anyway, and I met all of these good people and CAA continued to grow. And there still is. Yep. Amazing, amazing story.  And that wraps up part one of this incredible intergenerational conversation. Between the OGs of Chinese for affirmative action. And the young organizers of mung innovating politics. Tonight. We got a glimpse into the powerful stories of CAS.  Of CA's founders.  Their hardships resilience and what drove them to commit their lives to the movement. Their reflections, remind us that the fight for justice is not just about the moments of triumph and the victories, but also about the struggles, the sacrifices. And perhaps most importantly, the. Vital importance of being grounded in our communities and our values. Be sure to join us next time for part two, where we'll dive into the dialogue between. Seasoned OJI leaders and today's. Today's youth Changemakers from Monday innovating politics. Together, they'll explore strategies, how strategies have shifted over the decades and how we can sustain our work for social justice in the longterm. As always thank you for tuning into apex express. For more about Chinese for affirmative action and mung innovating politics.  Please do check them out on their websites, which will be linked in the show notes. At apex express. At kpfa.org/apex express. Until next time. Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong  Cheryl Truong: Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – December 19, 2024 – Bridging Generations appeared first on KPFA.

Vic Verchereau welcomes Joseph Yang, who is the President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing. Joseph Yang is the President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing. Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, Joseph is a first-generation Hmong- American. Joseph graduated from Everett High School in 2000. He attended Michigan State University, earning a BA in Telecommunications in 2003. He then went on to earn his JD from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2013 and an LLM in Insurance Law in 2015. In 2024, after over 20 years with the organization, he was named President/CEO. A former Club Kid himself, Joseph draws on his personal experiences to create impactful programs for the children who attend the club daily. From his humble beginnings he lives the motto, great futures start here. Enjoy this fun conversation on the Leadership Lowdown as host Vic Verchereau helps to unpack this meaningful journey of an immigrant family to a community leader helping so many! » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists.   Important Links: Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride Instagram Hmong Innovating Politics Instagram Hmong Innovating Politics Website   Transcript: Cheryl: Good evening, everyone. You are tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl Truong and tonight is an AACRE night. What is AACRE might be asking. Comprised of 11 grassroots, social justice groups, the Asian Americans for civil rights and Equality Network– AACRE– leverages the power of its network to focus on longterm movement building and support for Asian Americans committed to the fight for social justice. Speaking of AACRE groups. APEX Express is proud to be apart of the AACRE Network.  Joining us for tonight's show from Yokuts also known as Fresno, california is my special, big hearted friend Shai Chang from Hmong Innovating Politics. Also known as HIP. Shai, do you mind introducing yourself? Who are you, who are your people, and where do you come from?  Shai Chang: Yes, thank you so much for having me on the show. My name is Shai pronouns are they and them. I'm located in Yokuts Valley, currently in Fresno, California. I'm actually working with Hmong Innovating Politics located both in Sacramento and Fresno. I'm in the Fresno. And officially, just recently in October, I got my name title changed to be the Trans and Queer Fresno Community Organizer. So I am so ecstatic to be doing the trans and queer work in the Central Valley, yeah, born and raised in Fresno, Hmong, Southeast Asian, and really, actually I was born in a house. The rest of my siblings were born in the hospital. We were actually, the reason why was because we were trying to go to the hospital and my dad was like, Oh, wait for me, wait for me, wait for me, and couldn't wait any longer. Cheryl: And then you just popped out. You couldn't wait any longer. Did your dad make it in time? Shai Chang: I think my dad made it in time, but only in time for us to come out.  Cheryl: I didn't know that about you, Shai, that you were a home birth. How many siblings do you have?  Shai Chang: I have five other siblings. We were all born one year apart. Honestly, like, growing up, I really loved the idea of, Oh, we're all born one year apart. It's so nice. My siblings were so close. And now I'm looking back, Oh my gosh, my mom. Oh  Cheryl: my gosh. are any of your siblings also trans or queer?  Shai Chang: No, um, one of them is queer, but, the rest of my family is, actually very progressive and a great ally to me. So I've been very privileged and blessed.  Cheryl: Do you think that's a common Hmong queer experience to have supportive and progressive parents?  Shai Chang: so I'm not actually out to my parents or my grandparents or my uncles or some of my aunts. I am out to my siblings and so I think it's very interesting and I'm still grappling along with that as well. I think there is internal work to be done. It's that both I think it's, this is a reality of some things. It's that outside of the community, I'm queer and trans and at home, I'm very much having to play a role. My dad is a shaman and so he does do, they do come from a lot more like traditional values and conservative values. And at the same time, they are progressive on things. I think that they understand racial issues. But not gender issues. So you can wear, for example, I would say like my aunt, she it's like progressive and the most conservative ways, so it's like. Oh yeah, I'm totally okay that you're gay, Shai, but if my kids wore earrings, that's too feminine.   Cheryl: Thanks for sharing that shy. It's sounds like you've had to navigate a lot of different spaces, also expectations.  I'm curious, what was it like growing up queer in Fresno?  Shai Chang: I think that it has really shaped me because I feel like I came into my queerness and my transness so late. I feel like I came into being who and knowing who I am or what I am so late into my life. It wasn't until I was much more exposed into the organizing work over in the Bay Area. And so obviously big props to Lavender Phoenix.  Cheryl: Love them. Shout out Lavender Phoenix.  Shai Chang: And just really seeing so many of the organizers really live and their truth and who they are. And I. And having to also trying to figure out what that means for myself as well. Also knowing that How many other like Hmong trans queer folks are also might be going through the same thing as well. And so there is a definitely a strong sense of unwelcome this or not even unwelcome this, but not the intentional welcome. Right. When we think of radical welcome. From Lavender Phoenix, there is a lack of radical welcomeness within our Hmong community, and so, especially for trans and queer folks, and it wasn't until just this year that there's a in the Hmong community, there's 18 clans, or our last names, and there's an organization over in the Midwest, over in Minnesota, Minneapolis that just then wrote a letter in Hmong talking about the recognition that, Hey we recognize that we have not been intentional in inviting like trans and queer people into our community. So like one, it was super validating and two, that's just like the bare minimum. Okay. They recognize it, but what did they do? Right. Nothing. And so, or, you know, for me I didn't really see much, but also that's so different. Like that, that lived experience over in Minnesota is so different from the lived experiences in California for our Hmong community. And yeah.  Cheryl: Yeah Shine you're bringing up so many things. You're so absolutely right. There is such a different between. Merely tolerating transness and queerness, such as you know, in the story you shared earlier but your aunt and her kid wearing earrings. And then also with the vagueness and The lack of action and accountability in the . Minneapolis letter. Versus the radical, welcoming. Of trans and queer folk, such as, is done in Lavender Phoenix, which. For folks who don't know is also an AACRE group. that organizes is around building trans and queer AAPI power in the bay area. And I also love. That you called in that, of course there are differences in the lived experiences for the Hmong community in Minneapolis. Versus California. Because I also think that that's super true to in the in lived experiences for trans and queer as in the bay, Area. You know, such as, what Lavender Phoenix does. Versus the transness and queerness that is experienced in the central valley, which is of course where a majority of Hmong Americans in California live. Which is also actually a great segue to talk about the amazing work that HIP does and the work that you lead with QHIP, which is for listeners who don't know. Is short for Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride. Do you mind telling us what QHIP is and what led to its fruition. Shai Chang: Yes, thank you so much. Back in 2018, I actually was, that's when Hmong Innovating Politics actually branched out to Fresno. And that's when I was like, Oh, I've heard about you all, like in the organizing work over in Sacramento. I will love to get involved. And literally that weekend that they came in Mytao one of the original organizers for, to, to branch out into Fresno, she actually messaged me, it's Hey, I have this application that's due on Sunday. It's Seeding Change. Can you apply for it? I was like, Yeah, sure, of course. It's Friday. Also, how did you get my number? Ha ha ha ha ha., and so, like, it was just a great She actually got my number through, like, different connections here and there, and then that's how she got my number, and then she contacted me, and she talked Yeah, and so, that's how I got involved with HIP, was through Seeding Change. I've already been trying to organize in the Fresno community around , Hmong and trans and queer issues, and, , Leadership has always, always been a very big issue. Just finding other trans and queer leaders, and I was very lucky, it was such a very strange time that one of my were One of my friends, um, friends now, but then, uh, actually it's like this other random person came into Fresno and was like, Hey, I just got back from, Texas, and I am in Fresno. Like, I was born and raised in Fresno, I moved away, came back, and wanted to organize around trans and queer issues. I was like, no way!  So, on top of that, Mytao, later in the summer, was able to organize to get us, funding, and so we got 3, 000 just to organize for trans and queer issues, and in the next two to three months, um, we got 20 people to start showing up. We met every single week. Wow! And then on top of that, we were hanging out for another two to three hours. So I honestly, we all use obviously like our own personal funding, our own like, like vehicles, transportation, pick it up folks just so that we can meet and really being housed in like HIP's office. And. To really honor HIP, we were also trying to think of our name for our own space because I think it came from actually like being, and I, I really also want to share that like quip, the reason I'm like, why QHIP? Why QHIP? Why not join any of the, like the trans and queer spaces? Let me be very clear about why not join any of the other gay spaces in Fresno? So, and,, Fresno historically has been a very white cis space. male gay space. And so that's really also we want to highlight that. There is like also trans spaces that just came more recently as well, Trans-E-Motion. But before that , we were actually then like, okay, let's go and be a part of these organizing spaces as like our little group, right? And we show up to these spaces and they're asking, what's your name? , who are you all? What's your name? Are you gay little Asian boys?  And so I share the stories. As to, like, how much it speaks volume to the microaggressions, the internal racism that exists, and as well as how much, like, work is done. Like, why we need this space so much, right? When we show up to these spaces, we are not feeling that sense of belonging, that radical welcoming. And so, Yeah, we just started organizing from there and then obviously we were being housed and so HIP was like, okay So do you want to spin off and do your own organizations? Who are you and What's your five year plan and the whole time we're like “What?!” I've never thought about a five year plan, you know, and got, yeah, that's her name. And also Katie Moua, who's working with us as our , program director, you know. And so, we finally actually just this year became a program under HIP. So originally we were like a support group. We were just holding space and we just hit our five year last year and after seeing so much transition and leadership,, we just know that for, sustainability is that we need to make sure that we're holding it somewhere and so HIP was able to hold that program space for us. And so that's just where and where we're at right now.  Cheryl: Thank you so much for sharing the origin storyof QHIP. It's really inspiring to meto hear how organizations come to be? And. All of the community effort and community members that came together, recognizing a need and supported each other through it all. It really shows the power of mutual care and collective organizing. We're going to take a quick music break, but there'll be more on the incredible organizing workbeing done by QHIP for trans and queer Hmong folk in the central valley when we return. Up next. We'll be listening to “GRLGNG” by Rocky Rivera. So stay tuned. We'll be right back.  Here's “GRLGNG” by Rocky Rivera.  And we're back. You're listening to apex express on 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley and also streaming online at kpfa.org. That last track was “GRLGNG” by Rocky Rivera. We're here with Shai chang lead organizer of Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride (QHIP). A program by Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as hip. So far Shai has shared some powerful, personal stories about growing up queer and trans in a more conservative central valley.  And how essential programs like QHIP are for helping trans and queer Hmong Americans. I thrive in such places which are often hard to find. We've learned about how QHIP. Came to be and how it was created by and for the community through effort and also through. I would say great courage. So Shai. Can you tell us a little bit more about the programming that QHIP does? Shai Chang: Thank you so much for asking. A lot of the work that we do is rooted in healing justice. when we first came together, we just knew that. There's so much trauma that we had. Um, so I, I say this because one, we were like, okay, like, should we open it up to, like, other Asian Pacific Islanders? Should we do like a Southeast Asian, queer, trans work? And then, I was like, let's look at the space we're in currently. Who is in here with us? Like, how can we say that we're a lot of the time, it's, I think it's frustrating that it's always like, API, API, right? And there's no other Pacific Islanders in this space. Um, so it's like to say that Hmong people are here and it's okay for us to focus on Hmong communities. On top of that, we have so much particular trauma that if we then invite other folks into the space and they have their own intersectional trauma, how can we also hold space for them when we're also then trying to figure out our own, like. issues. And so, uh, not realizing that these were like rooted in healing justice. We just knew that we just needed space for ourselves and to heal and, and heal in different ways. And so in one of those ways, like, how can we heal and also have fun? And one of the organizers around that has been One of the events we did was Sports Day. Um, I was like, okay, how does Sports Day relate to healing, you know? And it's like, of course it does, right? We know that many times, like, trans and queer folks are not allowed to have fun in sports, are not allowed to be queer enough, like, they're too queer, um, that they're not allowed to be Performing to mask, to fan, and like in queer, like in sports. And so, we know and we recognize that it's so important for us to actually be able to live in these spaces as well. For us to reclaim these opportunities for ourselves. And so, um, It has shown up in many different ways. And so every single, almost every year we, we do something like that together. And so, uh, we did one in Sacramento and they're all like, this is where the BIPOC people have been at. Uh, because there is like a queer and like sports, like, uh, outing that is over there, but it's always like predominantly white, and so when all of the people of color started showing up, I'm like, oh! Uh, and so it's so funny. It's so funny. Like, that we get to actually practice community, care, and love, and intentionality, and really finding space of joy for one another, especially If you want to like play volleyball, hit the ball back into a twerk, you know, like we've seen our Southeast Asian Filipinos, like Cheryl: I love that image of just like this pack of like Hmong queer and trans folk just like rolling up, you know, I just love that image so, so much. And I love that point too. Like what does sports have to do with queer being queer and trans? And it has so much. It starts in those like little things, those little sports outings, being able to hit a volleyball and go into a twerk. That's healing justice. Wow. That is so incredible. You mentioned that when QHIP first started, it was around 20 people. What would you say like the age demographic is? of the people in QHIP.  Shai Chang: So when we first started, no one was over 30.  We had folks from high school, and we had folks, um, in like, uh, like over 18, um, and, uh, no one was over 30. Yeah, so we had a very young group and we can just see how like hip has also adapted into that as well It's not like we have always been really young organizers and so When you were talking about the budding and the seedings like that's what we do We train and we right now we are wanting to bring up and train other trans and queer leaders that really also want to be a part of the space too because One, like, to be very honest and transparent, if I'm gone, Quint is gone. That's what I mean by the sustainability of leadership. Like, I'm the one who's holding this work right now. And because we have just recently expanded over to Sacramento to have Christine also hold that space, like, oh my god, Once I'm gone, it's gone, right? And so  so we actually Went um, we had a booth at the Hmong New Year's. It was a queer and trans booth It's super queer super trans and we were anticipating lots of pushback And so folks we actually just asked like our friends who I mean like I already didn't have like queer friends already And so we asked our friends to just come and be in the booth with us, come organize with us, and then words kind of spread out around that, like, oh, there's this thing, they're doing this thing, and so folks came and volunteered. And I need to share this story because, like, we were all anticipating people to come to our booth and push back. Um, we've, there's like Christian monk folks there have come and done push back in the past, but there has never been like a trans and queer booth. Like a Hmong trans queer booth and so folks, we have like a photo booth in the back and the way that you can take brief pictures is that you just signed the board that I support Hmong LBTQ and really there was so much overwhelming love and support for us that many of the times like our own like folks, our own trans and queer folks, they had to take a pause and like, yeah, Actually, I need to take a break, right? I think this overwhelming sense of love and care from community and so this is where it grew and this is where and how we grew and also knowing at the same time that like there's so much multiple layers in this conversation, I'm sorry. Um, so it's like One, there is so many overwhelming support, yes, and that's how many people came and started to know about us and started organizing along with us. And the other piece and part of it too is that right now and where I'm at now is that I'm trying to organize for trans and queer spaces for Hmong folks, and I'm really trying to invite community to come and be part of us, and at the same time, not seeing folks show up. Um, and so like when we had our organizing program, our 7, 8, 9 month long organizing program, first time this year, opening it up for like, community to apply and be part of, like, 4 folks applied, and they were all allies, um, and so I, yeah, I didn't want to take that away from them as well, and so these are the people that applied, and these are the people that like, I will be working with, right? And so when we went to the Pride Parade, and other, like, trans and queer Hmong folks showed up, and they're like, Oh, is this an organizing program? And I was like, Yeah, it is! And they're like, Oh, I should've applied! And I was like, Yeah, you should've! And so, We, Christina and I, we really had to sit in with that, and it's like, why is that? Why is that, like, a really challenging place? Um, and we really lean in back into that, like, in the Hmong community, there is such a lack of welcomeness. There is such a lack of belongingness, like, many times in the Fresno, and this is just, like, trans queer people in general, in the Central Valley, is that For you to be trans and queer, it's for you to move away from home. Um, go to the Bay Area, go to L. A. And so, um, in our name, Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride, Intersectional from Kimberly Crenshaw, is really where we are highlighting that you can be queer and you can be Hmong. And Many of the times it's so hard for us to show up in like our own community because there's like so much layers of like anti blackness, like patriarchy, uh, lots of gender justice that needs to be done, transformative and healing justice that needs to be done and I appreciate Lambda Phoenix for being so bold and I'm also sitting over here. It's like how can I be bold and I think about, like, for us, like, we were already ostracized by our own community, some, many of the times, like, unwelcomed, and for us to then fight to be in our own community, it's such a big fight already, and then, like, folks would then welcome us, and then, okay, let's talk about police brutality. Right? How much of that would then also, um, be welcomed as well? And so really to be trans and queer is for us to be anti imperialist, anti capitalist, you know, anti, um, anti racism, right? And so Yeah, so like that's that's just so the realm that we're like like Hmong and trans queer folks are living in and so our next steps for our quip is for really us to build our sense of belonging. We're going to be launching our campaign Love is Love or Luya Lu um to really highlight um that that piece of belongingness within our Hmong and transqueer community that we do need to find a sense of belonging, that we don't need to be part of like our Hmong community to really find community, that we can have our own community and still be part Hmong and still be transqueer. Cheryl: I love that so much,, the I in quip intersectional is you can be queer and mom. And I think that is so brilliant. And I wonder the whole that also that piece you shared about how a lot of, you know, queer and trans, trans People of the Central Valley leave to go to larger cities, more liberal quote unquote spaces. I wonder, too, if that's part of the reason why there was low signups for your organizing program, because so much of the trans and queer among folk that are in quip are all really young and are still reliant on living in the same household as their family. Shai Chang: Yeah, thank you so much for highlighting that. Yes, that is so, so, so true. Um, I also really want to highlight that it's so hard on our femme and women folk, our transqueer femme and women folk, um, because in our experiences as a young person for them, they were the babysitters. Um, they were the caregiver and the caretaker of their family. And so many of the times it's that, you know, They could not join us in these particular spaces because they constantly had to ask for permission from their family just to be with us. Um, so, can I go? I was like, oh no, I need you to watch the house, or watch the babies, watch, watch your siblings. Um, I need you to take care of this, or X, Y, and Z, and so. It's a lot of, like, it's a lot of the patriarchy coming up in this multi layer, like, this multi layer level of oppression, multi layer level of, like, Experiences that Hmong and transqueer, , women and femme folks go through. And so really wanting to highlight that. Cheryl: So, of course, like I'm hearing the family dynamics, the patriarchy. What do you think are the other struggles that queer and trans Hmong youth currently face in Central California? Shai Chang: you know, the Central Valley is very poor., and so, lot of trans folks actually have a hard time in transition. There's only like one doctor that comes once in a long while that like really does affirmative care. And so we're trying to grow our affirmative care resource and our doctors list. And so now I think we've probably grown I think maybe like two or three in the Citra Valley. And I mean Central Valley from like Stockton to like Bakersfield, like there is no, like, it's hard to find affirmative care. And many of the times folks are, if they're wanting like gender affirming care, they have to go into the bigger cities. And so there has been in the past transportation. So obviously when we're doing like, it's, you know, Affirmative care surgery. It's a very, very big thing. And so transportation on top of like housing for rest is a very big thing as well. And so there was funding that folks have been organized to do transportation as well as housing to take care of them. What does what does aftercare look like? And so I think there's like those kind of layers like racism, Obviously, transphobia, , homophobia, and I think it just speaks to a lot, you know, about like the, there's like a lot of, and there is gender based violence in our community, quite a bit, right? When you think about patriarchy, of course, it's attached. I think in the media of the times, community needs to also see that patriarchy also impacts, patriarchy impacts all genders. Right. , it forces more, males and men to be more masculine, really pushing them away from what it means for them to actually have, like, quote unquote feelings, or being feminine, or, um, there's a lot of big drinking problem in our Hmong community as well, and so, there's lots of, like, over drinking and binge drinking, and so, yeah, there's also deeply rooted issues that are also, uh, showing up in the community as well. Cheryl: Wow, there's a lot. And it sounds like there's so much infrastructure and resources that are still, that still need to be developed. Central California is still developing their resources for trans and queer, especially trans and queer Hmong folk. My question then, Shai, because you, because I do agree, like if the moment you leave, QHIP is gone. How are you dealing? Because this is a lot of work. How do you deal with all of this responsibility? Shai Chang: I lean into hip. I have to. Um, to be very honest, I had a really hard time. I think last year, um, we had a really hard time when I was just like, I feel so alone. I went to this like conference. This was called creating change. It's their national, like LBGTQ conference and over in San Francisco and like February, July and went to that conference and then came back home. I was like the only trans, you know, I was the only person on the train back home. Right? And so it feels so isolating. It feels so alone sometimes. And I brought this up to HIP and we all just cried and we're like, This is not okay, right? And so that's when we started to see what programming for quip actually looks like and recognizing that something needs to happen. We need to build more. And so I also really want to highlight that it takes time and it takes It takes time and commitment to want to build with people. Um, and we were able to really build space for our trans and queer community here because we were so committed to wanting to build something here. Um, and so it is very alone, like, and also it's really to recognize that we are not alone. Um, I think Lambda Phoenix has done such a great job in really being able to model what that means and what that looks like. And literally asking for help. Um, it's not to say that I'm not good at delegating. It's not to say I'm not good at delegating. I'm just really bad at breaking down, like, these roles and responsibilities for me to then Invite other folks in to also to support me to help, you know, to make the movement go and grow together. And we're so used to doing this work alone. I'm so used to doing this work alone that I feel like I have to do everything together. I have to be the creative artist, the social media campaign manager. The comms manager, coalition building, I, I feel like I have to be then like the, the organizer, the program manager, the development, the HR, um, the supervisor, and, and at the same time as a, you know, not as a young person anymore, but like young enough still 29, is that I'm still also learning what organizing is and what organizing means. And so, um, it means all of us. It needs all of us. Cheryl: That's actually such an important dimension too, because as , you're all developing this in the works, you're also learning along the way. , I guess maybe to end our conversation. I want to know, because you bring up the welcomeness, the radical welcomeness you've learned from Lavender Phoenix and how Revolutionary that has been in your praxis of trans and queer organizing for Hmong folk. What does radical welcoming look like for you for quip moving forward in the next couple of years? What would you want it to look like? Shai Chang: What it will look like for quip is that Um, next year we're going to be launching a campaign and then continuing the Love is Love or Lu is Lu Ya Lu campaign and really highlighting the sense of belonging that needs to be built up in our Hmong community. Um, as much as we're fighting for trans justice, racial justice, and gender justice, and trans queer justice, and like, those are like the big words, and all of those things, and what does that mean? And it starts at the small, it starts at the small, like, if we don't even feel that sense of belonging within our own community, if we don't even feel that sense of belonging within our own selves, small like the sports day, it's not going to actually build in that piece of justice in the long term. And so it's so important that, um, we build in that radical welcomeness through all layers. And it can look very different. It doesn't have to be like, Oh, welcome. Verbatim welcome. This means that we are doing it every single time at every single point, at every single way. It looks like having dinners. Um, it looks like having fun. It looks like karaoke. It looks like listening to each other's story, passion mic, open mic nights, poetry slams, and sports days, and Really going out to vote together. It really looks and shines in all the different ways and really being in coalition with one another is how we're going to get there and build there. And so, yeah,  Cheryl: that was the perfect answer, Adrian Murray Brown writes about this all the time. Small is all. Radical welcoming in all areas of this work. I think that's just so beautiful.  We are actually going to take another music break. But learn how to plug into quips work when we get back. So don't go anywhere.  Up next is taking names by Rocky Ibarra. And we're back. You are tuned in to apex express on 94.1 KPFA and 89.3. KPMB in Berkeley and online@kpfa.work. You were just listening to you taking names by Rocky Berra. Before we close off the show shy. Do you mind letting our listeners know how they can stay in touch with Quip and learn about all of your upcoming programming? Shai Chang: Yeah, I would say follow us on our social media, Facebook and Instagram. That's a great place to begin, um, and continue to share and highlight us. , we are trying to post more. And you can follow us at qhip. ca at qhip. ca or quip. california. ca. Yeah, um, I think that's a great place to begin and then you all always can message me there. Um, yes.  Cheryl: Thank you shy. All of those links to equip socials we'll be linked in our show notes. And so before we close off for the night, do you have any last words, you'd like to share to any trans. Queer, mung folk who might be listening right now.  Shai Chang: Yes. Um, lean into your leadership. Lean into it. I know that you're so scared of, like, wanting to be in a leader because it feels like there's so much responsibility that comes with it. And know that you are not alone. In it. You are not alone in this leadership. You are never alone. There's so much people who have paved the way and so much people who are still here with us today. And so, I am here and we can learn and lean into each other and really actually create spaces of love. Like, how do we lean into love and not into our leadership? Right? And so, you don't have to feel like you are leaning into your leadership alone. But leaning into community and leaning into love. Cheryl: Thanks, everyone. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time. Cheryl Truong: Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – October 24, 2024 – Trans & Queer Hmong Rise: Organizing in Central California appeared first on KPFA.

It's the first day of early voting in Wisconsin. Vice President Harris made another pitch to undecided Republican voters at a campaign stop in Brookfield. A conservative law firm known for lawsuits aimed at purging state voter rolls is suing the Wisconsin Elections Commission. And, we'll have the details of a new partnership that aims to encourage Hmong American students to become educators.

In this captivating episode of the Reading with Your Kids podcast, host Jed Doherty sits down with two remarkable guests who are using their unique talents to make a difference in the world. First, we hear from Kao Kalia Yang, a Hmong American author whose debut middle-grade novel, "The Diamond Explorer," takes readers on a journey of self-discovery and cultural identity. Kalia shares the powerful story of her family's harrowing escape from Laos during the Vietnam War, and how her father's resilience and love of storytelling inspired her own writing. She delves into the themes of her book, which follows a young Hmong boy named Malcolm as he navigates the complexities of class, race, and finding his place in the world. Kalia's words are both heartbreaking and hopeful, as she highlights the importance of representation and the transformative power of literature for young readers. Next, we meet Naomi Schaefer, the former "boss clown" of the nonprofit organization Clowns Without Borders. Naomi explains how this incredible group of performers brings laughter and joy to children in refugee camps, conflict zones, and areas of natural disaster. She shares the inspiring origins of Clowns Without Borders, which started with a simple request from children in a Croatian refugee camp for more laughter in their lives. Naomi eloquently describes how laughter and play can be powerful tools for healing trauma and cultivating resilience, especially for vulnerable young people. She also shares a heartwarming story about bonding with her stepdaughter over the children's book "Baby Clown," underscoring the importance of representation and shared experiences in literature. This episode is a powerful exploration of the ways in which storytelling, in all its forms, can uplift, inspire, and transform lives. Whether through the written word or the art of clowning, these guests are using their talents to make the world a little bit brighter. Click here to visit our website - www.readingwithyourkids.com 

Today's episode features Pagnia Xiong, a Hmong-American music artist. Tune in to hear Pagnia share her personal journey with music and how music can be used for self-expression and healing. We can all probably recall a few songs that remind us of a challenging or meaningful time. A song that helped us feel deeper or gave us the message we needed. We hope this conversation inspires you to reflect on your journey and the music that carried you through. PAGNIA XIONG'S LINKS https://linktr.ee/pagniaxiong https://www.facebook.com/pagniaxiongofficial https://www.instagram.com/pagniaxiong UNLEARNING PATTERNS LINKS https://www.facebook.com/unlearningpatternspodcast https://www.instagram.com/unlearningpatternspodcast

Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Yia Vang, a Hmong American chef, restaurant owner, and host of Outdoor Channel's television show “Feral.” Vang talks about growing up as a small game hunter, going on his first pheasant hunt in Wisconsin, and his perspective on the Hmong “balanced” approach to food. Episode Highlights: • Vang talks about his journey from college to chef and food truck operator to the owner of a new restaurant, Vinai, in Minneapolis. • Vang also explains how Andrew Zimmern's producers “discovered” him, which led to “Feral.” • WATCH Vang make pheasant fried rice, which is featured in the new PF & QF Upland Bird Hunting Super issue. onX Hunt is a proud supporter of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever and they want to thank everyone who gives back to the birds we all love to hunt and the places they call home. Click this link to get a free month of onX Hunt and then use code PFQF to get 20% off, and a portion will go back to supporting Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's wildlife habitat mission.

I discuss Crocs, eclipses, a game called Deal or No Deal with trail running contracts, and an interview with Lil Buddha about his Pangea Traverse and bear encounters. I share share some news and experiences with crocs, including a 5k run and and Chris Howett's Guinness world record marathon. I discuss eclipses and play a fun game with Trail Running Brand contracts. I speak to Little' Buddha about his experiences as a long-distance hiker, his identity as a Hmong American, and his efforts to raise awareness and funds for the AAPI community. He talks about insights into his family's refugee journey and the challenges of planning and executing the Pangea Traverse. Follow Lil Buddha: https://www.instagram.com/lilbuddhahikes/?hl=en Takeaways Crocs can be a source of Guiness world records especially in the marathon. Eclipses are a captivating natural phenomenon The game 'Deal or No Deal' is played with the Trail Running Industry Thru-hiking and hitchhiking experiences are highlighted The Pangea Traverse, a 16,000-mile hiking endeavor, requires meticulous planning and funding, presenting logistical and environmental challenges. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Crocs Fascination 05:21 Passion for Eclipses and Outdoor Adventures 09:08 The Game of 'Deal or No Deal' in the Outdoor Industry 13:06 Hitchhiking, Through-Hiking, and Bear Encounters 38:04 The Pangea Traverse: Planning, Challenges, and Impact Sound Bites "I wanted to be in the community and be visible, right? As a person of color, as an Asian American living in the United States, that was participating in something that for the most part, most BIPOC people are underrepresented in." "My family, my mom, you know, she had to escape. So my father and mother were separated during this. My father was out fighting. My mom was still in the village with my brothers and sisters and me unborn." "I've got three years that I could, you know, put it all into hiking. So it'll take three years to complete the 16,000 miles." Keywords podcast, crocs, eclipses, game, interview, Pangea Traverse, bear encounters, through-hiking, hitchhiking, marathon, world record, eclipses fascination, long-distance hiking, Hmong American, refugee journey, AAPI community, Pangea Traverse, fundraising

For more detailed shownotes including transcripts, go to nuancespod.com If you enjoy this show and would like to show some love, go to nuancespod.com/support ABOUT THIS EPISODE Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! Wow, that was a mouthful. Who's idea was it to group us all together in such a long acronym? It's a long story but let me know if you'd like me to do a deep dive on that next time. If you're in Canada, Happy Asian Heritage Month. At least the Canadians knew scope creep was a thing.  TOPICS: Unequal representation in AANHPI celebrations. Why May? Intersectionality: Asian Settler Colonialism. Upcoming series on "queerness" in premodern Asia. Episode recommendations that feature underrepresented Asian perspectives. EPISODES FEATURED Kiran Kaur Gill (Sikh American) S3 E08: Kiran Kaur Gill on fighting Turban Myths with occupationally relevant training programs at the TSA, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies. Dani Saldo (Queer Filipino Canadian) S3 E05: Dani Saldo is a hot, talented, disabled bisexual pop-star on the rise, who had to break up with her old (able-bodied) self. Rita Phetmixay (Lao American) S3 E09: Rita Phetmixay: No such thing as boundaries in Asian culture – the Lao diaspora, owning the narrative, and healing intergenerational trauma with compassion. Soo Jin Lee (Korean American) S4 E1: Soo Jin Lee was never told she was undocumented, but she somehow knew. Also: therapy isn't the only way to heal. Manijeh Moradian (Iranian American) S3 E03: Dr. Manijeh Moradian on why Iran isn't always considered part of Asia, and how the West may be misinterpreting what Iranians truly want out of the current feminist revolution Travis Nguyen (Vietnamese American) S3 E06: Travis Nguyen, interpreter & translator, on working with the deaf & deaf/blind communities, how intergenerational trauma manifests in day-to-day life, and more. Qasim Rashid (Pakistani American) S2 E4: Qasim Rashid on how Islam inspires him to advocate for women, for the poor, and even for his haters, and how he remains focused in a world full of injustice. AUSLIN (Hmong American) S1 E05: AUSLIN, the artist supermom who's breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma she experienced as a Hmong American growing up in Wisconsin. Offering Rain (Queer Ecuadorian and Indian American) S2 E09: Offering Rain on reclaiming their Ecuadorian and Indian roots as a mixed-raced multimedia artist, and the importance of early access to the arts to increase diversity in the creative fields. Rahul Borkar (Indian American) S1 E02: Rahul Borkar on being a music artist and producer from Louisville, KY Scott Okamoto (Japanese American) S3 E07: Scott Okamoto on losing faith and becoming an English professor at an evangelical school. Cece Chow (Trans Chinese Canadian) S4 E07: Trans Day of Visibility special with Cece Chow & her son Gideon – the wholesome Asian trans representation you needed to hear. NEXT WEEK I'll be back with episode recs for mothers day but also a new guest, Dr. Sophia Yen! We'll be talking about women's health, making periods optional, best to worst methods of contraception, menopause, and what is missing from sex education.  MENTIONED Essay by Chinese Hawaiian Asians & Asian Settler Colonialism in Hawaii USA: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month Canada: Asian Heritage Month CONTACT Instagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | Twitter Host: Lazou --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this week's episode of APEX Express, we are joined by Yi Thoj and Belle Vang from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF) who will go into depth about these very tough but very real and needed conversations about abusive relationships, especially within the Hmong community, where 70% of Hmong Americans are under 24 years old.   Important Resources: Hmong Innovating Politics website California Hmong Advocates Network – Building Our Futures website Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships infographic How to Spot Abusive Relationships infographic Do you know someone in an abusive relationship? infographic Are you in an abusive relationship? infographic What does consent look like? infographic Transcript Cheryl: Good evening, everyone! You are tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl and tonight is an What is AACRE?, you might ask. Well comprised of 11 grassroots, social justice groups, the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network, leverages the power of its network to focus on long-term movement, building and support for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Speaking of AACRE groups, APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's episode, we will be spotlighting the work of AACRE group Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP. Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from HIP will be in conversation with Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from the California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures, also known as CHAN-BOF.  They'll be in discussion on the importance of teen dating violence awareness, especially in the Hmong community as they are among the youngest of all ethnic groups in the United States with about 70% of Hmong Americans being under 24 years old.   I know somebody, you might want to learn more about HIP and CHAN-BOF so I'll let our speakers introduce themselves. And don't forget. All of their socials and websites will be linked in the show notes.    Belle: Hi, everyone, thank you so much for making time in your night to join us. We really appreciate it. Today we're going to be having a panel discussion in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. I really want to thank CHAN-BOF for collaborating with Hmong Innovating Politics. We're very excited to do this collab together. We're going to do a brief introduction. So, hi, everyone. My name is Bella Gaonoucci Vang. I'm with Hmong Innovating Politics as a Communication and Narrative Manager. If you're not one of our followers, make sure to follow us.  Hmong Innovating Politics is a grassroots organization focused on strengthening political power within Hmong communities through civic engagement. And with that being said, I'll go ahead and pull in one of our HIP members, Yi.  Yi Thoj: Hi everyone, my name is Yi and I use she, her pronouns, and I been a HIP young adult for around three to four years. I'm also working on the Bright Spots project.  Belle: And then if we can have Pana join the conversation.  Pana: Hi, everyone. I am Pana with CHAN-BOF champion stands for California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future. We were two grassroots organizations in community and outreach and this past year we have been able to provide mobile direct services to our Hmong survivors of domestic violence across the Central Valley– so from Sacramento to Fresno. Jennifer Xiong: All right. And that leaves me. Hi, everyone. My name is Jennifer Xiong. I use she/her pronouns and I work as a program specialist with CHAN-BOF and Banak, who actually serves as my supervisor. I'm really excited and happy to be here and really grateful for HIP for giving us a space time and platform to have this conversation  Belle: Thank you again CHAN-BOF for collaborating with us here at HIP. We really appreciate all the work y'all do in the community. I know y'all individually are really great folks. I'm really excited to dive into today's conversation. In your experience, I'm just asking everyone in the panel, where are some cultural norms or expectations within the Hmong community regarding relationships and dating, and that could be anything that you'd like to share from your own personal experiences. Pana: I think I can go. So I think growing up in the eighties, cultural expectations for women, Hmong women, We were expected to just cook, clean, and take care of our younger siblings and our parents. Right? So if you were dating, your relatives would just look down on us. Dating was frowned upon. I remember it was expected that if a guy is interested in you, they would have to come by your parent's house and your parents would have to approve. I remember guys come in and during our teenage years, my mom would have to be present. Right. My parents are really strict. Their limit was they could only stay two hours. And so my mom would ask fast questions. If they don't qualify, they don't meet expectations, they better be out ASAP. My parents are really, really strict.  So those were our expectations back in the 80s. We weren't really allowed to date during my younger days that's what we had to go through. Yi Thoj: I feel like a lot of the gender expectations of my generation is still very much by heteronormative and patriarchal norms and construct.  I'm the youngest of 7 girls, so all of my, 6 older sisters– they're fierce and they're also wonderful, powerful women who have helped me navigate through a lot of the contentions that I held before, interacting with romantic encounters and engagements. And so I think having that model definitely helped me navigate through my experiences as well. I feel like our parents are like, oh, if you want to engage in romantic encounters at a young age, that's welcome. But thankfully, they also didn't pressure us to do so. Jennifer Xiong: It's got me thinking about my own experiences, very little experiences, I might add. I think about some of the things my mom has said to me, which still stick around, it's kind of like embedded in my mind where she says Oh, ([Jennifer speaks in Hmong) meaning when your partner is visiting or at our home, you guys shouldn't be in your bedrooms. You should be out in the living rooms because that's really disrespectful. It, it invites negative perceptions about the person and about the relationship and it is a form of disrespect toward the, the parents and the home. I've also felt and seen from my older cousins or distant relatives who've gotten married– I think it's centered a lot around saving face. I remember hearing stories about my cousins. If they had gone out and they came home late, for example, and the parents were extremely displeased or unhappy, and they're like, no, you dishonored me and my daughter. You have to marry my daughter now because you took her home late, even if they didn't do anything salacious, so to speak. I'd hear those a lot. And, for me, those are always scary. Like, Oh my gosh, they would just do that! And you're a kid and you're growing up hearing these and actually, I think I heard it more commonly than I expected– people marrying young because of the whole consequence of arriving home late from a date or a hangout. So those are some of my experiences or what I've, I heard and witnessed. Yeah.  Belle: Thank y'all for sharing. I love hearing about your experiences. I It's really interesting how we all have different experiences, but it's still in the same realm of a very similar community, right? Very tight knit community. I echo both Jennifer and Yee's experience where my parents are a little bit more lax, but at the same time, it's like, make sure you marry someone who's a quality person. Right? I think that's really telling of how we see dating in the Hmong community. We don't date to date, right? We date to commit forever. And especially, I know all of us on this panel are women identifying and that can be a very dangerous tool, right? To just date to only marry– you're willing to put up with a lot, even if it's not really what you want for yourself, because the way the culture shapes us is if you are dating, you're only dating seriously. It's not to explore, not to be curious about yourself. And so I really appreciate the way that y'all frame it and the way that you share your experiences too. And I know we touched a little bit on this as well, but kind of gauging what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship. How would you say a healthy relationship is defined within the Hmong community? And what are qualities that you consider important? For a positive and respectful relationship within the community? Pana: So you all heard the word [Pana speaks in Hmong], right [Pana speaks in Hmong] right? [Pana speaks in Hmong] We We hear this over and over. I think even with my age, I've heard that. I'm pretty sure some of y'all have heard that to even my parents or friends or family, right? To me, what's considered positive in a relationship is really compromising and allowing you to have your own space, really meeting each other in the middle, trusting each other, having boundaries, appreciating each other, respecting, having that respect, right? Effective communication, being able to communicate with each other and having empathy. Also consent. Really having the permission of something to happen or agreement. Be able to agree with something and being committed to your relationship.  Jennifer Xiong: Yeah, I wanted to add, and also share that I think a lot of the times traditional expectations around what a healthy relationship looks like in the Hmong community generally entails being constricted and confined to your pre established roles that have been gone for generations. But I think that how we can further redefine that nowadays is to really think about how everything that Pana has already listed and shared. Right. I think it's important that those things like healthy boundaries and having balance within a relationship, I feel a lot of those things should be contextualized to the relationship. That's one, but also, I think it should be formed organically, which is difficult, and there will always be ongoing conversations about what a romantic commitment looks like, and what does that mean for the exact couple, but I think it's important to have an ongoing conversation about it, and then also it's important to understand these layers, that , If the couple is both Hmong, it's important to put that in context, and then it's also, what if it's a multiracial or multiethnic relationship? I think that's also very important. Understanding the values, and how these things can be formed organically as well. There are certain learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, that we pick up as we grow up and what the kind of relationships and dynamics we witnessed as we're growing up and then getting or getting involved in our own romantic relationships with people, and the things we witness and see can also really shape the way we go into relationships and the way we show up as partners.  I really don't know how to define it within the Hmong community, but I will say that I have seen when relationships and dynamics of dating are built on a foundation of patriarchy, it can, relating back to what Yi and Pana says, it can build really toxic and concerning, unhealthy relationship dynamics of power and control, and not knowing how to allow your partner to have autonomy to themselves, or knowing that it's two different people coming in together to a relationship. Power and control, when it gets mixed into this relationship, it can become really unhealthy and toxic. So I think it's also about unlearning those and realizing that certain attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs don't serve in creating a healthy relationship between a partnership or a romantic relationship. Within the Hmong community, a lot of us I've seen unlearning those behaviors and attitudes that we may have witnessed and maybe even internalized growing up. To answer the second part of the question what qualities are considered important for a positive respectful Relationship. I think it's really all that you you both named. Those are important like compromise and y'all named so many other great stuff, but then I was also just cranking up the things in my mind, but I just want to echo back what Yi and Pana said, and I'll leave it at that. Yi Thoj: What Jennifer just shared, about what we witnessed growing up sparked something in my mind as well about the media that we consumed growing up too. I watched a ton of Tyler Crohn's and Southeast Asian media growing up, and so much of the representations of love in there. It's so romanticized that abuse is okay. Non consensual engagements is okay. The media and real life relationships that are reflected and also modeled throughout our lives hold such a big factor into how we view love growing into a young adult and further. I know it definitely impacted me because I was always like, Oh, I think that's what love is, right? That's what it's showing on TV and things like that. Yeah, definitely holds weight.  Belle: Yeah, I love that you mentioned that Yi. I didn't really seriously start dating until I was in college and a lot of our generation grew up watching kdramas. Like, oh so romantic, super rich Boy is in love with super poor girl and he dictates her life and buys her everything like so romantic. And I tell my partner now that i'm married, if you ever do anything like in kdramas we are not messing around. That is not cool I don't want you to decide anything for me. I don't want you to pretend like you're in the hospital just as a prank You know boys over flowers. It's really interesting how love is framed growing up and how, just like you said, it's super romanticized. And like, you know how K dramas, you feel that excitement, like that, it's not necessarily love, right? That's just the thrill of being in something new, experiencing something different, but not necessarily love itself. And I really resonate with what you said earlier, Yi, about how it's really important to form those healthy boundaries and organically. And I really closely ties to Pana's comment about being able to create a consensual relationship and, Just like Jennifer said to like dismantling that patriarchy and foundation that we were built on.  We;re Belle: Learning those things are really hard to because initially I thought that drama was what love was supposed to be, but love is supposed to be safe and supposed to protect you, make you feel like you belong. Right? Because we like do grow up in a society that perpetuates love in honestly a violent way, I also just kind of want to know like y'all's thoughts on do you think there's enough awareness about dating violence within our communities, particularly the Hmong community? And how do you feel like it's generally perceived or even discussed amongst one another? Pana: I actually think there's not much awareness happening in the Hmong community. We really need to continue and bring more awareness. And it's awareness. Prevention. Intervention. We need to continue to do that. Some parents don't talk much to their youths about teen dating violence, what's healthy and what's not healthy, or actually like what to look for in a relationship.  In my household, I have only boys. And so we talk about safe sex, healthy boundaries, healthy relationship. What would they like to see in a relationship. I do this because, I've had experience working in the domestic violence field, sexual assault field for a long time. And plus, that's something that I never got from my parents. So my goal was, from now on, when I have my kids, these are stuff that I'm going to teach them. And so I kept my goals, you know, that was something that I told myself that I promised myself that I would do this, to continue to teach my kids healthy boundary, healthy relationship and dating violence., Most parents were taught when they were young you're going to get married and just have a good life, have a good family.  Yi Thoj: All points that are so valid and so true. There are generational gaps, between the elders and ourselves and myself. My parents are around mid 60s. As much as I think I try to bridge that gap sometimes, I think youth just don't have the language as well to fully explain to them.  There's even the conversation about like mental health and how romantic relationships are embedded in mental health and even that in itself is a difficult conversation to start. More tangible resources to learn more about communication in terms of learning the Hmong language and whatnot would definitely help with outreach and building awareness in the community. But I think a lot of recent events as well have also shown to me about where The reflection of culture and the communities as well Which I would also like to provide some sort of affirmation for any youth who's watching this that these contentions and frictions within the community– it's never a reflection of you. You know, it's always a reflection of the larger culture and what is happening. And something that we all need to advocate for and invest into to change.  Jennifer Xiong: yeah. I agree that Bottom line, there isn't enough awareness about dating violence within the Hmong community on many different fronts, like Pana mentioned, the prevention piece and the intervention piece. How does someone recognize or learn to recognize signs of I might be in a toxic, unhealthy relationship that is or can eventually lead into something that's violent? Or maybe I am in a current relationship where there is violence, but I don't know how to pick up on the signs and actually realize that, hey, I'm not in a safe place in this relationship, or in a safe relationship.  And then if your loved ones or family members or friends are recognizing it from an outside perspective, like, we lack a lot of resources and information out there for our community to engage with to learn how to intervene or also recognize it among our loved ones and the people we care about if they may be in those types of dynamics and relationships. And then when we do recognize it, how do we step in and help? What do we do? How can we help? And yeah, so bottom line, there isn't enough resources out there. I think it's still really on the, I guess the loose term, up and up. I really have a lot of faith and hope and I've seen, the work continue to expand and grow and obviously CHAN-BOF is a part of that, along with so many other organizations, statewide organizations that are trying to build more resources and information and push it out there into our communities, so that they know this information, they have access to it and can tap into it with our youth and young adults , and maybe even with our older folks or generations, cause I know you mentioned brought up a really great point too,in that , there's different gaps or different ways of understanding how to talk about dating violence within the Hmong community. Pana: Yeah, I remember my parents would tell me, [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] [Pana speaks in Hmong] and I'm like I never understood that. And so growing up, getting older, I kind of understood it. And again, they said the same thing. We were talking, me and my kids were sitting in the table and we're talking about healthy relationship and stuff. What do you look for? How would the relationship look like? What's healthy? And then again, my dad says, yeah [Pana speaks in Hmong]  And my son was like, I don't understand that mom. It was just very generalized, and I had to like recorrect that. This is what he means. My definition of what my dad said was Look for a healthy relationship. Get to know the person Date them Belle: I love that example Pana because growing up everyone always told me that, and I took it at face value. You know when we speak in moments like poetry, right? but growing up I took that at face value saying like when you grow up make sure you marry someone who has Power, who has good reputation in the community, and then As I got older, my mom's like, that's never what I was telling you. Jennifer Xiong: I was just telling you, marry someone who makes you happy. And I was like, Oh, how come you didn't just say it that way? Then like you put it in a way that I was like, Oh man, I have to make sure I marry someone who's brings honor to my family, right? Like what a Mulan way of thinking. But I feel like that's always how I really perceive dating. And tying how Hmong is very much like poetry in our communities, I really like what Yi's comment earlier about how there's not really a lot of terminology in our community for even awareness about the mental health in our community. It's very much how medical terms have only really come to fruition in our community within the past like 50 years. We don't have anything regarding terms that we can use for mental health or dating violence, like the only thing we can use is sick, like that's pretty much how you say when you talk about mental health.   You just say basically, you have a sickness in your head, but there's not actual terms. When we talk about diabetes, like, [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] which literally translates to sweet blood or blood. Well, that is sweet. I hope to see, the next, I don't want to wait 50 years. I hope in the next 20 years there is verbiage that can help the community decipher and break down and bring more awareness to the violence that's being perpetrated in our communities as well. Belle: I love this conversation. I really love that. You showed examples of your son, and it really feels like how intergenerationally we think. We all think so differently, even though we have good intentions it doesn't get translated across the board. I kind of want to elaborate a little bit more when we talked about how it's really important to have consent when it comes to dating, how you really teach your sons that. Would you mind elaborating a little bit more about what consent looks like when it comes to dating, your perspective and how you see it within our communities as well. Pana: Have y'all seen the little video about drinking tea ? Sometimes you can drink the tea and you're like, I don't want to drink it no more. You know, and so you can change at any moment, right? And being able to understand okay, I This person might not want to, so I need to be able to give that respect and step away, right? And so, getting them to understand that. So if you all watched that video, the tea consent video. It's really cute, and It's really good for the youth, even for the kids. They understand it real quick. In a relationship, you should be able to give them that space and say, Okay, I get it. I'm gonna be able to understand if someone says no, then no means no. And then their body gestures are like they're pushing back, that means no. If my face is looking like, i'm shaking my head or you can see in my eyes like I don't like you stay away Right? And so being able to understand that Jennifer Xiong: I think one thing I want to add to that which is great. Like the tea consent video is super amazing at just Easily explaining under the understanding of consent, but also when someone can't consent like when they can't answer yes or no. For example, they're at a party and they've passed out drunk. They're just not conscious and awake and they can't answer yes or no, decline or accept. That also is not an invitation or permission. That is not a consent, basically. So I'm going back and forth. When a person can't answer, it's definitively no, because they're not consciously aware and awake enough to give that response. So I think that is also something I wanted to add. Yi Thoj: Yeah, I don't have much to add to this question. I've never seen the tea consent video, but putting that into perspective, that is such a great analogy and wonderful example and easy way to explain things can change right in the middle of an interaction.  Also just wanting to provide admiration to Pana as well to opening up the conversations with your sons because I think that's so important. A lot of the times younger Men or Hmong youth who are male identified. A lot of the times their influences are from other male figures in their lives who may not be the best role model. And so I'm totally leaning in towards the Hmong woman leaders in people's lives, especially Hmong youth, and just really loving that. Belle: I love that affirmation. we are right now a room of powerful women in our community itself. So I really, I want to like, double up on that echo Yi's statement as well.  Cheryl: You are currently tuned in to APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA and 88.1 on KFCF. You have so far been listening to Belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong from California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Future (CHAN-BOF). We are going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. More on breaking the silence about teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong community after our break.  Welcome back. You were tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA 88.1. KFCF in Fresno. And online at KPFA. Dot org. You were just listening to your track off of the Anakbayan LB May Day mix tape called “Letter to Mom” by shining sons. Anakbayan LB is a Filipino youth and student organization based in long beach, California, working to arouse, organize and mobilize the community to address issues that impact Filipinos in the U S and in the Philippines.  Now, back to the show. We are here, with belle Vang and Yi Thoj from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and Pana Lee and Jennifer Xiong. From California Hmong Advocates Network Building Our Futures (CHAN-BOF). We're talking about teen dating violence awareness and its impacts and implications in the Hmong community.  Belle: Jennifer, you talk about patriarchy and shared about how, you really tried to shape your son because you also work in this field you are definitely more eloquent work in addressing these issues. I want to dive more into what that looks like within our community and in our culture. Do you feel like there are specific cultural or community barriers that may prevent individuals, particularly Hmong individuals, from seeking help or disclosing incidents of dating violence? And what does that look like? Especially since I know CHAN-BOF does a lot of that direct work with clients. Pana: I think because we're so closely knitted, that's a barrier too, being afraid of, okay, this person might know me. One example is while growing up, I was taught men were more valuable than women. I think in our family, my parents really wanted a son and they kept on trying and trying until after they got 7 daughters, they finally got their son, right? And so we were told, you have to be patient because boys, [Jennifer speaks Hmong] and as a teenager, I was like, I guess I held no value. And so, and also keeping in mind for a long time, a lot of our culturally specific organizations were mainly ran by Hmong men. Hmong men are the main person who makes the decisions Jennifer Xiong: Some of those barriers are they don't seek help or support. The other barrier that I experienced in high school is I had a friend who was dating someone who was really abusive and verbally abusive, physically abusive. He sexually assaulted her. When she came to me. I was like, Oh, no, you need to go to your parents. The minute she told her parents, she was forced to marry him to save face. And so, after watching what had happened to my friend made me feel like if that happened to me and I went and told my parents. But these are back in my days, though, right? I would be forced to get married, like, and that time I didn't know that that was not okay. If someone raped you and forced you, that is not okay, but I wasn't aware of that. She wasn't aware of that. And so, again, we said, you know, back, awareness needs to happen. Awareness and education. That was something I remember for a long time and I felt guilty and I, I felt bad because I didn't know who to send to go for help. I referred it back to her parents and said, yeah, your parents would help you go for it and go for it. And that's, that's what happened. That's one of the other barriers. Some of our parents are not very educated in this topic, and it's a topic that we don't talk about. I do want to add, there's still strong sentiments of, victim blaming, shaming, disempowering. I've heard statements, or I will say, I was doing my research paper on DV in the Hmong community. My sources were like YouTube videos. And so, I found these videos of these women speaking out about their experiences of DV. In this particular example, she's married she was pregnant and her husband was abusing her. So much so that he was dragging her down the stairs of their apartment building. And so she mentioned her stomach was basically getting shaped. She was somehow able to escape his grasp and run to a neighbor and ask them to call law enforcement. And so law enforcement came and took away the husband because they visibly could see what, what had gone on. Her mother in law had said to her, Oh. [Jennifer speaks Hmong], meaning, oh, daughter in law, why did you call law enforcement and have them take away my son? It dawned on me how we perceived some of these dynamics and abuses when it happens in relationships. And again, the whole, why did you do that instead of are you okay? What happened to you? Why did they do that to you? Or really focusing on the wellness and safety of the person being in a violent relationship, violent abusive relationship. And to add to that, the terminology and the way we frame some of the resources out there, I remember a lot of the [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] the elders, would call DV shelters [Jennifer speaks in Hmong] right. The term, the explanation of it is like the place for runaway women or wives or mothers. But in fact, these shelters meant to house and keep individuals, women, children, who were experiencing abuse and violence in their relationship safe. But then we use negative connotations and terminology to label them because it brings a lot of shame and hesitation to seek out help. The fact that the resources that are available mainstream wise for those who are seeking help and resources because they may be in an abusive violent relationship is that there's also a lack of culturally responsive resources and services to aid and assist our specific community members when they're out trying to get the help that they need. I've witnessed and heard that a lot from the clients that I directly support and assist. Like, oh, we've gone here and then they mentioned not having a great experience, or being misunderstood, or I'm not feeling even safe or comfortable enough to talk about their experiences and get the resources and help that they need because some of the agencies really lacked the cultural understanding awareness or the intersection of that when it comes to dating violence or domestic violence in our own community. Yi Thoj: Yeah, all of this is like really great examples. Also, unfortunate. I think that from my own experience with dealing with victims around me who have undergone a lot of these violences, what I've seen is that a lot of it is them recognizing that the harm that is being done to them is wrong. Very much so. But they've also internalized and conditioned themselves to accept it as something that is normal and okay, even if a lot of the times there's this back and forth resistance of wanting to debate themselves from the situation, but then at the same time, them like always going back and this is the cycle of abuse, right, and how it works. But one note that I would also like to make is that what I've also seen is that it's really, really important that male perpetrators, especially Hmong men, it's important that there are other Hmong men who are holding them accountable, is what I found to be true. Because as much as Hmong women who are victims and other Hmong women bystanders who are wanting to advocate for these victims try to stand up for them, These perpetrators and also the culture inherently does not change if people who are in power and have that privilege don't actively help dismantle it, too. So, I think that it's important to note. There's so much power that goes into having woman led spaces and woman voices because that's so important, but I also think there should be so much more work done from the cisgendered male counterparts in our lives and in the community Belle: Thank y'all for that. Your sentiment is so powerful, yi and it's Very valid. A lot of times the folks that were leading this work are often the women in our communities Like that's just straight up facts, right? I attended a Boys and men of color conference, and one of the panels said the one time that men have these spaces together is also when women created. Right? As women, we build a lot of community for our community and at the same time, don't get the recognition of the work that is being done. So, it's really important that those who do have power, make sure that they implement it correctly and support communities that minorities within their communities that need that extra support.  The examples provided to I felt were very powerful, but also very traumatizing. When I was listening to your story, when you were talking about how you advise your friend to go to their family and they were forced into marriage. I know that we are different generations, but I feel like I definitely have met folks who are my age who were still forced to the situation. Those culture practices are so very normal and not unheard of. Like it's not completely cultural shift within one generation. And I'm sure When you witnessed that, that it was very traumatizing for you too, even though you were not the one immediately affected by it, but it also shifted the way you saw community, the way you viewed culture itself. And you even expressed you felt a lot of guilt and responsibility for that. It's really interesting that when there are those traumatizing, abusive relationships happening to those folks, and even at the third per person party that you feel that trauma in other ways as well. You mentioned how the patriarchy does affect our communities in that way. What is being done? What is being said to help heal our communities and work past these issues that are obviously very much rooted in our communities. I know we talked a little bit about the way cultural identity influences our communities. I know we specifically talked about the Hmong community too as well. I know we only have about 10 minutes left and so I kind of just want to dive into, not necessarily solutions, but what are things that we can take, what are steps that we can take to make progressive action and change in our community? So in your opinion, what role can the Hmong community play in addressing and preventing this deep imbalance? And Are there any community led solutions that you feel could be effective within our community? Yi Thoj: Yeah, I think as we've mentioned throughout the conversation, it's important to emphasize and highlight prevention work that can be done. And that is teaching the young boys and men and ongoing older Hmong men in our lives to. Because that is community, right? Folks who are directly within our circles, as well as people who we interact with. I think it's important to teach them very simple things that should already be fundamental, but unfortunately are not. Such as informed consent, and then also just normal consent. I think to echo back on what I just shared as well, having more male mentors who are very much progressive and radical in their work, and also centered in the actual tangible dismantling of the culture and harmful aspects of the system, I think is, A really big part of it. The reason why I think I'm bringing this up is because my experience with younger men who still hold a lot of these traditionalist and violent behaviors and mentalities receive a lot of their mentorship from other male mentors in their lives, and also just media consumption such as Andrew Tate and whatnot. A lot of folks in my own young adult experience very much religiously follow Andrew Tate and I had believed that we were at a point in our progressive history to where we have gone past that, but it's still very rampant in the community and it's affecting The youth, and it's affecting how they interact with and also date other Hmong women as well, assuming that this is a binary relationship.   Pana: It's time to talk about it, supporting each other, talking about what health relationship really is. And It doesn't have to just come from the school. For a long time, a lot of our parents, we depend on the school. Oh, they'll figure that out, right? it needs to come from everyone, every one of us. Even as a friend, as an individual, we all need to support in that piece like supportive organizations such as CHAN-BOF and HIP, right? Continuously talking about this, bringing the awareness. If you're feeling uncomfortable, if we're really uncomfortable talking about a certain topic, we do need to talk about that and really addressing that. Getting to understand what's healthy and what's not healthy. What are the signs of an abusive relationship? I think if we really want change, change needs to happen especially as parents and it comes from the youth too. We want a better future for our youth so I think really continue to really address this and doing a lot of prevention work because we tend to deal with a crisis and we're forgetting about the prevention part. How do we prevent this stuff. One great example that I always use is we're constantly supporting and trying to jump in and support people who are drowning, but we keep forgetting about, what's happening on the other side of that river. Something's happening and it's the prevention education piece that we need to start doing and continue to do. Cheryl: We're going to take a quick music break, but don't go anywhere. Next up,. You're going to be listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle. More on the ways we can work towards. Teen dating violence awareness in the Hmong Comunity when we return.    Cheryl: And we're back!. You are tuned in to KPFA on 94.1, KPFA 88.1 KFCF F in Fresno and online at kpfa.org. You were just listening to “cultural worker” by power struggle, a Filipino beat rock music artist based in the bay. We're currently here with Belle and Yi from Hmong innovating politics, hip. And Jennifer and Pana from California Hmong advocates network, building our futures, cHAN-BOF as we discuss the ways we can address teen dating violence in the Hmong community.    Jennifer Xiong: I'm gonna echo, I mean, both of you brought up the same points, but in really distinctive examples of your own, and I really appreciate that. It is about really bolstering, our community up to be proactive and engaged and informed about this, and really equipping and building them up to be a part of this, that it's not oh, you know, I think it's great that obviously we do this work as current active advocates who've had previous quote, unquote, professional experience dealing with , crisis like this, or dealing with and supporting directly individuals who have gone or are going through this and that, like, everyone is more than capable of being equipped with the knowledge and being enforced with the knowledge and the ability To learn and understand this and be proactive about it in our community. It does lead a lot back to the whole prevention and intervention work and building up our youth and young adults. Cause you know, okay. So a side note is, so we did a lot of outreach and engagement work this past year, really putting it out in front of our community, in the Hmong community. And let me tell you, I was scared to do this because I was like, oh my gosh, people are going to be bringing their pitchforks and torches and, and they're going to come around and be like, who's this girl going on TV, talking about DV and providing resources and services for our community. Interestingly enough, I got like so much of the opposite reaction and responses. And I think to me, that's really heartwarming. And it gives me a lot of hope because I got so much positive affirmation and reinforcement and feedback from even our older generations in our community and young folks too, saying this is so needed. This is critical, important. I'm so glad you're out here. Or how can we get involved? Even being like, , I'm so happy that you guys are doing this work. And we really have a lot of faith because so much of our younger folks, younger generations are stepping up to do this sort of work. So I think it's really the community, a large portion of the community, from what I've experienced, really recognize how important and needed this work is to implement this and incorporate this into our community so they know and understand like, Hey, violence is not okay. Dating violence is not okay. Domestic violence is not okay. But what can we do? , what do we do about it? And I think we're at that place where people are really curious and desiring to really step up and do something about it. And again, I think what Pana and Yi mentioned.  Belle: Thank you. I love those ideas on how the Hmong community can take action to change the violence that happens in our communities, right? I love dismantling the patriarchy and empowering our youth. I think that also really comes with, I know we didn't really touch on this, but, the 18 class system. How there really needs to be more, you mentioned, women leadership. We have a lot of women leadership in our communities, but not within our 18 class system. And why is that right? And how do we convince them that we need women in those leadership roles within our communities to represent our communities. That also ties into the same thing with Jennifer, how we really want to empower youth. We should also have youth leadership because then the folks who are in those important seats are 60 plus and so disconnected with the reality that we're living in today. So, you know, I just really appreciate everything y'all brought to the table today. I know we only have a few minutes left. , I know we talked a lot about youth empowerment, how there's a lot of women leadership. Since we're focusing on teen dating violence today, what is a tip or advice that you would have liked to receive as a teenager, now being a little bit more experienced with your relationships. And if you could say it really quick. Any of the teenagers listening out here, perk your ears up– there's a lot of great advice in here, so make sure that you absorb it like a sponge. And I'll just go ahead and leave it at that.  Pana: I think with me– it's okay to not be okay, right? It's okay to not be okay, and it's really okay to talk to someone. And really reach out for help and, you know, really understand that it's okay to say no, and we are all equal. Jennifer Xiong: For me, Oh gosh, this is hard. First things first is like, I think my teen self would have loved to know dating during your teen years. It's not a big deal. Like, it's okay. Don't feel like you're missing out or that there's something wrong with you if you aren't in a relationship while you're in your teen years. Really spend that time cherishing and valuing the time you have with yourself and getting to know yourself first, so that when you do get into a relationship, you know what you want, you know, the values that you want in a relationship, the values you want to bring into a relationship, you know yourself. And also don't forget that you are you're worthy. You matter, you're important. And that, anyone who disrespects you or does not value your work in a relationship more than likely aren't worth your time and aren't worth your tears. And so I think that's what I would have wanted to know.  Yi Thoj: for mine, it's very specific. How I came to be with my current partner. It was through an intersection of events with a lot of things that we've already discussed today as well. And so I think what I would have wanted to know is that It's very difficult to try to empower and change the hearts and minds of people on the ground level. Even if you're going in head strong. please treat yourself with grace in all of that. And then lean in on your partner to help you navigate that. It's so important. I think a lot of Hmong women and Hmong girls are taught to be hyper individualistic and independent, and it's needing to teach that sometimes you can lean into your femininity. Sometimes you can lean in on support from other people. And also from your partner, it's really important. C: Thank you. I love all the self love in the room and just really great advice on being gentle with yourself and recognize that you are deserving of all the good things in life. I hope that everyone really takes that to heart and it's just friendly reminder to continue loving yourself in the process of loving others. Love is abundant. It's not scarcity mindset. We are here to share our love and that love should be shared with ourselves as well. We're going to wrap today up and I just want to say thank you so much to Yi, Pana, Jennifer for joining us and thank you so much CHAN-BOF for collaborating with HIP for dating violence awareness month. We really appreciate all your effort and all the work you do in our communities as well. If you haven't already in the audience, please make sure to follow and like HIP and CHAN-BOF so you can continue following the work that we do and support our endeavors as community members, because you are part of the change in our communities as well. Well, all so much and have a good rest of your night. Thanks everyone.  Cheryl: And that's the end of our show. Learn more about the incredible work being done by Hmong innovating politics and CHAN-BOF by checking out our show notes.   Also HIP and CHAN-BOF ask work together to create these really helpful infographics on themes of teen dating violence awareness, such as what is consent? How do you know you're in an abusive relationship. How can you help someone who's in it? I found them to be really helpful. So I will also make sure to link those in the show notes as well.  Cheryl Truong: Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – 04.25.24 – Hmong Teen Dating Violence Awareness appeared first on KPFA.

The Madison Common Council met Tuesday for the first time since we reported allegations of domestic abuse against one of its members – allegations he has repeatedly denied. This week, we have a recap of that meeting, which included some contentious discussion of a resolution of support for survivors of domestic abuse. We also get updates on the next chapter for beloved Vietnamese restaurant Ha Long Bay, and Mt. Zion Baptist Church's new building project. Plus, Yee Leng Xiong joins us from Marathon County to get us up to speed on his campaign to become the first Hmong American member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. And finally … what cuisine did Top Chef Wisconsin miss?   Links:   In wake of domestic abuse allegations against an alder, Council passes resolution “affirming unwavering support” of survivors; calls for censure and resignation continue   Myadze denies allegations of abuse in statement; fellow alders say they can't remove him from office   Madison Alder accused of domestic abuse; alleged victim calls for vote of no confidence   MTZ Charitable hosts luncheon highlighting capital campaign for new Family Life Center   Ha Long Bay to enter ‘new era' under second generation of family ownership   Resources for anyone experiencing domestic violence: National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 Domestic Abuse Intervention Services: Call 608-251-4445 or text 608-420-4638 UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence: Call 800-510-9195

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson reflects on his first term. New legislation requires Asian American and Hmong American history in Wisconsin schools. RuPaul's Drag Race queen Lady Camden. Bill Tennessan speaks on his exhibition "Dynamic Range."

When Kao Kalia Yang's mother was a child growing up in Laos, she lived a comfortable life. Her father was a prosperous merchant. She was the only Hmong girl in the village to go to school. She felt valued. The war changed all that. Hunted by North Vietnamese soldiers, Yang's maternal family had to flee into the jungle and live a desperate existence for years. Eventually, her mother met a boy also in hiding, and they married. She was 16. It was an extraordinary chapter in her mother's remarkable life. Yet when Yang suggested that she record the full story, her mother doubted anyone would care.Thankfully, Yang persisted. Her new book, “Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother” is one attempt to capture the drama of her mother's life. From a riverside village in Laos to a bleak refugee camp in Thailand to a new home in St. Paul, Yang tells the story through her mother's eyes and captures the grief, determination and pride of the immigrant journey. Yang joined host Kerri Miller on this week's Big Books and Bold Ideas to share what it was like to record the unvarnished truth of her mother's life and why she couldn't write this book until now. Guest: Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American speaker and writer. She is the award-winning of author of many books, including several about her family, including “The Latehomecomer” and “The Song Poet.” Her latest is “Where Rivers Part.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

In a wide-ranging discussion with host Jarren Dean Peterson, acclaimed authors Stanley Kusunoki and Kao Kalia Yang discuss the power art has to speak the truth and connect us to our shared humanity. They provide intimate examples of how their courageous storytelling has impacted their own and their audiences' perspectives and lives.   Stanley Kusunoki, whose Japanese American parents were incarcerated in the U.S. internment camps during World War II, is the author of three collections of poetry; 180 Days, Reflections and Observations of a Teacher; Items in the News; and Shelter in Place—Poems in a Time of COVID-19. He has taught creative writing to young people through programs at The Loft, Asian American Renaissance, Intermedia Arts, and S.A.S.E., Among his honors, he was awarded a MN State Arts board "Cultural Collaboration" grant to create, write and perform "Beringia-The Land Bridge Project" with Ojibwe performance poet, Jamison Mahto at Intermedia Arts. He is the co-host/curator of the Literary Bridges reading series at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. He most recently was the High Potential Coordinator at Red Oak Elementary School in Shakopee.  Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer. She is the award-winning author of the memoirs, The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Somewhere in the Unknown World, and Where Rivers Part. Yang co-edited the groundbreaking book, What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of Color. Yang is a librettist for The Song Poet Opera (commissioned by the MN Opera). She has also written several children's books that center around Hmong children who live in our world, who dream and hurt and hope in it. Yang's work has been recognized by numerous organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the PEN USA literary awards, the Dayton's Literary Peace Prize, as Notable Books by the American Library Association, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, the Heartland Bookseller's Award, and garnered four Minnesota Book Awards.  Additional information is available on their respective websites: poeteacher.com and kaokaliayang.com. This episode was hosted by Jarren Peterson Dean and produced by Charlotte Sebastian, with editing by Laurel Osterkamp and audio engineering by PJ Hoffman. Music generously donated by Bensound.com.

Hour 2: Jason talked to Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer Kao Kalia Yang on Jason Talks to the Media. Then he's joined by Josh and Kristi Holmstrom who explain why they're launching "Thank a Hero Day" in Plymouth

Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer Kao Kalia Yang joins Jason to talk about her career and sharing the story of her family and so many like her - on Jason Talks to the Media

In this riveting episode of Busted Pencils, hosts Dr. Tim Slecker and Dr. Johnny Lupinacci sit down with the esteemed Dr. Kevin Kumashiro, interim dean of the School of Education at Hofstra University, to explore the complex landscape of education in the face of recent legislative changes. Through a deep dive into the implications of Wisconsin's groundbreaking mandate to include Asian American and Hmong American history in K-12 curriculums, Dr. Kumashiro sheds light on the power of education to both challenge and conform to societal norms. Listeners will be inspired by discussions on the potential of education to imagine a world as it ought to be, rather than simply preparing students to succeed in the world as it is. This episode is a must-listen for educators, policymakers, and anyone passionate about the future of education in a time of ideological and political struggle.

May 5, 2022 - Kaonou Hang - Hmong American Exhibition at The Manitowoc Public Library

Though she comes from a flower growing family, Tracy Yang of JARN Co. Flowers wasn't always planning on following in the family business. Now, Tracy and her family farm four acres of flowers in Monroe, Washington, located about 45 minutes northeast of Seattle. Hear about how she decided to grow flowers for a living and the process of establishing her own farm, which involved clearing raw land and a lot of blackberries. Starting her own farm included some new strategies, like a steadily growing flower CSA and home delivery. JARN Co. Flowers sells 80% of their flowers direct-to-consumer because Tracy values the direct connection they have to their community, something I bet many of our listeners can relate to! Tracy is a first-generation Hmong-American and second-generation flower farmer. Hear how she makes it easy and enjoyable for her customers to buy from her, how she's making flowers more accessible, and how she uses pop-up markets to build brand awareness. Connect With Guest:Email: hello@jarncompany.comWebsite: http://www.jarncompany.comInstagram: @jarncoflowersFacebook: JARN Co. Flowers Podcast Sponsors:Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support: Rimol Greenhouse Systems designs and manufactures greenhouses that are built to be intensely rugged, reliably durable, and uniquely attractive – to meet all your growing needs. Rimol Greenhouses are guaranteed to hold up through any weather conditions, while providing exceptional value and an easy installation for vegetable growers of all sizes. Learn more about the Rimol difference and why growers love Rimol high tunnels at Rimol.com. Bootstrap Farmer offers a complete range of growing supplies including heat mats, lighting, ground cover, frost blankets, silage tarps, irrigation, and trellising. They also make all-metal, all-inclusive greenhouse frames, constructed of steel made in the USA and fabricated in Texas. Their heavy-duty, Midwest-made propagation and microgreens trays will last for years and are available in a full spectrum of colors. For all that plus experienced support for everything they sell, check out Bootstrap Farmer. Local Line is the all-in-one sales platform for direct-market farms and food hubs of all sizes. Increase your sales and streamline your processes with features including e-commerce, inventory management, subscriptions, online payments, and more! Get 15% off marketing services and one premium feature for a year with the code Growing4market at https://hubs.la/Q02bpWQV0 Vermont Compost Company - Since 1992, Vermont Compost Company has supplied premium living soils and compost-based amendments to thousands of successful growers all over the country. All ingredients used in Vermont Compost products are approved for certified organic production. In addition to product consistency, growers can depend on Vermont Compost as an invaluable resource for a breadth of soil and plant knowledge and the technical expertise it takes to grow organically in an ever-changing environment. Visit vermontcompost.com/gfm for details or mention this podcast when you place your order. Our Website: www.GrowingForMarket.com Subscribe To Our Magazine - FREE 28-Day Trial:Our Website: www.GrowingForMarket.com

The Rogue Festival in Fresno's Tower District showcases local talent through improv, comedy and storytelling. This year the festival will host nearly 200 performances over the course of two weekends.  One of them is a performance of the novel Latehomecomer by Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang. Guest: Jasmine Vang, Hmong American Actor  The Sierra is glittering white. Over the last week, recent storms have added up to four feet of snow to the mountain range. Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED

This month Brian talks to the Minnesota playwright about her Hmong American roots, having cancer in graduate school, and learning to live in the moment.

Zarghuna Adel learns classic recipes from older Afghans living abroad and reintroduces them to a younger generation living in the country. LA Times reporter Stephanie Breijo reflects on the closure of some of the city's most cherished dining destinations. Yazeed "Chef Yaz" Soudani of Miya Miya brings Jordanian-style shawarma to Smorgasburg LA. Lisa Hamilton looks at one Hmong woman's struggle to survive war, loss and displacement while holding onto her identity. Sheng Yang and Sami Scripter collaborate on a new edition of the first Hmong American cookbook.

In this episode, I am interviewed by health and life coach Samantha Lee. Coach Sam is a Hmong-American, the eldest daughter of refugee/immigrant parents, a speaker, and a health coach that helps people of color (POC) lose weight and break out of following racist diet culture rules. I share insights on how to manage work stress, say no to your boss, set strong boundaries, and make BANK at the same time! Because no job is worth losing your health over.  If you feel like your work stress is getting out of hand, let's work together 1:1. Book a call so we can talk about your goals, make a plan to help you get your next job, and you can decide if 1:1 coaching is right for you.  Connect with Sam here: https://www.instagram.com/superlysam  Learn about working with Sam, download her free resources, and listen to her podcast here: https://linktr.ee/superlysam  Referenced Episodes:  69. Re-Release: 5 Signs it's Time to Make a Move in Your Career Resources and Links Private 1:1 Coaching: https://calendly.com/thefirstgencoach/discovery-call  Download your⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠FREE Resume Guide and Template⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Follow @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CarlaTheFirstGenCoach⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram Learn more:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thefirstgencoach.com/welcome⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thefirstgencoach/support

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host Miko Lee is joined by Guest Host Aisa Villarosa for another episode focused on Filipinx American History Month. This episode is focused on artist, activist, I Hotel survivor and rebel rouser Jeanette Lazam. We also hear a poem from Emily Lawsin and music from Bay Area's Power Struggle. Learn more about and support collective resistance to militarization and genocide in Palestine: https://www.instagram.com/ucethnicstudiescouncil/  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7SomsNyhrKIuR-FzwTKjPC5bM1lCi3i6GsXJLRXJvKK7JrA/viewform Jeanette Lazams life and artwork: https://convergencemag.com/articles/coming-home-jeanette-lazam-returns-to-the-i-hotel/ https://www.instagram.com/lazamjg/ Emily Lawsin Power Struggle https://www.powerstrugglemusic.com/ https://beatrockmusic.com/collections/power–struggle. No More Moments of Silence Show Transcript 11.2.23 [00:00:00] Aisa Villarosa: In this episode, we're providing a content warning. Our guest, Jeanette Lazum, discusses personal instances of racist threats, police violence, and utilizes a racial epithet. [00:00:47] Miko Lee: Good evening and welcome to Apex Express. This is Miko Lee and I am so thrilled to have a guest co host this night, the amazing and talented Aisa Villarosa. Aisa can you please introduce yourselves to our audience? Say who you are, where you come from, and a little bit about yourself. [00:01:09] Aisa Villarosa: Thank you so much, Miko, and it's a joy to be with you and the Apex Express family. My name is Aisa, my pronouns are she, her, and I'm a Michigan born gay Filipino artist, activist, attorney with roots in ethnic studies organizing and teaching Filipino studies, in the wonderful Pa'aralang Pilipino of Southfield, Michigan. If you ever find yourself at the intersection of Eight Mile and Greenfield near Detroit, stop on by. And the genesis of our talk today started with a conversation around Filipino American History Month, right? [00:01:54] Miko Lee: That's right. And that's what we're going to be talking about tonight. so Tonight Aisa and I are going to be talking about Filipino American History Month. We know that it's the month of October, so Filipino history, that's something that's deep and should be all year round, just like all of our histories should be something that we study. Tell us a little bit about who we're going to be speaking to tonight. [00:02:17] Aisa Villarosa: We have the honor of speaking with Jeanette Lazam, who is a many decades long living legacy, an artist, an activist. Jeanette has worked in spaces like the capital of California, but has also faced down state violence. Both at the hands of the U. S. government through the very violent eviction of elders, primarily Filipino and Chinese elders, at the International Hotel or the iHotel in San Francisco, what was then Manila Town and Jeanette also is a survivor of political violence at the hands of the Ferdinand Marcos regime in the Philippines and is a champion of Nonviolent people power and that is only just the tip of the iceberg. Jeanette is also a prolific artist . She is the only surviving Filipino Manang to return to the iHotel After being a young person who stood and locked arms with the seniors to fight the eviction decades and decades ago, and she'll be sharing some of her story with us. [00:03:34] Miko Lee: I love this. We get to hear firsthand from experiences of people who were engaged in a fight for equality and still continue to do so. I love elders just taking the reins and keeping on fighting out there. Because we're talking about issues that are deep and complicated, including Marcos' dictatorship in the Philippines, and what went down at the iHotel in San Francisco, we'll have some links in the show notes so that folks can delve deeper and find out more. But Aisa can you back us up a little bit? And for folks that might not know, give us a little quickie about the iHotel. I know we talk about it in the interview, but for folks that don't know, give a little bit of background about the importance of the iHotel within Asian American movement spaces. Why do people need to know about this? [00:04:23] Aisa Villarosa: Such a great question and a grounding question Miko. The iHotel is both a physical site, it is in San Francisco, and it is also in many ways A symbol of the struggle for collective liberation, for housing rights, for justice in the city of San Francisco and beyond. And that is why often in many ethnic studies courses, in many Asian American and Pacific Islander courses, students learn about the iHotel. But as Jeanette will share with us, there is really no text that can describe the violence of an eviction, 3 a. m. in the morning on August 4th, 1977, when Armed police officers on horses essentially rounded up the peacefully protesting tenants and supporters of the International Hotel. And This was part of a larger movement, a violent movement across the country that was under the guise of urban renewal, but was really about the continued criminalization of Black and brown and Indigenous and AAPI people. And Jeanette was a survivor of that. It is a story that is painful and yet one that we must not forget and that our generations must learn from in order to continue the fight for social justice. [00:05:55] Miko Lee: Thanks, Aisa, for the little Asian American history lesson. We appreciate it. Folks should find out more if this is the first you're hearing about this. It is a seminal moment. I also think one of the things we didn't actually talk to Jeanette about is how Intersectional, the folks that were protesting at the iHotel were. That there were Black Panthers there, that there are folks from the disability movement. , that's one of those things that really gets hidden under the rug is the different people that were engaged in that fight. [00:06:23] Aisa Villarosa: Absolutely, Miko. The fight for the survival of the International Hotel was intersectional. It really is a demonstration of what healthy movement building can be. It is never easy. It's often complicated. And yet, They answered the urgency of the moment and they did so together. [00:06:46] Miko Lee: There were thousands of people that were involved in that movement. There were hundreds that were there. And tonight you get to hear from one person's story, a little bit about the iHotel, and mostly just from an amazing activist, artist, and social justice champion. So we get to listen to the brilliant interview with Jeanette. [00:07:08] Aisa Villarosa: It's so meaningful to hear from Jeanette and as someone who is living currently in San Francisco's Chinatown is someone who is revered enough to be on murals in Chinatown and yet popular culture and history often forget that Manila Town and Chinatown Coexist, that these are two powerhouse cultures, identities, people who, in some ways, as Jeanette shared, were forced together due to redlining, due to discriminatory housing practices, and yet the activists in Chinatown today are trying to preserve the stories of elders like Jeanette and also telling new stories through art and through activism and protest. [00:08:00] Miko Lee: Aisa, please introduce me to your mentor, the amazing Jeanette. [00:08:05] Aisa Villarosa: Thanks, Miko. We are so honored to have with us today Jeanette Gandianko Lazam. Jeanette, hi, how are you doing today? [00:08:14] Jeanette Lazam: I think I'm doing okay, yeah. I like the warmth, so I'm glad we have sunny days here in San Francisco that are not windy nor cold. [00:08:26] Aisa Villarosa: Are you cuddled up with Samantha? And for the audience Samantha is Jeanette's adorable cat. [00:08:33] Jeanette Lazam: Samantha is cuddled up by herself. Oh, [00:08:37] Aisa Villarosa: that's all right. She can support us from afar. [00:08:39] Jeanette Lazam: Yes, she most definitely will. [00:08:43] Aisa Villarosa: And you know, in these, heavy times, sometimes okay is okay. So we are, we're so happy to have you with us. I'm happy to be here. Thank you. Um, Miko, do you want to kick us off? [00:08:57] Miko Lee: So we are here talking about Filipino History Month and the significance of that. Can you tell us what the significance of the History Month is to you, Jeanette? [00:09:08] Jeanette Lazam: I think it's a time where, you know, for many Filipino and Filipino American organizations, they come to the fore. And what I mean by that is they come and expose the culture, the languages, not just one language, but the languages and the food, the this, the that. And it really comes to the surface. And you can see how much pride people have, I was talking with somebody the other day about the colonization of the Philippines. And when you look at the history of the Philippines, you have to take it for what it is. You can't take something out just because you don't like it. So many people have decided that the colonization of the Philippines shouldn't be… demonstrated during Filipino American History Month. I disagree. And so do a lot of other people. You have to tell that history because that's over 300 years of history right there in terms of the Filipino community. In a nutshell, culture, language, food, dance, They all come to the fore during this particular month, Filipino American History Month, and I'm really happy about that. That's what it means to me. [00:10:46] Aisa Villarosa: Thank you so much, Jeannette. What you're naming is so important that to be Filipino American is to take stock of the good, the bad, the joyful, the challenging. And you mentioned colonization. So much of what colonization forced upon us was almost an incomplete. identity, right? That we had to ignore the pain, pretend it's not there. Or there's the concept of hiyap, right? Which is shame. And, And you know, this really more than me and Miko, but for the listeners, can you share In terms of Filipino history, and because we are currently seeing a second Marcos regime, you've lived through some of the toughest attacks on civil rights, both here in the United States and in the Philippines. Can you just share a couple stories for the listeners about that time? [00:11:53] Jeanette Lazam: We're talking, Bongbong Marcos, who is now the president of the Philippines, his father, Ferdinand Marcos was the president of the Philippines for 20 some odd years. He declared martial law in 1971 and it stayed for 20 years in the Philippines. I don't think I've ever experienced direct fascism, up in your face and very personal. Civil liberties that people had. We're totally stripped the press in the Philippines was shut down and only one press was allowed to function which was the mouthpiece for Marcos. You could not congregate on corners of more than three people, you would get arrested. Many got arrested because they were journalists, because they were activists, because they were civil libertarians. Thank Anyone and anything that posed a threat to the Marcos regime was either arrested, deported, or killed. And I was there during the imposition of martial law and it was really scary. I have never experienced that kind of fear in my lifetime. In the United States, I was traveling with a group of friends. When I was about, I don't know, maybe nine, 10 years old, we stopped in Macon County, Georgia, and it was the 1960s, late 50s, 1960s, and we were very thirsty, so we all jumped out of the car, and I did not notice there were two water fountains, and I went to the first one, and it turned out to be a white people's water fountain. And um, about a few seconds later, as I was leaning down and drinking from it, I felt a very cold piece of steel against my neck. And I thought, it's not a knife, so it's got to be a gun. And sure enough, it was. And I'm nine or ten years old, and this sheriff is standing over me with this gun pressed against my neck and said to me, you're not allowed to drink at a white person's water fountain. And he said, if I could kill you right now. There'd be one less, and this is exactly what he said to me, one less nigga. And no one would mind. That point on, from that point on, I knew where the color line was. I'm not black, but I'm not white. And I wasn't allowed to drink at a white person's water fountain. scared the living daylights out of me. And I backed up from that water fountain. All of us backed up and we got into the car and we left that example of the incredible racism in the United States. just steered into my brain. I was just like, totally taken. I was so scared. I'm a kid. I'm nine years old, 10 years old. I'm a kid. And to have a gun pointed straight directly onto your, neck ain't no laughing matter. [00:15:50] Miko Lee: That sounds so scary. I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I'm wondering there's such a vivid memory that you have from being a child. I'm wondering at what point was a turning point for you in becoming an activist. [00:16:04] Jeanette Lazam: Oh, was that right then and there I was a kid from New York, so I knew that there were stratas and class levels and where people of color fell in, but it never came that home to me. I was finally able to take the whole question of low income or working class people of color, and racism. It all intersected on that one day. And I thought to myself, no we can't go on this way. And it was that moment I decided I have to do something about the situation. Because I am not going to allow people to do this without a fight. Yeah, it was that day. And it continued all the way when I lived in the Philippines. And martial law was declared. I fought it there and I fought it when I came back to the United States. [00:17:09] Miko Lee: Is there a difference in being an activist in the Philippines versus being an activist in the United States? [00:17:15] Jeanette Lazam: Yes. First of all, in the Philippines, you're dealing with an island nation. And so with an island nation, there are all these islands that you have to You know, deal with dialect, with culture, with this, with that , it's a very difficult process undertaking to do to bring out democratic notions when people have been so oppressed and repressed for over 300 years because the Americans come in after, the Spaniards. So we. We never as a nation never really experienced our own homegrown democracy, and it's very hard to deal with that over here in the United States. It's much different. You're not dealing with an island you're dealing with, yes, many states, but they're all contiguous and there has been a history of revolutionary. Fervor and revolutionary sentiment throughout the history of the United States, and it exposes itself in the labor movement, the gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer movement, women's movement. It gets manifested in those movements. In the Philippines, very difficult to do. So the concentration for revolutionary organizations happens within the larger cities in the Philippines. And the, New People's Army is more in the rural areas outside of the major cities. you can't compare it. It's like apples and oranges. You can't do it. You have to look at the concrete conditions where people at and work from there. You can't go into a situation and wish that it could be this way. It takes hard work and long days, [00:19:41] Aisa Villarosa: so many long days and Jeanette always appreciate your nuance and the ethos of humility that you are challenging organizers and activists to have right that we in whatever space we're in cannot come in with assumptions. And yet. At the same time as you were sharing, one could see similarities between the oppression in the Philippines. In the States, and that oppression is around, how is your home stolen? How is your home and your sense of safety ripped from you? And you just talked to us about your experience as a nine year old, not being safe enough to go to the drinking fountain you wanted, right? And I know that at this moment, you're talking to us from the Senior Center, the iHotel can you share? about what the iHotel means to you, knowing that you've had possibly more history with the iHotel than maybe anyone alive at this moment. [00:20:55] Jeanette Lazam: The iHotel has to be situated Within the context of a Manila town. Generally, anytime you get a Chinatown, there's some sort of other town that kind of is adjacent to it. And you have it in Stockton, you have it in Sacramento, you have it in Seattle, you have it in Portland, you have it here, you have it in Los Angeles. Manila Towns are very is the hub or was the hub of the Filipino community starting from the 1920s on up. And so the International Hotel, as part of Manila Town, plays a very significant role in how Manila Towns functioned, what they offered. What they did and why they were established. It's not just because of the proximity to Chinatown, the Chinatowns and Manila towns of the United States get set up mainly because of racism. We are not allowed to move or to buy outside of those established boundaries. And who established those boundaries, the local governments, the state governments. Which were predominantly white people. It's like the history of Oregon. Oregon was a state that was supposed to be set up for white people only. And many people don't know that. But the iHotel is a very significant place. Historically significant, it welcomes in the first Manong generation. Now these are the people who came before me. The Manong generation, mainly elderly men. Some of them are married and their wives and their children are in the Philippines and some of them are single. And they come to the International Hotel and stay, and then they go away. Merchant Marines it's the first generation, the Manong generation, that started this all. It's the Larry Itliongs and the Philip Veracruz and Joe Dionysus, that all started the activism of the Manong generation. And it's important for people to understand who and what. And where this Manong generation stood for and where they went in terms of labor and how they stood up, how they stood up against the brutal, the incredibly brutal oppression of the contractors and the large agribusiness of California, Oregon, and Washington, and then the Alaskan canneries. To understand that history is so important because that's where we begin in many ways. We begin with that history of understanding the plight. Of the Manong generation who lived in Manila town and who lived and sometimes died at the International Hotel. My father was one of those guys. And when I found that out, I was even more curious, more thirsty to want to know what did they go through and how in the world they withstood the onslaught. Of worker oppression and racism and still kept on going I look at myself and, that's my inspiration. That's what's kept me going for the last 60 somewhat odd years is looking at that initial generation, the Manong generation, and what they brought to our community. [00:25:34] Aisa Villarosa: And Jeanette, I love you because you keep it real, and I know we've talked about the Manongs both as what you're describing as revolutionary in so many ways, right? These are labor activists and fathers, and yet they were also human. And flawed. And so I've appreciated the stories you've talked about where Manila Town, at that time, as you describe it, before the violence and the eviction surrounding the iHotel, it was bustling. It was loud. It sounded noisy. When you talk about it, I picture people like my dad who were walking around and Zoot suits, because Filipino men at the time, I've read, were trying to go to tailors and were outfitting themselves in the best suits they could just to really stand up to some of the hostility and the racism they were encountering. [00:26:38] Jeanette Lazam: That is so very true. it put everybody else to shame. They were so sharp with their double breasted, sometimes zoot suits, polished shoes. Fedora hats. They were genuine and incredibly good looking. And I've seen, I have pictures of my father he's standing on this little bridge in Central Park with his friends, with his army buddies, and they were all dressed up. And you'd think they were going to a fancy dancy, whatever place. No, they had swag. That's the only thing I could say. [00:27:19] Miko Lee: I love that, and I could picture it perfectly, and I like the way that you describe all these people strutting around, and the way you describe it is so visual, and I was saying to you when we first got on how honored I am that I have a piece of your art that's hanging in my house, from the amazing Aisa and Lauren, and I'm just wondering if you could talk to us a little bit about it about your artistic practice. What inspires you and how do you combine your work as an activist with your work as an artist? [00:27:51] Jeanette Lazam: I had always wanted to draw, but I never really did because my sister, my oldest sister she was a graphic designer. And so I was always like in her shadow. Years passed, so I'm sitting there doodling, and and in twenty, sixteen or seventeen, I moved to Taos, New Mexico. And my bedroom window faces Taos Mountain. Taos Mountain is a vortex, and you can feel the incredible energy. That vibrates from that mountain and I would get this every morning and it was telling me draw. This is your time to draw So I did. So I started drawing the Pueblo. And I started drawing scenes in and around Taos. And Taos is a very artistic community to begin with. So that also provided a lot of inspiration. And as the years went by, I started to draw more and more outside of Taos. When I finally moved I started doing owls. I suddenly realized that there's a whole level of animals and insects and so forth that are on the endangered list. So I started drawing bees and bumblebees and all sorts of bees. Then I started doing the American bison or the buffalo, how all of these creatures Were on the endangered list or practically at that point where they didn't exist anymore. And I knew that I had to do something about that in terms of my art. And so I stayed with that for several years. And then I turned myself to culture. I started looking at the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec and how rich and often bloody, but rich. history they had in building civilizations that somehow disappear from the face of this earth. And I started looking at their colors, their color schemes were incredible. So I did that for a while and I wanted people to get exposed to that. However, In between that, I found myself getting wrapped around Philippine mythology, and when I went to look at our gods, our deities so forth and so on, our supernatural forces, I found very little. There weren't pictures so if there was something written, there were no pictures. And so I finally found a book that gave me some sense of what they looked like. And I have to say, fi Philippine mythology, whomever interacted with it, had an incredible creative mind. We had the most blood thirsty, , mythological creatures that I could think of. Anywhere from the Aswang, which everyone knows about, to this creature called the Pugot, P U G O T, which is mainly from the Ilocos region. And it's a huge mouth with a body from the mouth that walks on its legs and hands and feeds on children. And when I found, I was like, Oh yeah. I was absolutely mortified. But you know, that's what Philippine mythology is. We do have the supreme bakala, who is the supreme god, and all the other deities, his daughters and his sons. But there are also these horrendous and wicked mythological creatures. And the reason why I was trying to bring it out was, I firmly believe, and I found this out, In my research and drawing that you cannot. Cannot understand the history of the Filipino people unless you take into account their mythology and their religions, whether you disagree with it or not. That's part of the history of our people. And that part is incredibly rich. So I learned a lot from it. [00:33:02] Aisa Villarosa: It is rich, and it is a mythology that has been threatened by colonization, when you mentioned that it was difficult to find writings that is all by design due to colonial oppression and the myth that Filipinos We're always Catholic or always followed Spanish culture and religion is completely false, right? So I always appreciated your deep diving, not only into Filipino mythology and culture, but connecting those dots, especially to other indigenous cultures. Jeanette, for our listeners, can you briefly share for folks who aren't familiar with the Aswang, and because even for me, I remember watching the Filipino channels as a kid, and they're usually depicted as cheesy vampires, but we'd love to hear your [00:34:10] Jeanette Lazam: your take on them. They are. They are. They are vampires. They are usually women. They have the body up to the stomach of a woman and the rest is a fish tail and then they have bat wings and they fly around at night and your parents tell you about them because they want you to go to sleep and it's scary enough. They are very, very scary. [00:34:46] Aisa Villarosa: Yeah, that's effective. It also reminds me of, there's a wonderful older book by Dr. Clarissa Estes called Women Who Run With the Wolves, and it unpacks mythology and also often, it was a culture's way of depicting women's power and I have to say, as someone who identifies as gay, so much of your art has spoken to me, particularly because there is real homophobia in Filipino culture. Part of that's due to colonization and religion, but your art really centers deities who go beyond a sexual binary. I suppose somewhat similar to two spirit indigenous depictions, and that's really special. [00:35:39] Jeanette Lazam: I'm hoping to do more research on the movement of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer Filipinos here in the United States. As well as in the Philippines, and try to be able to capture that in art. So I think that's my next real challenge. [00:36:04] Aisa Villarosa: I would love to see that. [00:36:06] Miko Lee: You are tuned into apex express, a 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPF. Be in Berkeley and online@kpfa.org Next up, take a listen to Live It Up. By Bay Area's Power Struggle. [00:36:21] Aisa Villarosa: You were listening to Live It Up by the artist Power Struggle. Jeanette, in terms of thinking about the future, talk to us more about that. Talk to us about your hopes and dreams. [00:40:01] Jeanette Lazam: My hope is that, in particular to the Filipino community here in the United States I hope that they will be open and above board take whatever knowledge my generation can give that generation, that they appropriate the genera that, they appropriate the knowledge and the history that my generation is releasing. It's important for several reasons. One, it makes our, history of Filipino people alive, very alive in the faces of the ones that are coming up after that generation. It also provides the continuity in our history. If there's a break in continuity, it's very hard to kind of climb back because what happens then is that people die. And if my generation dies, and it will, it's important that your generation and the generation after yours appropriates whatever we're giving, you don't have to like it. You don't have to love it. You just have to take it and then sort it out for yourself and then transfer it to the next generation. So there's a level of continuity. That's my hope and in the broader, population. I want people to understand what it took to build the United States, what it took the level of sacrifice that the working class of this country had to make in order for this country to be built. California's agribusiness. Would not be where it's at today if not for the Filipinos, if not for the Mexicans, and a few other Asians like Japanese. That's also true for Hawaii. Who built this country? Who built this country? And people have to answer that question with fervor and knowledge. [00:42:38] Aisa Villarosa: And with honesty. [00:42:39] Jeanette Lazam: Yes, total honesty. [00:42:44] Aisa Villarosa: Jeanette, you end… Each of your emails with, when I dream, I dream of freedom. And what you're saying to us is that in order for us to realize this freedom, we must do so collectively. [00:42:59] Jeanette Lazam: Yep. And that's no easy task. Because at every twist and turn of the struggle for true democracy in the United States, true social justice, You're going to be making allies and you're going to be leaving other allies behind because you no longer agree with some of the things they do, but it's not to mean that they're enemies. And you're going to be meeting new people, and you're going to get involved with their lives and their struggles. And get to know them. So it's every step of the way for the larger struggle at mind is a very intense and deep personal struggle. Do you choose to say you're gay or lesbian or bisexual, transgender or queer? Do you choose to say that openly and above board to let people know? That this is who I am that happened to me when they had the first time they had district elections in San Francisco, I was at a open forum and somebody asked so how is this going to affect at that time the Castro and everybody knew this person was talking about how is the district elections going to affect the Castro. I didn't see anybody raising their hands and I just said as a lesbian, it will affect me greatly because we finally will have some level of and form of representation on the board of supervisors. Sometimes it's a split second decision. Sometimes it's something that's well thought out. And that's also true when you're walking where you're working with people. Sometimes it has to be. A split second decision, and other times, it's longer. When I say I dream, I dream for freedom. I dream for freedom for all people. Freedom from the shackles of sexism, racism, homophobia. That's what I dream of. A true, functioning, honest democracy. Where social justice is not a movement, it is, it simply is. [00:45:46] Aisa Villarosa: It simply is. Gosh, that brings to mind the image of an ocean and that saying that the ocean is so many tiny drops. And what you're challenging us to do is, in those moments where there is a sometimes split second decision, that we choose bravery. And we choose truthfulness in those moments. Jeanette, thank you so much for talking with us today. We've pictured Filipino deities. We've jumped from the Castro to the Philippines. And I am always in awe of your imagination and your artistry and your advocacy. Thank you. [00:46:33] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for sharing with us, Jeanette. It was an honor to spend a little bit of time just learning from you, hearing about your artistry, your activism, and your vision for the world. We really appreciate you. [00:46:47] Jeanette Lazam: Oh, I appreciate people like you because it's through you that we have a voice and that's important. That's important. One of the first tasks is always going to be On some type of journalism and media, and we have to protect that we have to protect the progressive and revolutionary sources of media. [00:47:15] Miko Lee: Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. [00:47:18] Jeanette Lazam: Thank you. [00:47:20] Miko Lee: I really loved talking with your mentor, Jeanette. Tell me what's your walk away. What did you hear her saying? [00:47:27] Aisa Villarosa: It was such a rich conversation and. One of the many things I adore about Jeanette is she is a world builder in that she encourages anyone who is in her space to exercise their imagination. And as someone who's been a bit of a veteran of the nonprofit industrial complex for, almost three decades now, it is shocking how frequently our imaginations are shunned, how we are often sent to work in siloed areas. The solution to so many of our heartaches is intersectional, is creativity. So my big takeaway is hearing Jeanette talk about the trajectory of her life and how it essentially led her to really lean into becoming an artist. She has shared that she became an artist rather later in life. It's a great example that You're never too old or too young to start anything, to lean into your true self, and so many of Jeanette's art pieces are odes to her identity as a social justice leader. How about you, Miko? What's your takeaway? [00:48:42] Miko Lee: She's just a delight. She's funny. She's smart. She has so much wisdom. I really love interviewing OGs because it's just constant pearls of wisdom. So I appreciate that. But I have another question for you, which is how did she come to be your mentor? When did you first meet? [00:49:00] Aisa Villarosa: I first interviewed Jeanette during the Earlier parts of the COVID 19 pandemic, at the time, and this is a bit of my personal story, I was struggling with coming out to my family as a gay Filipino, and Jeanette shared with me her identity as someone who is LGBTQ, and it was such a moment of connection, even if we have many decades between us. The story she shares of being an artist, of being a Filipino, a gay person, a civil rights defender. It's just a reminder that we don't have to be only one thing. We are so much more alive if we can lean into our multiple identities, and Jeanette is a living example of that. [00:49:56] Miko Lee: Oh, thanks for that. That is so right. We are all multifaceted. We are all these kaleidoscopes of change given where we are in life and the experiences we have. And it's a delight to talk with your mentor and somebody I've heard about from a long time. So thanks so much for celebrating Filipino History Month by really talking with somebody that you admire so much and I can see why. [00:50:23] Aisa Villarosa: Last week for our part one of Filipino American History Month, we talked with Pinay scholar, poet, activist, and historian, Emily Lawson, about her poem, No More Moments of Silence. It is Ate Em's chronicling of the power, complexity, heartache, and love. Behind Filipino American identity, held together by centuries of struggle against colonial oppression and white supremacy, our Makibaka heritage, one shared by Black, Indigenous, and people of color grappling with settler colonialism and government extraction. Now, to close out Filipino American History Month, I'm honored to share with you an excerpt from No More Moments of Silence, taken from a 2011 Michigan State University performance by Emily Lawson. No more moments of silence in memory of Joseph Aletto and Chongberry Zhang by Emily Lawson. With respect and apologies to Emmanuel Ortiz and Doria Roberts and thanks to Reverend Edwin Rowe who taught us to pray out loud with our eyes open at Vincent Chin's grave. This is a scream, not a shout out, at all of those right wing Christian conservatives and wannabe left wing liberals. Who start all of their speeches with a moment of silence. Crossing themselves, genuflecting, lighting boat of candles and incense for every single damn lost soul on this earth, but their own. This is not an old Simon and Garfunkel song. This is a fighting song for you flag waving, war on terrorism, 9 11 memorial addicts. Clean out your ears and your skeleton closets, because I cannot take any more moments of silence. You hear me? I cannot take any more moments of silence. For silence is what buried one million of my ancestors in a hundred American wars. Silence is what drove the stakes through the backs of my people, whipped with chains of cane fires as low paid migrant workers burned out of their bunkhouses as they slept and white collar neighbors watched in silence. See, I cannot take any more moments of silence. Silence for silence is what robbed our Filipino people of our multiple tongues as the noose of colonialism wiped out 7, 000 islands of surnames and languages. Leaving us with a bastardized Hollywood identity of John Wayne Dust Bowl movies with Panoi Indios playing Indians in silence. I cannot waste any moments of silence because they add up to decades and years like the 10 plus that kept my cousin estranged from her brothers and sisters who refused to acknowledge how they all inherited. The brunt of the beatings brought on by their father, in the bedroom of their mother, even ten years after their deaths. The wounds still lie wide open in silence. I cannot waste any more moments, for our concept of time has been warped by the violence that pervades our homes and hearts. Like the self righteous, now terminated governor, who stood at the cold stone podium, singing the heroic praises of the North Valley Jewish Community Center's staff. While signing a historic anti gun bill into law, looking down and right over the entire family of Joseph Aleto, who had also been shot nine times by a white supremacist a month earlier while he delivered mail. And the bold faced governor, in his corporate suit and tie, looked right past the family and only into the TV news cameras. As Joseph's mother, Lillian, hung her head in silence in the front row, ashamed that the governor couldn't even offer his condolences, didn't even mention her son's name, Joseph Aletto, what more, his death or existence. Her surviving children's fury helped her stand up, and that is why she is not silent. That is why they are not silent. That is why we cannot be silent anymore. For silence is what allowed the Warren cops to storm in a Hmong American family's home, barge down the steps to their Michigan basement, shoot 18 year old Chong Berizhong 41 times, killing him with 27 bullets at close range, and say the force was… Justified? Silence is what prevents our Hmong teenagers from telling their story. Afraid that they will be the next casualty of police brutality. Afraid that they will be deported for being unpatriotic. Sent to a landlocked country they have never seen. Even though they obey all laws, pay taxes, go to poor schools, and work three jobs no other Americans dare want. See, we cannot waste any more moments of silence. And this ain't about just taking back the night, I'm talking about taking back the day to day, because I am done with the silence. Our feet can no longer be bound. Our eyes cannot be taped. Yell your prayers as poems. Scream the names of the dead out loud. For I cannot take any more moments of silence because silence has already taken too much from me. Emily Lawson. September 11th, 2003. Revised September 17th, 2007. Detroit, Michigan. Amidst protest for an immediate ceasefire and end to occupation in Gaza, may all who continue to resist against colonization and militarization root in Atta Emily's call, now and always, no more moments of silence. Visit our Apex Express website to learn more. [00:57:06] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for joining us. Please check out our website, kpfa.org backslash program, backslash apex express to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. [00:57:30] Miko Lee: Apex express is produced by me. Miko Lee. Along with Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaida. Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hieu Nguyen and Cheryl Truong tonight's show is produced by me Miko thank you so much to the team at kpfa for their support have a great night. The post APEX Express – 11.2.23- No More Moments of Silence: Filipinx Identity & Critical Resistance appeared first on KPFA.

After reflecting on the tragic and horrifying war in Gaza and Israel, we dig into the latest news on the GOP threat to impeach Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz before she rules on a single case. Will the opposition of two former GOP State Supreme Court Justices who were advising Assembly Speaker Robin Vos deter him from pursuing an illegal impeachment? Next, we turn to the on-going drama over the massive public subsidy sought by the ultra-rich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. State Senator Chris Larson joins us to tell us about pressure Gov. Evers' office is applying to Legislative Democrats to support Robin Vos' stadium plan. We welcome State Representative Francesca Hong to hear about her experience at the Assembly “public hearing” on the GOP stadium plan last week in West Allis. We also have an in depth conversation about Representative Hong's new legislation directing school boards to provide instruction on Hmong Americans and Asian Americans in our public schools. Representative Hong talks passionately about her personal experience growing up in a state where many people she encounters don't know her history and culture, showing the critical importance of the bi-partisan legislation.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 35. Today we talk about The History of the Hmong in America. The Hmong are a people without a country. An ethnic, indigenous minority that are believed to have originated in southern China, the Hmong diaspora are international but are predominantly in China, Laos, Vietnam, the US, and Thailand. We share the origins of the Hmong as well as their migration to the US after the failed Secret War in Laos and end of the Vietnam War. Hmong are known for their beautiful textiles and silverwork, and we highly recommend you seek out more information from places like the Hmong American Center in Wausau, Wisconsin, the Hmong Cultural Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, or online at Hello Hmong. We bring back What Are We Watching for our recurring segment, and we share our thoughts about the Netflix shows Nimona and Cowboy Bebop. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Catching Up and Discussing Our Hmong Memories 05:31 The History of Hmong Americans 25:45 What Are We Watching? Nimona and Cowboy Bebop

 2022 Olympic All Around Gold Medalist and decorated NCAA Division 1 gymnast Suni Lee, shares her journey growing up as a Hmong American gymnast. She shares with us her experience at the Tokyo Olympics and her transition to competing at Auburn University, delving into the differences of the collegiate and elite competition levels. Suni guides us through her pre-meet rituals and training tips. She emphasizes the importance of visualization, repetition, and confidence. Suni shares why her partnership with CLIF and VOICEINSPORT Foundation help her to pursue her advocacy efforts towards building mentorship and representation. Suni's inspiring journey exemplifies dedication, hard work, visibility, and believing in oneself. 

Mcyoung Yang both grew up in the Hmong Church, has pastored in it for years, and is now doing new things in the Hmong-American Church world. Join Jake and Saolomon in this exciting conversation on the current state of preaching in the Hmong church, advice for young Hmong pastors, and the future of the Hmong-American Church.

ABOUT THE BLACK FUNDRAISERS' PODCAST The Black Fundraisers' Podcast was founded in 2021 by Kia Croom, CEO of Kia Croom Fundraising and Philanthropy, a Black-woman-owned fundraising firm that works exclusively with nonprofits serving Black and Brown people and communities. Visit www.kiacroom.com to learn more. Subscribe to the Black Fundraisers' Podcast wherever podcasts are available. Connect with us on IG & YouTube, and LinkedIn @Blackfundraiserspodcast **ABOUT TODAY'S GUEST**** Tiffany Ker Xiong is the Advancement Director at The Constellation Fund. She's a proud Hmong American, a mother to three beautiful children, and an avid fisherwoman. She has pursued an ambitious community leadership career focused on building equitable and inclusive spaces and communities through collaborations across different sectors and the amplification of community voice. Tiffany has extensive experience in community and campaign organizing as well as fundraising strategy and execution, providing her with a depth and breadth of perspective that has added value to notable political campaigns, critical grassroots efforts and leading cultural and philanthropic organizations. Tiffany has worked in philanthropy and fundraising in various roles and capacities for ten years. Prior to joining Constellation, Tiffany was the Development Director of Theater Mu, the second-largest Asian-American theater in the U.S. **Connect with Kia Croom**** The Black Fundraisers' Podcast is produced by Kia Croom Fundraising & Philanthropy. This Black-woman-owned fundraising firm helps nonprofits serving Black and Brown communities raise critical funding to fight the byproducts of structural racism. That is, structural inequities such as poverty, homelessness, educational inequity and more. Visit www.kiacroom.com to learn ways you can work with Kia Croom. This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Are you a first-generation American who is struggling with generational trauma and mental illness?  You're not alone.   In this episode, we discuss: - How Hmong Americans have generational trauma because the CIA covertly recruited Hmong soldiers for its Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War.  - Why pretending like nothing happened won't stop trauma from affecting us.   - Why you are not your depression or anxiety; but rather, these negative and ruminating thoughts are part of the symptoms of the illness.   - The importance of having the vocabulary to talk about what's going on for recovery. - Strategies you can use to manage your mental illness, live a good life, and build your dream career.   - How Dani is using her platform as Miss Minnesota Global USA to talk about depression, domestic violence, and mental health in the AAPI communities, and specifically, Hmong American communities.  Learn more about Dani on Instagram @daniadele_official or on Facebook.  Connect with Samorn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim. To get weekly career tips, sign-up for our newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com.  

Dr. Yeng Yang spent five years in a refugee camp before her family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, when she was 10. Her experiences as a child, including the pain she saw her father go through before he died, drove her to pursue a career in health care focused on equity. Dr. Yang shares changes taking place and the opportunities to improve experiences, especially for patients from non-English-speaking cultures.Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MDGuests: Yeng Yang, MDHealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcastGot an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at offthecharts@healthpartners.com.

We speak with a sociologist about his new book on poverty. Capitol Notes explores what happens next for the Secretary of State position and the governor's capital budget proposal. We learn about the Hmong American Friendship Association. Plus, tell you about some new plants you could try in your garden this year.

We hear from two groups working to mobilize Black voters in Wisconsin ahead of the April election. We look at how the pandemic impacted parents and changed their expectations around work. We speak with the Hmong American Women's Association. Plus, meet Wisconsin's Journalist of the Year.

Hey, folks!Today we have Judge Sophia Vuelo as our guest. This incredible woman was the first Hmong American judge in Minnesota and the second to be appointed in the country.She arrived here over 40 years ago when her family fled Laos due to the Vietnam War. Her father died before she was born and her mother, with 7 children in tow, came to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to start a new life.Her story is beautiful and awe-inspiring, but I'll let you hear it from her.-If you like the show, leave us a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and be sure to subscribe. The same goes for our YouTube channel: if you like what you're seeing, give us a like, a comment, and subscribe to the channel.If you haven't done so already, follow us on social media on Facebook and Instagram: @hmonglishpod.-Support for Hmonglish comes from SolarPod, an Immigrant-founded and owned company that makes and installs the Z-Rack, no-roof-hole racking system.Proudly manufactured in Shakopee, Minnesota, this product is designed to eliminate the use of fossil fuel compounds that are often used in solar installations. Not only that, but the z-rack preserves the integrity of your roof in the process.The SolarPod Z-Rack: revolutionary solar innovation made radically simple.Get a quote for your home or business at mysolarpod.com-All music courtesy of a paid creative license with Artlist

Joua Lee Grande is a filmmaker and community educator, and she's a familiar face at SPNN — she used to work here! On this episode, we're talking about a documentary she has in the works about shamanism among young Hmong Americans. We also heard about her short film in the works for Film Score Fest, a local challenge that pairs filmmakers with composers. Joua's website has the latest updates on her work and all of her completed projects.  Find the SPNN podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and at our website. To learn more about SPNN's programs and opportunities, check out spnn.org.  Want to get involved in the podcast, or learn to make your own? We're hosting a podcasting class on April 25th and 26th, open to any community members! Learn more here.  This episode is co-hosted by Olivia, one of our youth interns. The music is by Bennie, another youth intern.  

Happy Wednesday, Scorekeepers! It's time for another episode of THE SCORE and have we got a show for you! Thursday, March 9 is the world premiere of The Song Poet, the first Hmong story adapted for the operatic stage! Join us for an emotional and insightful conversation with Kao Kalia Yang, author of both the book The Song Poet as well as the opera's libretto, all about this incredible story's journey from the page to the stage. We're also joined local Hmong-American artist Josephine Yang, MN Opera's Community Engagement Consultant. We'll chat about the genesis of Kao Kalia's beautiful story, the resilience and strength of the Hmong people and the special relationship between the Hmong and Black communities here in the Twin Cities. It's a fascinating, powerful conversation that you won't want to miss (0:21:51)! Plus, as always, a little PBJ to help you get through the rest of the week (1:17:24). Let's do it to it, y'all!Hosts: Lee Bynum, Rocky Jones, Paige Reynolds (Iyawo Inawale)Guests: Kao Kalia Yang, Josephine YangProducer: Rocky Jones--LinksMN Opera's The Song Poet (Buy Tickets)Kao Kalia Yang (Website)Josephine Yang - Blink Artisan (Website)--New episodes of THE SCORE drop every other Wednesday. If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also, leaving a 5-star REVIEW on Apple Podcasts is a great way to help people find our show. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit mnopera.org/edi. Email your questions or comments to thescore@mnopera.org.

For Episode Three of Season Five, Courtney talks to Lisa Lee Herrick and Lee Herrick. Yes, to be clear, they are married.Lisa Lee Herrick is an award-winning Hmong-American writer, illustrator, and producer. A 2021 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow in Creative Nonfiction as well as a 2021 Finalist for the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Lisa is currently at work on her debut memoir.Lee Herrick is a Korean-American poet and professor. He is the author of three books of poetry: Scar and Flower, Gardening Secrets of the Dead, and This Many Miles from Desire. Lee Herrick was appointed as California Poet Laureate on November 18, 2022.Today we discuss language and power, immigration and adoption, and curiosity and empathy.PWN's Debut Review is hosted by Project Write Now, a nonprofit writing studio. Learn more at projectwritenow.org.

Washington Post investigative reporter Nicole Dungca speaks with Oakland, Calif., Mayor Sheng Thao, the first Hmong American to lead a major U.S. city, about the issues facing her city, her groundbreaking election and the legacy of Hmong communities in the United States.

Daniel Yang is a second-generation Hmong American missiologist whose rich experiences coming from an ethnic minority group fueled his passion for the American church to recenter its focus on the kingdom of God and to learn from the global church and other marginalized voices.In this conversation, Daniel shares insights into his experience writing the book, Inalienable, with his co-authors, Eric Costanzo and Matthew Soerens. Throughout the episode, you'll hear about the following themes:How Daniel's own ethnic identity journey shaped his perspectives that contributed to InalienableUnique aspects of co-authoring a book remotelyInsights on the American church and the importance of learning from marginalized voicesAbout the Guest:Daniel Yang is the director of the Church Multiplication Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, a think tank for evangelism and church planting. He has pastored and helped plant churches in Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, Toronto, and Chicago. He earned an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a BS in computer science from the University of Michigan, and is currently a PhD student in intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.SPECIAL OFFER | Save 40% on the book Inalienable , as well as Humble Confidenceby Benno van den Toren and Kang-San Tan, and get free US shipping when you use promo code EVN40 at checkout.About the Host:Helen Lee is the director of product innovation at IVP; she is also the author of The Missional Mom and The Race-Wise Family, co-authored with Dr. Michelle Reyes. Helen also serves as the producer of The Every Voice Now Podcast and as the executive producer of The Disrupters. Follow Helen on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.Podcast Art: Kate LillardSound Engineering: Honest PodcastsSupport the showFollow The Every Voice Now Podcast on Instagram and Twitter, or find out more about our show and IVP's Every Voice Now initiative at EveryVoiceNow.com.

On Monday, Oakland will swear in Sheng Thao as the city's new mayor and now one of the most prominent Hmong-American politicians in the country. Last November, she narrowly won the election against fellow-council member Loren Taylor by fewer than 700 votes and is getting ready to lead one of the largest cities in the Bay Area. In a recent episode of Political Breakdown, hosts Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer spoke with Thao about her journey to the mayor's seat and how her experiences as a daughter of Laotian refugees, a single mother and a person who experienced homelessness will shape her approach to the job. This episode of the Political Breakdown podcast first aired on Dec. 29, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 37-year-old progressive will be the first Hmong American to lead a major U.S. city. How does she plan to tackle its biggest issues? Chronicle reporter Sarah Ravani joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what Thao plans to do in her first months as mayor to address Oakland's pressing problems around public safety, homelessness and economic uncertainty. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, authors La Thao, Hmong American and David De Leon, Pilipino American, help us focus on the importance of our collective stories.     La Thao is campus minister in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is also a co-host of the Better Than Seven Sons podcast where she speaks on faith and her experiences as a Hmong American woman.   David de Leon resides in NYC with his two sons and wife. He's currently pursuing a PhD in systematic theology at Fordham University and serves as a content strategist for Christians for Social Action. He thinks, writes, and teaches along the lines of Asian American and Pilipino American theology. Promo Code CJPOD allows Chasing Justice Listeners to purchase Learning Our Names https://www.ivpress.com/learning-our-names at ivpress.com for 30% off and free shipping.   Support Chasing Justice || Patreon: patreon.com/ChasingJustice  ||  PayPal: paypal.me/ChasingJustice || Donate: chasingjustice.com/donate

Hey everyone, welcome back to Hmonglish.We brought on a phenomenal guest today, her name is Kashia Moua, and she is the Founder of Hmong Women's Circle and the Chief Sustainability Officer at FM Global.Before that, she worked as the Director of Sustainability for Allstate and has an extensive background in civic engagement and public defense.Kashia has always been attracted to policy, politics, and advocacy, but she is also passionate about her Hmong identity, which is what brings her here today.She started Hmong Women's Circle after receiving a grant from the echoing green fellowship in 1999. The objective of her newfound organization was to close the achievement gap for Hmong American women through an affirmation of strengths, skills, and ambitions. The program was also started in response to violence against Hmong Women in the late 90s.But… we do have one quick note about the violence: a little bit after the 40-minute mark, Kashia begins to describe some of the tragic headlines that were associated with Hmong Women at the time. There was one story we had to cut out at her request because it was personal, so if that portion of the show sounds disjointed at all, please bear with us, we did our very best.-Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.Oh, and our YouTube channel is finally here!-Produced by Gleam Tower MediaAll music courtesy of Artlist

**The following episode of Strictly Stalking contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence and animal abuse. Listener discretion is advised.** MT is being stalked by a man she met at church. After church one day MT received a Facebook friend request with an odd message containing religious conspiracy theories, but accepted it anyway, believing it was her duty as a Christian to help him. He started following her around, taking non-consensual photos, told people they were dating, and even showed up on her dates with other men. MT was concerned and turned to the church for help...but the church elder said the solution was to marry her stalker. Growing up as a strict Hmong American Christian, she felt she couldn't turn her back on the church, so she agreed and moved in with her stalker. After suffering years of domestic abuse, MT finally escaped. She's speaking out to to encourage others within the Hmong American community to step forward as well. LINKS DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STORY TO SHARE? E-MAIL US strictlystalkingpod@gmail.com RATE US As a listener of Strictly Stalking please leave a review and rate us FIVE STARS on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-stalking/id1494237083 Instagram: Strictly Stalking @strictlystalkingpod Jaimie Beebe @feathergirl77