Affirming the Asian Community: Building Bridges/Making Connections
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Vanessa Lopez-Littleton
December 12, 2021
There are many lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the need to center Asian Americans. A recent panel at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) provided a platform to deepen our understanding of the histories and lived experiences of Asian Americans. The event was part of a series of crucial conversations presented by Building Community Through Dialogue, a campus-wide community building co-op led by Drs. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton, Vivian Waldrup-Patterson and Brian Corpening.
The webinar, Affirming the Asian Community: Building Bridges/Making Connections, featured Dr. Russell Jeung, Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, who was listed among TIME’s top 100 Most Influential People for 2021. Jeung provided a powerful commentary on the history and lived experiences of Asian Americans. In his address, Jeung posited that complex social problems such as racism and racist acts require broad community acknowledgement and intervention. From his perspective, “People can go into fight or flight mode: arming themselves, telling their families to stay indoors. But some choose instead to flock [together], and I see the community flocking together to resist racism.” Many in the audience found the “third option” brilliant, likening it to the beautiful and fitting notion of community building.
Laurel Lee-Alexander, Director of Philanthropy, Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Ms. Lee-Alexander served as the event moderator. In her reflection, Lee-Alexander wrote, “I am so proud of our local community, especially CSUMB. The academic research, personal experiences and need to ‘flock’ together to expand awareness is much-needed and tremendously valuable. Dr. Jeung’s presentation was especially impactful and motivated people to act. It’s clear that this type of learning is needed. I hope we can provide more opportunities for our community members to come together, listen and learn.”
Jennifer Kuan, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics, CSUMB
As one of the event organizers, Dr. Kuan noted that she was, “Intentional in creating a forum where diversity among Asian populations could be recognized and honored.” In her reflection, Kuan wrote, “The multi-disciplinary perspectives were valuable and unique. Integrating elected officials, practitioners and academics into one moderated conversation resulted in an amazing, authentic space for local thought leaders and public intellectuals to directly influence the communities where we live.”
Phuong Nguyen, Associate Professor of United States History, CSUMB
Dr. Nguyen began his reflection with a quote by Audre Lorde, who once wrote, “Without community there is no liberation.” Nguyen noted, “This was a powerful event. In my community, we are just beginning to develop a critical mass of actions to connect our campus community more directly to the communities we serve. This event is representative of the types of connections academic institutions need to have to continue to advance as a civil society. It’s not enough to merely produce knowledge and share it among academics. The true impact will come from our ability to make structural changes in our communities that then resonate outward (systemic change). This event has been a long time coming and I was delighted to participate.”
Angie Ngọc Trần, Professor of Political Economy, CSUMB
Dr. Tran is an activist scholar and founding faculty at CSUMB. In her reflection, she wrote, “I’m very appreciative of this unprecedented event that brought together individuals from throughout the CSUMB campus community. For the first time on our campus, a panel was focused solely on the Asian community, in solidarity with other ethnic and affinity groups, to build bridges and make connections.”
In thinking of concrete action steps to move towards a more equitable and just society, Dr. Tran provided the following suggestions:
- We need to think and act transnationally. This is important because global capitalist processes tend to pit marginalized people of color against each other.
- We need to build cross-ethnic solidarity because we can’t afford to be divided.
- We need to connect locally to all ethnic and affinity groups (such as Coalition for Asian Justice) because it is the most effective way to build solidarity, from the ground up.
Summary
While the event was a success and participants were clamouring for more, the true measure of success will come from our collective actions and the collective impact that results. The question on the table is: How do we take what we learn from these powerful histories and stories to begin to dismantle the various levels and forms of racism? One tool that creates the framework for addressing these and other social issues is critical race theory. Arming ourselves with diverse perspectives is a great first step; but, we need a deeper understanding of the systems and structures in which these thoughts and actions occur. We must recognize that racism (as a system) creates a negative stain for the entirety of our society, not only for those who are negatively affected. Advancing as a society by “flocking together” and providing the most care and attention to those who have been harmed by these systems has the potential to strengthen the whole of society.
Click here to view a recording.
Author: Vanessa Lopez-Littleton, Ph.D., RN, is an Associate Professor at California State University, Monterey Bay and Chair of the Health, Human Services, and Public Policy Department. Her research interests include social determinants of health, racial equity, and organizational culture. She may be reached at [email protected], DrVLoLil.Com or @DrVLoLil
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Affirming the Asian Community: Building Bridges/Making Connections
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Vanessa Lopez-Littleton
December 12, 2021
There are many lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the need to center Asian Americans. A recent panel at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) provided a platform to deepen our understanding of the histories and lived experiences of Asian Americans. The event was part of a series of crucial conversations presented by Building Community Through Dialogue, a campus-wide community building co-op led by Drs. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton, Vivian Waldrup-Patterson and Brian Corpening.
The webinar, Affirming the Asian Community: Building Bridges/Making Connections, featured Dr. Russell Jeung, Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, who was listed among TIME’s top 100 Most Influential People for 2021. Jeung provided a powerful commentary on the history and lived experiences of Asian Americans. In his address, Jeung posited that complex social problems such as racism and racist acts require broad community acknowledgement and intervention. From his perspective, “People can go into fight or flight mode: arming themselves, telling their families to stay indoors. But some choose instead to flock [together], and I see the community flocking together to resist racism.” Many in the audience found the “third option” brilliant, likening it to the beautiful and fitting notion of community building.
Laurel Lee-Alexander, Director of Philanthropy, Monterey Peninsula Foundation
Ms. Lee-Alexander served as the event moderator. In her reflection, Lee-Alexander wrote, “I am so proud of our local community, especially CSUMB. The academic research, personal experiences and need to ‘flock’ together to expand awareness is much-needed and tremendously valuable. Dr. Jeung’s presentation was especially impactful and motivated people to act. It’s clear that this type of learning is needed. I hope we can provide more opportunities for our community members to come together, listen and learn.”
Jennifer Kuan, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Economics, CSUMB
As one of the event organizers, Dr. Kuan noted that she was, “Intentional in creating a forum where diversity among Asian populations could be recognized and honored.” In her reflection, Kuan wrote, “The multi-disciplinary perspectives were valuable and unique. Integrating elected officials, practitioners and academics into one moderated conversation resulted in an amazing, authentic space for local thought leaders and public intellectuals to directly influence the communities where we live.”
Phuong Nguyen, Associate Professor of United States History, CSUMB
Dr. Nguyen began his reflection with a quote by Audre Lorde, who once wrote, “Without community there is no liberation.” Nguyen noted, “This was a powerful event. In my community, we are just beginning to develop a critical mass of actions to connect our campus community more directly to the communities we serve. This event is representative of the types of connections academic institutions need to have to continue to advance as a civil society. It’s not enough to merely produce knowledge and share it among academics. The true impact will come from our ability to make structural changes in our communities that then resonate outward (systemic change). This event has been a long time coming and I was delighted to participate.”
Angie Ngọc Trần, Professor of Political Economy, CSUMB
Dr. Tran is an activist scholar and founding faculty at CSUMB. In her reflection, she wrote, “I’m very appreciative of this unprecedented event that brought together individuals from throughout the CSUMB campus community. For the first time on our campus, a panel was focused solely on the Asian community, in solidarity with other ethnic and affinity groups, to build bridges and make connections.”
In thinking of concrete action steps to move towards a more equitable and just society, Dr. Tran provided the following suggestions:
Summary
While the event was a success and participants were clamouring for more, the true measure of success will come from our collective actions and the collective impact that results. The question on the table is: How do we take what we learn from these powerful histories and stories to begin to dismantle the various levels and forms of racism? One tool that creates the framework for addressing these and other social issues is critical race theory. Arming ourselves with diverse perspectives is a great first step; but, we need a deeper understanding of the systems and structures in which these thoughts and actions occur. We must recognize that racism (as a system) creates a negative stain for the entirety of our society, not only for those who are negatively affected. Advancing as a society by “flocking together” and providing the most care and attention to those who have been harmed by these systems has the potential to strengthen the whole of society.
Click here to view a recording.
Author: Vanessa Lopez-Littleton, Ph.D., RN, is an Associate Professor at California State University, Monterey Bay and Chair of the Health, Human Services, and Public Policy Department. Her research interests include social determinants of health, racial equity, and organizational culture. She may be reached at [email protected], DrVLoLil.Com or @DrVLoLil
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