Reviving Sisterhood | Expressions Narrative Project Reviving Sisterhood‘s Expressions Narrative Project is a platform dedicated to the voices and perspectives of Muslim women, from activists and artists to professors and political representatives. Over 50 women have contributed their personal narratives and opinions. Topics include voting, leadership, philanthropy, reclaiming one’s power, faith and activism, community care, and advocating for change. Visit the website to view the project and read individual stories. Visitors are also invited to submit their own stories using a form on the webpage.
NYT Op-Docs | MINK! — My Mom Fought For Title IX, but It Almost Didn’t Happen Fifty years ago, on June 23, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX, the 37-word snippet within the Educational Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex “under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” As the first woman of color elected to Congress, Ms. Mink — and her path to office — was influenced by the discrimination she experienced in her personal and professional lives. Many doors were closed to her as a Japanese American woman, and she became an activist and later a politician to change the status quo. In “MINK!,” Wendy Mink narrates her mother’s groundbreaking rise to power and the startling collision between the personal and political that momentarily derailed the cause of gender equity in America. After Ms. Mink’s death in 2002, Title IX was officially renamed the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
Asian Feminist Writing Workshop | Writings In 2021, the inaugural Feminist Writing Workshop was organized by Kundiman in collaboration with the Asian American Feminist Collective to foster a safe space for writers to explore the unique history of Asian American feminist writing and how it influences their own work. Kundiman is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing generations of writers and readers of Asian American Literature. The Asian American Feminist Collective engages in intersectional feminist politics grounded within our communities, including those whose backgrounds encompass East, Southeast, and South Asian, Pacific Islander, multi-ethnic and diasporic Asian identities. Through public events and resources, AAFC seek to provide spaces for identity exploration, political education, community building, and advocacy. The Workshop’s syllabus, assigned readings, and curriculum are available online at this link. Following the Workshop’s conclusion, the cohort published To Us & Ours: An Asian American Feminist Collection. This collection of writing is available for download at this link. See below for the table of contents. Table of Contents: Dandelion Spell (For Safety), Ching-In ChenWakashu and Lost Traditions, Sam NakahiraTo the Daughters of War, Victoria HuynhFig Tree, MATNightswimming in August, Alyssa Mae CruzMasturbation, Pleasure & Feminist Politics, Fatema HaqueTo May, Linda Sachiko MorrisWe Have Names, danny ryuI’m a Public School Teacher and I Spent $500 to Take a Bath and Cry, Shivani DavéWork at TheCompany!, Anne Cong-HuyenPreserves, Amanda NavaUndoc Letters, goeunRain Pollen Fossil Record, Aishvarya AroraUntitled, Jas PerryLife & Pain, A Compilation, Erme MaulaPandemic Diary, Joy ChenMy Brother Tells Me Why I Love Q-Tips, Ashna AliEverything Beautiful, In Its Time, Hairol MaFlowers for the Living, Flowers for the Dead, Promiti Islam
CAAL | Fireside Chat: Suni Lee Making History Fireside Chats are informal conversations between staff at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and network leaders on issues and topics impacting our Asian Minnesotan community. In this Fireside Chat, held on August 6, 2021, former CAAL Executive & Network director Bo Thao-Urabe and Representative Kaohly Her discuss the significance of local olympian and gold medalist Sunisa Lee’s win for the Hmong community and the importance of uplifting the perspective of women and girls. Find out more about upcoming Fireside Chats and about CAAL on their website.
Reviving Sisterhood | Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota In 2016, Reviving Sisterhood kicked off its Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota series — a storytelling project to amplify girls and women in our community who aren’t waiting for permission to change the world. The project includes a series of video shorts, a collection of stories, and a podcast/radio show, as well as a set of illustrations. Each story features a Shero — a female trailblazer who is creating change in her community. She takes risks, she challenges misconceptions and addresses injustices. Sheroes are on a mission to build a better world, and the Sisterhood is here to support them and uplift their voices. View the Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota here. A Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota educational guide was also created in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) is available to download through PBS Learning Media. The guide includes lesson plans and discussion questions for children and students grades 6-12.
SEAFN – Speaking Khmer on Condemning Anti-Asian Violence, Gender Based Violence, and White Supremacy Come listen to our demands on addressing anti-Asian hate, gender-based violence, and white supremacy. #DismantleWhitePatriarchy #Not Your Fetish #StopAsianHate
VAYLA: Letter from Jacqueline Thanh “Beyond Asian hate and the continual targeting of our elders across the country, the violence and murder of Asian women in Atlanta yesterday illuminates the complex intergenerational traumas of exploitation, sexual violence, poverty, colonialism, and erasure experienced by Asian women. Working-class Asian women are the backbone of families, communities, and our cultures. VAYLA is an Asian Womxn-led organization and we are grieving deeply with our diaspora. We must stop Asian hate. We must continue to speak up and keep each other safe in the face of terrorism.” Read the full statement here.
NAPAWF | Statement on Violence Against Asian American Women Condemn Hate and Violence Against Asian American Women “We are appalled, devastated, and angry at the violence in Georgia that has taken eight lives, six of whom were Asian American women. Many NAPAWF members and staff are especially shaken because they or their family members work in the service industry and have already been experiencing increased racism at work because of COVID-19. We mourn with the families of the victims, with our Georgia community, and with our broader community as the effects of anti-Asian racism are felt across the country by all of us. While officials now have announced the shooter’s motivations were based on a “sex addiction” and not racial bias, we know firsthand that sexual violence, sexism, and racism are intertwined for Asian American and Pacific Islander women. In the wake of COVID-19, racist scapegoating have fed this sexist fetishization as part of the spike in the incidents of hate. We must call this moment what it truly is: white supremacy, anti-Asian racism, sexism, and sexual violence against Asian American women. More than 68 percent of reported incidents of anti-Asian harassment and violence have been from women, and new polling commissioned by NAPAWF has revealed that nearly half of AAPI women have been affected by anti-Asian racism in the past two years. Racism intertwined with sexism has always been a part of our lives — this horrific mass shooting laid bare what we used to face unnoticed. We need a response to these attacks that centers Asian American women and elders. Intentional centering of women and elders must result in true aid, community support, government support, and an emphasis on our lived experiences, so that relief flows to those who need it most. We do not need more law enforcement – time and time again, more law enforcement did not lead to protection and safety. It instead leads to more violence aimed at and control of Black and Brown communities, including our own community members.” Send a message to your elected officials: The federal government, state, and local community responses to incidents of AAPI hate must be intersectional and responsive to the needs of Asian American women and elders.
Freedom, Inc. – Our Statement and Response to the Violent Murder of Our Asian Sisters in Georgia “All Asian women workers deserve respect, dignity, and protection. We know that many Asian women are underpaid, undervalued, and their safety is not prioritized. Join some of Freedom, Inc.’s Southeast Asian leaders as we put out our statement and response to the violent murder of our Asian Sisters in Georgia.” Yesterday, Tuesday, March 16, six Asian women were killed when Robert Aaron Long took the lives of eight people in… Posted by Freedom Inc on Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Our Bodies, Our Stories Podcast Within the Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities, conversations surrounding Reproductive Justice tend to be silenced or overlooked. The “Our Bodies, Our Stories” podcast series is an intentional space created by VAYLA New Orleans for us to explore conversations about anything and everything as it pertains to a reproductive justice framework using an AAPI lens and our cultural understanding.