Journey into Asian America
In the SituAsian Room, Emilie, and Zach welcome Kay Yu, the Voter Protection Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. Kay shares her story of “being her first client” fighting for her own citizenship and discusses the importance of civic engagement, voting, and how to vote in PA. Before the 2020 election (Nov 3), we want to stress how important it is for the AAPI community to vote!
In the SituAsian Room, Emilie, and Zach welcome Nydia Han to talk about the power of our voices as Asian Americans during the coronavirus era, standing against hate, being forever foreigners, and her signature series #ThisIsAmerica. Nydia Han is an Emmy award-winning television journalist and the creator of #ThisIsAmerica, a social media movement and three-part documentary series about racism.
This week in The SituAsian Room, Emilie, and Zach welcome Rahat Babar, Esq. to talk about the importance of building trust between communities of color and law enforcement, civil rights, and much more. Rahat is a strong advocate for the AAPI community as a former president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania and a chair the Civil Rights Committee for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Birtherism, like the Coronavirus-related racism, is rooted in the perpetual foreigner stereotype. The term birtherism refers to the political obsession with the birthplace of Former President Barack Obama and his personal background, his religion in particular. One of the most vocal proponents of birtherism was President Donald Trump. He’s now recycling birtherism and adapting it to the recent Democratic Nominee for Vice President, Senator Kamala Harris. The conspiracy argues that Senator Kamala Harris may not be a citizen because both of her parents were immigrants, and depending on their immigration status at the time of her birth, she might not qualify. Senator Harris, who could be not only the first female Vice President but also the first Black and Asian American to fill the role. She was born in Oakland, California to her father Donald Harris of Jamaica, and her mother Shyamala Gopalan of India.