QuarantineDiaries004

R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Delayed” Cover in The New Yorker

An image really is worth a thousand words, and in this case, it’s didactic, powerful, and timely.

Have we moved backwards in time, or has the beast from within merely been prompted for release, as a green light from the previous Administration’s frequent yet nonchalant use of hateful rhetoric? Unfortunately, many incidents of hate crime and injustices are not broadly reported on a day-to-day mainstream basis.

Almost a year ago, I started a passion project that stemmed from a one-off movement in hopes of bridging the gap for the older AAPI community - our parents, aunts, and uncles - to better understand racial and systemic inequities.

The one-off movement has grown since then - From just plastering banners around the 626 area, into a non-profit dedicated to providing in-language resources for AAPI communities. Our goal in the grand scheme of things, was to increase civic engagement at every level. Progress moved at an undesirable pace as the co-founders and I all individually struggled to balance our day jobs, grad school, and other tedious matters in our day-to-day lives. Who knew cancelling Spectrum internet would cause multiple attempts and spelling out my first and last name a total of (5) times PER phone call? Really, how hard is it to spell Chen?

Thought leadership is a start, but the process from ideation to execution takes time. And we’re all limited on time.

From the draft archives, back in April 2021