Jason Dinh, Salem High School

What issues of race and ethnicity do Asian Americans currently face today? What role should our community play in addressing these issues?

The immediate response most people would have is “stereotypes.” I look further than that. There is a deeper issue within my community and the community around me that I see, or rather it is what I do not see. It is far and few between that you find someone of Asian descent in the media or heading companies. The few examples of Asians in media I can think of are typically minor roles, and stereotyped to be smart at math, super successful, heavy accents, or martial art masters. Asian Americans are only in the spotlight for being extraordinary and while that’s fine and great, Asian Americans are always pushed to the side for anything short of amazing. Mass media does not normalize Asians. It gives those growing up in America to expect geniuses, highly talented fighters, when really we’re just like everyone else. The notion that was brought up in the 1980’s is that Asians are the “model minority.” But there’s nothing to support us being “model minorities.” Asians are normal people, like anyone else. We all have our flaws. 

Looking in the political spectrum one may find that the Asian population is vastly underrepresented, the majority of public office holders being white males. It’s extremely difficult to find Asians in positions of public leadership. It seems that we are being pushed aside into the tech rooms that are helping to fund and support these large organizations rather and institutions than ever being the face. The argument could be made that Asians are doing so well in America today, but what people have to realize is that for every Asian American with a degree, there’s just as many struggling and poverty stricken. The sample of people who are doing well in America is all that is looked it. There is no coverage on asians being poor and hungry and that’s an issue. There must be something to rectify that. 

The solution is simple really, the execution is what’s difficult. Our community on the largest scale, our world, must recognize that we are one species. While there are numerous of differences in ethnicity and races, we are one species. Until we can act like it there’s no hope for our race long term. We must be willing to help each other out, not shut everyone down. It does not matter the background, as long as people are willing to put forth hard work, effort and make significant contributions to humanity. The world would be a much brighter place if everyone is able to collaborate together. 

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Hello everyone, I’m Freda, a 15-year-old highschooler. Today I’m here to share some small pieces of my life with you, it’s a short story compare to you guys’, but I guess it’s still fairly interesting. 

In 2002, on a beautiful day, a pretty, lovely, and smart angel was born in Chicago. And… Yup you’re right, that was me. Two months later, my parents, who were studying in Chicago, brought me and my brother to China. And I went to preschool and elementary school and lived there for more than ten years. In those ten years, I didn’t have to worry about school work or friendships or anything, really. I was one of the number 1 students, I was popular, I had many many friends, and teachers liked me, too. I couldn’t have had a better and happier life. 

Then in 2014, after I graduated from my elementary school, I came here, America, and went to a middle school in Brookline. And suddenly many things changed, in fact, everything changed. I wasn’t the number 1 student anymore, well in math I still was, but other classes, not really, I wasn’t, obviously, popular, though it wasn’t what I cared either. What really bothered me was that I didn’t even have many friends. I was quiet, I was kind of nervous all the time, I never raised my hand in any class, and I just did not want to communicate with anyone. And it was all because of my bad English, my poor vocabulary. I couldn’t understand some of the things other people said, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have known how to reply because I didn’t know the words in English. Therefore there were many many, countless awkward and embarrassing moments. They were inevitable, they could have happened at any point, but I never, got used to them. In other words, I felt equally or even more embarrassed every time it happened. So yeah it was a horrible experience. But, it was also precious. I learned from it, I grew after the experience. During the hardest times, I thought of going back to China, but I knew that I couldn’t, because if I went back, I would have probably been the worst student in the whole school. For this reason, I ended up having no other choices besides facing and overcoming the difficulties. And so I stayed. 

Fortunately, my life did not disappoint me and had proven that my choice was not bad. In the second year, things indeed got better, so much better. Everybody, including myself, could see it. I had more friends, I talked more, I was even talkative sometimes, I raised my hand in class, and I just changed. I was not the quiet Asian girl that people never knew that had existed anymore, I was Freda, I was, one of the students in that school, I was a part of that community. 

Besides the new things happening at school, I also gave myself a challenge - I had a dream. I wanted to be a writer. So I started writing online. In the first few months, I just wrote and updated whenever I wanted, and it was very slow. Until one day, when I saw the first comment in the comment section under my book, I was really really surprised. I couldn’t believe it. At that time, one comment made me so happy like I had earned the whole world. Since then I started updating every day. Writing turned from a hobby to a responsibility. And now I’ve been doing this for three years. Maybe many of you would think that I would have a lot of fans by now, but actually, no. I thought three years was so long and have complained about how I’ve gained nothing from these years, but just recently, I realized that for a dream to come true, it might take my entire life. And it’s still worth it. Because no matter what, I am growing and improving. And if one day, my dream does come true, I will be really really proud of myself. Because I know what I have gone through and what I have done for this dream and this day to come. 

Okay you know what? We should talk about something happier. If you were to ask me, “What makes you happy?” I would first say, my dream coming true, then, traveling, and, helping people. In my opinion, helping people, is the easiest, but also the hardest among these three. Why is it easy? Not everybody asks a house or a billion dollars from you! Most of the times, they just need you to smile at them, say “hi” to them, tell them a joke, pick up a pencil they drop for them, remind them of something they leave behind, or just being there. People need less than what we think they do, in other words, we can do more than we think we can. I’m sure that many of you have helped somebody or been helped by somebody in your life, I would assume that that action did not make you sacrifice too much, and I bet that was a pretty nice experience that you still remember. 

I’m a very lucky person, it’s not only because of how much I have been helped by other people, but also how big of an opportunity I have to help people in numerous different ways. 

After I came to America, a professional pianist sent her children to our house, soon, they the brother and sister became my brother and I’s first students. Since then we had “officially” started our education career. We use our rigorous attitude and interesting style fixed parents’ confusion and the kids’ problem of not wanting to learn. As a piano teacher, I try my best to teach my students everything that I learned from the age of 4 and make them the best pianists they can be while believing that all of them could make the most out of themselves. As an English teacher, I try to be as original and unique as possible so that my students can not only learn the letters and words, but also the culture behind the language. Because language is for communication and interaction, not quizes and tests at school. 

Knowledge and skills are priceless, but they give a person more value. And teaching is the best way of learning, practicing as well. 

Some people always say “Be patient, time will do the work”. Yes, time does do the work, but this only happens when it’s accompanied by your hard work. There’s teamwork. One shouldn’t do everything while the other doesn’t do anything. 

I’m not accomplished, to be honest, I haven’t accomplished anything, really. But today I’m here because I’ve grown and improved. And I believe that I will always get closer and closer to my dream, until the day it comes true. 

So be happy for yourself, and move forward. There’s no ending, but you will always be closer and closer to your dream. 

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    Lily Tang, Braintree High School

Like the Asian American Movement in the 60s, we are still trying fighting for our rights as Americans and to change the perception that Asians are perpetual foreigners. Especially with the political and social climate in our country with the election, it is easy to see everyone’s differences rather than see our common humanity. 

This issue is particularly prominent for Asians, as even in history we were seen as outsiders. This is exemplified by the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Japanese Internment, as in both cases Asian Americans were treated as  undesirables and as the “enemy.” This perception carries over to today as phrases like “go back to China” and words like “Chink” is continuously used to target and harass Asians. The increase in harassment after the election- as documented on social media by people who have experienced this blatant increase of racism- highlights how so much further we as a nation needs to go in terms of understanding how the definition of “American” is not synonymous to white, but is inclusive of people of all race and ethnicity. 

As a community, we should continue to promote intersectionality and allyship because it is important to be unified in our movement; it is to create connections between our experiences as Asian Americans- from Chinese to Indians- and recognize that everyone’s stories are unique but the underlying struggle for equality and representation is not. It is also important to celebrate diversity and having national and grass root organizations that highlight that in the community. 

We need to aspire to empower others and also be empowered ourselves and learn and be more connected by our struggles and our successes. Spaces provided by organizations like the Commonwealth Seminar highlights this inclusive approach as it welcomes people of all colors and gives them the tools to create change. We need to recognize our power as Asians and Asian Americans and know that we are not a “second class” people but that we have the ability to attain the American Dream, too.

It is vital that we tell the future generations of Asian Americans that they are not limited in their success and they should always aim for the stars. Personally, my goal is to continue to work with the nonprofits in Boston Chinatown and be an advocate for the Chinatown community. In college, I would like to work with youths and help them become more engaged with their communities and help them recognize their strengths as leaders. Additionally, I want to be an example for the younger Asian Americans like my nieces and nephew and show them that they are Americans and that they have every right to dream and fulfill those dreams. In general, I want to emphasize service in whatever work I do and build stronger relationships with people of diverse cultures and backgrounds in order to build bridges between the communities. 

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Story of Cherry Lim

My parents are refugees who were born in Cambodia. The genocide and war happened when they were 18. It’s weird to think about because I’m past that age and I can’t imagine what I would have done. It’s not even comparable. The amount of strength and courage that they had.

So this is their 30th year in America and my mom told me that this is an area where they’ve spent the longest time in but it has never felt like home to them. I think when they first got here to Braintree, there wasn’t a lot of Asian families living here at the time. And when I did see them, I was like, ‘Oh my god there’s another Asian family here!’. But I think my parents felt a little isolated because it was just different in regards to the feelings of belonging and things they related to culturally here.

Even for us as second generation Asian Americans, there are things that we understand as Americans but then there are things that we don’t. . .  like playing on a baseball team. We know those things exist but we don’t know what it feels like to be on one.

If I’m getting technical, I’m Cambodian Chinese American but there’s also identity politics. Like if I say I’m Cambodian American, people will respond with, ‘well you don’t speak Khmer.’  I also don’t look Cambodian nor did I grow up with those traditions either. It’s funny because if I talk to Chinese people, they’re like ‘your last name is Lim so what’s the story there?’

My parents grew up in Cambodia. My dad speaks the decision might have been different.

I thought a lot about my time at Tufts and growing up, it felt lonely. I just assumed it was normal and then all of a sudden when I got to college and they started talking about their history and my history and a lot of people can relate to it. It is lonely because it’s like I’m part of a small population of people that have this history. It’s not just about being Asian American, it’s like another layer, and it’s just so complicated.

This is the problem with identity and politics because I just don’t look it.  And people shouldn’t be like, ‘oh you’re not dark enough or you’re not light enough’. It’s not fair in that way. It is part of my history – I went to Chinese school, I speak cantonese and my parents have a different history which is also part of me.

Have you ever done myers brigg? I did mine on 16 personalities.com and I’m an adventurer that doesn’t like to be put into one box. It’s just so complicated. Even explaining my ethnicity is so complicated. I’m getting my masters in HigherEd, which is what I want to do, work with college students. I feel like college was such an important time for me because things didn’t click until I went to college.   There’s that part of me. And then I really like knitting and crafting so there’s that part of me. I also really like sports. I’m a friend, a daughter, a sister. I’m a lot of things. Sometimes I feel like there should be one specific answer but it’s so complicated and I can’t find one.

Source: http://storiesofasianamerica.com

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Kairos Shen is a city planner and urban designer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Before starting his own private practice in 2015, he was the Director of Planning at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston’s Economic Development and Planning Agency for thirteen years. In his capacity as Boston’s Chief City Planner, Mr. Shen worked closely with the Mayor of Boston to envision, coordinate and administer the city’s planning and economic development policies and regulations.

Mr. Shen was intimately involved in many of Boston’s most important planning and economic development initiatives in the last two decades. They include the development guidelines for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the planning and implementation of the South Boston Waterfront Innovation District, the refurbishment of Fenway Park, and the revitalization of Dudley Square.

In addition to his own private practice, Mr. Shen teaches at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Real Estate, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Mr. Shen is a graduate of Swarthmore College and has a Master of Architecture from MIT.

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          Story of Thu Pham, Senior Financial Analyst at Lionbridge 
 

Growing up Vietnamese American, there were differences in cultural values and upbringing that had a huge impact on my identity. I grew up in great confusion with a lot of self-doubt and limiting beliefs that I carried forward into my adult years. Early in life, I was deeply influenced by my parents since I was very close to them. With a huge age gap of nearly fifty years, they were very traditional and strict, so I grew up in great fear of them, and I made sure I always did as I was told. In school, I was encouraged to speak up, to raise questions, and to voice my opinions. At home, I was taught to know my place, to always obey and to never talk back. If I thought any differently, I would’ve felt disrespectful or that I was a bad daughter. I didn’t want to disappoint my folks and I wanted to make them happy – I wanted them to be proud of me. The need for approval became very apparent and eventually, that led into a fear of being judged by others. I lived a good part of my life unhappy because I was trying to live up to other people’s expectations. I wanted to feel accepted and I was afraid to be different, I was afraid to be myself.

My discovery of yoga in my early twenties led me to question who I was and what I wanted out of my friendships and relationships. As I progressed in my practice, I developed a deeper understanding of myself and my ways of thinking. My mat was home for me – it was where I could express myself without any judgement or fear, and it was where I found the strength to break free from hindering thoughts. Yoga was a place for growth, it was where I felt beautiful, alive, strong, and free. It was where I learned acceptance, compassion, and love for myself; and it’s those very lessons that I carry into my life this day.

Once I shed the layers, I’m at peace with who I am because I know it’s coming from a place of truth and I’m no longer fighting what’s inside. I no longer looked to another for validation and I can truly appreciate my whole being. It took me a very long time to understand that. I used to hate it when I heard comments like “You’re so weird”. Now, I can honestly laugh about it because I know there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m just a little different. It is our uniqueness that makes us strong and beautiful. My experiences have allowed me to have this understanding for myself, and it has helped me develop empathy for people who feel different. I hope it inspires others to do the same for themselves – to be true to yourself and to have the courage to live life on your own terms. 

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Peter Ng (伍振中) was born in Hong Kong in 1952 and immigrated to United States in 1963. He graduated from United States Air Force Military School and The FAA Academy. Ng entered the federal service as the first Asian air traffic controller in the U.S. and served as the Communication Director for the Federal Aviation Administration. After 41 years of government service he retired and focus on the needs of the community organizations. Ng works predominantly in the medium of painting in watercolor, oil, acrylic, Chinese calligraphy and Chinese ink painting. Ng is a self-taught and is a member of the Boston Chinese Calligraphy Association; Artists Support and Promote Community. He is the creator of the Brushmagic Kids (神筆小孩) and The East Meet West (中西結合) product line. His artwork has been displayed in galleries around the world and sold through an agent in China, Singapore, Japan and United States.

Ng is an artist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and his goal is to give back to this great country by invest in the future of American youth and children around world. Proceeds from his artwork sales go towards funding scholarships for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, art, education and humanity.

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