Project Voice

Julie Connell sits down with Nkauj Iab Yang from Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) to deliver an engaging and educational episode centered around trauma–from how it's defined to the long-term consequences that unfold when trauma goes unaddressed. This episode covers a wide variety of trauma with trauma being defined as emotionally and physically distressing experiences that challenge one's ability to cope.

The conversation starts off with a focus on the older generation who lived through the war in Southeast Asia and fled their homeland for the sake of their well being and safety. Besides having experienced violence firsthand, these individuals had to face many stressors that came with resettling in a foreign country. Faced with language barriers and lack of access to resources and information regarding higher education, many Southeast Asian communities suffer from high rates of unemployment and poverty. Many people had to learn how to navigate America on their own since there was no pre-existing Southeast Asian community to provide guidance or emotional support.

Because survival was of the highest priority, people oftentimes found themselves too busy to find time to cope with their trauma. This results in 1) unaddressed trauma that gets more harsh and violent as it is passed from one generation to the next and 2) lack of positive, community-defined coping mechanisms. The conversation now shifts to the younger generation who are negatively impacted by intergenerational trauma while also having to deal with present-day stressors as a result of data aggregation. Because the data of all Asian American communities get grouped together, many of the nuanced problems faced by the Southeast Asian community often gets overlooked. Although in reality there is an education and wealth disparity gap between the Southeast Asian and East Asian communities, the perception that they all fall under the Model Minority Myth has hindered Southeast Asian communities from accessing necessary services and resources. Yang emphasizes how we need to focus on highlighting appropriate and accurate data that reflects the story and situation of these communities.

We end the podcast reflecting on the importance of speaking out about trauma and combating the stigmatization of mental health as a form of collective healing.

SEARAC is a national civil rights organization that empowers Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities to create a socially just and equitable society. As representatives of the largest refugee community ever resettled in the United States, SEARAC stands together with other refugee communities, communities of color, and social justice movements in pursuit of social equity.

Website: www.searac.org
Facebook: @searac

NKAUJ IAB YANG is the Director of California Policy and Programs. She works closely with Southeast Asian American led and serving organizations throughout California to build a statewide Southeast Asian American equity agenda, identify the appropriate strategies, and advocate for local and state policy change. Nkauj Iab spent the last 13 years committed to youth organizing, youth development, and policy advocacy.

She holds a Master of Arts in ethnic studies from San Francisco State University and a bachelor of arts in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Facebook: @nkaujiab

Jessica Nguyen sits down with Cynthia Koo and Irene Kwong to talk about their experiences as Asian-American women business owners in the stationery industry. In this interview, we explore how they turned their passion into a career while dealing with obstacles from external pressures.

Cynthia and Irene briefly introduce Wonton In A Million and Simply Gilded, respectively, before delving into how their obsession with stationary during their childhood carried over to adulthood. Their interest to pursue this interest professionally grew as they discovered the welcoming stationary community. As they look back on their journey as creative entrepreneurs, they reflect on how it wasn’t something they set out to do full-time right from the beginning. Facing difficulties with breaking into the market and their fears of financial instability, the process to eventually go all-in on their passion projects was gradual as they built confidence in their craft. Technology played a crucial part in that process as it enabled them to find inspiration, do research, and connect with other artists and designers.

Because there is no definite guidebook when it comes to being an entrepreneur in the creative industry, they advise aspiring entrepreneurs to be really passionate about their craft and to strike a balance between consuming and producing art. When faced with creator’s block, they advise artists to change it up by trying things that are new and challenging. They also want to remind the listeners that this path is never set in stone and that although things may shift as things progress, it’s important to maintain the mindset that the path to success may be long and arduous.

Given how far they’ve come with their businesses, they want to share their experiences with the greater community, particularly Asian American women, by speaking at conferences or doing a podcast episode like this one. They hope that by talking about their stories, Asian American women who have thoughts about starting their own business will feel seen and heard, empowering them to pursue their passions even if it is the road less traveled. 

CYNTHIA KOO is the founder and designer of Wonton In A Million, a stationery brand that's home of the Dimsum Steam Team. She grew up eating dimsum at Oriental Garden, the restaurant my dad has managed in New York City for over 30 years and one day in 2015, she started wondering why there weren’t punny greeting cards featuring the little dumplings, buns, and pastries that made up her favorite Chinese cuisine. Thus, Wonton In A Million was born. Her sincere hope is that the Dimsum Steam Team makes you happy and hungry, inspires you to eat more dimsum, and "touches your heart" (the literal translation of "dimsum")!

Website: www.wontoninamillion.com 

Instagram: @wontoninamillion

IRENE KWONG is an unconventional entrepreneur with a deep love for exploring the imaginative world she inhabited in her childhood.  After departing from an almost decade-long career in pharmacy, she finally had the opportunity to live her dream of building a creative business (and playing with stickers all day!).  She currently resides in Seattle, WA with her husband Darren and 2 kids, Jake and Lily.

Simply gilded specializes in beautiful and whimsical stationery products for home, office, creative expression, and beyond!  From magical washi tape designs to notepads, magnets, pins, pens, a monthly subscription box, and more, simply gilded strives to spark joy and delight with their products and messaging. 

Website: www.simplygilded.com 

Simply Gilded: @simplygilded

Simply Gilded Box: @simplygildedbox

Juniper Bunny: @xoxojuniper

This is it. We made it. Season 4 finale.

As many of you know, Project Voice has been running for a little over 2 years since November 2016. When I first started the podcast, I only expected myself to produce 15 episodes at the most. It was started by me and a bunch of my friends who I invited to share their experiences on the show. Most of us didn’t come from an academic background in ethnic studies or Asian American studies. We were just speaking from our own experience[s].

I was learning as I was going through the conversations taking place on Project Voice, and over time, eventually became very active and involved with the activist community. I learned to be more convicted with my beliefs while at the same time, open-minded and respectful towards those who hold different views from mine. I’ve learned and listened from a variety of perspectives.

As many of you know, I have not been in the U.S. for a few years now and just moved my base to Australia where I’ll be living for at least another year. During this time period, I plan to reach out and connect with the Asian Australian community and potentially other Asian diasporic communities all over the world outside the U.S. As an American, I feel like It’s time to learn and listen again. My busy schedule means I won’t be able to keep up with our monthly release for Project Voice.

However, I do want to say that I spent a long time to decide putting Project Voice on another hiatus. To be honest, I wanted to transition out of Project Voice for more than a year now and have been putting this decision on hold because I see how much value it offers to our community. I can see how much I’ve grown through this project as well as many other people who’ve been following PV since. I feel honored to see how many people have heard about Project Voice and how many inspiring change makers have been interviewed on our platform. At the same time, ironically speaking, I do feel like I’ve lost my voice working on Project Voice, a now large-scale platform for influential voices. For me right now, I want to spend some time to rest and reflect on how Project Voice can continue thriving as an AUTHENTIC media outlet for our Asian community tuning in all over the world. What can we do with our content to keep our audience informed and engaged AUTHENTICALLY?

As a child of immigrant parents, I knew what it’s like to feel like I have to reinvent the wheel and now having an established platform for other Asian diasporic folx to share their stories, my next questions are: how can we improve our reach so that many others won’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel?  And also, how can I transform Project Voice into a self-sustaining platform for not only our current generations but our future generations of aspiring creators and storytellers as well?

I’d like to thank our listeners for tuning in, sharing feedback on our podcast, and engaging with our content. I’d like to thank our team members for the time and energy they put into contributing a cause that they care about. I’d like to personally thank Grace Abe, our graphic designer and illustrator for leading last year’s rebranding project. Because of Grace, we were able to provide a powerful visual experience alongside with the release of our episodes. Last but not least, I’d also like to thank our sponsors, Found Coffee and Bharat Babies for believing in our mission. If it weren’t all of you, Project Voice would not be where it is today.

Much love,

Jess

About a year ago, Minnie Ng and I invited Jen Sungshine to share with us not only her history and experience in activism and video production under Love Intersections but her insights about collaborating with other multitalented QTPOC artists as well. From our interview with Jen, we will learn about why collaborations may be the most effective and ethical approach to sharing stories of communities across borders. In this episode, we also will discuss more about the importance of engaging in difficult dialogues and listening with empathy and compassion as creative activists.

As we near the end of season 4, Project Voice will be preparing for its lineup for season 5 (and ANOTHER big surprise coming soon!). If you are interested in being interviewed, please email us at [email protected]!

Jen Sungshine speaks for a living, but lives for breathing life into unspoken situations in unusual places. She is a nerdy queer Taiwanese interdisciplinary artist/activist, facilitator, and community mentor based in Vancouver, BC, and the Co-Creative Director and founder of Love Intersections, a media arts collective that cultivate a vision of collaborative filmmaking and relational storytelling. Jen's artistic practice involves learning through unlearning; and instead of calling you out, she wants to call you in, to make artful social change with her. In the audience, she looks for art in your interruption.

Follow Love Intersections:

https://loveintersections.com/

https://www.facebook.com/loveintersections/

https://www.twitter.com/intersectlove

https://www.instagram.com/loveintersections/

Content warning: sexual assault

Years before the online #MeToo movement that took place in October 2017, Yee Xiong filed a civil suit case against her attacker. Determined to bring justice to her case, she bravely held her ground despite the bribery and threats that occurred during the conviction. It was only a few months later that Yee reached out to me to again to share news of her huge win of her lawsuit case. The legal battle lasted for 6 years. According to a NY Times interview, Yee hopes that her victory will send “a very powerful and positive message to the world that people will be held accountable for their actions, no matter how long it takes.”

In this episode, Yee will share with us how she navigated through the legalities of her case and healed herself after the incident. On a larger scale, we also will discuss about how sexual violence is related to immigration rights.

Yee Xiong is a daughter of Hmong refugee parents and an advocate for sexual assault survivors and immigrant rights. She earned her BA in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis, and works as a community educator at her local rape crisis center in Yolo County. She is passionate about building solidarity among historically oppressed communities through grassroots organizing, women and youth of color empowerment, Southeast Asian and migrant worker issues, and ethnic studies.

Follow Yee on Instagram @yee.speaks!

Brought to you by our co-host, Afsana Oreen:

Anti-Blackness within the South Asian diasporic community is often not discussed. That’s why I was excited to learn how Nina Bhattacharya – a writer, educator, and cultural organizer – combats anti-blackness. I invite you to modify her strategies, with some additional guidance from the Aerogram’s article “The Revolution Starts with My Thathi,” the next time you need to confront anti-Blackness in your community or in unfamiliar spaces.

Nina Bhattacharya is a writer, educator, podcast producer, and cultural organizer based in Cambridge, MA. Her writing has been published in The Toast, Kajal Magazine, and The Aerogram.

Recently, a man by the name Edward Blum and the Students for Fair Admissions have teamed up to sue Harvard for discriminating against its Asian American applicants with its affirmative action policy. Affirmative action has been one of the hottest debates for a while within our community and I thought that it would be really helpful to have Quyen Dinh, Executive Director from the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, also known as SEARAC, on the podcast to share her personal story as well as SEARAC’s findings on the important impact affirmative action and data disaggregation has had on our Southeast Asian American community.

Quyen Dinh is the Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). As Executive Director, Quyen has advocated for Southeast Asian Americans on key civil rights issues including education, immigration, criminal justice, health, and aging.  Born to Vietnamese refugees, Quyen identifies as a second-generation Vietnamese American. She holds a Masters of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. Quyen was born in New Orleans, LA, and grew up in Orange County, CA and San Jose, CA.  She currently resides with her husband in Washington, DC.

Follow SEARAC on:

https://twitter.com/SEARAC

https://www.facebook.com/searac/

https://www.instagram.com/searac/

It is no surprise to us how often Asian women are bombarded by harmful messages from society and media. Tired of being told how we should navigate the world, Sung Yeon Choimorrow and I will be opening up the conversation on body issues by first discussing and dispelling stereotypes fostered by microaggressions, internalized racism, fatphobia, racism, and more. Later on in the podcast, Sung Yeon also will share her professional involvement with body politics through means of organizational advocacy under the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF). She will bring up topics on NAPAWF’s current agenda, such as immigration and deportation. We will end strong with closing remarks to questions that many of us in our community have asked every day: What does #bodylove mean to us? What does it mean to have agency over our bodies? How can we change the culture and attitude around our politicized bodies and finally reclaim agency over our bodies?

Sung Yeon Choimorrow is the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, the nation’s only organization dedicated to advocacy at the intersection of gender and racial justice for Asian American Pacific Islander women and girls. She is a Public Voices fellow with the Op-Ed Project.

Follow NAPAWF at:

https://www.napawf.org/

https://www.facebook.com/NAPAWF/

https://twitter.com/napawf

https://www.instagram.com/napawf/

So, I was ecstatic to know that Bharat Babies was going to be a sponsor for Project Voice and I really wanted to give the platform to its founder, Sailaja, because what she’s doing for our community is really inspiring. When I was looking for sponsors for Project Voice, one of the items on my criteria was to partner with a business who reflected our values and I believe that Bharat Babies really fit the mold for us as a business. As someone who grew up craving for stories that looked like me, I thought it was refreshing to hear that there was someone out there who decided to make a change about it. So, here I’m going to have Sailaja share her story on how she started Bharat Babies.

Bharat Babies is an indie publishing house that shares the stories of South Asian characters doing everything from the everyday to the extraordinary. From stories of superhero, the celebrating festivals, to standing up for themselves, Bharat Babies helps to ensure that every child can see themselves in the stories told. Bharat Babies can be found at www.bharatbabies.com, facebook.com/bharatbabies, twitter.com/bharatbabies, and instagram.com/bharatbabies.

Sailaja has been a passionate volunteer in the Hindu Youth community for over twenty years and is an accomplished academic with degrees from Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Simmons College. She has also worked with multiple startups, helping them to refine their brand identity and develop their marketing communications. Her unique set of skills and experience help to her to drive Bharat Babies forward. Her ambition is to have Bharat Babies be an active participant in the field of multicultural children’s literature, moving forward with the belief that we need diverse kids lit for a diverse world. When she's not working to change the face of children's publishing, she can be founded hanging with her two adorable children at the park or at circus class (really, that's a thing).

After coming back from a retreat for Asian American women, I have fostered a deeper appreciation for physical spaces dedicated solely for Asian women. That’s why Dr. Connie Wun is here today to share about her upcoming launch of #ImReady, being held from November 3rd-4th, 2018. She will be sharing how she founded her own organization for AAPI women as the director of AAPI Women Lead, “an intergenerational organization that strengthens the social and political power of AAPI communities through the leadership of AAPI Women-identified, women and girls in solidarity with other communities of color.”

“The #ImReady Movement aims to strengthen the progressive political and social platforms of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the US through the leadership of self-identified AAPI women and girls.  Our goal is to challenge and help end the intersections of violence against and within our communities. We do this work in solidarity with other communities of color.

The #ImReady Movement raises visibility around self-identified AAPI women and our experiences with #MeToo, racial discrimination, war, immigration, and more. It also celebrates the leadership and power of AAPI women in Education, Business, Technology, and Politics. At the conferences, we bring together AAPI women leaders and our supporters to learn from one another, tell our stories, and to highlight our diverse leadership stories.

We invite you to join us to better understand the complex Asian and Pacific Islander diasporas, histories, and experiences. We invite you to come honor the stories and leadership of our communities.

We are bringing together some of the most brilliant people to explore what it means to be a self-identified AAPI woman in the United States. We know you are one of them.”

Connie Wun, Ph.D., is co-founder of AAPI Women Lead, a non-profit organization that helps to support the progressive social and political platforms of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the U.S through the leadership of self-identified women and girls. She has spent the last 20 years dedicating her work to ending violence against women and girls of color as a professor, high school teacher, organizer and activist, and mentor. She is also the founder and director of Transformative Research, a consultancy that conducts and trains organizations on community-driven research and data analysis. Her work is informed by her experiences of being born in Oakland, CA, raised throughout working class communities of color in the Bay Area, and as the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. Dr. Wun is currently a Visiting Scholar in the Women and Gender Studies Department at San Francisco State University. She is a former National Science Foundation Fellow, American Association of University Fellow, UC Berkeley Chancellor's Fellow, Mills College Research at the Intersections Fellow, and EdTrust-West Fellow. Some of her publications can be found on Truth-out.org and Feminist Wire as well as in Critical Sociology; Journal of Educational Policy; Race, Ethnicity and Education; and book anthologies on race, gender, school discipline and violence. Dr. Wun received her PhD from the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley.

Follow AAPI Women Lead:

https://www.facebook.com/AAPIWomenLead/

https://www.instagram.com/aapiwomenlead

https://twitter.com/AAPIWomenLead