During the Summer of 2020, Jennifer Lee was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, becoming one of the 1.3 Asian Americans who identify with having a disability. Before officially being diagnosed, Lee was told by her doctor that “Asians don’t get Crohn’s” and was often the only Asian person or even the only person of color in attendance at her support groups for chronic illness. On her journey to diagnoses and treatment, Lee discovered limited educational information and resources exist for Asian Americans experiencing a disability. In other words, Lee discovered that the exploration of intersectionality, the relationship between multiple identities, for…
Author: AAPI Community
By Samar Khoury- You could describe Padma Lakshmi in many ways. Inspirational. Brave. Trailblazing. Advocate.It goes on. She is the host, judge and executive producer of Top Chef. She produces Taste the Nation, where she takes viewers around America to enlighten them with immigrant culture and cuisine. And she’s a bestselling author, known for her first children’s book, Tomatoes for Neela. But Padma, 51, doesn’t only have a large influence in the food space — she also promotes health and wellness all over the world. At age 13, Padma began experiencing symptoms of endometriosis but wasn’t diagnosed until age 36. Her experiences led…
By Susan Au Allen, National President & CEO, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce- The pre-pandemic outlook on businesses owned by Asian American women and the workforce was rosy at best. Today, the verdict is lackluster but encouraging. In American Express’ 2019 projections based on the latest Survey of Business Owners data of the U.S. Census Bureau, Asian American women-owned businesses numbered 1.2 million or nine percent of all women-owned businesses as of 2019. These businesses earned an average revenue per firm with $191,200 compared with $142,900 among all women-owned enterprises — the highest revenue for any racial or…
In 1977 the U.S. Congress (spearheaded by Representative Frank Horton of New York and Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawai’i) chose the first ten days of May to commemorate the history and contributions of Asian American communities here in the U.S. The week’s observance became a month, the very month in which the first Japanese immigrants came to the U.S. in 1843. We also commemorate the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869 as the majority of workers who laid those railroad tracks were Chinese immigrants. And that’s why AANHPI Heritage Month is in May. A People’s History of…
The Land: Meaning, Perception and Worldviews on Earth Day, by Kai Teague- Language is a means of communication and can take many forms, shapes, colors, and sounds. Language is essentially a code embedded with meaning. Meaning is derived from our experiences in life. In order to learn a different language, it is likely you 1) have to be exposed to the language consistently and over time and it is likely you are 2) being exposed to the ways of life, the environment, the culture, the values, beliefs, and perspectives that informed the meaning that shaped that language. Perspectives, morals, and…
