Our Voices: Join An Honest Conversation on Anti-AAPI Hate on June 3rd
In March 2021, our Initiatives of Change USA office received a rousing Call to Action drafted by Anvitha Komarraju, Saana Dharia and Aleesha Ilahi - three Asian-American teenage girls from Community Middle School in the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District of New Jersey. The Call to Action was, in fact, a 7-page research essay outlining a brief history of racism and violence against Asian Americans in the U.S. that included a detailed glossary of racial stereotypes.
The call resounded with these key asks from our organization:
“Since Initiatives of Change has such a large platform, we would be grateful if you could raise awareness of this issue, especially since Asian-Americans have been experiencing so much, and have been subjected to an immense amount of violence during the pandemic. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and educating yourself a little more. We hope you consider making these changes and educating others as well.”
The outreach by Aleesha, Saana and Anvitha formed part of a class project and challenged our organization to do better. Over the last several months, we have attempted to do so by having weekly and bi-weekly calls with these “Wonder Women” and their dedicated teacher, Ms. Lori Hicks, to brainstorm how to expand our institutional practice with fresh and inclusive insights.
As part of this process, Saana, Anvitha and Aleesha have designed a workshop spaced entitled, “Our Voices: An Honest Conversation about Anti-AAPI Hate”. During the month of May, this three-part workshop began with a conversation between 1) students and teachers 2) students and their peers and 3) students and the intergenerational network of our international organization, Initiatives of Change. The third conversation is a joint venture between IofC USA and Community Middle School. This online conversation takes place on Thursday, June 3rd 4-6pm EST and will delve further into the subject of racism and violence against Asian Americans and connect to deeper issues to be explored in breakout rooms on Racism in Schools, POC Representations in Media, and Intersectional Racism.
We are excited to have expert facilitators from the IofC USA network to take part in the workshop and help our youth leaders moderate the discussion: Dr. Ram Bhagat (Founder of Drums No Guns Foundation/ Manager for School Culture and Climate Strategy, Richmond Public Schools/ Community Trustbuilding Fellowship Alumnus), Emma Ito (Education and Program Specialist, Library of Virginia), Allan-Charles Chipman, Jitka Hromek-Vaitla, Amanda Barnes, Rohit Valecha and Dr. Sionne Neely (Initiatives of Change USA), Cho Chan Myei (Caux Scholars Alumna, Educator based in Thailand) and Phurbu Tsetan (Caux Scholars Alumna, Activist based in Tibet). We also recognize the thoughtful partnership of Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui (Assistant Professor Dept. of History, Politics and Social Justice, Winston Salem State University) provided during the planning stages.
Watch the video below highlighting this young women-led, intergenerational space for deeper thinking, conversation and action against AAPI racism and violence. This is an inclusive place for us to gather and learn together so please share sincerely and widely within your networks!