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From YouTube: Community Conversation: There Is No Single Story
Description
Kevin Booker, Jr. moderates a panel discussion as a part of this year's One Book, One Region program about the themes in the book Interior Chinatown connected to race, immigration, assimilation, pop culture, and escaping stereotyped roles.
#communityconversation #grotonct
A
Kelly
and
as
they
say
in
hebrew
shalom,
my
name
is
kevin
booker
jr
and
I
am
the
organizer
for
this
event
this
evening.
Thank
you
for
joining.
This
is
sight
insightful
conversation
this
evening
in
2005,
16
years
ago,
when
I
was
teaching
at
buckley
high
school
in
hartford
connecticut,
I
had
students
from
64
different
countries
in
order
to
build
a
connection
with
them.
I
decided
to
start
morning
announcements
and
begin
the
announcements
each
day
each
day
by
greeting
them
in
in
their
native
language.
A
I
also
featured
different
cultural
traditions
throughout
the
year
as
a
way
to
ensure
everyone
felt
included
and
to
reinforce
that
our
heritage
is
a
valuable
asset
to
our
community
in
the
process.
I
have
learned
that
when
you
embark
on
a
new
experience
with
the
goal
of
giving
back,
you
end
up
learning
from
your
students.
A
A
A
We
will
discuss
the
themes
in
the
book
interior
chinatown
by
charles-
u
connected
to
race,
immigration,
assimilation,
pop
culture
and
escaping
stereotyped
roles,
and
we
have
a
phenomenal
moderator
this
evening.
Yukio
eda
who's
going
to
lead
us
through
this
incredible
experience.
So,
let's
give
her
a
round
of
applause.
B
Thank
you
kevin
and
thank
you
one
book,
one
region
for
selecting
such
a
timely
book
and
thank
you,
anne
for
the
the
introduction
and
having
grant
public
library
put
this
on
and
kevin
for
getting
us
hyped
up
for
this
wonderful
panel
of
speakers
good
evening.
Everyone,
like
kevin,
said
I'm
yukio
eda
and
I'm
a
parent
of
a
middle
schooler
in
west
hartford,
connecticut
a
community
organizer
and
dei
consultant
with
a
focus
on
racial
justice.
B
I'm
also
an
immigrant
from
japan
and
our
family
is
a
proud,
beautiful
and
just
sometimes
just
sometimes
complex
mix
of
race,
language
and
culture.
Tonight
we
have
an
amazing
lineup
of
panelists.
With
such
a
rich
and
diverse
background
and
as
our
panel
title
indicates,
there
is
no
single
story
of
being
asian
in
america
and
I'm
so
excited
to
hear
from
our
wonderful
panelists.
B
So
tonight
we
have
and
if
the
panelists
can
can
raise
their
hands.
Judy
chang
is
an
educator
from
new
york
city.
Brian
chong
is
a
political
organizer
in
new
britain,
connecticut
carl
lee
is
an
artist
and
actor
from
connecticut,
but
currently
located
in
florida
and
olivia.
Lew
is
a
student
and
organizer
at
connecticut
college
and
cynthia.
Are
you
able
to
join
us
on
the
panel
as
a
participant
or
yes,
I
just
rushed
back
from
where
I
was.
B
B
I
just
you
know
a
quick
background
about
being
asian
and
asian-american
in
in
our
landscape
now,
and
so.
The
last
couple
of
years,
with
covid,
has
had
a
profound
impact
on
our
asian
american
pacific
islander
community,
just
between
just
between
the
pandemic,
amplifying
the
inequities
that
have
always
existed
and
the
pain
and
harm
caused
by
racism
and
gun
violence
on
our
pan-asian
community
members
in
atlanta,
india,
indianapolis,
california,
new
york,
all
across
the
nation
and
even
in
our
local
communities.
B
So
anti-asian
racism
did
not
start
with
covid.
We've
been
targeted
repeatedly
throughout
history,
whether
it's
the
us
government
illegally
annexing
the
kingdom
of
hawaii
chinese
exclusion,
act,
japanese,
internment,
vincent
chin,
south
asian
sikh
and
muslim
community
members
being
targeted
after
9
11.
B
sars
epidemic,
causing
similar
anti-asian
sentiments
as
now,
and
yet
we
continue
to
heal
and
grow
and
advocate
for
a
just
society,
not
only
for
our
community
but
also
with
others
who
are
experiencing
systemic
inequities
and
oppression.
And
I
think
all
of
this
has
brought
a
renewed
interest
in
learning
more
about
and
understanding
our
experience.
B
So
thank
you
all
for
being
here
and
thank
you
so
much
for
taking
the
time
to
really
listen
and
really
understand
and
really
see
us
as
individuals,
so
you've
already
interior
chinatown,
and
although
it's
fictional,
it
gave
a
very
good
window
into
the
life
of
a
young
man
in
chinatown
and
again
this
is
just
one
asian-american
experience
out
of
many.
So
this
session
really
is
about
showcasing
the
richness
of
what
it
means
to
be
asian-american
and
before
we
dive
in
to
hear
from
the
panelists,
I'm
just
going
to
share
a
quick
context.
B
It's
very
hard
to
do
because
a
couple
hundred
years
of
history
here
in
america
as
asians,
but
just
going
to
give
you
a
quick
context
to
the
api
community
and
then
we'll
connect
all
that
with
the
themes
from
the
book
and
with
the
personal
stories
from
our
panelists.
So
let
me
quickly
share
my
screen.
B
D
B
And
here
is
the
asian
and
pacific
islander
population
in
the
united
states.
I
don't
know
if
you're
able
to
see,
but
these
are
all
the
different
ethnic
groups
under
the
asian
and
pacific
islander
label
and
as
you
can
see
from
this
chart,
there
is
no
one
asian
or
pacific
islander
american
history,
identity
or
experience.
B
B
And
this
map
was
created
by
dr
jason
chang,
who
is
the
director
of
the
asian
and
asian
american
studies
at
uconn?
As
you
can
see,
this
is
new
london
county,
but
it
is
the
fourth
largest
concentration
of
asian
americans
in
new
london
out
of
all
the
different
counties
in
connecticut
and
statewide,
there's
about
five
percent
of
us
and-
and
I
think
new
london
county
mirrors
that
percentage
all
right.
B
So
then,
let's
take
a
quick
look
at
new
london
county
and
all
the
different
ethnicities
that
is
under
the
asian
american
label
that
it.
You
know-
and
these
are
your
community
members,
so
chinese
except
taiwanese,
is
the
largest
ethnic
group
and
then
filipino
asian,
indian
and
so
on
and
so
forth.
So
again,
there
is
a
wide
range
of
community
members
in
new
london
county,
let's
see
and
the
next
slide.
B
B
All
right
and
lastly,
so
I've
been
saying
asian-american
or
asian-american,
pacific
islander
and
saying
aapi,
but
the
language
around
this
identifying
label
has
been
evolving
and
before
the
term
asian
american
was
coined
in
the
late
60s
to
unite
all
asian
identities.
As
a
collective
political
power,
we
would
use
our
ethnic
groups.
B
So,
for
example,
I
would
say
I'm
japanese,
american
and
someone
else
would
say:
I'm
chinese
american,
I'm
filipino
american,
but
when
we
talked
about
so
when
we
talked
about
our
identity,
that's
what
we
used
was
our
ethnic
groups,
but
labels
and
acronyms
change
over
time.
And
you
know
labels
are
problematic
at
times
and
very
complex.
So
especially
when
you
take
into
consideration
all
the
different
ethnic
groups
that
are
under
this
label
of
asian
american,
so
I
think
you
know
right
now.
B
The
term
aapi
is
what
is
commonly
used
in
a
lot
of
like
the
official
documents.
But
there
are,
you
know,
just
asian
american
asian
pacific
islander
american
asian
american
and
pacific
islander
aapi,
which
is
most
commonly
used
asian
american
native
hawaiian.
Pacific
islander
is
the
aanhpi
and
if
you
think
about
it,
native
hawaiians,
their
experience
are
very
similar
to
the
indigenous
population,
and
you
know
they
have
their
own
language.
They
were
annexed
by
the
us
government,
the
mainland
government,
so
you
know
it's
a
complex
label.
B
We
also
have
asian
pacific
islander
desi
american
to
indicate
that
the
south
asian
population,
and
here
again
asian
pacific
islander
south
asian
american,
so
as
you
can
see,
we
are
such
a
complex
group
of
people,
and
tonight
we
have
representation
from
mostly
east
asia.
We
don't
have
pacific
islander
or
south
asian
americans,
but
you
know
our
panelists
will
be
able
to
share
their
stories
even
though
they
are
east
asian.
They
are
all
very
different.
B
B
I
think
the
theme
of
identity
is
a
big
one
in
this
book,
and
so
I'm
gonna
throw
out
the
question
to
the
panelists,
and
you
have
three
minutes
because
we
have
a
large
group
of
panelists
and
we
want
to
hear
from
everyone.
So
again,
everyone
will
have
three
minutes
or
so
and
I'll
raise
my
hand
when
your
time
is
almost
up
to
wrap
up
so
yeah.
How
do
you
identify
after
hearing
all
of
that
about
these
various
labels
and
ethnicities?
B
C
If
you're
familiar
with
the
chinese
exclusion
act,
chinese
men
were
allowed
to
come
to
work.
You
have
overtones
of
that
right
now,
but
not
to
have
families.
We
want
your
labor.
We
want
your
brain,
but
we
don't
want
you
to
settle
down.
We
don't
want
to
have
children
to
have
children
very
special
law.
1945
the
war
brides
act
allowed
wives
to
come.
C
Suddenly
these
chinese
men
could
have
families
on
hudson
street,
not
just
live
in
boarding
houses
not
just
be
sojourners,
and
I
was
one
of
the
children
born
and
many
of
us
had
sisters
that
were
left
behind
because
of
the
creation
of
the
taishanese
creation
of
the
paper
sun
system
to
circumvent
the
chinese
exclusion
act.
So
my
identity
as
a
child
was
very
strongly
chinese
and
I
felt
very
much
that
I
grew
up
in
a
loving
paradise
because
I
didn't
feel
odd.
C
C
I
had
to
translate
for
her,
and
so
I
was
at
a
very
young
age
able
to
understand
two
cultures
and
two
languages,
because
my
mother
needed
me
to
translate
for
her
and
I
and
translation
isn't
just
culture,
isn't
just
language,
you're,
understanding
the
sales,
girls
thoughts,
and
I
understood
my
mother's
thoughts,
especially
when
she
tried
to
bargain
with
the
sales
person-
and
I
was
very
embarrassed
by
that.
So
if
you
I
did
you
want
me
to
say
something
about
the
book.
C
B
E
This
one's
a
little
tough
for
me,
I
think
I
grew
up
kind
of
a
little
bit,
oblivious
to
it.
There
weren't
many
asians
in
my
community.
I
grew
up
in
middletown
connecticut,
so
I
now
identify
more
with
being
asian
american
and
queer.
Mostly.
I
actually
don't
really
enjoy
labels
so
much,
but
that's
what
I
would
identify
with
most
now,
but
otherwise
I
feel
like
as
a
child.
I
I
was
pretty
oblivious
to
things
like
that.
B
E
I
think,
because
there
weren't
that
many
asian
people
I
kind
of
always
felt
like
I-
was
an
outsider
in
multiple
ways
just
like,
even
if
I
wasn't
asian,
I
would
have
felt
like
an
outsider
and
then
on
top
of
that
I
looked
different,
and
so
that's
one
thing
I
couldn't
hide
you
know,
so
I
I
kind
of
noticed
that
pretty
much
right
away
that
I
I
I
remember
even
having
to
practice
not
being
asian.
Almost
you
know
I
I
remember
trying
to
walk
a
certain
way
and
talk
a
certain
way.
E
F
Go
next:
oh
yeah
olivia
go
ahead,
hello!
Everyone!
My
name
is
olivia
wu,
I'm
actually
calling
for
my
college
dorm,
I'm
a
student
at
connecticut
college.
I
use
she
her
pronouns,
I
identify
as
southeast
asian.
My
parents
are
from
malaysia,
so
they're
malaysian
chinese.
I
was
born
and
raised
in
connecticut,
so
I
resonate
with
carl's
story
growing
up
in
a
predominantly
white,
suburban
town
in
connecticut.
F
I
I
knew
I
was
asian,
but
I
think,
having
just
being
an
innocent
naive
kid
I
would
always
try
to
just
fit
in,
and
so
yes,
there
were
times
growing
up
where
I
experienced
like
microaggress
microaggressive
comments.
But
at
that
time
I
didn't
even
know
what
that
was
or
how
to
deal
with
it,
because
my
parents
are
not
asian
american.
F
It's
my
sister,
my
younger
sister
and
I
first
experiencing
what
it's
like
to
be
american
and
also
asian-american,
and
so
unfortunately,
we
weren't
equipped
with
the
knowledge
or
the
tools
on
how
to
address
those
situations
when
they
came
up
growing
up
and
so
kind
of
like
carl.
I
never
really
dealt
with
it
until
I
came
into
college
and
tapped
into
critical
race.
F
Theory
took
my
first
ever
intro
to
asian
american
course,
which
was,
I
believe,
khan's
first
ever
asian
american
studies
course
they
offered
last
year
just
last
year
and
so
kind
of
tapping
into
that,
and
then
taking
the
knowledge.
I
learned
within
the
classroom
and
sharing
with
my
peers
and
just
sharing
my
voice
and
growing
into
myself
my
identity
and
being
proud
of
who
I
am.
B
G
Yes,
I'm
more
than
happy
to
hello
everyone.
My
name
is
brian.
I
am
born
and
raised
in
hong
kong.
I
am
in
connecticut
for
my
I'm
starting
my
eighth
year
in
connecticut
as
a
student
on
an
f1
visa
that
is
the
the
standard
foreign
student
visa
people
come
here
on.
I
went
to
a
high
school
in
connecticut
and
I
just
graduated
from
wesleyan
this
past
may,
so
that
would
resonate
a
lot
with
with
carl
on
being
around
middletown.
G
I
personally
adore
it
a
lot
and
I
definitely
resonate
with
what
olivia
said.
I
think
I
don't
think
I
don't
think
wesleyan
has
that
there
was
a
massive
push
in
the
last
couple
years
to
to
create
a
minor,
I'm
pretty
sure
something
like
that
a
course
cluster
on
asian
american,
and
that
was
the
human
history,
and
that
was
a
very
significant
fight
that
that
a
lot
of
our
friends
and
allies
back
in
listening
were
part
of,
but
back
to
myself.
G
That
was
that
that
made
me
easy
to
single
out,
I
think,
to
be
made
fun
of
sometimes
and
sometimes
in
good
humor
and
sometimes
not
so
much.
I've
been
definitely
called
like
names
and
had
my
last
name
be
made
fun
of
that
was
my
first
time
you
know
ever
being
in
a
environment
where
my
identity
was
not
the
majority
right.
Hong
kong
is
99
han
chinese,
and
now
I'm
here
in
white
connecticut,
and
so
that
was
really
really
salient
and
now
as
a
political
organizer.
G
You
know
I
I've
canvas,
knock
on
doors,
make
phone
calls
for
candidates
all
around
connecticut
and
the
very
first
time
knocking
doors
in
a
suburban
neighborhood.
I
really
felt
I
don't
think
I've
ever
felt
more
foreign
to
a
place
than
doing
that.
Just
just
the
fear
of
someone
opening
up
looking
at
you
weird
and
deciding
that
you
are
a
threat
to
them
so
yeah.
B
H
H
I
would
identify
myself
as
a
chinese-american
daughter
of
immigrants
from
shanghai,
china.
I
was
born
and
raised
in
manhattan's
chinatown
near
there,
and
my
parents
spent
more
of
their
lives
in
manhattan
than
they
did
in
their
hometown
of
shanghai.
So
for
many
years
you
know
growing
up.
I
was
considered
first
generation
asian
american.
However,
I
feel
we
should
give
credit
to
that
pioneer
generation
who
came
before
us
and
who
have
spent
the
majority
of
their
lives
in
the
u.s,
forging
a
path
for
their
children
to
to
go
to
college
and
and
get
good
jobs.
H
H
So
I
didn't,
I
don't
know
why
I
didn't
consider
them
white,
but
my
first
experience
with
a
fellow
student
who
was
white
wasn't
until
high
school,
so
all
throughout
middle
school
high
school
I
and
college
I
was
exposed
to
a
very
diverse
community
of
students
and
just
pop
culture.
You
know
as
a
child.
I
loved
watching
shows
like
little
house
on
the
prairie
and
charlie's
angels,
and
I
dreamed
of
genie
most
of
most
of
which
had
white
characters
and
it
wasn't
until
the
cosby
show
became
really
popular
that
I
realized.
H
H
But
it's
it's
been
slow,
coming
slow
coming
for
more
asian
faces
on
media,
so
there's
still
a
long
way
to
go.
I
think
when
I
was
in
college
at
state
university
of
new
york
in
binghamton,
we
had
an
asian
american
social
club
and
they
had
organized
a
film
showing
of
who
killed
vincent
chen.
If
you
haven't
seen
that
film,
it's
actually
available
on
youtube
and
I
highly
recommend
watching
it.
C
We
must
be
on
the
same
wavelength,
it's
the
exact
page
that
I
had
bookmarked
and
I
had.
I
love
the
title
interior
chinatown.
I
think
I
mentioned
it
too,
and
it's
so
clever.
I
love
this
book
because
interior
china
chinatown
is
a
state
of
heart
and
a
state
of
mind.
It's
a
safe
place.
I
meet
many
suburban
young
people
when
they're
in
identity
search
they
head
to
chinatown
the
founder
of
the
umass
boston
asian
american
studies.
C
Department,
peter
kong,
was
the
youth
when
I
was
a
young
activist
and
he
gravitated
to
the
asian
american
resource
workshop.
My
generation
founded
most
of
the
organizations
in
boston's
chinatown,
that
are
social
justice
organizations
and
they
are
the
children
of
garment
workers.
People
don't
make
that
connection.
They
think
garment
workers
is
ancient
history,
activism
is
modern;
no,
they
are
the
children
of
garment
workers
and
actually
I
I
write
about
a
piece
called
my
mama's
back.
It's
about
my
mother
sewing.
C
She
was
a
garment
worker,
but
the
note
I
have
on
what
you
just
said
about
these
roles:
twin
dragon,
wizard
guy,
in
a
soil
trick.
My
note
is
to
myself,
because,
besides
being
a
writer
and
a
chinatown
girl,
all
right
so
to
speak,
I
am
a
teacher.
So
I'm
in
touch
with
youth
young
teachers
from
call
I
teach
college
kids
I
teach
first
grade,
I
teach
kindergarten.
My
specialty
is
early
childhood,
so
I
wrote
this
note.
C
The
danger
comes
when
we
and
our
young
children
believe
in
the
stereotypes
they
believe
it:
okay,
as
the
only
possibility
for
them
in
their
lives.
If
you
have
children,
that's
all
they
see
the
dangers
when
we
ourselves
believe
it.
Chinatown
was
different
in
that
you
had
what
we
call
critical
mass
of
chinese
people,
so
I
never.
I
never
felt
like
minority
when
my
grandpa
did
a
special
project
on
racism.
He
says:
oh
auntie,
did
you
grow
up
feeling
a
lot
of
racism?
I
said
no,
I
felt
none.
Chinatown
could
be
pretty
racist,
too.
C
Okay
against
people
who
are
not
cantonese
tyson
east,
for
example,
okay,
but
the
government
policies
over
time
the
racism
against
asian,
males,
okay,
that
demasculinization
of
asian
males,
so
that
they
end
up
in
restaurant
and
laundry
work,
because
those
were
considered
women's
or-
and
that
is
the
stereotype
children
in
chinatown-
grow
up
with,
but
they
know
they
have
a
way
out
because
they
go
to
public
school
right.
Other
school
is
the
savior.
B
H
Yes,
I
just
wanted
to
add
on
to
what
cynthia
just
said,
but
you
know
from
as
an
asian
woman,
it
would
be
important
to
think
about
the
hyper
sexualization
and
fetishization
of
asian
women
there.
There
seems
to
be
this
very
like
appealing
alluring
thing
with
asia
between
asian
sorry,
asian
women
and
white
men,
and
it's.
H
But
when
you
know,
I
think
your
question
earlier
was
whether
or
not
you
know
we
feel
sort
of
relegated
to
these
roles.
And
I
think
that
lots
of
the
new
members
of
the
new
generation
now
are
rejecting
those
roles
and
are
you
know,
reclaiming
their
identity
as
as
asian-americans
as
asians
and
rejecting
this
kind
of
like
stereotyping
of
asian
women,
especially.
E
Carl,
I
think
for
me
it's
interesting
because
I
I
think
in
some
cases
I
think
we
also
can
take
advantage
of
some
of
these
stereotypes,
and
I
I
definitely
felt
like
I
did.
I
mean
the
stereotype
of
us
being
smart
and
you
know
being
really
good
at
math
and
things
like
that,
I'm
completely
the
opposite.
E
I
actually
did
grow
up
and
take
martial
arts,
so
I
kind
of
did
fit
into
that
stereotype
and
you
can
kind
of
use
that
to
your
advantage,
because
people
thought
that
was
cool,
you
know,
and
so
that
kind
of
worked
out.
But
in
regards
to
career
which
I'm,
I
imagine
we'll
talk
about
a
little
bit
later.
It's
a
whole
different
story.
B
Great,
thank
you
yeah,
you
know,
and
and
I'm
glad
you
brought
up
the
model
minority
myth,
because
right
I
mean
it
is
it's
a
thing.
It
really
is
a
thing
that
and
like
perpetual
foreigner
I
mean
these
are
things
that
everyone,
at
least
at
some
point
right
with
the
math
class
or
like
hey.
Where
are
you
from
where
you
really
from.
B
F
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
judy
for
bringing
up
that
nuance
of
feminism
that
the
other
layer
to
it
there's
actually
this
great
novel
that
I
read
last
year.
It's
called
good
talk
by
mara
jacob
and
she
is
a
mother
of
a
biracial
son,
she's
married
to
a
white
jewish
man
and
having
lived
in
new
york
city.
She
explains
what
it's
like:
the
difficulties
kind
of
explaining
race
to
a
child
and
also
because
of
like
the
whole
thing
of
colorism
she's.
F
I
could
not
help
but
keep
thinking
of
ryan's
point
earlier
regarding
language
growing
up
in
connecticut,
I've
always
been
particular
about
the
way
I
I
speak
and
that's
because,
since
kindergarten
I
was
put
in
esl
classes,
I
grew
up
listening
to
broken
english.
So
I
actually
know
my
mother
tongue
is
chinese
mandarin
chinese,
but
I
also
understand
cantonese,
I
understand
hakien,
which
is
a
dialect,
but
I
have
always
been
insecure
about
my
english
abilities.
Speaking
writing,
reading
and
so
growing
up.
F
My
mom
would
encourage
me
we'd
go
to
the
library
together,
pick
out
books
and
I
would
read
them
chapter
books,
science,
books,
all
genres
and
I
would
keep
vocab
lists
and
study
them
to
to
broaden
my
vocabulary,
but
there's
this.
What
I've
realized
is
that
it's
okay
to
embrace
bad
english.
In
fact,
there's
this
author
kathy
parkhang.
She
has
this
book
titled
minor
feelings
which
I
love.
I
recommend
all
to
check
it
out.
That
book
speaks
to
my
heart.
I
mean
every
other
page.
I
was
highlighting.
F
It
really
resonates
with
my
lived
experience,
and
I
just
want
to
read
this
one
passage.
She
writes
bad
english
is
my
heritage.
I
share
a
literary
lineage
with
writers
who
make
the
unmastering
of
english
their
rallying
cry,
who
queer
it
twerk
it
hack
it
cannibalize
it
other
it
by
hijacking
english
and
warping.
F
Excuse
me
warping
it
to
a
fugitive
tongue,
to
other
english
is
to
make
audible
the
imperial
power
sewn
into
the
language,
to
slit
english
open.
So
it's
dark
history
slide
out
and
wow.
That
was
really
profound
because
I
realized
there's
no
need
to
be
insecure
about
this
whole
english
thing
it
actually
stems
from
language
policing.
So
if
you
hear
on
the
news
like
go
back
to
your
country,
speak
english.
F
There's
this
there's
this
hierarchy
not
only
with
race
but
then
also
with
english,
and
how
english
is
predominantly
spoken
and
so
growing
up.
So
I
I
am
not
fluent
in
mandarin
chinese,
but
now
in
college.
I'm
that's
something!
That's
my
goal
to
relearn
it
and
kind
of
take
that
part
of
me
back
and
so
back
to
the
question
uq's
question
regarding
perpetual
foreigner.
F
B
G
Yeah,
I
know
kyle's
answer
was
the
previous
question,
but
resonated
really
hard
on
on
a
few
points
and
definitely
on
what
olivia
said
as
well.
I
think
the
there
a
systemic
challenge
that
exists
here
as
a
sort
of
result
of
cultural
difference
is
that
asian
and
eastern
cultures
tend
to
be
more
collectivists
and
western
cultures
tend
to
be
more
individualist.
G
But
you
know
my
identity
as
hong
konger
as
a
chinese
person
as
an
east
asian
is,
I
think,
very,
like
many
others
fundamentally
tied
to
the
concept
of
community.
So
it's
sort
of
like
when
I'm
gathering
my
friends
with
my
with
my
hong
kong
friends
right.
We
have
like
a
dinner,
a
middleton
festival,
which
is
what
we
do
every
year.
Wesleyan
no,
is
that
already
playing
into
a
stereotype,
because
all
indians
are
holding
together,
yeah
and
as
cynthia
people
are
very
violent,
shaking
their
heads,
obviously
not
but
brian.
C
G
Yeah,
100
and,
and
one
thing
that
I
found
I'm
very
grateful
that
I
found
out
in
my
my
short
eight
years
in
in
in
america
so
far
is
that
I
think
there
are
a
lot
of
other
people
who
are
similarly
in
the
margins
as
asian,
like
not
only
like
other
asian
americans
or
other
chinese
people,
but
also
the
black
brown
people
and
queer
people.
A
lot
of
people
who
are
fighting,
I
think,
they're
pretty
similar,
but
the
exact
same
exploitative
systems
as
we
are.
G
I
have
found
a
very
amazing
home
in
a
in
the
diverse
fabric
of
all
of
these
people.
I
think
that
gives
me
that
sense
of
community
that
I
identify
with
culturally
that
that
is
a
specifically
cultural
association
to
me.
That
has
been
able
to
sort
of
fill
that
gap
and
also
yeah,
like
I
think,
being
in
these
spaces,
and
also
just
using
my
own
personal
stories
to
to
show
other
people
what
asian
americans
can
or
cannot
be.
C
C
C
If
you
spoke,
english
spoke
chinese,
you
got
punished.
This
is
in
chinatown.
The
only
one
who
spoke
english
was
the
teacher.
We
didn't
know
what
she
was
saying.
It
was
a
silent
was
like
watching
a
silent
movie
and
but
be
there
and
that's.
The
third
part
I
could
make
notes
about
being
able
to
code
switch,
has
great
advantages
in
life
because
you're
able
to
take
all
different
perspectives
and,
as
a
teacher,
my
friend
said
how
come
you're
always
so
happy
at
school
teaching.
You
don't
even
get
burnt
out
you'd
even
get
tired.
C
I
said
I
switch
off,
I
go
home,
get
out
my
tea
switch
on
my
korean
drama,
I'm
in
a
different
world
right
switch
on
my
chin
switch
on
my
chinese
drama.
It's
in
cantonese,
I
said
not
only
are
the
cultural
nuances
of
the
story.
Cantonese
hong
kong
drama
saved
my
mental
health.
Okay,
so
I
watch
martial
arts.
I
watch
modern,
hong
kong
dramas
right
and
I
said
arts
saves
okay,
I
said:
suddenly
you
can
call
it
commercial
but
still
aren't,
and
what
happened
is
if
you
can
code
switch.
C
B
H
Yeah
I
just
wanted
to
piggyback
on
on
what
olivia
and
brian
said
about
linguistic
biases.
I've
been
practicing
as
a
speech
and
language
pathologist
for
the
last
17
years,
and
what
very
few
teachers
know
is
that
bilingualism
is
actually
an
advantage,
not
a
not
a
a
liability
they're,
still
the
english
only
movement,
among
primarily
white
female
teachers,
who
feel
that
it's
best
for
a
newcomer
to
the
u.s
to
just
be
completely
immersed
in
the
english
language
and
give
them
a
sort
of
sink
or
swim
exposure.
H
It's
interesting
because
a
lot
of
the
very
expensive
private
schools
here
in
manhattan,
where
most
of
the
children
are
are
from
upper
middle
class
families,
wealthy
families
we're
talking
60
000
a
year,
tuitions
they're,
actually
bringing
in
tutors
and
classroom
teachers
who
are
from
the
people's
republic
of
china
to
teach
mandarin
chinese
to
these
wealthy
children.
Why?
H
Because
most
of
much
of
the
world,
more
than
half
of
the
world's
people
speak
chinese,
and
so
you
know
the
linguistic
biases
is
has
always
been
a
like
present
in
my
life,
and
I
grew
up
feeling
somewhat
ashamed
of
of
being
chinese.
And
it
really,
you
know,
the
pride
in
being
chinese
didn't
really
happen
until
my
mid-20s,
and
it
was
something
that
you
know
I
had
to
fight
against.
But
I
would
say
those
microaggressions
that
olivia
mentioned
earlier
are
when
they
accumulate.
H
They
can
have
as
much,
if
not
greater
negative
impact
on
the
psychological
development
of
young
children
who
are
fighting.
You
know
without
knowing
what
they're,
wanting
or
or
needing
fighting
to
maintain
their
their
home
language,
their
their
culture,
their
identity.
And
it's
not
surprising
when
an
adult
of
immigrant
from
an
immigrant
family
feels
this
deep
sadness
that
they
never
learned
to
speak
or
read
or
write
their
home
language
such
as
chinese
or
japanese
or
filipino.
B
B
Right
of
you,
know,
learning
this
other
language
and
so
yeah.
No
thank
you
for
bringing
all
that
in,
and
you
know
I
try
with
my
daughter,
but
it's
hard
when
it's
your
own
kid,
but
I'm
taking
notes
from
olivia
and
brian
and
like
young
people,
to
make
sure
that
I
keep
that
in
the
back
of
my
head
to
always
make
sure
to
that
she
is
proud
of
who
she
is,
and
you
know
in
speaking
and
learning
all
these
different
things,
and
so
thank
you
all
for
sharing.
B
Like
you
know,
people
around
him
being
like
hey,
if
you
do
this,
you
can
get
this
role
or
like
here
are
some
other
ways
of
thinking
of
how
to
get
a
new
role
and
he's
really
just
you
know,
just
doing
it
almost
on
his
own,
but
as
leaders
in
your
own
communities
as
organizers
as
educators
as
parents
or
aunties
or
uncles,
or
who
you
know,
what
are
you
guys
or
not
guys?
Sorry,
what
are
you
all?
B
E
I
think
that
cynthia
probably
will
really
relate
to
this
too
or
anybody
else
really.
But
I
feel
like
one
of
the
big
things
that
help
is
having
more
stories
being
told
and
heard,
and
you
know
having
asian
writers,
you
know
tell
their
stories
asian
directors,
producers
and
things
like
that
and
as
an
actor.
You
know
if
I'm
not
that
person,
but
if
I
could,
I
would
create
my
own
work
and
that
would
be,
you
know,
serve
the
same
purpose
and-
and
I
think
it's
because
of
these
books-
it
opens
so
many
doors.
E
I
I'm
part
of
a
book
club-
and
this
is
my
first
year
in
a
book
club
and
they
read
a
book
called
last
night
at
the
telegraph
club.
I
can't
remember
the
the
author,
but
it
I
was
like
wow.
I
don't
think
I've
heard
you
know
these
type
of
asian
american
stories
before,
like.
I
know
my
own
story,
but
I
haven't
heard
that
one
I
don't
relate
to
that,
but
guess
what
that's
part
of
the
diversity
of
all
of
our
differences
and
in
our
experiences
as
being
asian
american.
E
You
know,
and
I
so
it
is
very
important
for
people
like
cynthia
to
write
what
she
does
and-
and
I
guess
for
me
as
I'm-
no
I'm
no
longer
an
actor,
but
for
me
to
try
to
find
these
roles,
these
roles
didn't
exist.
You
know
unless
asian
people
wrote
them
for
me,
you
know
because
all
the
roles
were
really
just
like
in
the
book.
You
know
I
was
the
delivery
guy.
I
was,
you
know
the
dead
ninja
on
the
ground.
E
C
I
can,
I
said,
tell
you
something:
carl
there's
a
there's:
a
facebook
group
called
asian
american
theater
artists
network.
You
can
join
it.
It's
an
open
group,
I'm
part
of
that
group.
Okay,
okay,
I'm
not
an
actress,
but
I'm
a
ham,
I'm
a
retired
teacher.
I
should
be
lying
on
the
couch
okay,
but
I
keep
getting
like
this
thing
and
then
I'm
my
college,
professor
friend,
who
is
italian
roman,
speaks
more
mandarin
than
I
and
invites
me.
C
This
is
the
third
year,
so
I
talked
to
youth
on
on
colleges
and
they
were
quite
required
to
read
my
stories.
So
that's
one
of
the
things
I
do
is
put
yourself
out
there
and
my
story
knows
secret
about
a
prostitute
in
chinatown
who
was
white,
who
serviced
the
stranded
old
men
of
chinatown
stranded
by
the
communist
revolution
and
the
american
is
the
chinese
exclusion
act.
The
story
is
called
no.
C
It's
required
reading
in
a
chinese
history
class
at
at
boston,
university,
okay,
so
my
stories
get
out
there
through
theater
and
dance
and
music.
I
don't
even
have
a
book.
I
just
have
a
website
because
it's
free
it's
accessible
and
guess
what?
When
artists
come
into
chinatown
and
they
want
to
do
art
projects
that
are
paid
for
by
the
city,
the
government
is
funding,
it's
actually
good
to
be
asian.
Now,
okay,
young
white
males
are
having
a
hard
time
getting
a
job.
Okay
and
you
I'm
not
saying
like.
We
need
to
pity
them.
C
Okay,
but
funding
says
you
must
do
commute
something
related
to
community
work.
Okay,
so
carl
this
possibility
is
for
you
all.
Those
artists
read
my
stories.
Contact
me
to
take
them
on
an
insider's
tour
of
chinatown.
I
influence
the
art,
there's
all
kinds
of
arts
in
boston,
china
that
has
my
influence
on
it:
structures,
dances,
movies,
okay,.
B
H
Just
I
don't
want
to
neglect
to
thank
the
people
watching
this
webinar
right
now,
because,
given
that
threatens
asian
population,
it's
only
five
percent.
I
imagine
that
those
watching
this
webinar
right
now
have
a
deep
and
authentic
curiosity
to
know
about
the
asian
american
experience,
and
those
of
us
here
on
this
panel.
Coincidentally,
speak
perfect
english.
H
Beyond
going
to
your
local
chinatown
or
your
nearest
chinatown
beyond
traveling
to
china,
you
may
want
deeper
insight
into
the
asian
american
experience
and
it
should
be
stated
that
asian
americans
have
been
in
this
country
for
170
years
since
the
1850s
since
the
beginning
of
the
building
of
the
transcontinental
railroad
and
the
mining
for
gold
in
the
in
the
west.
So
there's
a
very
long
history
and
I
highly
highly
recommend
a
book
by
irish
chang
called
the
history
of
of
it's
a
book
on
asian
american
history.
H
She
was
the
author
of
a
book
called
the
nan
king
or
nanjing
massacre
irish
chang,
and
there
are
many
many
good
short
videos
and
documentaries
about
asian
american
history.
So
I
highly
recommend
you.
I
commend
you
for
your
curiosity
about
the
asian
american
population
and
our
experience
here
in
the
us,
which
is
changing
especially
now,
given
the
the
last
you
know
year
and
a
half
of
of
the
pandemic
and
its
ramifications
in
the
way
other
americans
interact
with
asian
americans.
G
I
think,
are
often
seen
as
very
detached
from
like
the
academic
and
very
detached
from
just
everything
else,
as
especially
from
the
experiences
of
asian
americans,
and
I
I
I
have
no
doubt
that
this
is
also
a
a
consequence
of
you
know.
Prior
asian
american
struggles
with
the
might
of
the
of
the
us
state-
and
there
are
a
lot
of
us-
are
working
at
many
levels
to
try
and
raise
people's
having
political
awareness,
political
consciousness
of
of
the
interlocking
systems
that
that
perpetrate.
G
You
know
asian-american
racism,
and
I
am
involved
with,
like
a
dozen
other
faults
right
now,
trying
to
organize
a
specific
caucus
under
the
national
dsa.
Just
for
asian
americans,
specifically
looking
at
you
know,
labor
organizing
in
asian
american
circles,
which
you
know
especially
back
in
the
day.
A
lot
of
migrant
labor
came
undocumented,
labor,
massive
massive
problem,
and
it
was
actually
through
yeah
being
able
to
be
organized
in
labor
unions,
very
famously
the
iww.
G
The
industrial
workers
of
the
world
were
the
first
and
only
union
at
the
time
to
accept
chinese
workers
into
their
ranks
and
asian
workers
in
that
ranks,
and
I
think
we
need
to-
and
I
think
those
of
us
who
are
asian,
who
are
really
present
in
these
fields.
Like
myself,
we
need
to
also
be
cognizant
of
how
I
think
I
think,
enhancing
the
just
the
overall
diverse
it's.
G
I
don't
think
it's
as
much
about
enhancing
like
the
numbers
of
people
who
look
like
me
as
much
as
it
is
about
increasing
the
overall
diversity
of
the
entire
workplace,
you're
doing
and
and
really
building
a
place
with
the
fundamental
conditions
that
allow
anyone
to
feel
welcome
and
because
I
think
just
that
is
the
broad
systemic
view.
That
is
the
correct
thing
to
do,
and
that
is
something
I've
been
striving
towards.
B
C
C
E
D
F
I
want
to
say
cynthia
us
young
people
currently
organizing
participating
in
this
work.
We
stay
on
the
shoulders
of
giants
that
have
come
before
us
and
paved
the
way
to
answer
the
question
I
this
has
been
such
a
beautiful
conversation.
I
have
a
few
notes:
jotted
down,
first
being
subtle
asian
traits,
the
facebook
group
that
I'm
a
part
of
and
I
thoroughly
enjoy.
F
D
F
F
Participating
in
reaching
excellence
based
in
boston,
they're,
wonderful,
I'm
currently
in
their
fall
menstrual
program
and
they're
hosting
a
a
women's
conference.
So
if
you
don't
identify
as
asian
american
woman,
it
doesn't
matter
you're
an
ally,
go
ahead
and
sign
up
for
the
conference
because
really
great
material.
I've
learned
a
lot
last
at
the
at
last
year's
conference
and
then
also
to
the
youngsters
giving
back
to
youngsters
seeking
out
programs
where
you
can.
You
know,
host
arts
and
crafts
sessions.
C
Mental
health
asian
american
women
and
men
can
suffer
some
issues
with
mental
health
because
in
the
asian
community,
it's
not
okay
to
have
a
mental
health
problem
and
also
because
of
the
oppression
that
is
just
part
of
our
structure.
But
mental
health
is
directly
related
to
the
options
a
person
feels
they
have
and
we
are
very
lucky
because
we
are
bi-cultural,
okay,
being
bi-cultural,
maybe
being
bilingual.
I
can
speak
two
dialects
three
dialects
of
chinese,
and
that
gives
us
options.
I
can
switch
off.
C
B
Great
yeah-
and
you
know-
and
I
appreciate
every
single
one
of
you
who
are
opening
doors,
not
just
for
you
but
for
everyone
else
and
and
holding
it
open
so
that
others
can
come
through
with
you.
So
thank
you,
everyone
for,
for
just
being
you
know,
being
there
doing
this
work,
opening
doors,
letting
people
through
and
welcoming
them
with
open
arms
and
and
judy.
B
Was
that
your
hand
that
I
just
saw
and
and
we
haven't
gotten
to
a
lot
of
these
questions,
but
I
love
how
rich
our
conversation
has
been
and-
and
I
think
we're
gonna
wrap
up
soon,
so
that
we
can
take
some
questions
from
the
attendees,
so
so
attendees.
If
you're
thinking
of
questions,
please
put
it
in
the
q
a
so
that
we
can
keep
track
of
it
and
make
sure
that
we
get
to
it.
So
please
put
it
in
the
q
a
instead
of
the
chat.
Thank
you
all
right
judy.
B
H
Wanted
to
share
a
story
about
my
my
beloved
father,
who
was
born
in
1929
in
rural
shanghai
and
his
mid-20s.
He
was
offered
a
job
with
a
british
shipping
company
called
the
alfred
holt
company
based
in
liverpool
england,
and
they
would
have
chinese
workers
irish
workers
on
this
huge
shipping
cargo
ship.
H
He
came
to
the
us
and
faced
a
lot
of
racism
being
somebody
who
had
only
a
sixth
grade
education,
but
was
self-educated
he's
a
self-taught
historian,
but
all
his
life
he
suffered
racism
even
up
to
when
he
was
in
his
late
80s.
You
know
somebody
told
him
once
on
a
bus
that
I
was
on
with
him
to
go
back
to
china
and
I
think
the
recent
intensification
of
anti-asian
violence
and
racial
slurs,
including
the
murder
of
six
asian
women
at
a
spa
in
atlanta.
H
It's
very
much
related
to
the
media
propaganda
that
continues
today
about
these
notions
without
proof
that
the
coronavirus
was
created
in
a
wuhan
lab.
Even
the
former
cdc
director.
I
think
his
name
is
redfield.
He
continues
to
perpetrate
this
myth.
This
lie
that
the
virus
was
was
created
in
a
lab
in
china
and
that
china
deliberately
is
spreading
this
virus
throughout
the
world,
which
is
a
rather
disgusting,
anti-china
anti-you,
know
anti-international
effort
to
to
to
start
a
war
with
china.
B
Thank
you.
I
know
the
violence
has
been
been
real
and
you
know
it
has
been
a
really
tough
year
and
a
half
two
years.
I
don't
know
how
long
it's
been
at
this
point,
but
you
know,
and
cynthia
also
did
mention
right-
the
mental
health
issues
in
our
community
and
how
it's
not
something
that
is
talked
about
or
modeled
how
to
how
to
really.
You
know,
live
through
that
and
work
through
it
or
or
or
treat
it,
and
so
you
know
it's,
it
really
has
been
all
around.
B
C
I
have
the
greatest
joy
when
I'm
eating
asian
food.
I
was
on
the
cake
for
seven
weeks.
I
got
oh,
I
really
have
to
have
asian
food
and
my
nieces
had
a
a
party
for
me
because
I
just
want
a
fellowship
and
it
was
dim
sum
and
hadn't
dim
sum
in
two
months,
and
I
said,
oh
my
god
dim
sum-
I
it
wasn't
like
the
highest
quality
dim
sum,
but
for
me
it
was
like
the
best.
C
C
B
C
C
The
ball
of
bao
and
the
nycha
and
the
you
know
we
had
the
classic
three
and
then
we
had
to
go
to
dim
sum
in
hong
kong.
So
I
just
ate
my
way
through
china,
taiwan,
hong
kong
and
then
I
come
back
to
boston.
It's
not
quite
the
same
quality,
but
I
live
in
austin,
so
it's
korean
town.
So
I
basically
I
I
celebrate
by
eating
food
with
people.
I
really
love.
Thank
you.
D
B
E
It's
it's
really
almost
non-existent,
so
I'm
actually
very
much
missing
that
part
of
my
life.
However,
luckily
I
do
have
my
sister
here,
and
so
you
know
we
kind
of
have
to
secretly
meet
to
celebrate.
I
guess
but
there's
not
as
much
down
here
unless
it's
like
super
commercial,
like
you
know,
good,
you
know,
celebrate
chinese
new
year
and
disney
or
something
you
know
other
than
that
it's
yeah
it's
it's
my.
B
G
My
family
is
always
back
home.
Sometimes
I
have
found
that
there
is
actually
even
more
joy
in
a
finding
community
that
accepts
me
for
who
I
am
and
not
just
because
I
look
like
them.
Of
course,
that
part
is
amazing
and
I
will
always
come
back
to
it.
I'm
sure
I'm
really
glad
to
have
have
those
pockets
of
community
to
return
to,
but
but
the
idea
that
I've
been
able
to
find
other
family
here
by
standing
in
solidarity
with
them.
G
B
F
All
good,
I
love
this
question
because
af
with
the
organizing
and
with
everything
pride
joy
celebration
is
key
to
self-preservation
self-care
coming
together
as
a
community.
I
would
second
cynthia's
food,
of
course,
boba
sushi
anything
I
mean
I
literally
have
mochi
in
my
mini
fridge
over
there.
Next,
next,
to
my
desk,
I
mean
my
family
is
like
what
40
minutes
away
and
then
overseas
hours
away,
kilometers
away
phone
calls
to
family
just
check
in
and
then
yes,
what
brian
was
saying:
cross-racial
healing
and
solidarity.
F
F
What
was
I
going
to
say,
white
supremacy,
it's
it's
a
hierarchy
found
on
anti-blackness
and
we
there's
no
it's
collective
liberation,
and
so
it's
all
about
together.
So
without
black
liberation,
there's
no
collective
liberation.
So
it's
it's
a
it's
a
together
situation
that
we
we
tackles
together.
That
was
not
eloquently
put,
but.
C
B
C
B
H
The
joys
well
I've
been
working
in
a
middle
school
in
chinatown,
where
80
of
our
student
population
are
chinese
and
so
being
chinese-american
myself.
I
really
relate
to
them
and
I
would
say
one
of
the
greatest
stories
recently
is.
I
started
an
asian-american
heritage
club
at
my
school
and
students
are
interested
and
I've
been
reaching
out
to
various
civic
organizations
like
the
organization
of
chinese
americans,
the
chinese
american
heritage
foundation,
and
there
are
so
many
and,
like
somebody
said
earlier,
we
stand
on
the
shoulders
of
giants
because
so
much
has
changed
so
radically.
H
In
just
three
generations
my
parents
generation
were
the
pioneers
of
the
1970s
and
80s,
and
then
I
being
from
the
19,
you
know
from
the
1990s,
I
suppose,
and
now
olivia's
generation
and
brian's
generation
are
paving
the
way
for
a
more
pluralistic
and
internationalist
society,
and
I
couldn't
agree
more
olivia.
I
loved
when
you
said,
there's
no
liberation
until
there's
black
liberation,
because
the
black
asian
solidarity
has
to
be
there
with
white
allyship,
and
you
know,
there's
so
much
to
say
in
so
little
time:
linguistic
preservation.
H
There
are
many
pacific
island
languages
that
are
at
risk
of
extinction.
We
have
to
fight
harder
to
preserve
languages
that
are
at
risk
of
dying
from
the
english
only
movement.
So
I
I
really
do
hope
that
we
can
continue
to
help
each
other
explore
different
ways
to
learn
about
each
other's
culture,
language,
holidays,
traditions
and
create
international
peace
and
solidarity,
not
just
here
across
states
but
around
the
world.
B
Great
thank
you.
This
has
been
such
a
wonderful
time.
I
don't
want
to
end
this
like
this
has
been
so
amazing
to
meet
you
all
and
and
just
just
be
in
this
space.
So
thank
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you!
So
much
for
being
so
open
and
so
honest,
and
so
you
know
just
thorough
with
all
your
experiences
so
with
that
it
is
7
54
and
unfortunately
this
only
goes
until
eight
o'clock
julie.
We
had
a
question
from
julie.
What
can
be
done
to
make
community
safer
for
asian
americans?
G
But
you
know
that
exists
across
every
race
and
gender
and
people
are
really
suffering
right
now,
especially
out
of
the
pandemic,
and,
I
think,
participating
in
your
community
mutually
collectives
that
I
know
there's
a
very,
very
famous
one
in
new
london
that
has
been
doing
absolutely
amazing
work
helping
out
the
community
at
this
time.
I
think
even
small
efforts
like
that
and
exposing
yourself
to
the
real
people
in
the
community
that
it's
not
just
in
your
bubble.
It's
really
important.
B
Thank
you
for
the
additional
comments.
Yeah
and
you
know,
like
olivia,
said
right:
collective
liberation
because
the
same
oppressive
system
against
our
black
and
brown
brothers
sisters.
You
know,
aunts,
uncles,
sons,
daughters,
like
all
of
that
applies.
It
shows
up
differently,
but
it
does
apply
to
all
of
us
and
until
there
is
that
collective
liberation,
it
is
going
to
be
so
hard
to
just
say
hey
what
about
this
one
community?
How
do
we
make
that
one
community
safe?
So
it
has
to
have
a
wider
lens
and
and
so
appreciate.
B
A
A
A
A
So
I
want
to
thank
you
brian.
I
want
to
thank
you
yukio.
I
want
to
thank
you,
carl.
I
want
to
thank
you,
cynthia,
thank
you,
olivia
and
if
you
can
cross
your
arms
like
this,
I
know
we're
we're
in
a
zoom
call,
I'm
giving
you
all
a
hug.
I
appreciate
your
your
just
your
determination,
your
fight
for
social
justice.
A
You
are
phenomenal
individuals,
powerful
individuals,
and
you
continue
to
uplift
your
people,
I
just
love
it.
You
you
just
you
rejuvenated
me
and
inspired
me
on
so
many
levels,
because
it's
it's
so
true,
it's
all
about
coming
together.
We
have
to
come
together
as
a
community,
all
of
us
all
of
our
cultures
like
that,
and
it's
it's
because
we
have
one
cause,
and
this
is
what
it's
all
about.
So
I
thank
you
so
much.
A
A
Yes,
so
for
anyone
else,
who's
interested
again,
you
know
please
come
on
tuesday
october
5th
at
7
00
p.m.
At
the
guard
arts
theater
in
new
london,
if
you
want
to
meet
the
incredible
author,
charles
you,
he
will
be
in
attendance
and
assistant,
professor
of
east
asian
languages
and
culture
she's,
going
to
be
there
moderating
this
event.
So
please
come
professor
takamaru,
please
be
there
because
it's
something
is
if
you
enjoy
this
discussion.
C
Kevin
I'm
kind
of
too
far
away,
but
I'm
sure
you
report
back
to
me
and
I'm
already
tired
anyway
about
the
great
thing
about
charles
you.
He
did
not
grow
up
in
a
chinatown
wow.
He
grew
up
in
irvine,
california,
it's
a
mythical
chinatown!
That's
why
I
love
this
book.
It
is
so
clever,
so
smart
and
he's
a
lawyer
he's
he
he
didn't
start
up.
He's
suffered
many
failures.
I'm
trying
to
accept
that
many
rejections
right
he's
a
lawyer.
C
He
wrote
part-time
and
I'm
sure
his
asian
parents
told
him
to
give
it
up
and
be
a
good
lawyer
and
make
good
money
right,
but
if
he
can
understand
chinatown,
so
I
can
see
it
like
san
francisco
with
those
sros.
He
did
not
grow
up
in
chinatown,
then
certainly
people
who
did
not
come
from
a
chinatown
or
do
not
understand
asian
culture
certainly
can't
understand
it
like
charles
you
did.
He
did
not
grow
up
with
a
lot
of
chinese
culture.
He's
taiwanese
for
one
thing.
B
Well,
thank
you
again,
everyone
and
again,
I'm
so
honored
to
have
shared
this
space
with
you
all
and
and
thank
you
kevin
for
organizing
and
groton
public
library
for
hosting,
and
you
know
I
look
forward
to
the
day
that
we
can
all
come
together
and
share
food
and
you
know
be
chosen
families.
Hopefully
maybe
I
don't
know
is
that
too
soon
in
the
relationship.