The Mike Muse Show: Asian Americans Unplugged
Due to mainstream media's misrepresentation of the Asian American community, host Mike Muse asks some questions that many people are probably wondering, "Where do Asian Americans fall in the race conversation and movement for social justice?"
Please tune in for a very critical and necessary conversation about Asian Americans for racial justice, diversity, Silicon Valley, education, and media. We discuss recent lawsuit against Harvard, De Blasio's ed plan to diversify, and code switching in Hollywood. I come in heavy with the facts and clarify that the conservative AAPI voices that get all the press love do not represent the greater AAPI community.
I'm joined by two amazing guests: KJ Bagchi (Asian Americans Advancing Justice) and Nina Yang Bongiovi (Film producer, "Fruitvale Station," "Roxanne Roxanne," and "Sorry to Bother You.")
I reference work from: www.aapidata.org and www.oiyanpoon.com
After chatting on Mike's show, I realized that we need to be having more of these conversations with non-Asian American folks, blogs, and platforms -- so that we can truly shift perceptions and grow understanding.
Tune in
We are stronger together.
Verizon HQ Talk: Think Bold, Act Bold, Be Bold
Verizon invited me to their headquarters to speak to employees, upper management, and their diversity initiatives for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month -- in celebration of this year's theme, "Think Bold, Act Bold, Be Bold."
In this conversation, I talk about:
-- The importance of having diversity on your team, for the input and the output
-- The story of my parents escaping Vietnam as refugees, coming to the U.S., and building a life in Boston
-- My early experiences realizing race, being an "outsider," cultural shame, and "Pajama Day"
-- The turning point when I started to embrace my culture: activism, political awareness, and self-empowerment
-- Internal work + external work go hand in hand
-- Navigating different values and expectations in both the American context and Vietnamese/Asian context; ie. leadership
-- The importance of shifting culture, rather than just adapting or ditching in the bicultural context
-- My advice for those seeking to be bold: practice consciousness
-- How I transitioned from poetry to films
-- The relationship with my parents as I pursue a creative career
I had a blast. Let me know what you think below. Thanks for watching! xo
Duke University: Keynote Speech for Women's Center 30th Anniversary & Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Honored to kick off Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM) and celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Duke's Women's Center! My keynote speech will be along the theme of "Unity through Diversity: Consciousness is..." ... I have so much to share, can't wait! :)
Read my 4 page feature in NYLON Magazine's August 2017 issue
Click images to read feature.
I never thought I'd see myself in a national print magazine, let alone a 4 page spread! Still in a bit of disbelief. Feeling very grateful for the opportunity to share my voice, story, and perspective with the NYLON platform. It's my first national print feature!
I remember reading teen / fashion mags growing up and thinking, would be kind of cool to see myself in here. then I thought, but I'm not white, not rich, not a tall skinny model, and I'm not passionate about make-up/fashion/celebrity lifestyles (all things that seemed to dominate the pages). When the age of social media "influencer" blew up, I thought, would be kind of cool to get free stuff and have people pay attention to you. But then I thought, you don't have enough Instagram followers because you don't post enough pics and you simply don't have the patience to curate a "proper" social media strategy. Moral of the story here (for myself) is don't worry about the external, worry about the internal. continue working on yourself, your mind, your heart, your hustle -- put it out into the world, and those who take notice will take notice. Don't change who you are to fit the mold. because i'm in NYLON talking about Asian American history, activism, Vietnam War, immigrant hustle, and more. do you, boo. ✨ Major thanks to the talented team of women I had the honor of working with @atoosamoinzadeh @gibaela, thank you Nylon Magzine for giving my voice a platform
Find my friends + faves mentioned in the feature -- of course I had to take the opportunity to share the shine with my incredible community of change makers, culture shifters, entrepreneurs, and mentors: The Starliner, The Flavr Blue/Hollis Audrey, Still Mind Collective/Jarell Perry, Johnny Dep (Danny Bridge Jen Sar, they edited your names out, sorry!), Lucy's Vietnamese Kitchen, Jeff Chang, Beau Sia, Monica Sok, Mixtape Coffee, UCLA Asian American Studies Department, Artists For Humanity, (Jason Talbot, Rob Gibbs, Richard Frank), NBC Asian America, Coalition for APA Youth (Peter Kiang, Tri Quach, AASO - UMass Boston).
