APIDA Heritage Month 2024
Hello, beautiful month of May!
As co-chairs of ASAG, we're thrilled to spotlight Asian Heritage Month.
The APIDA Staff Affinity Group (ASAG) is open to all Northwestern staff who identify as part of the APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) community. Our mission is to foster community, support racial and social justice, and provide development opportunities.
As we embark on Asian Heritage Month, let us celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and contributions of the Asian American, Desi, and Pacific Islander (APIDA) community. Our diversity is our strength, and our heritage is our source of resilience.
Though not often highlighted, APIDA individuals have left their mark on American history. Let us not forget, or perhaps, let us discover Wong Kim Ark, born in the U.S. in the 1800s to Chinese parents. He fought against his own deportation in an 1898 Supreme Court Case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, leading to a landmark decision that children born in the U.S., even to parents not eligible for citizenship themselves, are nonetheless U.S. citizens.
Let us remember Larry Itliong, a Filipino activist who allied with Cesar Chavez to build the United Farm Workers Union joining their peoples in the five-year Delano Grape Strike of 1965 that led to better pay, benefits, and protections for farm workers.
Finally, let us remember the words of Grace Lee Boggs who alongside her husband James Boggs, a Black activist, fought fervently for labor and civil rights, feminism, Black Power, Asian Americans, and the environment. She continues to empower us today with her words, “We can begin by doing small things at the local level, like planting community gardens or looking out for our neighbors. That is how change takes place in living systems, not from above but from within, from many local actions occurring simultaneously.”
This month, let us take pride in our heritage and celebrate ourselves, our ancestors, and our allies through gathering and doing those “small things” - sharing knowledge, learning, and simply being together.