The events featured local Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) activists who discussed Asian American activism and anti-AAPI bias and violence.
The first event invited a panel of professors and activists to share their experiences in organizing and advocacy within the AAPI community, moderated by sociology doctoral candidate Naomi Joseph.
The panel consisted of UCSB Asian American studies professor Diane Fujino, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance Manjusha Kulkarni, University of Michigan assistant professor of American culture Melissa Borja and Instructional Support Specialist for Ethnic Studies at Santa Barbara Unified School District Artnelson Concordia.
The panel then discussed differences between AAPI activists and other group activists, differences and diversity within the AAPI community and how AAPI activists can learn from the actions of other activist groups.
“One of the greatest challenges about doing this work in AAPI communities is the tremendous diversity,” Kulkarni said. “We’re trying to gain political power, and given that all of our numbers individually are relatively small, we amass by being together.”
Kulkarni described the importance of learning how African American and Latine communities collaborated in solidarity against various intersectional issues.
