Standing in Solidarity: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Dr. Sucheta Choudhuri, Associate Professor of English
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May 1 through May 31) celebrates the historical significance and cultural contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States. AAPI is an umbrella term that includes people and cultures from East, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. In 1978, New York representative Frank Horton introduced House Joint Resolution 1007, requesting the president to proclaim a week during the first ten days of May, starting in 1979, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The resolution was signed into public law by President Jimmy Carter later that year, and in 1990 the Congress expanded the observance to the entire month of May. The current designation came about in 2009.
The AAPI communities have distinct and divergent histories of migration to the US, and continue to preserve their unique diasporic identities. Perhaps the most cohesive lens to look at AAPI communities in the US is the unbroken arc of their contribution to the arts, the sciences, political activism, sports and recreation. However, this luminous arc of achievements is offset by a darker narrative of hatred against AAPI people, spanning decades and reaching a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Atlanta shootings brought attention to the change in the perception of the quiet, unassuming “perpetual foreigner” into a toxic threat to the nation’s health and survival. As we move towards AAPI heritage month, let us resolve to call out all manifestations of this hatred and stand in solidarity with the AAPI communities, not just through glib celebrations but honest efforts to understand AAPI lives and experiences.
Cultural commentaries and representations are a great way to get to know the AAPI communities and their diverse heritage.
1. An excellent place to start would be the graphic memoir The Best We Could Do (2017) by Thi Bui. Bui, who was hosted by UHD’s English department in 2019, relives the experiences of displacement from a war-torn Vietnam in this powerfully intimate memoir. Trauma and resilience are also central to Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019) and Korean American poet Kathy Park Hong’s collection of essays titled Minor Feelings: An Asian-American Reckoning (2020).
2. Watch documentary films—The Slanted Screen (2006) and Slaying the Dragon (2011)— that explore the stereotyping and limitations that Asian-American actors contend with in Hollywood. Kanopy, UHD’s film streaming platform, also offers cinematic masterpieces by noted AAPI auteurs like Satyajit Ray (India) and Wong Kar-wai (Hong Kong).
3. Learn more about AAPI histories and cultures through the exhibits and events at the Asia Society Texas. The Asia Society will celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's independence with fashion, dance, music and food on May 7, and will stage an immersive multimedia performance on May 11 by Korean American pianist Eunbi Kim that explores family and identity. With Asian Restaurant Month running through the month of May, enjoy delectable food from over 100 participating restaurants throughout the city.
4. Closer to campus, get to know your friends in UHD’s Asian Students Association and keep an eye out for their events. And as you sign up for your fall courses, look for AAPI content: an upcoming course on Contemporary Indian Fiction (ENG 3387) might be of interest.
Welcoming our 2023 Scholar-in-Residence
Dr. Vida Robertson, Associate Professor of English, Director of the Center for Critical Race Studies
The Center for Critical Race Studies (CCRS) at the University of Houston—Downtown proudly affirms the diverse communities that comprise the Greater Houston metropolitan area and the Gulf Coast region. The Center passionately pursues its mission and rich tradition of hosting ground-breaking experts who foster innovative analysis and critical consideration of our nation's ongoing struggle to end racial disparities. Nationally renowned scholar and educator Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas has accepted our invitation to serve as the 2023 Scholar in Residence. She is the Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She is co-founder of the Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion (SRER) and serves as the Executive Director of both the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE) and the nationally-acclaimed Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG).
Dr. Floyd-Thomas’ research interests lie at the intersection of ethics, feminist/womanist studies, Black Church studies, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and postcolonial studies. Her overall approach to the study of Christian social ethics engages broad questions of moral agency, cultural memory, ethical responsibility, and social justice. Drawing upon socio-historical methods and liberation ethics, Dr. Floyd-Thomas’ work in Christian social ethics has a threefold focus—race, gender, and class. For her, religious discourse is inseparable from thinking about how to construct a justice-seeking community.
Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas has published numerous articles and chapters in addition to her six books. She is best known for her groundbreaking works: Mining the Motherlode: Methods in Womanist Ethics (2006), Deeper Shades of Purple: Womanism in Religion and Society (2006), Black Church Studies: An Introduction (2007), U. S. Liberation Theologies: An Introduction (2010), Beyond the Pale: Reading Theology from the Margins (2011). Her current research projects, including Exodus in America: The Unlikely Alliance between White Jews and Black Christians in addition to Liberation Theologies in the United States: An Introduction, continue to address the ongoing challenge of liberationist discourse and interdisciplinary scholarship.
This award-winning researcher, dedicated activist, and celebrated instructor will visit UHD April 3–6, 2023 where she will engage both in-person and virtually with the UHD family in several thought-provoking explorations of “Deliver Us from Evil (aka The Ethical Undoing of What History Has Done).”
In the face of the emerging challenges that face our university, our Houston community, and our nation, I encourage you to mark Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas’s visit on your calendar. Come join the UHD community as we strive to enrich and empower our beloved Houston and the Gulf Coast region.
We look forward to seeing at the events.
What’s a Women’s Commission and What Do They Do?
Dr. Felicia Harris, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Interim Director of the Center for Latino Studies
On March 8, 2022, the Harris County Commissioners Court created the Harris County Women’s Commission (HCWC), a nine-member commission who will conduct research, produce reports, engage with the community, and make recommendations to the Commissioners Court related to economic opportunities and health outcomes of women of all races, ethnicities, and income levels in Harris County. One year later, all nine members have been appointed, and the Women’s Commission is set to begin its work.
For its inaugural year, the HCWC has chosen to focus on family infrastructure, or the support systems and pathways for families and family planning that impacts the economic and health outcomes of all women, whether or not they are mothers or desire to become mothers. This focal area considers key points of concern such as: access to affordable and reliable childcare; contraceptive care, fertility education, and family planning; and support for women who serve as caregivers for their spouses, parents, in-laws, friends, and neighbors.
The University of Houston-Downtown boasts a nationally recognized reputation for community and civic engagement. Membership on local boards and commissions gives Harris County residents the opportunity to be civically engaged beyond local, state, and national elections. As an example, the focus of the Women’s Commission directly stemmed from recent political actions and cultural and social interests impacting the lives of women in Harris County.
With more than four million residents in Harris County, there are 68 local boards and commissions created to make recommendations and raise awareness for local governing bodies and divisions, organizations, and public interests ranging from transportation to land resources and cultural preservation. If you are looking for more ways to be involved with your local community, then membership on a local board or commission may be in the future for you.
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Let's Discuss What it Really Means to be "Woke"
Dr. Nina Barbieri, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Just earlier this semester during my course on research methods, I devoted an entire class period to the subject and importance of conceptualization. That is, defining or specifying ideas and concepts into something tangible, clear, and understood by both the reader and the researcher. In fact, this is the first step any good researcher will do when approaching their project; set out to understand the very concept they are exploring by reviewing existing definitions and literature. This component of the research process is pivotal to measurement validity, or the ability to ensure that you are accurately reflecting, measuring, and critiquing the concept you intend.
Nonetheless, columnist and political commentator Bethany Mandel recently published a book titled "Stolen Youth: How Radicals are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation” that seemed to do just this. Mandel’s book focuses entirely on the dangers of “woke indoctrination” on childhood and the American family to create a revolution at the cost of human suffering. An interesting perspective, to say the least. However, during a recent television interview, when simply asked to define “woke,” the main concept of her book, she could not.
The word “woke” was originally used by and among Black people to promote awareness of systemic injustice and oppression. Early use of the word can be traced back to the 1920s when Jamaican scholar and activist, Marcus Garvey, encouraged members of the Pan-African diaspora to “Wake Up!” and join together to strengthen Africa and fight against oppression and colonialism. The resurgence of the phrase “stay woke” in the popular lexicon is often credited to Erykah Badu’s 2008 song “Master Teacher” and more recently gained increased national traction following the Black Lives Matter Movement and George Floyd protests. The current distortion and misuse of the word “woke” by pundits and politicians is an insidious effort in fear-mongering and an all-encompassing tool used against those fighting for social justice in all its forms. Indeed, it is exactly what the original use of the word was meant to raise awareness against.
The dangers of shoddy research and misinformed media pundits is the perpetuation of false narratives and misdirection from other true ailments impacting our society (i.e., struggles with accessing mental and physical healthcare, the cost of continuing education, obtaining gainful employment, the very real isolating impacts of COVID-19, etc.). Had Mandel truly done her research, she might have uncovered a plurality of reasons for people’s unhappiness and disconnectedness. The true lesson here is this: Stay informed. Stay woke.
EXPERIENCE GHANA!
Enrich your student experience by studying abroad in Ghana this summer! Dr. Vida Robertson and Dr. Antoinette Wilson are offering courses in English/Humanities and Psychology to explore contemporary Ghanaian literature, culture, and pan-African identity. Enroll now!
Introducing our Newest CCRS Fellows!
We are thrilled to announce our newest class of Fellows to the Center for Critical Race Studies, Dr. Ayden Adler, Dr. Lizette Burks, and Dr. Jerry Johnson. Their dedication to critical scholarship, engaged teaching, and impassioned activism has been admired and championed among our students, colleagues, UHD community, and the greater Houston area. Together, we look forward to continuing the important interdisciplinary work of the Center to further our mission of transforming lives and working towards social justice.
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