Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage
Organizations and Resources
That Support AAPI
Observed each year since the late 1970’s, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month draws attention to the contributions of — and challenges faced by — a diverse group of people: those who trace their heritage to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This month, take a moment to celebrate the many cultures, contributions, and stories within the AAPI community through our links below.
Use the links below for a sampling of resources to get started.
This is an evolving list that will be updated periodically. If you have suggestions you would like to see included on the list, please email DEI@essex.com.
| Artists |
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A1one - Persian calligraphy and Western graffiti A1one is a street artist from Tehran and the pioneer of graffiti art in Iran, recognized for his dynamic visual style which combines several different styles, most prominently Persian calligraphy and Western graffiti. When he started his street art career in 2003, he was the first artist to paint walls of his hometown, hence the name A1one (Alone). Suffice to say authorities were not happy with his actions. A1one has been arrested several times but this did not stop him and he continued with his 'subversive' practice. More importantly, the virus of street art has spread across Tehran as A1one's art influenced several other street artists, such as Mogai, Isba and Elle, to pick up spray cans and follow his steps. |
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Alex Face - Baby Mardi Patcharapol Tangruen, better known as Alex Face, is a renowned street artist from Thailand, widely recognized for his instantly recognizable signature baby character found on walls of abandoned buildings in Bangkok and throughout the world. This seemingly cute baby, named Mardi and inspired by Alex Face's daughter, reveals artist's profound social conscience as it is actually always angry and constantly worried about the gray future of the world she sees through her third eye. This iconic character dressed in a bunny outfit is a perfect example of the life-changing effect a newborn can have on an artist as he contemplates about the world he had brought the child into. |
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DALeast - International Urban Art Figure Highly prolific Chinese painter and sculptor DALeast is one of the most prominent street art figures of his country and, arguably, one of the biggest names on the international urban and graffiti art scene. His dark yet mesmerizing, highly intricate paintings can be found in urban landscapes of cities around the globe. DALeast is famed for his skillful use of paint as he draws what appear to be thousands upon thousands of metal shards that beautifully come together to form seemingly living shapes of animals and humans. These fractured images, masterfully juxtaposed with contrasting backgrounds create captivating shadowing effects that infuse his soulful and energetic artworks with an overwhelming sense of life. |
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Haroshi - Skateboard Sculptor Haroshi is a renowned Japanese sculptor, self-taught woodworker and an avid skateboarder from Tokyo, widely known for his unique large sculptures made from used skateboard decks. Haroshi creates these extraordinary sculptures through a careful process consisting of several steps. He first stacks selected skateboards together and then hand carves and polishes them into distinctive pop art sculptures which have a truly unique appearance of vibrant striped surfaces, due to the fact material is actually made of layers of processed wood. Haroshi usually avoids applying any additional dyes to his sculptures, but instead utilizes the original colors of used decks, and very often hides tiny objects inside them following the ancient tradition of Japanese sculptors. |
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James Jean - Fine Art Paintings Taiwanese artist James Jean is internationally acclaimed for his fine art paintings and commercial illustration work for which he has garnered several renowned awards. This graduate of the New York School of Fine Arts rose to fame as a cover artist for DC Comics. Over the years Jean produced illustrations for clients such as Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, Atlantic Records, and Playboy. In 2008, James Jean has stopped working on commercial illustration and turned his focus almost completely on painting. His instantly recognizable, mind-melting and gorgeous art of unique aesthetics shows an extremely talented and exceptionally skilled visual artist with a unique sense for highly sophisticated compositions. |
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Jung Lee - Photography and Light Installations We continue our list of Asian artists with Jung Lee, an educated photographer from Seoul, South Korea, whose work spreads across sculpture and photography. Lee is renowned for her mesmerizing photographs of surreal text-based light installations made of neon tubes that explore the imagery potential of language. Her seemingly empty cliché phrases of unanswered love and desire Lee places in deserted landscapes create beautiful photographs that reveal the solitude and sorrow of modern people. Juxtaposing these sentimental neon words of love to stark desolated countrysides and cold, snow-covered fields Lee's photographs give viewers a chance to find their own way into this magical world of memories and feelings. |
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Lady Aiko - Mixed Media Art Lady Aiko Nakagawa is a Japan-born street artist, living and working in New York City. She is widely known as the founding member of renowned artist collective FAILE, but she rose to fame after she launched her solo career in 2006. AIKO's captivating mixed media art incorporates several techniques, including collage, stencils, spraypaint, and brushwork, and deals with subjects of sexuality, femininity, and the beauty of life. These highly innovative pieces of extraordinary beauty and wonderful narratives combine several influences and by looking at AIKO's paintings one can find traces of American contemporary art, Japanese traditional aesthetics, as well as pop art, street art and graffiti, all merged into one with amazing skill. |
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Mamafaka - Graphic Designer Pharuephon Mukdasanit, widely known by his moniker Mamafaka, was one of the most prominent urban artists and graphic designers from Thailand. He was the founder of famous B.O.R.E.D. designer collective and the creator of Mr. HellYeah!, one of the Thai pop art's most recognizable characters. This one-eyed hairy monster with mustache appeared on murals, skateboards, iPhones and fashion items. Mamafaka was an extraordinary artist, who was passionate about illustration and typography. He had a remarkable taste in design and a profound sense of humor. His work gained him fame and almost cult celebrity status. Sadly, Mamafaka died in 2013 following a surfing accident. He was only 34. |
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TWOONE - Visual Artist Hiroyasu Tsuri, better known by his artistic name Two-One is a Japanese street artist, painter and sculptor living and working in Collingwood, Australia. This educated visual artist gained an early interest in graffiti, but his artistic career sky-rocketed after he moved to Australia where he quickly became one of the most prominent figures of the Melbourne street art scene. Two-One's instantly recognizable character paintings of unique aesthetics and metaphysical narratives have since been covering the walls worldwide, as he always leaves his marks in places he visits during his international travels. Recently Two-One, known for his numerous involvements in group exhibitions, gained a lot of attention for his beautifully crafted Erriadh village murals he painted for the Djerbahood murals project. |
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Xeme - A Graffiti Pioneer We start off the list with one of the biggest street art names from Hong Kong, a city where graffiti was almost unknown before the 1990s. After it was kick-started by the foreigners, graffiti art got picked up by the native urban writers a few years later. One of those native writers was Xeme who started his career in 2001 and is today considered to be the most prominent Hong Kong-based artist, and a true Asian graffiti pioneer. Xeme is widely recognized as one of the first artists to utilize Chinese written language in his work, which is primarily based on letters and patterns. In addition to his exceptional street art, Xeme is known as the creator of the trend-setting Invasian street art magazine, which is primarily dedicated to covering street art created by Asian artists but also features street art talents from all over the world. |
| Books |
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“All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir” by Nicole Chung This memoir by Catapult magazine editor-in-chief (and former managing editor of The Toast) Nicole Chung is a warm and honest reflection on the author's search for the birth parents who gave her up for adoption. After asking her adoptive mother about her birth parents, Chung is told that they could not give her the life she deserved and that "may be all you can ever know." As Chung prepares for the birth of her first child, she seeks out her birth parents and finds an older sister as well as some painful family secrets. All You Can Ever Know was a finalist for the 2018 National Books Critics Circle Award and named a Best Book of the Year that year by The Washington Post, NPR, TIME, and many more. |
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“Clay Walls” by Kim Ronyoung The Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel Clay Walls tells the story of a Korean family forced to leave Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1920s to live in the United States. As Pachinko author Min Jin Lee described it to Bustle, “Clay Walls is a story about immigration and colonial trauma, and it is also a story about marriage, class, and patriarchy." Published in 1986, the book was the first-ever American novel to explore the social and cultural situations of Korean immigrants in the early 20th century, and had a major impact on later generations of Asian-American authors. "At the time, I did not think I could be a writer, so I did not read it as a lofty literary example," Lee told Bustle, "rather, I read it and loved it because it was a beautifully written work of American literature that was both absorbing and deeply felt.” |
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“Language of the Geckos and Other Stories” by Gary Yong Ki Pak Writer Gary Pak is considered one of the most popular and influential writers of Hawaiian heritage of the modern era. Many of his stories focus on Asian-Hawaiian identity and the complexities of Hawaiian culture. Language of the Geckos and Other Stories features stories of Native Hawaiians and Asian Americans (as well as haole, or white people) dealing with unfulfilled dreams, failure, and the loss of love. |
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“Marriage of a Thousand Lies” by SJ Sindu In writing Marriage of a Thousand Lies, SJ Sindu wanted to explore a topic that isn't typically talked about in South Asian American fiction—queer identity. The novel follows Lucky and her husband, who are both gay, and lying to their Sri Lankan families about it. After Lucky’s grandmother suffers an accident, Lucky returns to her childhood home and reconnects with her first love, Nisha, who is preparing for an arranged marriage with a man she’s never met. Throughout the book, Sindu tackles what it means to be queer and South Asian American. |
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“Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee Pachinko is a historical novel that follows four generations of a Korean family that migrates to Japan, following a large ensemble of characters who must deal with the legal and social discrimination they face as immigrants. In order to move up in society, the family opens up pachinko parlor, a slot machine-style game popular in Japan, from which the book takes its name. Beautifully written and captivating, Pachinko was named one of the 10 best books of 2017 by The New York Times and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. |
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“Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay In this young adult novel, author Randy Ribay dives deep into Filipino and American identity, drug abuse, guilt, grief, and the unjust policies of current Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte. After the death of his cousin at the hands of the Duterte regime, Filipino American Jay Reguero is determined to find out what happened. Jay travels to the Philippines, where he finds out more than he bargained for. |
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“Pidgin Eye” by Joe Balaz If you want to learn about Hawaiian culture, start with Joe Balaz, a Native Hawaiian poet and visual artist best known for his writing in English and Pidgin (Hawaiian Creole English). His collection Pidgin Eye features 35 years of poetry honoring the beauty and complexity of Hawaii and its people. Balaz’s poems are funny, spiritual, and full of Hawaiian history. |
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“The Astonishing Color of After” by Emily X.R. Pan After her mother dies by suicide, Leigh is convinced her mother has been reincarnated as a red bird. She travels to Taiwan to meet her mother’s parents for the first time, and while there, she seeks out her mother’s past, uncovers family secrets, and builds a new relationship with her grandparents. At the same time, Leigh must come to terms with her relationship with her best friend and longtime crush, Axel, whom she kissed for the first time the day of her mother’s passing. Pan explores mental illness, grief, and love in this heartbreaking story. |
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“The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake brings the immigrant experience and the idea of identity to light in this story of the Ganguli family leaving Calcutta for the United States. After their arranged marriage, Ashoke and Ashima move to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Ashoke’s career in engineering. As Ashoke adapts to the American way of life, Ashima resists the lifestyle and pines to be back home with her family. The story then follows their son Gogol as he struggles between following his family’s tradition or assimilating to U.S. culture—an experience that many first-generation American children deal with. |
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“The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen In The Sympathizer, the unnamed narrator is a South Vietnamese military aid working as a spy for the communist North Vietnamese. Born to a French father and Vietnamese mother, this unnamed spy was educated in America, but has returned to his home country to fight for the communist cause. After the Fall of Saigon, he is among the refugees sent to the United States and tries to start a new life there, but is quickly recruited back to spy on his fellow comrades. The Washington Post has called the novel “startlingly insightful and perilously candid.” |
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“The Woman Warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston Told across five interconnected stories, The Woman Warrior blends autobiography and Cantonese mythology to explore Kingston’s identity as a first-generation Chinese American woman. Kingston focuses on the women that have affected her life the most—from her aunts to her mother to the Chinese folk hero Fa Mulan and finally to Kingston herself. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, The Woman Warrior has become a staple in Asian American Studies classes since it was first published in 1976. |
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“Where We Once Belonged” by Sia Figiel A fiction best-seller, Sia Figiel's debut is actually the first novel by a Samoan woman to be published in the United States. The story explores Samoan women and culture, seen through the perspective of 13-year-old Alofa Filiga. Readers follow Alofa as she witnesses changes happening in her village all while she grows into a young woman. |
| Charities and Non-Profits |
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Ascend Ascend is the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian organization for business professionals in North America. Established in 2005, Ascend has grown to serve professionals and corporations across various professions and across multiple industries. Ascend reaches 60,000 people with 30 student chapters and 17 professional chapters located in both the United States and Canada around major business hubs and educational institutions. Ascend offers professional development and career enhancement programs designed to cultivate Pan-Asian talent. |
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Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) Headquartered in Oakland, APIAHF influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. APIAHF supports local AA and NHPI communities to have an influence on local, state, and national policy by providing policy and political analysis, research and data support, and effective communications strategies. |
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Asian American Advertising Federation The Asian American Advertising Federation is made up of Asian-American advertising principals, media, advertisers and strategic partners. Its mission is to grow the Asian-American advertising and marketing industry, raise public awareness of the Asian-American community and further professionalism within the industry. |
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Asian American Business Development Center Since its establishment in 1994, the Asian American Business Development Center has been striving to assist Asian-American businesses in strengthening their capacities to compete in the mainstream marketplace, to expand business opportunities and to promote greater recognition of the contribution of Asian-American businesses to the general economy. |
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Asian American Government Executives Network (AAGEN) The Asian American Government Executives Network (AAGEN), founded in 1993, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of the highest ranking Asian American and Pacific Islander career and appointed executives, foreign service officers, legislative and judiciary members, and military officers in Government. |
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Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) The Asian American Journalists Association is a nonprofit professional and educational organization with more than 2,300 members. AAJA serves Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by encouraging young people to consider journalism as a career, developing managers in the media industry and promoting fair and accurate news coverage. |
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Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF) The Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund is the first legal rights organization on the East Coast serving Asian Americans. It was founded by a group of lawyers, law students and community activists who believed that the law should be used as a tool to achieve social and economic justice for Asian Americans and all Americans. |
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Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC) The mission of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce is to facilitate business relationships among Asian and U.S. based companies and to promote the economic advancement of Asian Pacific Americans. |
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Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association The Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association is a national organization that aims to address issues important to Asian-American students studying medicine. |
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Asian Women in Business Asian Women in Business is a not-for-profit membership organization created to assist Asian-American women in understanding their entrepreneurial potential. |
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Committee of 100 The Committee of 100 is a national non-partisan organization composed of American citizens of Chinese descent. Each member has achieved positions of leadership in the United States in a broad range of professions. With these diverse backgrounds, members collectively pool their strengths and experience to address important issues concerning the Chinese-American community, as well as issues affecting U.S.-China relations. |
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Federal Asian Pacific American Council FAPAC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing the civilian and military Asian Pacific American (APA) employees in the Federal and District of Columbia governments. The mission is to promote equal opportunity and cultural diversity for APAs within the Federal and District of Columbia governments. FAPAC encourages the participation and advancement of APAs in the Government work force. |
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Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) The Japanese American Citizens League was founded to address issues of discrimination against people of Japanese ancestry residing in the United States. It is the largest and one of the oldest Asian-American organizations in the United Sates. |
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Korean American Coalition (KAC) The Korean American Coalition is a nonprofit service, education and advocacy organization that facilitates Korean-American participation in civic, legislative and community affairs. KAC has grown into a national organization with membership chapters in several cities along the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii and affiliate organizations on the East Coast. With more than a dozen full-time staff and a large base of volunteers, KAC provides a variety of direct and indirect services to the fast-growing Korean-American communities across the nation. |
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National Asian Pacific American Bar Association The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association monitors legislative developments and judicial appointments, promotes Asian/Pacific American (APA) political leadership, advocates for equal opportunity in education and in the workplace, works to eliminate violence against APAs and builds coalitions on these issues and others within the legal profession and the community at-large. |
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National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum The mission of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum is to forge a grassroots progressive movement for social and economic justice and the political empowerment of Asian and Pacific-American women and girls. |
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National Association of Asian American Professionals The National Association of Asian American Professionals is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization whose mission is to promote the personal and professional development of the Asian-American community. |
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National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development is the first national advocacy organization dedicated to addressing the community development, organizing and advocacy needs of the diverse and rapidly growing Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities nationwide. |
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NetIP North America (Network of Indian Professionals) NetIP North America's mission is to serve as a voice for the South Asian Diaspora and to provide a vehicle for South Asian professionals to enhance the communities in which they work and live. Areas of focus for the organization include economic growth and security, cultural awareness and preservation, family needs and education and learning. |
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South Asian Bar Association of North America The South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA) seeks to strengthen the rapidly growing South Asian legal community with a recognized and trusted forum for professional growth and advancement and promotes the civil rights and access to justice for the South Asian community. |
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The Asian American Architects and Engineers Association AAAESC provides a platform for empowering professionals working in the built environment in personal and professional growth, business development and networking, and leadership in the Asian American community. |
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The Center for Asian Pacific American Women The Center for Asian Pacific American Women (formerly The Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute) is the only national, nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing and enriching leadership skills for Asian-American and Pacific-Islander women leaders. Its mission is to address the challenges facing Asian-American and Pacific-Islander women and to nurture trusteeship within their communities by expanding leadership capacity, fostering awareness of Asian-American and Pacific-Island issues, creating a supportive network of Asian-American and Pacific-Island women and strengthening community. |
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The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) was founded in November 2007 to help Asian heritage scientific and engineering professionals achieve their full potential. Organizations existed for other affinity groups - The National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers – and there was a need for a similar organization where students representing all the pan Asian cultures could connect and support each other. |
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U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce The U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit organization that represents Asian- and non-Asian-American businesses and professionals in business, sciences, the arts, sports, education, entertainment, community and public service through advocacy, education, information and networking. |
| Documentaries |
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9-MAN (2014) Directed by Ursula Liang, 9-Man is an IDA fiscally sponsored project that uncovers an isolated and unique streetball tournament played by Chinese-Americans in the heart of Chinatowns across the USA and Canada. Largely undiscovered by the mainstream, the game is a gritty, athletic, chaotic urban treasure traditionally played in parking lots and back alleys. 9-Man grew in the 1930s, at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment and laws forced restaurant workers and laundrymen to socialize exclusively amongst themselves. Today it's a lasting connection to Chinatown for a dynamic community of men who know a different, more integrated world, but still fight to maintain autonomy and tradition. Available on: 9-Man website |
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Asian American COVID Stories (2020) This unique series of mini-docs presented by Asian American Documentary Network offers a unique perspective of Asian Americans on the COVID-19 pandemic, adopting stories that are still largely invisible. By leaning into their strengths as documentarians of the Asian diaspora, the filmmakers offer perspectives that disrupt mainstream narratives about Asian communities. These short-form social media stories contribute to some much-needed representation of Asian American communities at this critical moment in history. Available on: YouTube |
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Asian Americans (2020) The five-part documentary series traces the epic story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, international relations and cultural innovation. It is a timely, clear-eyed look at the vital role that Asian Americans have played in defining who we are as a nation. As the United States is rapidly becoming more diverse, but also more divided, how do we move forward together? The series illuminates the way one group of Americans, who were long excluded and considered outsiders, have pursued two visions of the American Dream: one of opportunity and a better life, but also the pursuit of ideals of equality and a more perfect union. Their stories are a celebration of the grit and resilience of a people that reflects the experience of all Americans. Available on: PBS |
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Birth Control Your Own Adventure (2018) Told through intimate voice over, Birth Control Your Own Adventure tells the tale of one woman’s struggle with birth control and mental health, after being prescribed birth control pills at the age of 11 for managing endometriosis. Voice over is paired with moving images in vivid colors, an innovative video essay form that is the signature of Agha’s work. The film was picked up by New York Times Op-Docs in 2020, becoming one of its most viewed, with more than 12 million views on Facebook. Available on: Vimeo, New York Times Op-Docs |
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Call Her Ganda (2018) Call Her Ganda is directed by PJ Raval, an award‐winning filmmaker and cinematographer whose work explores the overlooked subcultures and identities within the already marginalized LGBTQ+ community. When Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, is brutally murdered by a US Marine, three women intimately invested in the case—an activist attorney (Virgie Suarez), a transgender journalist (Meredith Talusan) and Jennifer’' mother (Julita “Nanay” Laude)—galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of US imperialism. Available on: Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV |
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Deported (2016) This five-part documentary for NBC News follows the fight to end the deportation of Cambodian refugees. Each section of the series has a different focus, covering the grassroots movements fighting for refugee rights and the appeals process for families denied visitation rights after deportation, as well as telling the story of a family enduring forced separation. Available on: NBCNews.com, NBC News YouTube |
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Every Grain of Rice (2017) In this video essay, Vietnamese Canadian documentarian Carol Nguyen, tells an intergenerational story of her family through footage and crisp audio of food preparation. The resulting short documentary feels experimental, haunting and ephemeral, with moments that verge on ASMR. Her most recent documentary, No Crying at the Dinner Table, won this year’s SXSW’s Documentary Short Award. Available on: Vimeo |
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Halmoni (2017) Halmoni tells the tale of 24-year-old Ju Hong’s first trip to South Korea in 13 years, in order to see his ailing 90-year-old grandmother. As a young immigrant on DACA, Hong was only able to visit the country of his birth and return to the United States thanks to advance parole for a “humanitarian” reason. The film remains an important and relevant watch, as DACA continues to be threatened by the Trump administration. Available on: Vimeo |
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Hooligan Sparrow (2016) Hooligan Sparrow is so named for the Chinese activist of the same name. Ye Haiyan (a.k.a. Hooligan Sparrow) gathers some of her colleagues to protest a case of six elementary school girls who were taken from class and sexually abused by the principal. When the campaign goes viral, Haiyan — known for her advocacy work for women’s rights in China — faces government surveillance and targeted harassment. Through documenting these events, Nanfu Wang herself becomes a target — despite this she continues to record footage using hidden cameras, eventually smuggling the footage back to the United States. Available on: YouTube, Vudu, Google Play, and iTunes |
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How My Family Dealt With the Coronavirus Outbreak (2020) When documentarian Junting Zhou traveled to his family’s hometown Guangzhou, China for Chinese New Year, there was no way he could have known he would be quarantining with them for the next few weeks. During shelter-in-place orders, to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Zhou filmed his time with his family on his iPhone, turning the vertical footage into a slice-of-life documentary that captures daily life in a difficult time. Available on: New York Times Op-Docs |
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Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision explores the life and work of American artist Maya Lin, who created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. The film tracks her ascent from being a relatively unknown artist, to being selected in a nationwide competition to create one of the country's most beloved memorials. Her Asian American identity, in particular, plays a strong role in defining her artistic vision and why the memorial was initially greeted with skepticism from the DC political landscape. Available on: Vimeo |
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Mizuko (2019) Mizuko is a Japanese word which translates to “water child,” and mizuko kuyō is a Buddhist ceremony to mourn the loss of a miscarriage, stillbirth, or an abortion. This deeply personal, atmospheric video essay braids together a narrator’s intimate stories around these themes of life, death, and water, using a mix of footage and luscious watercolor animation. The film received a Special Jury Recognition in SXSW’s Documentary Short category, this year. Available on: Amazon Prime |
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Standing Above the Clouds (2020) Standing Above the Clouds centers on a group of Hawaiian mother-daughter activists — the Ku Kia'i Mauna, or guardians of the mountain — as they work to protect their sacred Mauna a Wakea from the construction of an eighteen-story telescope at its pristine northern plateau, a peak so tall it “stands above the clouds.” This beautiful intergenerational documentary weaves together protest in the land and in the courtroom, as the Ku Kia'i Mauna fight to protect their mountain. Available on: YouTube |
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Stateless In 2005, a spark of hope came when the US immigration officials returned to Manila to review the cases of over 2,000 Vietnamese refugees who spent over 17 years in the Philippines waiting for resettlement. They have been living in the Philippines without legal status, ownership or employment rights. While nervously waiting for a judgment day, the "stateless" Vietnamese hung on the hope of finding a permanent home. Directed by Duc Nguyen, Stateless is a searing document of this particular moment in Asian American history. Available on: Kanopy |
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Strawberries Will Save the World (2017) This delightful short documentary focuses on a woman with a peculiar hobby: A love of strawberries. This manifests in an affection for collecting strawberry paraphernalia — mugs, oven mitts, dresses, stationery — attending a meetup of strawberry lovers, and growing actual strawberry plants. In just five minutes, this captures the way hobbies can be profoundly impacting, and a cornerstone of seeking a happy life. Available on: Vimeo |
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Ulam: Main Dish (2018) Alexandra Cuerdo’s Ulam: Main Dish is the first food documentary to focus on the rise of Filipino cuisine in American restaurants and households. Food has always been a central part Asian American culture, and while other Asian cuisines have taken off — both in the American restaurant landscape and as a subject of food documentaries — Ulam finally centers Filipino delicacies. Available on: Hulu |
| Podcasts |
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Asian Americana Asian Americana is a podcast about slices of distinctly Asian American culture and history. Asian Americana is also a term based on the idea that Asian Americans are a rich and inherent part of the American cultural and historical tapestry. We weren't just present; we've actively built and shaped this nation with endless stories and contributions. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher |
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Books and Boba Books & Boba is a book club dedicated to books written by Asian and Asian American authors. We cover a wide range of genres including contemporary, historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, YA, nonfiction, thrillers, graphic novels, and memoirs. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts |
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Brown Taboo Project Join SASMHA’s founders & guests as they discuss South Asian identity, mental health, healthy relationships, LGBTQ+ issues, sexuality, and other brown taboos. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify |
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But Where Are You Really From? An Asian-American Struggle on Apple Podcasts. Hosts and life-long best friends Angela Lin and Jesse Lin explore their identities as Asian-Americans through the lens of their first-generation upbringings and how those influences have shaped how they see the world and their place in it. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify |
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Dear Asian Americans Dear Asian Americans is a podcast for and by Asian Americans, focusing on authentic storytelling rooted in origin, identity, and legacy. Host Jerry Won brings on guests from diverse backgrounds and career paths to celebrate, support, and inspire the Asian American community. New episodes air every Tuesday across all major platforms. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher |
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Deep Pacific Dive into Pacific Island issues alongside a Pacific Islander millenial woman of science. This podcast is done in service to our under-represented voices to shed light upon long-standing social, economic, scientific, political, educational, and cultural circumstances which we grew up with and which connect us. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts |
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South Asian Stories Join Sameer Desai as he chats with South Asians around the world to uncover their identities, successes, failures, and most importantly, stories. He profiles artists, writers, filmmakers, athletes, entertainers, and many more to discover South Asians who have taken a different path. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher |
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This Filipino American Life This Filipino American Life is a podcast that explores the nuanced experiences of Filipinos in the United States, atbp. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts |
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Vietnamese Boat People The Vietnamese Boat People podcast is stories of hope, survival and resilience. Between 1975 to 1992, almost two million Vietnamese risked their lives to flee oppression and hardship after the Vietnam War, in one of the largest mass exoduses in modern history. Escaping by boat, many found freedom in foreign land, many were captured and brutally punished, and many did not survive the journey. This population of people are known as the ‘Vietnamese Boat People' and these are their stories. Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music |
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Yellow Glitter Mindfulness through the eyes & soul of a gay Asian. Every episode, host Steven Wakabayashi, shares with you what’s on his mind, things he’s struggling with and how he’s working through it to help you live a more mindful, fabulous life! Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher |
November 12, 2021