School Honors AAPI Heritage Month

In May, the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice (CPEJ), in partnership with the student-led Asian Culture Club, celebrated Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by redoubling year-long efforts to uplift diversity within the AAPI community through storytelling, art, and activism. A range of resources and opportunities were shared to create critical connections through learning, reflection and celebration. To learn more about the origin of AAPI, watch the informative PBS program, Are you “AAPI” or “Asian American”? It’s Complicated.| A People’s History of Asian America.

As part of the month’s activities, CPEJ and the Asian Culture Club hosted a dynamic panel of four women on AAPI diversity. Shuli de la Fuente-Lau, creator of @AsianLitforKids on Instagram, advocates for children’s books featuring characters of Asian and other BIOPIC identities. Shuli commented, “It’s critical for all people to see themselves represented in literature, but especially children. We need to always ask ourselves, Who is in this space? and Whose stories are being told?” The panel also included: Simran Thind, the Punjabi Organizer at Desis Rising Up and Moving, Kate Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Make Us Visible and Asena Taione-Filihia, the Assistant Director of the Asian American Resource Center at Pomona College and co-founder of the Native and Pacific Islander Summer Intensive Transfer Experience Program at UCLA.

Some panelists and guests commented that Minor Feelings by Kathy Park Hung is a ‘must read’ for members of the AAPI community and allies.

In honor of AAPI Heritage month, students learned about the various art forms in Tibetan Buddhism, such as butter sculptures, thangka painting, sand mandalas, and Cham. They also learned about the Yakpo Collective, observed works by contemporary Tibetan artists, and explored the role of art in activism. The event concluded with students and staff creating their own interpretation of sand mandalas.