Between the Binaries: The Asian and Pacific Islander Fight to Be Seen

We have been conditioned by the dominant culture to view the world in a set of simplified binaries. People are either Black or white. Gay or straight. Disabled or non-disabled. One of ‘us’ or ‘other.’ But millions of people who exist between these binaries are constantly fighting to prevent their narratives from being erased, and their humanity from being minimized. One such group is the 20.6 million people in the United States who identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.

The often invisible, or even societally accepted, nature of anti-Asian racism remains a serious problem and directly impacts crucial issues like funding priorities. For example, between 1992 and 2018, the National Institutes of Health invested only 0.17% of its budget in research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Foundations have not fared better. For every $100 awarded, only 20 cents has been designated to support AAPI communities.

Considering that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the United States, when the choice is made not to include Asian Americans in our conversations, we must ask ourselves: What are we missing? What are we getting wrong?

Join ANCOR for a community conversation featuring a panel of pan-Asian community leaders, activists, and change-makers as they discuss what it means to be “othered,” how they struggle to reconcile their interlocking oppressions, and how the fight to be seen impacts both their personal and professional lives.

A recording will be made available for registrants.

Presenters

• jae jin pak (he/him), Coordinator of Community Education, Co-Founder: Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition & Self Advocacy Training Mentor – IL LEND, University of IL at Chicago Institute of Disability & Human Development
• Dr. Jeff Ramdass (they/he), Project Director, Center for Social Development and Education, UMass Boston
• Wally Tablit (he/him), Chief Disability Inclusion Officer, Relay Resources
• Leya Tseng Jones (she/her), Co-Director of College Counseling, Cary Academy
• Sasha Sencer (she/her), Director of Education and Intersectional Collaboration, ANCOR (moderator)

Registration

• FREE for ANCOR members and non-members

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