Abstract A sociologist with a background in teaching and youth organizing, Bianca Mabute-Louie has long been engaging in important racial dialogues with her students. In the past, Bianca has taught courses on Asian American and women of color on the college and high school levels. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Bianca continues her social advocacy on social media, such as posting inspirational zines on Instagram to express messages of Black and Asian solidarity. While Bianca humbly remarks that she is...

Abstract Dr. Ivan Small is a professor of sociocultural anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. Professor Small is a bi-racial Vietnamese American and first became interested in his Asian heritage after visiting his relatives in Vietnam during his college years. His research weaves together cultural anthropology with Asian studies, economic anthropology and research about migration and transnationalism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Small published an article in the...

Abstract As a staff attorney for the Cop Accountability Project at the Legal Aid Society in New York City, Jennvine Wong has served as a legal observer at many Black Lives Matter protests and handled the emergency legal hotline to locate and provide legal assistance for arrested protesters. Being a legal observer, she has been in physical proximity to police brutality, and expressed shock at the level of violence she witnessed from the police during protests. She discussed how responses from the...

Abstract Mengyu Dong sits down with MOCA to discuss her work documenting the Black Lives Matter protests and presenting them to a Chinese audience through WeChat. As a journalist and photographer, Dong started following the Black Lives Matter movement shortly after moving to Washington D.C. and witnessing the protests that erupted in response to the death of George Floyd. In publishing her photo essay that featured stories from Chinese and Chinese American activists, she wanted to challenge the...

Abstract Robert Lee is the CEO of Pearlstone Partners, a real estate development firm based in Austin, Texas, as well as the former Chairman of the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce. Through his leadership of the Chamber of Commerce, Lee not only fostered a vibrant business community for the burgeoning population of Asians Americans, but also emphasized the importance of broad Asian representation in order to strengthen intersectional community involvement. On a personal level, Lee believes in...

Abstract Xiaowen Liang, a feminist-activist and staff attorney based in New York City, discussed how she collaborated with activists across North America to organize the campaign, “Chinese for Black Lives,” in an effort to elevate the voices within the Chinese community who support the Black Lives Matter movement. She also explained that the campaign seeks to empower and bring together like-minded activists in delivering a unified message for racial justice. She talked about the challenges and...