Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Spotlight | Liz Nguyen

What does Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Mean to you?

To me, AAPI Heritage Month is a symbol of belonging and inclusion. It is also a time to celebrate AAPI’s contributions to and influence on our country.

Belonging

When I was first asked to speak about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, my initial reaction was “No, I don’t want to talk about my emotions and feelings”. Then it occurred to me that this is exactly why I should speak my truth because I have been so quiet about my feelings throughout my life.

It is normal in my culture to avoid conflict, emotions, and feelings because we want to “save face” and not let anyone know our pain. I was content living my life?“saving face” and being quiet until last year on March 16 when there was a shooting spree at 3 businesses and 8 people were killed (6 that were Asian) in Atlanta.

I had always felt like an outsider in my community, and this tragic shooting confirmed my fears that there were people out there who may not like me, and in fact, may want to kill me because of who I am and what I look like. The reaction from the community, colleagues, friends and even strangers to this terrible attack was not of hate but of love and support for those that were suffering. This reaction re-confirmed my faith in humanity and our country.?

The outpour of support from all walks of life regardless of race, creed or origin made me feel a sense of belonging.?

Inclusion??

I was born and raised in California, but people always ask me where I am from. I would answer California, but the response would always be “no, where are you really from?” To me, that made me feel as if there was no way I could be from here. No matter what I do or how I act, because of the way I look, I could not be American. On the other hand, because of the way I speak some Vietnamese people would consider me “not Vietnamese enough”.?

Asian Americans are perpetual foreigners in our own country with this dilemma.?I’ve struggled my entire life trying to fit in and be included, and this is something I don’t want future generations of AAPI to go through. I view AAPI Heritage Month as an opportunity to break these cycles and widen our circle of inclusion.?

Celebration

As I mentioned earlier, AAPI Heritage Month is a time when our community celebrates AAPI’s contributions to and influence on the country. The month of May was chosen because the first Japanese immigrated to the US on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad was May 10, 1869. I’m so proud of my community that came here over 150+ years ago and has accomplished so much for our country.?

I’m extremely thankful to live in a country where I can express my thoughts and pour out my feelings. I know that I belong here, and I work hard to make sure others around me feel included.?

Why is it important and what do you want to share with others?

AAPI Heritage Month is important to me because it is an opportunity to celebrate being different by making it clear, to all generations of all backgrounds, that sharing your culture is not shameful. It is also an opportunity to myth bust stereotypes that harm our community.?

Celebrate Being Different

Growing up, I was ashamed to be my authentic self. I remember pushing my culture away because I wanted to “fit in”.?

Vietnamese was my first language, and the kids at school thought Vietnamese was a weird language so I stopped speaking it. They also made fun of me for bringing “stinky” food (my mom’s delicious Vietnamese lunches with fish sauce) so I stopped eating it. My cousin picked me up from school and called me “Mai”, and I ignored her because I wanted to be seen as Elizabeth and didn’t want others to know what my Vietnamese name was.??

I changed who I was because I wanted to blend in and not be seen or heard. I didn’t know this at the time, but I was experiencing these microaggressions that I didn’t know how to handle as a child. It is important to me that the next generation of my family feels encouraged to celebrate their differences.?

Myth Bust Stereotypes

The American Dream Tax. In the Vietnamese language, there are no words that translate to English as “Should have, could have, would have” so regret is not something that my parents know. All they know is that they need to move forward and work hard to make sure that they have the life they want for themselves and their family. They experience something called the American Dream Tax. Their thought process is “we have been through worse” like a war, escaped it and are extremely thankful to be in America that they endure racist microaggressions ever since they came here.?

It is important for us to teach others around us that we belong here, and we should not have to endure an “American Dream Tax” to be included.?

The Model Minority. AAPI hate crimes have increased 339% compared with the year before. These statistics may even be higher as many incidents are not reported because of language barriers, pride, not knowing how to report, and “saving face”.?There is a stereotype that AAPIs have class privilege and discrimination doesn’t really happen to us. This is called the Model Minority Myth where AAPI children are considered smart and “Tiger Moms” force kids to work harder to become successful and live the “American Dream”. This creates a falsity that AAPIs don’t experience struggle or racial discrimination. In actuality, the APPI community is the most economically divided, meaning that the disparity between the richest and the poorest AAPI is the largest of any ethnic or racial group in America. NYC’s Office of Operations found that Asian immigrants have the highest poverty rates in the city 1 out of 4 seniors are living below the poverty line.

It is important for us to acknowledge that the Model Minority stereotype is a myth and generalization that actually hurts our people by discrediting any struggle or discrimination someone in the AAPI community may face.

My vision is equality for all, not just the APPI community. It is important to support other allies because hate impacts all communities, and we need to stick together against hate.??

What are some of your favorite traditions?

We celebrate 2 New Years: The Solar New Year (normally Jan 1) and the Lunar New Year (based on the Moon so the timing changes every year). My favorite time of the year is Lunar New Year (around January/February) because it invokes the tradition of family, love and fortune. Our family prioritizes celebrating together and tries not to work because whatever you do on the Lunar New Year is said to be the prediction of the year to come.?

There is always amazing food, great company, and most importantly, red envelopes with money for kids to play games with.?

Family is my number one priority so this is a time when we can put all our busy lives aside and just be together in love.

Continuing the Legacy - What do you want to leave behind?

Both my parents worked throughout my childhood, and because of that,?I was raised by my grandmother.?She had a magnetic personality and was the kindest soul I have ever met.?

I learned my compassion from her and want to make sure that her compassion is passed down and left behind when I am no longer here. I have been involved in various nonprofits that support underserved communities ever since she passed away, and I want to make sure to pass on her love and legacy.

I also want to embrace and embody the best part of my multi-cultural background (Vietnamese and American) by continuing to cherish the legacy of my ancestors and educating my sisters, nieces, and potential future kids along with passing on that love of family. This will ensure that our history is not lost but continues to grow whether it is from food, stories around the dinner table, or traditions.