January 2024: Narrative Change & Representation
TAAF celebrates progress at Sundance, and hosts talk on combating anti-AAPI violence. Upcoming graphic novel "Fighting to Belong!" aims to educate youth on AAPI history.
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! 2024 has just begun, but it’s already been an incredible month advancing our work across Narrative Change, Education, and Anti-Hate, from our Anti-Hate TAAF Talk to our upcoming release of our first graphic novel Fighting to Belong!
Just a few weeks ago, we hosted the second annual Sunrise Collective at Sundance Film Festival: the official home for AANHPI artists, filmmakers, and organizations. As I engaged with the attendees and watched our powerful programming, I was amazed by the diversity of voices and depth of stories our filmmakers and partners were telling. I was moved by the commitment of allies to advance this work together. This is what belonging should feel like; this is what belonging could feel like.
And in the midst of progress and celebration, we also remembered why Sunrise Collective, and more importantly TAAF, was created. On the final day of Sunrise, we remembered the 20 lives lost in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay a year ago, with dozens injured and communities forever impacted. We honor the lives of each victim and stand with their families. And in times like these, where we celebrate our progress as much as we honor the resiliency of our communities, we recommit to why TAAF was founded: to build a safer, more inclusive future for everyone; to serve as a space for the community to come together in solidarity and support.
As we look to the year ahead, we hold the lives lost deep in our hearts, stand with communities finding their strength and their voices, and continue to address hate —wherever it is and whatever form it takes.
In solidarity,
Norman Chen
CEO, The Asian American Foundation
NARRATIVE CHANGE
Coming together at Sunrise Collective
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TAAF, Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD, and Gold House’s Sunrise Collective Returns to Sundance Film Festival as a Home for the AANHPI Community
Our Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community returned to Riverhorse on Main Street for the second year of Sunrise House — three days of interactive panels, firesides, community-building and celebration during the Sundance Film Festival's opening weekend January 19-21.
From fireside conversations with Daniel Dae Kim, Lucy Liu and Golden Globe winner Steven Yeun to a thought-provoking panel with Badass Women Truth Tellers Juju Chang, veteran director, writer and producer Ramona Diaz, Nobel Peace Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa and former Vice President of the Philippines Leni Robredo, to exploring Caregiving – The Unseen Story with Ai-Jen Poo (Executive Director, Caring Across Generations, Richard Lui (Anchor, NBC News/MSNBC, filmmaker, Unconditional), Liz Sargent (Director, Take Me Home), and Jennifer Murray (Healer and participant of Winding Path) — to name a few, the Sunrise Collective focused on bringing authentic, nuanced AANHPI stories to life, celebrating AANHPI perspectives to overcome stereotypes and misconceptions, and the state of AANHPI representation in front of and behind the camera.
Evening celebrations included the second annual Multicultural Dinner presented by Pop Culture Collaborative and co-hosts Illuminative, Latinx House, and MACRO, to bring the creative community and multicultural organizations together as a commitment to solidarity and importance of working together over a shared meal which featured a reimagination of Indian fare prepared by Maneesh Goyal’s award-winning restaurant, SONA. On Saturday evening, guests took part in a sneak preview of Freeform’s Chrissy & Dave Dine Out, a conversation with hosts Chrissy Teigen, David Chang, and Joel Kim Booster, and intimate dinner.
We were also reminded of the importance and impact of our narrative change mission. Two years ago, we partnered with The Sundance Institute, with support from Panda Express and The MacArthur Foundation, to launch The Sundance Institute | The Asian American Foundation Fellowship & Collab Scholarship to ensure AANHPI artists have the resources and mentorship to bring their stories to life. This year, we celebrated one of our inaugural 2022 fellows Sean Wang, whose first feature film Dìdi premiered at the Festival and took home the Festival’s ensemble award and audience award in the U.S. dramatic category. TAAF is committed to strengthening pipelines and providing resources to creatives and decision makers so that those behind the camera are reflective of the stories told in front of it. We are honored to be a part of the journeys of these incredible filmmakers.
The Sunrise Collective is made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and United Airlines, programming partners Define American, Google TV, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, P&G and evening sponsors Pop Culture Collaborative, Starz, Onyx Collective, and Freeform.
Visit the TAAF Instagram for clips from the panels, and stay tuned to the TAAF YouTube channel as we will be releasing full recordings of the panels soon!
ANTI-HATE
TAAF Talk: Innovating in the Fight Against Anti-AAPI Hate
TAAF hosted a TAAF Talk to share insights and findings from the first two years of launching the Anti Hate National Network
TAAF launched in 2021 in response to the historic rise in anti-AAPI hate. We have been working with leading AAPI organizations and leaders since then to invest in solutions, strengthen infrastructure, and innovate through experience. With grantee partners in nine different cities and expanding to 14 in 2024, the Anti-Hate National Network has been able to collaborate and share expertise, building a stronger national support system to fight hate. On January 24, leaders from TAAF’s Anti-Hate National Network joined ABC NYC correspondent and reporter CeFaan Kim to share their solutions and prevention efforts to address hate within their local communities and across the country.
Hate cannot be addressed in a vacuum, and approaches to hate need to be comprehensive. Each organization takes an intersectional approach to fighting hate and brings together strong coalitions to support narrative and legislative change. As Paul Luu, CEO of CASL in Chicago said, “When we work across lines and communicate and understand that everyone has the same struggles, we are able to support each other.”
We are grateful to our esteemed speakers and moderators: Joo Han, Deputy Director, Asian American Federation; ABC NY correspondent and reporter CeFaan Kim; Julia Liou, CEO, Asian Health Services; Paul Luu, CEO, Chinese American Service League and Harman Singh, Interim co-Executive Director, The Sikh Coalition.
EDUCATION
Make sure to get your copy of Fighting to Belong!
We believe education is the long-term solution to fight hate, and our hope is that when students see themselves in history books and their peers learn about these stories in class, we can create a sense of belonging and shared humanity.
On February 6, Fighting to Belong! A History of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Vol. 1 will be released everywhere books are sold! Fighting to Belong! shares an important and dynamic part of American history in an engaging comic book format aimed at children aged 8-13.
Fighting to Belong! is now available to pre-order on Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local retailers for $6.95 (e-book), $11.95 (paperback), and $18.95 (hardcover).
For those in the New York City area, TAAF and Third State Books are hosting a joyous Lunar New Year & Book Launch celebration on Thursday, February 8. In the spirit of abundance, the event will be family-friendly; we encourage you to bring your children and families for this special and fun-filled evening.
RSVP for the party on February 8 in NYC!
Partner Spotlight
TAAF is honored to build with incredible community partners with the support of our AAPI Giving Challenge partners.
Each month we highlight the impact of their work and support of our grantees.
Meet our partners by clicking the image below to learn more about their work.
Chinatown Service Center (CSC) is dedicated to helping the AAPI community thrive and live a better quality of life. As a TAAF Anti-Hate City Partner, CSC provides victim support services, rapid response, and community safety support for all AAPIs in the greater Los Angeles region.
Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is committed to use the power of storytelling to amplify nuanced narratives and works of diverse community-driven artists, locally and nationwide.
Convenings
TAAF in Community
