June 2024: Changing Culture

Dear Friends,

June — when we celebrate Pride Month, Immigrant Heritage Month, and Juneteenth — is an important reminder of the progress our communities have made in the fight for inclusion and equality. We stand on the shoulders of generations of community leaders, activists, and civic leaders who advocated for their communities by linking arms with allies.

We are continually inspired by and learn from the experiences of communities like our own who have been marginalized for too long. Part of TAAF's ongoing mission lies in creating spaces and platforms where we can bring all our identities to the table. We are so proud to support projects and events that celebrate the richness and diversity of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) food, stories, and culture.

To that end, June marks the return of two of our most cherished annual initiatives: Heritage Heroes, our award-winning series profiling everyday people making a difference in the AANHPI community and streaming for the first time on Amazon Prime Video, and our annual AAPI Culinary Conference, where we celebrate extraordinary leaders of the AAPI culinary world at the James Beard Awards. Additionally, we are proud to establish a new partnership with The New York Times, supporting a series of features exploring Asian American and Pacific Islander impact on popular culture. We are excited for the opportunity to work with the Times and provide a platform uplifting our stories with reverence and authenticity to help foster a sense of belonging for our entire community.

In solidarity,

Norman Chen‍
CEO, The Asian American Foundation

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NARRATIVE CHANGE

3rd Annual Heritage Heroes Special premieres on Prime Video

To continue celebrating AANHPI heritage every day, TAAF debuted the third annual Heritage Heroes on May 31st.

This year, the award-winning special has found a new home on Prime Video.

In a world rid of hate, there is only vision, joy, empathy, solidarity, and love. In Heritage Heroes 2024, TAAF imagines and explores these opposing forces of anti-Asian hate in a series of films that highlight the resilience of our AANHPI community today. Each story is a celebration of the AANHPI community not only in front of the camera, but behind it. In a series of five short films which will debut as standalone installments, five AANHPI filmmakers are each paired with a community leader or entrepreneur:

• Film 1: “Vision” - New York: Sahra Nguyen, founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply, explores her path as an artist, activist, and storyteller to amplify her community and inspire systemic change. Directed by June Kim.
• Film 2: “Joy (To Dance Again)” - Los Angeles: After an unprecedented tragedy for the Asian American community of Monterey Park, ballroom dancing offers an unexpected path to healing and joy. Featuring TAAF grantee-partner Chinatown Service Center. Directed by M.G. Evangelista.
• Film 3: “Empathy” - Oakland: After his choices as a young man lead him to years of incarceration, Tien Nguyen discovers meditation to confront his troubled past. Featuring TAAF grantee-partner Asian Health Services and their community partner Family Bridges. Directed by Ty Sanga.
• Film 4: “Solidarity” - Houston: In Houston, Texas — America's fourth largest city, a community mobilizes to resist a powerful, hate-mongering pastor. This short documentary explores contemporary and historical solidarity among Asian Americans and other immigrants in the deep South, illustrating how from the streets of Asiatown to restaurant kitchens to City Hall, the AAPI community of Houston responds to fear, violence, and hate. Featuring TAAF grantee partners Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Daya Houston, and Tahirih Justice Center. Directed by Nik Dodani.
• Film 5: “Love” - Seattle : When hate and discrimination is directed at one family, it impacts an entire community. This is a story of how love, empathy, and understanding overcomes hate in Seattle, Washington. Featuring TAAF grantee-partner Chinese Information and Service Center. Directed by Georgia Fu.

Heritage Heroes would not be possible without our amazing crew led by executive producers Kristen Wong, Brad Jenkins, and Melvin Mar. Other producers include TAAF Director of Narrative Change Masum Momaya, Peter Tahk, and Sean Boyle. The special is presented by TAAF, Enfranchisement Productions, and FutureFriends.

Watch Season 3 of Heritage Heroes on Prime Video!

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PARTNERSHIPS

Celebrating the AAPI culinary community during James Beard Awards Weekend

More than 200 trailblazing chefs, hospitality leaders, and James Beard Awards finalists & winners from across the country came together to celebrate the vibrant AAPI culinary community.

Chefs Danny Lee (Chef & Owner, Anju/CHIKO/Mandu), Irene Li (Owner, Mei Mei Dumplings/Prepshift), and Andrew Lim & Thomas Oh (Partners, Perilla) hosted the annual AAPI Culinary Conference, sponsored by TAAF and OpenTable, on the eve of the 33rd annual James Beard Restaurant & Chef Awards on Sunday, June 9, in Chicago.

This year, the highly anticipated annual convening was expanded into a half-day AAPI culinary conference. It featured dynamic panels including a conversation about amplifying underrepresented culinary voices with 2024 James Beard Awards Emerging Chef Winner Masako Morishita (Executive Chef, Perry’s, DC) and James Beard Awards Finalist Susan Bae (Executive Pastry Chef & Partner, Moon Rabbit, DC), moderated by Debby Soo (CEO, OpenTable), and a thought-provoking panel on destigmatizing mental health struggles amongst AAPI chefs with moderator Ashok Selvam (Editor, Eater Chicago), Angel Barreto (Partner & Executive Chef of Anju), Jesse Ito (Chef & Co-Owner, Royal Sushi & Izakaya), and Penelope Wong (Chef, Yuan Wonton).

Following the panel discussions, a lively reception featuring a chef showcase of culturally inspired dishes and cocktails was prepared by Andrew Lim (Perilla, Chicago), Danny Lee (Anju/CHIKO/Mandu, D.C.), Helen Nguyen (Saigon Social, NYC), Jihan Lee (Nami Nori, NYC), Seng Luangrath (Thip Khao, D.C.), Zeeshan Shah & Yoshi Yamada (Superkhana, Chicago), Ethan Lim (Hermosa, Chicago), and Steve Chu (Ekiben, Baltimore).

Sponsors Johnnie Walker Blue and Don Julio provided specialty cocktails, as well as a Don Julio premium tasting experience for guests. Attendees and speakers were also treated to gift bags featuring products from AAPI-founded brands including Daniel Corpuz Chocolatier, doosra, evolvetogether, Kim’C Market, material, Sanzo, and Spicewalla.

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NARRATIVE CHANGE

Lifting up AAPI impact on popular culture with The New York Times

The New York Times launches a new series that examines the increasing creative output of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in popular culture.

Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. with nearly 25 million Americans with heritage that connects to more than 20 countries throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the South Asian subcontinent. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are the third fastest growing group in the U.S.

An exciting new immersive journalistic series from The New York Times explores how these fast-growing demographics are reshaping pop culture, delving into the ways filmmakers, authors, and other creators are depicting AAPI life. The debut piece, “Found in Translation: Asian Languages Onscreen,” focuses on the use of Asian languages in American movies and television that have experienced crossover success, while the second installment explores how Asian supermarkets including H Mart, Patel Brothers, and 99 Ranch are reshaping American eating habits.

Read NYT’s “Don’t Call It an ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store”

ANTI-HATE

Reporting hate in-language with the AAPI Hate Tracker

The AAPI Hate Tracker, launched in May to help report and track incidents of hate and bias toward the AANHPI community in New York City, is now able to receive incident reports in 11 different languages.

Users are now able to submit reports of anti-Asian hate or bias in Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog/Filipino, Urdu, and Vietnamese at AAPI Hate Tracker.

By expanding the language offerings of the AAPI Hate Tracker, Committee of 100 and TAAF hope to narrow the gap between experiences and reporting in hate incident data, as well as the gap between survivors and much-needed assistance and resources.

Report to support New York with the AAPI Hate Tracker (NYC)!

PARTNERSHIPS

TAAF 2024 Heritage Month Summit now on YouTube

Last month, 70+ speakers at the 2024 Heritage Month Summit spoke about a wide range of issues from inclusive education to identity and belonging; civic engagement and political power to narrative change and sports. Thank you to our panelists for joining us! We've begun uploading the panels to YouTube, watch them below!

Watch the 2024 TAAF Heritage Month Summit on YouTube

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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.

Tahirih Justice Center has served over 30,000 immigrant survivors fleeing gender-based violence since 1997. Alongside BPSOS and Daya Houston, Tahirih Justice Center is part of the TAAF Anti-Hate Houston Network.

‍Chinatown Service Center and MPK Hope Resiliency Center are featured in the third season of Heritage Heroes. In “JOY - To Dance Again,” after the unprecedented tragedy for the Asian American community of Monterey Park, ballroom dancing offers an unexpected path to healing and joy.  

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Convenings

TAAF in Community

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ICYMI

Leading AAPIs in the news

Sunita Williams, Indian American NASA Astronaut aboard Boeing Starliner brings samosas and cultural items into space

“I really appreciate my Indian heritage and was glad I could bring part of it with me to space,” Sunita Williams previously said. READ MORE

Asian Latinos are a growing but ignored demographic, new analysis shows

The UCLA analysis indicates the number of people in the U.S. who identify as “AAPI Latinos” rose from 350,000 in 2000 to 886,000 in 2022. READ MORE

Australian teen chosen for lead role in Disney’s live-action of ‘Moana’

New adaptation will celebrate the islands, communities, and traditions of Pacific Islanders in a new adventure. READ MORE