Kitchen Table Talks: Centering Asian American Catalysts for Change
Welcome to the kitchen table! This podcast builds from the rich tradition of women of color, like Matsuye Namada, Nellie Wong, and Audre Lorde, coming together in the kitchen, often centered at the table, to speak their truths and strategize for collective change through healing and affirmation. Take a seat and enjoy conversations centered on Asian American badassery and joy in food. Each episode will capture stories from Asian American women about catalyzing change in and through community with a focus on intersectional resistance and a collective investment such as queer liberation, cross-racial solidarity, and disability justice. The creator, as a high school youth, created this podcast as a resource for K-12 classrooms to center on Asian American histories, identities, and activism. Each episode is shorter than 45 minutes to be used in a class period with additional resources in the description.
Listen on:
Episodes
Friday May 31, 2024
Friday May 31, 2024
About the Episode
In this episode, Janice Munemitsu, author of The Kindness of Color, talks about the intertwining history of her family and the Mendez family, from the Mendez v Westminister, a precursor to the Brown v Board case. Their respective struggles with racism, in segregation and incaraceration, are brought together by community.
About the Featured Guest
Janice Munemitsu is a third-generation Japanese American Sansei. A native of Orange County, California, Janice worked on the family farm from age five through high school. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California and Biola University. Her family name, Munemitsu, 宗 光, means source of light in kanji. She hopes this book will be a source of light and hope, and will inspire us all to cultivate increasing kindness towards one another. The Kindness of Color is her first book.
Resources
Buy The Kindness of Color here
Check out her site for more resources about the two families and their histories.
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Wednesday May 29, 2024
About This Episode
This episode features Oiyan Poon, a leading scholar in the racial politics of Asian Americans and the author of Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action, and Family. Poon delves into the complicated relationship between Asian Americans and affirmative action policies and unpacks the 2023 Supreme Court Affirmative Action case.
About the Featured Guest
Dr. OiYan Poon is a co-director of the College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative. Her research focuses on the racial politics of Asian Americans, education access, affirmative action, and admissions systems and practices. An award-winning scholar, Dr. Poon’s commentary and research have been featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian and NPR.
Resources
Buy "Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action, and Family" here
Check out Dr. Poon's site to learn more about her and stay up to date with her "public pedagogy."