identities

  • Southeast Asian family with five kids and two women stands in front of beach. Most smile into the camera, others aren't ready.

    From A Child of Refugee Parents: We Can Make Things Better

    Aug 16, 2016 • By Andy Nguyen

    As a child of refugee parents, my parents barely spoke English. We weren't rich. My family of Asians weren't the model minorities. Read More

  • Celebrity chef Eddie Huang, wearing a New York Knicks hat, camo jacket, and hoodie, stands in front of a graffiti-covered wall.

    'Got U Boo' and Other Things to Leave in High School

    May 5, 2015 • By Jason Fong

    Eddie Huang’s tweets show that he believes himself to be above anyone who dares challenge him and denigrates their opinions by implying that they are trying to ride on his coattails. It’s convenient for him to attack anyone who dares challenge his position as someone seeking attention or wanting to date him because this can also be a deterrent against other critics. And with this line of 'reasoning,' he can deflect attention from his poor communication skills and onto the person trying to ask an honest question. Read More

  • A stylized silhouette of a Black man on a pink background, with his hands spread in the air, wearing a t-shirt reading 'HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT.'

    #FERGUSONOCTOBER: It's Time to Get Real, Asian America

    Oct 5, 2014 • By PaKou Her

    Today, I’m getting into the car and driving 4 hours across the state of Missouri to participate in #FergusonOctober. I’m anxious, nervous, hopeful, and scared. To tell the truth, I’m intensely scared after Wednesday’s police-related shooting that ended in the death of Vonderrit Myers Jr., and which contributed to last night’s protests, tear gassing, and shameless police intimidation. Read More

  • Two selfies: both of a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old, and an adult with glasses and red lipstick. In the top image, they gaze seriously at the camera. In the second, they grin with open mouths, like they just heard a hilarious joke.

    A Conversation About Race, Identity, and Discrimination With My 6-Year Old

    Sep 12, 2014 • By PaKou Her

    It's not always easy talking about racism and discrimination with young children. PaKou Her, 18MR Campaign Director, shares one such conversation with her own child. Her willingness to talk with me about her experiences with race and identity is a lesson to all of us in openness and truth-telling. Read More

  • A collage of three images: on the left, an old photograph of a young Native American woman in a white shirt, dark skirt, and tie. On the top right, a pair of women, one older and one younger, standing in a field, hugging. On the bottom right, a woman in a t-shirt and shorts holding a very young baby.

    Hot Summer Oklahoma Sun

    Apr 13, 2014 • By Maggie Hundley

    Grandma would tell me who I was, even though I didn’t know it myself. Summer, Fall. Pumpkins, corn, beans, sofke. We are Creek. Lazy living room days. Picking biscuit dough from the tiny crevices of her silver-coral-turquoise rings on brown-skinned fingers. Looking at her Indian figurines, I wondered, is this me? Was I the vanquished Indian, riding the horse whose head hangs low in the painting on the wall? Or was I the one that sifted the corn through Great Grandma Susie’s charred basket? Read More

  • A Filipina woman in a black tank top lights candles on an altar in front of lush vegetation.

    Stop the madness: Help the Philippines tackle climate change

    Nov 10, 2013 • By C.M. Samala

    Filipinos know about extreme weather. It’s a republic of more than 7,000 islands that sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it prone to earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions. In America, they’re called “natural disasters.” In the Philippines, it’s “weather.” And then Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) happens... Naderev “Yeb” Saño described the phenomenon succinctly and accurately — “madness.” When Filpinos start worrying about weather and commenting on it, it's time for all of us to take note and pay attention. Read More

  • A screenshot of a Tweet from C.M. Samala reading: 'YO. #18millionhearts is trending in the United States!' with a screenshot of the trends attached. It has 9 retweets and 10 likes.

    Asian Americans discussing immigration = National Twitter trend!

    May 28, 2013 • By C.M. Samala

    Thanks to the participation of our amazing community, we managed to do something really incredible on Twitter: we turned our #18MillionHearts for Immigration Reform chat into a U.S. trend. The chat inspired 1,076 tweets by AAPIs in ONE DAY -- letting the world know that our voices cannot be ignored. These 1,000-plus tweets highlighted key immigration issues that impact us: family reunification, equal rights for LGBTQs, intersectionality, border security, and love for one another and our communities. That was our win this week. Read More