In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) Heritage Month, I’m thrilled to share perspectives from some of our AANPHI-led and -serving partners, who are working tirelessly to address their community’s unique needs, build civic and community power, and strive for racial equity for all communities. As a second-generation South Asian, I am proud to support a diverse set of Asian American organizations that inspire me through their important work to mobilize our families and communities, which is fundamental to realizing a more inclusive economy for all. 

We spoke to Tracy La, Co-Founder & Executive Director of VietRISE; Timmy Lu, Executive Director of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment Education Fund (AAPI FORCE-EF); and Reshma Shamasunder, Executive Director of Asian American Futures, about shaping the narratives, themes, and stories about their communities, fostering civic engagement, and what this month means to them.  

On a day-to-day level, this means that our team trains AAPI organizers and leaders of local neighborhood organizations across the state in the practices of civic engagement and organizing. This means talking to people face-to-face about the issues in their lives, organizing phone banks to reach large numbers of AAPIs, and strategizing on how to best use ethnic and social media to reach community members in the language they speak.

We do this by collaborating with grassroots organizations in regions with growing AAPI populations – like Orange County, the San Gabriel Valley and Silicon Valley – to reach new audiences through civic engagement and storytelling. For example, we’re partnering with a successful AAPI leadership development program to help them expand to 15 Bay Area community colleges. We are also convening a working group of 

These dominant representations are why AAPI FORCE focuses our efforts on civic engagement. We believe powerful communities are informed, engaged, and active in shaping government at all levels. By being active voters, organizers, and advocates, AAPIs can tell new stories about our important role as agents in building a multiracial democracy.

The lesson from decades of social justice work is that nothing changes until the narrative changes. There continues to be a huge underinvestment in ensuring that our communities are at the forefront in the fight for racial justice. We see immense opportunity to engage young AAPIs who are not currently involved in social justice spaces. They are eager to use their voices to support their communities but often lack the language or context to understand the issues on the news, much less on a ballot. This group is also key to bringing their parents and grandparents along, and is thus essential to building a just future for all of us.

As we work to build solidarity with other working-class communities around the world, it is imperative that everyone, especially AANHPIs, understand this narrative strategy. I believe the best way to change these narratives is by organizing. At VietRISE, we’ve organized with, canvassed, and had face-to-face conversations with over 15,000 Vietnamese Americans whose experiences, beliefs, and values significantly counter those narratives.

In 2022, VietRISE and the Othering and Belonging Institute  published “Vietnamese Voices from Orange County, Narratives of Community, Government, and Change,” a research brief that revealed the potential of Vietnamese Americans to be a force for racial, economic, and social justice to a greater extent than has been realized so far. Contrary to dominant narratives, Vietnamese Americans in Orange County support redistributive economic policies more than any other group in the region, want accountability for landlord price gouging through reforms like rent control, and want to organize in solidarity with other working-class people and communities of color to make the county  a better place to live for all. 

Lastly, what does Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month mean to you? 

Reshma: I grew up in the exurbs of Los Angeles and experienced my share of racism and bullying at a time when few AANHPI community members were showcased as the face or future of our country. We have come a long way, but I continue to observe family members and friends – including younger generations – struggle with discrimination and belonging. This month is a time to uplift the deep contributions our communities have made to art, science, civil rights, media, and almost every area of American life. It is also a time to consider the responsibilities we, as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, have – alongside other American residents – to stand up for justice. 

I deeply value and practiced racial solidarity as a leader in California’s immigrant rights movement. Alongside Black, Latinx, and other leaders, I worked on far-reaching campaigns – from driver’s licenses to healthcare for all – for more than a decade. In May 2007, I participated in the Los Angeles May Day rally with my then-preschool-aged daughter that quickly turned violent. I, and other marchers, watched in horror as the police stormed the park, firing rubber bullets into a crowd comprised of many families and children. I remember tossing my daughter and her stroller to another attendee before climbing over a wall myself to flee. 

Today, as we witness horrific violence at a global scale, the erosion of our rights in the United States and elsewhere, and the suppression of protests and calls for change, I am again reminded of the importance of solidarity. 

AANHPIs are the fastest growing demographic in the country, and we have a key role to play in coalition with Black communities and other communities of color in shaping our shared future. AANHPI Heritage month is an opportunity to highlight our community’s historic contributions and demonstrate our power as actors of solidarity and change. 

Tracy: It is a reminder of the political force that was built by Asian students who united under one identity and inspired political action in Asian American communities as part of the Third World Liberation Front. When unified, grounded in the principles of social justice, and unwavering in their demands, Asian American unity and unity with Black, Brown, and Native communities can create significant political and cultural shifts, such as the establishment of ethnic studies. 

To me, this month brings an opportunity for reflection for all people in the United States but especially for AANHPI communities. It could be another month of recognition of a few that slips by into the next month, or it could be a month where we think about and strategize how to build unity among ourselves and engage in joint struggle with other communities to build the better world we want to live in. 

Timmy: I think a lot about the children I am fortunate to have in my life, my own, and those of our chosen family. My wife and I come from large families. Her family is Hmong refugees from Laos, and my own is Chinese from Vietnam. They escaped war, survived in the U.S. on public benefits, and thrived despite an economic system that treats disabled people and limited English-speaking workers as disposable. Our children are Chinese and Hmong, and their best friends are Samoan and Black, and Filipino and Korean. For me, being Asian American means being multiracial and multiethnic, and we can share in the joys of being all those things at the same time. This month is a reminder that the best thing I can do is ensure all of our little ones have places where they feel belonging, places that honor all of their identities, and places that will fight to ensure their inclusion and participation in this society.