“An Asian American Writer’s Notebook: Past, Present, and Future Tense,” the David Nishida and Tina Yamano Nishida Distinguished Lecture and Panel, will take place on Thursday, May 29, at UCLA.
Amid growing political division and increasing concerns over censorship and free speech, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are combating disinformation through developing counter-narratives. This lecture and panel brings together activists and writers to explore how AAPI voices are navigating a rapidly shifting political, cultural and social landscape.
Speakers will address the role of AAPI activists, writers, and multimedia artists in preserving democratic values, amplifying underrepresented voices, and confronting systemic challenges in today’s charged political environment.
Helen Zia, longtime activist, award-winning writer and Fulbright scholar, will offer insights and observations on current challenges facing AAPI communities. For more than four decades, she’s been outspoken about human rights across race, gender, orientation, and other identifiers.
In 2023 she launched the Vincent Chin Institute to support AAPI communities against hate through multiracial solidarity to continue the 40-year Asian American civil rights effort to obtain justice for Vincent Chin.
Zia will be joined by:
Julie Ha, a storyteller whose work spans three decades, as a journalist and filmmaker with a focus on Asian American stories. She co-directed the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee,” which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens. She is the former editor-in-chief of **KoreAm Journal,** a national Korean American magazine, and has written for **The Rafu Simpo, Los Angeles Times** and **Hartford Courant.**
She is a past board secretary of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Los Angeles Chapter, a UCLA BA alumna and a former **Pacific Ties** newsmagazine editor.
Amber Phung, a senior at UCLA double-majoring in political science and sociologu. At UCLA, she is a journalist for **FEM Newsmagazine** and **Pacific Ties.** In her journalism, she explores the intersectionality of gender, class, race, and activism. After graduating this spring, she will be attending Columbia Law School in the fall.
Reception at the UCLA Art Council Amphitheater in front of the Lenart Auditorium308 Charles E Young Dr. North, at 5 p.m.
Program at UCLA Harry and Yvonne Lenart Auditorium (below the Fowler Museum) at 6 p.m.
A new book, “Intersections: A Journalistic History of Asian Pacific America,” will be available for purchase with author signing during the reception. Published by AAJA in partnership with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, “Intersections” chronicles pivotal events where AAPI journalists and AAJA members played crucial roles, often being the first to speak out in newsrooms and public forums.
It is composed of 18 chapters and 16 profiles of prominent AAJA members. Chapters cover events including the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, the 1992 Los Angeles Uprisings, Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, up to the Maui wildfires of 2023.
Program dedicated to trailblazing, award-winning journalist and activist K.W. Lee, who passed away in March.
Map, directions and parking: https://fowler.ucla.edu/visit/
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/53y95e8b