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Fewer than 25% of all Asian Americans say they are familiar with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history. Today, as immigrant communities face renewed threats to their rights and safety, the teaching and study of U.S. history remains a cultural flashpoint.
How do AAPI-led community archives preserve and protect forgotten AAPI history, and protect community stories from being lost? How are community archivists navigating a changing funding climate, and how can general-interest in-language and community news outlets partner with AAPI community archives to contextualize today’s changing political landscape and to engage their audiences?
Join us for a special discussion and interactive workshop with Filipino American, Japanese American, and South Asian American community archivists, as we commemorate AAPI Heritage Month.
If you have any questions, contact Kavitha at kavitha.rajagopalan@journalism.cuny.edu.
Register to attend the Community Archives event
Speakers
Randy Gonzales, Founder of Filipino La.: A native New Orleanian of Filipino descent, Randy Gonzales is a poet, writer, and community historian who researches and shares the stories of Filipino Louisiana. He is an associate professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he holds the Dr. James Wilson/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship in Southern Studies. Randy created Filipino La., a community website and archive. His book Settling St. Malo (UL Press, 2023), winner of the 2024 Summerlee Book Prize, is a history of Filipino Louisiana in verse. You can find out more about Randy at www.randygonzales.com.
Naomi Ostwald Kawamura, Executive Director of Densho: Born and raised in San Diego, California, Naomi holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Washington, a Master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of British Columbia. Her scholarly research focuses on cultural memory practices in Japanese American and Japanese Canadian communities and she has contributed as a guest editor and author in peer-reviewed journals and editions. Prior to Densho, Naomi was the Executive Director of the Nikkei Place Foundation, a Japanese Canadian organization based in British Columbia. She has held leadership positions at the San Diego History Center, the Museum Education Roundtable, and BAVC Media, among others.
Samip Mallick is the co-founder and executive director of SAADA. As a second-generation South Asian American who was searching for stories that reflected his identity, he discovered that there were no institutions preserving this history. In 2008, Samip helped establish SAADA to ensure that these stories would never be lost. Under Samip’s leadership, SAADA has become a nationally recognized leader in intergenerational connection and community-based storytelling. Previously, he worked for the University of Chicago and the Social Science Research Council. Samip holds degrees in computer science and library and information sciences and has served as an advisor for the Ford Foundation and the Library of Congress.
Moderator and Presenter
Kavitha Rajagopalan directs the Asian Media Initiative (AMI) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s Center for Community Media.
About the Asian Media Initiative
The Asian Media Initiative (AMI) is the first national program dedicated to building visibility and sustainability in in-language and community-based news media for and by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Launched in 2022, the AMI published the first national AAPI Media Map & Directory in December 2023. Find dedicated elections reporting resources for AAPI news media on the AMI Elections Project.