BREAK THE SILENCE: JUSTICE FOR ASIAN WOMEN
Schedule:
Emcee: Son Tran
Welcome
- Stephanie Ng, Asian American Bar Association
Remarks by API Women of Houston
- Rogene Calvert
- Nishi Kothari, South Asian Bar Association of Houston
- Hyunja Norman, Woori Juntos
- Peggy Li, American Constitution Society
- Dr. Helen Shih, United Chinese Americans
Break the Silence: Yellow Whistles Presentation
- Alice Lee and Community Leaders from APAPA, Emgage, Asian Women Business Network
Support from Allies
- Chevazz Brown, DiversePro
- Mark Toubin, Anti-Defamation League
- Carvana Cloud
- Ben Chou, OCA- Greater Houston
Amplifying API Youth and Our History: APIA Voices Presentation
- Jenah Maravilla, Rea Sampilo, Trisha Morales
Action and Remembrance
- Anne Sung, OCA- Greater Houston
- Munirah Zulkifli
- Bianca Mabute-Louie
- Pastor Grace Lin, Access Church
Closing
Nicole Su, Asian American Bar Association
On March 16, 2022, the Asian American Bar Association of Houston, Asian American Bar Foundation of Houston, and OCA - Greater Houston are sponsoring the Houston component of the National Asian Women’s rally on the one-year anniversary of the tragic Atlanta spa shootings. Similar rallies will take place simultaneously in Atlanta, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Sacramento, Washington D.C., and other cities around the country. The Houston rally will be held at Discovery Green in downtown Houston at 6:00 PM CST.
The goal of the event is to uplift the experiences of API women by acknowledging the complexities of their struggles, demanding change, and celebrating women’s strength. Conscious of the anniversary of the Atlanta shootings, and the one too many tragedies in over the last year, this event is meant to emphasize that the violence enacted on API women’s bodies does not solely define their identities and existence.
In response to statements by API women who feel alone or unseen in their struggles and experiences, the event implores everyone to get to know the multifaceted lives and lifeways of API women. In sharing their feelings, stories, and dreams, the event encourages API women to be unapologetic and unified in their many expressions of strength. This event is also meant to be a call to action imploring API men to stand behind their API sisters, mothers, and daughters as they celebrate their power.
Despite the trauma, fear, and uncertainty they experienced and continue to face, API women firmly assert their presence; confidently staking claims to power, space, and strength for their communities. Unified, API women show up for themselves, for others, with others.
Being present does not demand a forgetting of the past – of those lives tragically lost, of potential futures displaced. Being present means moving out from the violence (despite the inertia of the past) into a moment where you are together in empathy with other people. In this solidarity, this event is meant to remind API women that they are seen, heard, acknowledged in their pain, and supported in their healing processes.
Being present – being here – is a form of radical self-expression that asserts visibility and opens space for stories to be shared.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.asianjusticemovement.org/awr.
