Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

About AAPI Heritage Month

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders come from diverse communities with a rich heritage, and have contributed to shaping the history of the United States.

At Bunker Hill Community College, we have honored the diversity of our AAPI communities throughout the year starting in 2016, when our College was designated as an . This year, we are proud to launch the celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May. The events and resources lined up below were collated and designed collaboratively by the Office of College Events and Cultural Planning, the AANAPISI CommuniTea, the Office of Student Activities, and the AANAPISI@BHCC Initiative.

About the AANAPISI@BHCC Initiative

In 2016, Bunker Hill Community College was awarded a five-year, $1.7 million Title III Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution () by the U.S. Department of Education. The grant, which bears the title, Building the Framework for Success, is advancing the academic success of the College’s Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Pell-eligible students through the institutionalization of a new English Language Learning Program integrated with culturally responsive student support services, and the use of culturally responsive pedagogies that infuse Asian American content across key courses in the general education curriculum.

About the AANAPISI CommuniTea

The CommuniTea is the College’s affinity group of faculty, staff and administrators who are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. Launched in February 2020 by the AANAPISI grant leadership, the group started out informally as a community that gathered together in fellowship, to promote a greater sense of belonging, affirm the cultural wealth of a shared Asian heritage, and offer support for one another. The AANAPISI CommuniTea continues to evolve, with hopes of expanding its membership, continuing to plan culturally meaningful programming for the College’s diverse AAPI communities, and laying the foundation for leadership development that is grounded in cultural wealth.

Monday, May 3

4-5 p.m.

AAPI Student Hangouts

To all students of Asian and Pacific Islander descent -- join your AAPI Success Coaches and other AAPI students to talk about current events, our cultures, your experiences and questions about remote learning, and anything else under the sun!

Faculty and staff are also encouraged to refer their AAPI students to these May sessions.

For questions, please contact your AAPI Success Coaches: Vivian Lin at vivian.lin@bhcc.edu or Zainab Salejwala at zmsalejw@bhcc.edu

To join, go to the personal WebEx room of Vivian Lin at https://bhcc.webex.com/meet/vivian.lin

Thursday, May 6 to Monday, May 10

Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF)

ArtsEmerson presents Projecting Connections: Chinese American Experiences.

Using film as a lens to reflect on the vast lived experiences of the Chinese in the Greater Boston Area, this special series will feature films and post-show curated discussions designed to build and foster meaningful community conversation.

The total time for the three short films in this series is 72 minutes. Get your ticket at: https://artsemerson.org/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=Community-Stories&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

Please choose the $5 option when you buy your ticket. The AANAPISI grant can reimburse you if you save the invoice and send it as an email attachment to Prof. Aurora Bautista at abautis@bhcc.edu. Please include your contact cell number and email so that Prof. Bautista can send your reimbursement via Venmo, per advice from the BHCC Business Office.

A Chinese American Giant: The Y.C. Hong Story

29 mins | Directed by: Rick Quan

He stood just four feet five and a half inches, but Y.C. Hong was a giant in the Chinese American community. As the first Chinese American immigration attorney in California and civil rights activist, Hong played an important role in fighting racist laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Vanishing Chinatown: The World of the May's Photo Studio

28 mins | Directed by: Emiko Omori

Vanishing Chinatown: The World of The May's Photo Studio brings families together: in the past by splicing together family portraits in spite of family separations due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, and in the present by reconnecting May's granddaughter with her family's legacy. These stunning photographs show San Francisco Chinatown in the early to mid-20th century, a vanishing "old Chinatown" vibrant with culture; an immigrant community becoming Americanized.

Meditations on the Power of Community

15 mins | Directed by: Weiying Olivia Huang

Meditations on the Power of Community is a short film, newly commissioned by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and featuring dance choreographed by Lenora Lee Dance and interviews with members of Boston’s Chinatown community. It is presented by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Pao Arts Center, and Lenora Lee Dance, and was developed in response to the Museum’s exhibition Shen Wei: Painting in Motion, currently on view.

Saturday, May 8

4-5:30 p.m.

The Pao Arts Center in Boston Chinatown Brings You

What’s in Your Lumpia? With Bren Bataclan and Grace Talusan:

An Author Presentation and Creativity Workshop

Letting yourself process experiences and memories can be emotional, but it can also be cathartic in learning who you are. Two local Filipinx American authors, Bren Bataclan (Fe, 2021) and Grace Talusan (The Body Papers, 2019) write about their experiences growing up in Filipinx families in their memoirs and how they learned to process their stories.

Join us for an interactive virtual writing and drawing workshop (not a cooking class) about the power of sharing stories about who we are, where we come from, and what we care about. Bren and Grace will have an insightful discussion about the benefits and pitfalls of writing and publishing stories from their lives and then lead creative exercises in either drawing or writing in breakout rooms.

No experience required. Please bring an open mind, a few sheets of paper, and a writing utensil (for drawing purposes, we recommend a marker).

Monday, May 10

4-5 p.m.

AAPI End of Year Celebration

Join our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in celebrating the end of the semester together! Meet AAPI students, faculty, staff and administrators for a virtual celebration. We will honor most especially our graduating AAPI students, so please feel free to invite family and friends to share this special moment!

Opening keynote by Dr. Pam Eddinger, President; Reflections by Dr. Aurora Bautista, Professor in the Behavioral Sciences Department and Activity Coordinator, AANAPISI Grant

To join, go to the personal WebEx room of Vivian Lin at https://bhcc.webex.com/meet/vivian.lin

Tuesday, May 11

6 p.m.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Free Virtual Viewing Party for Meditations on the Power of Community

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is hosting a free Virtual Viewing Party for Meditations on the Power of Community on May 11, 2021, at 6 pm ET. Join Artist Lenora Lee of Lenora Lee Dance, Paul Lee, Community Advocate, Cynthia Woo, Director of Pao Arts Center, and Moderator Susan Chinsen, Creative Producer/Engagement, Founding Director/Boston Asian American Film Festival, Emerson College Office of the Arts, ArtsEmerson, for a dialogue about the resilience of local activists, dreams turned into reality through art, advocacy, and the healing embrace of culture.

This is a free event that requires registration. Register at https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/event/dreamscapes-meditation-power-community

Friday, May 14

6 p.m.

Lasting Legacies and Testimonies of Truth—The Contributions of Boston-area AAPI Artists

American artists of Asian heritage bring a prolific and combined legacy to their work—a lasting body of work in visual, literary and media arts that both honors and transcends history, embodies various cultural and spiritual practices, and boldly envisions an inclusive and sustaining future. Join visual artist and activist Wen-ti Tsen, awarding-winning poet Princess Moon, and master Khmer ceramicist Yary Livan as they reflect on past exhibitions and presentations at Bunker Hill Community College and share new works.

Remarks by Maria Puente, Professor, Behavioral Sciences Department, and Project Director, AANAPISI Grant

Sponsored by the AANAPISI Grant and the Office of College Events and Cultural Planning

Join by Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86323436792?pwd=eW9PSGhrM3lDbkNtL1Q0VXgzNlREdz09

Meeting ID: 863 2343 6792

Passcode: 393366

Join by Phone: +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 863 2343 6792

Passcode: 393366

Remaining Open Dates from May 14 - 24

FREE Hollaback! Training to Stop Anti-Asian/American and Xenophobic Harassment

In response to the rise in Anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment, Hollaback! has partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to adapt its free bystander intervention training as well as offer a free de-escalation training adapted to support the AAPI community.

Below is a list of the free training workshops that are being offered this May. Click to jump directly to each workshop description and to register for remaining open dates:

Please note: You must register in advance for all training workshops. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The training is currently offered only in English but Hollaback! is seeking funding to expand it into other languages.

Friday, May 21

4 p.m.

The Roots that Bind Us: Embracing Our Evolving Identities

A Community Reflection on Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell”

Our families are the vessels that connect us to our cultural beliefs, traditions and practices across time and space. Through our family relationships, we navigate multiple layers of our evolving roles and identity. But what happens when we lose, or think we might lose, a loved one who is the rock and foundation of our family?

Lulu Wang’s award-winning movie, The Farewell (2019), captures the rich interwoven dynamics of culture, family and evolving identities. In this event, we invite the community to come together to look more deeply into a few selected sub-themes of the movie -- the globalized nature of our families and communities today, the rituals that connect us to our culture, the value for respect and reverence for our elders, and the struggles of questioning or embracing difference across age and culture -- to reflect on the continuing quest for our individual and collective identities in these times.

Participants will be able to share their reflections in small groups following the film. Members of the AANAPISI CommuniTea will facilitate the small group discussions.

Brief welcome by Dr. Pam Eddinger, President, followed by Introductory Remarks from Maria Puente, Professor, Behavioral Sciences Department, and Project Director, AANAPISI Grant

Co-sponsored by the AANAPISI Grant and AANAPISI CommuniTea in collaboration with the Office of College Events and Cultural Planning and Office of Student Activities.

Watch the film before the event at your convenience:

Watch it for FREE on the Kanopy Film Database of BHCC’s Online Library: https://bhcc.kanopy.com/video/farewell-1
Please note: You will need a BHCC library bar code and password to access the Kanopy Database remotely. If you have not yet done so, you can apply for your bar code here right away: https://bhcc-mass.libwizard.com/f/offcampusaccess
Watch it using your personal Amazon Prime account (rental and purchase options available): https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+farewell&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
If you prefer to watch the movie using Amazon Prime but do not yet have an account, you will need to create your own personal account on amazon.com.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89567562088?pwd=ZG9RdkYrZ0VvUGc4dFVWdjNFeVVaUT09

Meeting ID: 895 6756 2088
Passcode: 792028

Dial by your location
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 895 6756 2088
Passcode: 792028

Wednesday, May 26

AAPI Digital Collection and AAPI LibGuide at the BHCC Online Library

Visit the BHCC Online Library to view the digital resources on Asian American and Pacific Islander films, art, artists and readings in different disciplines. The resources are intended to increase awareness of diverse AAPI cultures, histories and issues related to AAPI student success in higher education. Faculty instructors may also use the resources to enrich their course curricula with Asian American content.

Please note that development of the digital collection is in progress and will continue to be updated through the summer. Recommendations on high quality AAPI digital resources are welcome and may be sent to Prof. Maria Kathleen N. Puente, AANAPISI Project Director, at mkpuente@bhcc.edu.