Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the bookstore! With facilitator Al Lee and Asian American teen leaders, we invite Asian American teens, age 13 and older, to join us for weekly viewings of the five-episode PBS documentary series, “Asian-Americans.” Each episode lasts one hour, and we’ll engage participants in discussion for an hour afterward. Snacks provided, too! Please see below for details.
Monday, May 2, 6PM to 8PM: We are kicking off Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a watch party and discussion on PBS Asian Americans Episode 1: Breaking Ground. Explore with us the era of exclusion in US history and the anti-Asian laws that barred immigrants from Asia from becoming citizens as they helped build America.
Tuesday, May 10 6PM to 8PM: Our Asian American youth continue leading discussions and sharing their experiences as Asian Americans after viewing PBS Asian Americans Episode 2: A Question of Loyalty. Explore what it means to be an American and what it took for Japanese Americans to prove their loyalty to the United States during WW2.
Wednesday May 18, 6PM to 8PM: Have you heard, maybe on a TV show or movie, that Asians are good at math? It’s time to explore the impact of Model Minority Myth and the perceptions of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners. Join the heartwarming conversations with our Asian American teens after viewing PBS Asian Americans Episode 3: Good Americans.
Monday, May 23, 6PM to 8PM: We all know about Martin Luther King Jr and the Black civil rights movement in the 1960s and 70s, but what about the Asian American civil rights movement? We are dropping the heat after viewing PBS Asian Americans Episode 4: Generation Rising. Learn about the Asian American experiences in the Vietnam War and the Third World Liberation Front at San Francisco State College.
Tuesday, May 31, 6PM to 8PM: Today may be the last day of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but AAPI experiences are everlasting. We are watching the final episode of PBS Asian Americans Episode 5: Breaking Through. Let’s discuss awesome AAPI breakthroughs!
Al Lee is a local social justice and environmental community activist, who created interactive educational youth programs during the pandemic to support the Asian American community in Westchester County.