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BS: And then it's pretty, it's really clear that you have a passion for activism and are a super strong social justice advocate. And you've talked so far about all the work that you've done for social change, but what's really inspired you for continuing to push for social justice in the face of the ongoing oppression that we've seen? And you've talked a little bit about how you've been involved in the BLM movement, but have you been involved in the South Asian hate movement that has made headlines? And like, what advice would you give to aspiring young advocates such as myself that are hoping to get involved in this field at some point in our lives?

HP: So, for me, I'm always going to be focused on anti-Black racism, because that's the fulcrum of white supremacy. We need to talk about anti-Black racism in our communities. That's our responsibility as being a non-black community of color. And the JA community is really a great, I would have to say, like kind of ally in that there were reparations, right? There were congressional hearings, there were... and the Black community has really struggled for so along in their own liberation, that white supremacy ends up dividing us and pitting us against each other. And so, when you bring up like the anti-Asian hate movement, for me, I mean, of course, I'm impacted by the anti-Asian hate movement. But for me, for me personally, I don't say Asians for Black lives, I just say "Black lives matter." I think that if you start using language where it discerns us from one group that has been the most, or the most impacted, and the furthest away from equity, and then we decide, well, maybe if we just kind of siphon off a little bit here, and another group's going to siphon off here, and another group's going to siphon off here, that's when infighting begins and that's when white supremacy wins. That's when you have really racist and really problematic policies come through. I mean, we're still seeing the aftermath of what has happened from World War II. We're still seeing the aftermath of what happened with the election of Donald Trump. We're still seeing the aftermath of him still having immigrant policies in which children are in cages. They are torn away from their families, not that dissimilar from what happened during the incarceration, not that dissimilar from what happened during chattel slavery. So, I really feel like when we have conversations, particularly with, whether it's younger or older folks, just folks in general that are outside my small little bubble -- we live in a pretty small bubble here in Washington State, and in King County. And I think what's really important is also noting where we have privilege and how do we leverage that privilege in order to ensure that those furthest away from equity are right alongside with us?

BS: Yeah, that's... I definitely agree with everything you've just said. And I think it's super important to build solidarity as well.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2021 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.