UAlbany Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

These communities include Asian/Pacific Islander/American individuals who identify as Asian nationals, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, and those who do not identify as AAPI community members but are perceived as such and marginalized as a result.  We use AAPI to refer to this broad, diverse population and their various intersectional identities. 

Following a year that has regrettably been marked by bias acts levied against our AAPI neighbors, friends, and colleagues, let us recognize and support those in our community who may be fearful, anxious, frustrated, and confused by the violence and racism targeted at individuals who are perceived as, or identify as, AAPI.

The University at Albany’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with its Committee for Racial Justice, invites you to celebrate and support the AAPI community. From May 1 to May 11, we will:

• Encourage our community to read the article “Unmasking Yellow Peril,” and then share thoughts, reflections, or creative expressions against anti-Asian bias online. Submissions may be in the form of a quote or observation such as, “As a member of the UAlbany community, I am committed to calling out anti-AAPI bias and discrimination in living and learning spaces.” 
   
• Invite those in the community who identify as AAPI heritage to offer thoughts, reflections, or creative expressions in response to the question, “What does it mean to be Asian in America?”  
  
  Then consider submitting a thought, quote, photo, poem, spoken word recitation, artwork, or another art form. In collaboration with the University Art Museum, a presentation of submissions will be displayed in various locations around campus, to be launched before the Fall 2021 semester begins

Additionally, the ODI website has been expanded to include actions and resources that support the AAPI community and allies, resources specific to the history of anti-AAPI bias in the United States, and video vignettes of numerous members of the UAlbany community who are of Asian descent. We will also share plans for continued programming in the coming months. 

UAlbany is a place where we strive to embrace and respect our various identities and the intersections between; live out our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; and continue to advance the work of creating an inclusive campus climate during this unprecedented time of racial reckoning. 

Let us continue to respect one another.