Neither my grandmother nor my mother processed their pasts, one a child bride and the other an immigrant. Consequently, I inherited their pain, and I am forced to reconcile with a history and culture I did not choose.
My name is Sydnie (she/ her), and I lived in Raleigh growing up until I moved to the Philadelphia area to study sociology at Swarthmore College. As a biracial girl who presents as an ambiguous woman of color who grew up in the racial landscape of Raleigh, I thought about race often. When I first…
It was an honor for us to attend North Carolina’s first Asian Lobbying Day on May 5, 2021. We were invited by North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) to lobby for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (SB439). It had previously been filed the last three years without success. As first-time lobbyists, we didn’t know what to expect and the NCAAT team provided many opportunities to educate us on the bill, the process of law-making, and the lobbying process. The NCAAT team paved the way for our meetings by making appointments on our behalf with Sen. Sarah Crawford and Rep. Amos Quick.
North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) is disappointed and frustrated that those of us and our allies speaking out in opposition of Jim Crow-esque anti-voting legislation were not given ample time to give our public statements during the Senate Redistricting Committee meeting Wednesday morning. NCAAT was not able to give our comments opposing Senate Bills 326, 724, and 725. The procedure in handling public comments during this meeting is reflective of the impact of these voter suppression bills in silencing communities of color. Please read our full statement here.