Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
This is a special post written by Charles Warren, Curriculum Developer at Triangle. Charlie is also a member of Triangle’s Racial Equity Task Force. As part of our commitment to the work of our Racial Equity Task Force, we will be sharing more information with you on subjects related to racial equity and disability justice. This post continues our series dedicated to calling attention to the contributions of people with disabilities to American history.
Happy May! This month, Triangle’s Racial Equity Task Force (RETF) will submit posts featuring Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, and Jewish American Heritage Month. The RETF’s posts will honor intersectionality and highlight people of color with disabilities whose lives cross over multiple identities and issues ALL at the same time. Our first post spotlights Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Jennifer Lee – Founder, AADI
Jennifer Lee is the founder of the Asian American Disability Initiative (AADI). Jen is an undergraduate at Princeton University pursuing public policy and Asian American Studies. She experienced a significant delay in the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease because her gastroenterologist hadn’t previously thought to test for the condition because it was thought to be more common in Caucasians. The AADI is a youth-led nonprofit organization that aims to uplift disabled Asian American voices. The mission of the organization is to provide the next generation of disabled Asian American leaders with accessible resources so they can combat anti-Asian racism and ableism in their own communities.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha – Writer, Educator, Activist
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (she/they) is a poet, writer, educator, and social activist whose work focuses on the stories of queer and trans people of color, abuse survivors, mixed-race people, and the South Asian and Sri Lankan diasporas. Piepzna-Samarasinha graduated from The New School in New York City, and received their MFA from Mills College. They produce poetry, performance art, non-fiction, essays, and teaches. They are autistic and non-binary, and their work can be found online here.