To date, I have the honour of talking with psychologists, social workers, former MLA, lawyers, youth, Minister of cabinet, Vice Provost at a University, documentary film maker, former media broadcaster, and policy makers. Each episode ends with some calls to action so the listener can walk away with ideas they can think about, do, and do more of on their anti-racism journey.
Lola shares how her family moved to the USA from Taiwan when she was 11 years old. She voices how she saw white people for the first time at 11; she saw Black people for the first time at 13. She notes that she has two younger sisters, and she experiences her dad telling her women can be powerful and strong. She shares she is married to a Black man, and their son is Blasian. She voices how we are all deeply connected and need to adhere to the importance of leading by example; we need to rise.
Fred shares how he was born and raised in Edmonton and his parents immigrated from Canton. He voices growing up, he felt different as there was only one other Asian student in his class. He tells his journey of becoming a counselling psychologist and his interest in the mental health of Asian Canadians. He notes compassion and understanding are crucial to bridging communities to foster connection and solidarity.
Information on these studies, as well as other resources relevant to Asian mental health in Canada can be found on his website www.growthandsolidarity.ca.
Thulasy shares how she had to balance belonging as she was a child of immigrant parents who were from Sri Lankan Tamil and she was born in Canada. She talks about how her journey as an anti-racist practitioner is emerging and ongoing. She thinks it is important to challenge herself, learn with people, and have uncomfortable conversations in order to grow as an individual immersing in systemic anti-racism work.
Previously, Thulasy led an Anti-Racist Organizational Change (AROC) process to strengthen CommunityWise Resource Centre’s capacity to address organizational racism and create greater racial equity and inclusion in Calgary's nonprofit sector. This work was recognized with a Canadian Race Relations Foundation Award of Excellence in the Community category in 2018. She identifies as a Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian, a child of immigrants, and a brown woman, as well as an unschooling mother, weaver, and birder. She has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Sylvia shares she is Korean and grew up in Burnaby, B.C. She experienced racism living in a predominantly Caucasian community. She shares how people made fun of her food such as kim chi and her name Sae Joung. Her social justice work is derived from feeling voiceless and invisible. She notes in grade 11, her mother told her about comfort women whereby the Japanese military had women in sex slavery. She voices how she had to return to Asia to find herself. She states that education is key in racial healing so pain can turn into power.
