KPFA - APEX Express

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host editor Swati Rayasam continues to highlight the podcast Continental Shifts created by bi-coastal educators Gabriel Anthony Tanglao and Estella Owemma Church. They embark on a voyage in search of self, culture and the ancestors. Last time we featured the ConShifts podcast, Gabriel and Estella gave a quick introduction and talked about wayfinding in the context of their work. Tonight on the podcast they’re talking about anti-blackness in the PI community with Courtney Savali Andrews and Jason Fennel. Just a quick note that both Courtney and Jason’s audio quality isn’t the best on this podcast. So it might get a little bumpy. Enjoy the show. Episode Transcripts – Anti-blackness in the PI Community with Courtney-Savali Andrews and Jason Finau Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It’s time to get on board the Apex Express. Swati Rayasam: [00:00:35] Good evening everyone. You’re listening to APEX express Thursday nights at 7:00 PM. My name is Swati Rayasam and I’m the special editor for this episode. Tonight, we’re going to continue to highlight the podcast continental shifts created by bi-coastal educators Gabriel Anthony Tanglao and Estella Owemma Church who embark on a voyage in search of self, culture and the ancestors. Last time we featured the ConShifts podcast, Gabriel and Estella gave a quick introduction and talked about wayfinding in the context of their work. Tonight on the podcast they’re talking about anti-blackness in the PI community with Courtney Savali Andrews and Jason Fennel. Just a quick note that both Courtney and Jason’s audio quality isn’t the best on this podcast. So it might get a little bumpy. Enjoy the show. Courtney-Savali Andrews & intro music: [00:01:32] These issues are fluid, these questions are fluid. So I mean, I had to go and try get a PHD just to expand conversation with my family . Gabriel A. Tanglao: [00:01:51] How do we uproot anti-blackness in API spaces? On today’s episode, we explore this critical question with two incredible guests. Courtney and Jason share their stories, experiences, and reflections on ways our API communities can be more affirming of black identity and black humanity. Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:02:13] What up, what up? Tālofa lava, o lo’u igoa o Estella. My pronouns are she/her/hers, sis, and uso. Gabriel A. Tanglao: [00:02:23] What’s good, family? This is Gabriel, kumusta? Pronouns he/him. Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:02:29] I have the great pleasure tonight of introducing our guest today, Jason Finau and Courtney-Savali Andrews. Jason is a social worker with a focus on mental health and substance abuse based in San Francisco. Courtney is an assistant professor of musicology at Oberlin College in Ohio. But I also want to be very intentional about not centering professions above who we are and who we come from. So I’m going to go to Jason first. Jason, please share with us who you are, how you identify and who are your people. Jason Finau: [00:02:58] Hi everyone. Estella, Gabriel, again, thank you so much for hosting us in this space. My name is Jason. I identify as black and Samoan. My father is a black American from Mississippi and my mother is from American Samoa, specifically in the village of Nua and Sektonga. As a military, brat kind of grew up back and forth between Hawaii and Southern California. So I have a very strong love for the ocean and where my peoples come from. So, very excited to be on your podcast. Courtney-Savali Andrews: [00:03:27] [Speaking Samoan] Tālofa lava I am Courtney-Savali Andrews from Seattle, Washington. I identify as an African American Samoan. My father is from...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. This week we introduce our sister podcast Continental Shifts. Check out episode 1 and 2 created by bi-coastal educators Gabriel Anthony Tanglao and Estella Owoimaha-Church who embark on a voyage in search of self, culture, and the ancestors. You’ll hear the first two episodes of their podcast and hopefully walk away with a bit more information about them, and about wayfinding as an important mental, physical, and spiritual practice. ConShifts Podcast – Episode 1 – Introduction TRANSCRIPTS Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It’s time to get on board the Apex Express. Swati Rayasam: [00:00:35] Good evening, everyone. You’re listening to APEX Express Thursday nights at 7:00 PM. My name is Swati Rayasam, and I’m the special editor for this episode. Tonight, we’re highlighting a podcast called Continental Shifts created by bi-coastal educators Gabriel Anthony Tanglao and Estella Owoimaha-Church who embark on a voyage in search of self, culture, and the ancestors. You’ll hear the first two episodes of their podcast and hopefully walk away with a bit more information about them, and about wayfinding as an important mental, physical, and spiritual practice. Estella Owoimaha-Church & intro music: [00:01:07] The more I continue to do a deep dive in my identity, who I am, who I aim to be, the stronger of an educator I am, but also, the more equipped I am to provide brave, co-op spaces for students where they also get to explore and craft their identity. O a’u o Estella, o [?]. Gabriel A. Tanglao: [00:01:37] And this is Gabriel. What’s good, family? Kumusta? So fam, we’re finally here. Continental Shifts Podcast. I’m excited to have this conversation with you to kick off our first episode. And just a quick run of introductions. Estella, if you wanted to introduce yourself to the people, please let the people know who you are. Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:02:01] For sure for sure. Hey, y’all. I am Estella Owoimaha-Church and I’m a teacher in Los Angeles. I teach high school theater and I’m heavily involved as a labor union leader-organizer in our community. And, I also run a small non profit here in LA called Education Ensemble. Gabriel A. Tanglao: [00:02:28] All right, that’s what’s up, Estella. I’m Gabriel Tanglao, former educator, high school teacher up in Bergenfield, New Jersey. One of the second largest Filipino populations in New Jersey, fun fact. And now I’m working full time with the New Jersey Education Association in the Professional Development Division. So doing some labor organizing work full time, fully focused, supporting educators across New Jersey, specifically with racial justice, racial equity, racial literacy work. I’m excited to be here for this conversation, Estella. So, we met I think over a year now. So I’m trying to recall what the origin story is of how we connected. Estella, do you remember the origin story of how we connected? Estella Owoimaha-Church: [00:03:14] I am pretty sure we were in Denver at NEA leadership summit and yeah, mutual teacher friend connected us. And the conversation there was everything [laughs]. Gabriel A. Tanglao: [00:03:28] I feel like you and I have been connected for a while now, even though it’s been short in terms of years. But the NEA Leadership Conference in Denver, for people who aren’t familiar, NEA, the National Education Association, represents millions of educators across the country. And this was one of their largest conferences, the National Leadership Summit. So, when you and I had a chance to connect there, I think it was Stephanie Téllez who is one of the dope educator, labor activists that I connected...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. This year, more than 24,000 Chinese migrants have made the dangerous 60-mile trek through the Darien Gap to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. For this episode of AACRE Thursday, host Cheryl is joined by Annette Wong, Kelly Wong, and Kennis Chen, members of Chinese for Affirmative Action’s Immigrant Rights and Chinese Digital Engagement teams who flew down to the San Diego Migrant Welcome Center early March to meet the influx of Chinese migrants who would have otherwise had to rely on Google Translate for support. In the three days the team was in San Diego, they had met people from all over the world. There were Vietnamese speakers, Arabic; Gujarati, Portuguese, in addition to Chinese, Spanish, and English. But according to CAA’s Managing Director of Programs, Annette Wong, “what folks were coming and looking for– it’s very much the same story. Economic opportunity. And family reunification.” Important Resources: Chinese for Affirmative Action website Chinese for Affirmative Action Instagram Justice Patch article Kelly and Kennis’ Podcast: 第二十一集 | 美墨邊境走線者的故事: 追逐夢想與更美好生活 | EP21 | Chasing Dreams & A Better Life: Chinese Migrants at the Southern Border Transcript Cheryl Truong: Good evening, everyone. You were currently tuned in to APEX express on 94.1 KPFA. We are bringing you an Asian-American and Pacific Islander point of view from the bay and around the world. I’m your host, Cheryl Truong. And tonight is an AACRE night, a series on APEX express, where I highlight groups from within the AACRE network, AACRE being short for Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. APEX express is proud to be part of the acre network. I am so excited to introduce you all to the guests on tonight’s show. They are from Chinese for Affirmative Action, You’ll hear it referred to as CAA all throughout tonight’s episode. They are people whose work I really admire and I feel so lucky to work closely with them through the AACRE Network. A little bit of history. CAA was founded in 1969 and has for five decades now been a progressive voice in an on behalf of the broader API community. The advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice. Early this March members from the Immigrant Rights and Chinese Digital Engagement Teams from CAA flew down to the San Diego Migrant Welcome Center to meet the influx of Chinese migrants who are crossing the Southern border. This year. More than 24,000 Chinese migrants have made the dangerous 60 mile Trek. Through the Darien gap to cross the U S Mexico border. The San Diego Migrant Center is only the first stop for thousands of migrants entering the United States, and is for many only the beginning of an even longer and greater journey. Annette Wong: Earlier 2023, the immigrant rights team at CAA started to receive more and more calls from Chinese community members that were seeking asylum. And so this kind of raised a flag for us to inquire a little bit more about why is this happening? Where is this coming from? Are other organizations that are similarly situated seeing the same trend? So we have been working with a couple partners that also do similarly kind of immigrant legal services in the Chinese community, and we also asked them, “Are you seeing the same uptick?” And the same kind of issue arising for them as well, where they’re getting this increase in calls of Chinese asylum seekers who are sharing a very similar story of coming in through the southern border. And so, as a result, we started to pay more attention to what the news was reporting out about that phenomenon and paying attention more to what we’re also seeing in terms of the local impact in San Francisco. Cheryl Truong: Speaking currently is Annette Wong. The...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host Miko Lee speaks with Asian American creatives and Pulitzer prize finalists performance artist Kristina Wong and playwright Lloyd Suh. They reflect on how the covid lock down impacted their work and ruminated on how built communities can arise in times of hardship. One is creating work that explores the times we live in and the other is delving into the past. Each share their creative process and why art matters to them. Show Note Links Kristina Wong’s Website Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco) March 30 – May 5, 2024. Kristina’s Radical Cram School Lloyd Suh’s bio The Far Country BY LLOYD SUH at Berkeley Rep. March 8 – April 14, 2024 Show Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It’s time to get on board the Apex Express. Miko Lee: [00:00:28] Good evening and welcome to Apex Express. I’m your host, Miko Lee and tonight we get to hear from two Asian American creatives. Both are Pulitzer prize finalists who have had their work presented around the country. They reflect on how the COVID lockdown impacted their work and they ruminate on how built communities can arise in times of hardship. One is creating work that explores the times we live in and the other is delving into the past to lift up stories that might be missing in history. Each share their creative process and why art matters to them. Tonight, join me as I talk story with performance artist Kristina Wong, whose show Sweatshop Overlord opens at ACT’s Strand Theater on March 30th and with playwright Lloyd Suh whose show The Far Country runs at Berkeley Rep until April 14th. First up is my chat with Kristina Wong. Welcome Kristina Wong to Apex Express. Kristina Wong: [00:01:24] I’m so happy to be here. Thank you. Miko Lee: [00:01:27] We are so happy to have you as the performance artist, writer, creator of Kristina Wong’s Sweatshop Overlord, which will run at ACT from March 30th through May 5th. Yay! Kristina Wong: [00:01:36] Yes, that’s eight shows a week, one body. Just me, everybody. Just me. Miko Lee: [00:01:43] One woman show. Excellent. Kristina Wong: [00:01:44] No understudy. I’ve been looking for an understudy. But apparently the theater doesn’t think it works as well if someone else goes around saying they’re Kristina Wong. So, I gotta stay healthy. For you! Miko Lee: [00:01:54] That would be interesting, though. I would actually love to see a multi-people Kristina Wong version. That’d be really interesting. Kristina Wong: [00:02:02] Yeah. There are enough Kristina Wongs on this planet to do that, but can they do what I do? I don’t know. Miko Lee: [00:02:07] I don’t think many people can do what you do. [Kristina laughs] Okay, so I want to start with the question I ask many many people, and this is a big one: who are your people and where do you come from? Kristina Wong: [00:02:21] My people, so many questions. Well, the people that I was born into, I’m third generation Chinese American, Toisan on my father’s side and Cantonese on my mother’s side. And we were a San Francisco family. Both my parents were born in San Francisco, went to San Francisco high schools. I went to San Francisco. Now I live in Koreatown, Los Angeles, my alternate Asian universe. I will say that those are the people I was born into. When I was growing up in middle school and high school I was somewhere between a theater kid who also liked making prank calls and was constantly trying to figure out who my people were and what my clique was cause I don’t even know if I would totally fit in with the theater kids. And then when I got to college, I discovered...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Living Legacies: LARRY THE MUSICAL x MISTER REY TRIBUTE Host Aisa Villarosa covers “Larry the Musical” a new theatrical production based on the book “Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong” written by Gayle Romasanta and the late Dr. Dawn Mabalon. Nomi aka Power Struggle and Aisa also honor an anchor and leader of the Bay Area Filipinx and civil rights community – Mister REY. Links to Episode Features: Larry The Musical website: https://www.larrythemusical.com/ Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales: https://www.instagram.com/pinayism/?hl=en Billy Bustamante: https://www.billybustamante.com/ Mister REY Memorial GoFundMe https://misterrey.bandcamp.com/album/wonders-mysticisms-beat-tape Power Struggle https://soundcloud.com/mario-de-mira Show Transcripts Living Legacies: Larry the Musical x Mister REY tribute Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community And cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It’s time to get on board The Apex Express Aisa Villarosa: [00:00:28] You’re listening to Apex Express on 94.1 KPFA Berkeley, 89.3 KPFB Berkeley, 88.1 KFC at Fresno and online at KPFA. org. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am your host, Aisa Villarosa. I’m an artist, attorney, ethnic studies advocate, general rabble rouser, and lifetime fan of the Apex Express crew. Shout out to my homie Miko. Get comfy, get cozy. We have a wonderful show for you tonight. It’s a show about a show, that is Larry The Musical, which is based on the book Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong, written by Gayle Romasanta, and the wondrous late great Dr. Dawn Mabolon. The story and songs are influenced by and honor our ancestors, and the musical debuts at San Francisco’s very own Brava Theater running March 16th through April 14th, 2024. That means, seats are limited. So, in addition to checking out the show we have for you tonight, visit www.larrythemusical.com to get your tickets today, learn about this cast and crew. Now for our show. First up we’ll hear about Larry Itliong’s legacy of organizing, resistance, and community power building from Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales. Next, Larry The Musical director Billy Bustamante, previews the heart, soul, and talent behind this production. And, because we’re pretty big of a deal here [laughs] we’ll also hear a sneak peek of two songs from Larry The Musical. Finally, the artist Power Struggle will help me wrap up this episode by honoring an anchor and leader of the Bay Area Filipinx and civil rights community and our friend, Mister REY. Rest in power. All right, that’s the show. Let’s dig in. I’m here with Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, one of the country’s leading Ethnic Studies and Filipinx studies scholars and professors, co-founder and director of Community Responsive Education, and the educational consultant for Larry The Musical. Allyson, it’s so wonderful to have you here. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales: [00:02:34] My gosh, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate this show and all the work that you’ve been doing for many years. Thank you so much. Aisa Villarosa: [00:02:41] For our dedicated Apex Express listeners who may not be familiar with the wonderful Larry Itliong. Can you talk a little bit about who he is and who he is to this particular Civil Rights Movement? Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales: [00:02:57] Larry Itliong. He was born in the Philippines, in San Nicolas Pangasinan. He came here at 15 years old. Imagine coming here at 15 years old. He only had a sixth grade education. And he came here, actually in order to pursue his studies and he moved to the United States in 1929. As you probably know, because of the Great Depression, it was difficult to find jobs. He was forced to...

Today’s episode is preempted by special KPFA Winter Fund Drive programming. The post Special KPFA Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episode is preempted by special KPFA Winter Fund Drive programming. The post Special KPFA Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episode is preempted by special KPFA Winter Fund Drive programming. The post Special KPFA Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight’s show Powerleegirls hosts Miko Lee & Jalena Keane-Lee highlight the annual Day of Remembrance. They speak with Chair Jeff Matsuoka and youth leader KC Mukai. APEX Express is a proud member of Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality – AACRE. APEX EXPRESS TRANSCRIPT 2/15/24 SHOW Day of Remembrance 2024: Carrying the Light for Justice – Finding Our Way Home Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It’s time to get on board the Apex Express. Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:00:34] Good evening. You’re tuned in to Apex Express. We are bringing you an Asian and Asian American perspective from the Bay and around the world we’re your hosts, Miko Lee and Jalena Keane-Lee, the PowerLeeGirls, a mother daughter team. Tonight we’re focused on the annual Day of Remembrance. February 19th is a significant date for the Japanese American community. On this day in 1942, president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed executive order 9066, which gave the United States army the authority to remove civilians from their homes during World War 2. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans and 3,000 Japanese Latin Americans were forced into concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country. No Japanese Americans or Latin Americans wherever charged of espionage or sabotage against the United States. Yet they were targeted, rounded up and imprisoned for years. Every February, the Japanese American community commemorates Executive Order 9066 as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on our families, our community and our country. During this present time of genocide in Palestine, it is critical to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all. Never again, means never again for anyone. Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:01:59] Next up, listen to “Kenji” by Fort minor, the band created by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. This is a song about Mike’s father and his family that was incarcerated at Manzanar. SONG Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:05:42] That was Mike Shinoda’s “Kenji” based upon his family story at Manzanar. Miko Lee: [00:05:47] Welcome Jeff Matsuoka, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Organizing Committee of the Day of Remembrance. Welcome to Apex Express. Jeff Matsuoka: [00:05:56] Thank you very much, Miko. It’s great to be here. Thanks for inviting me. Miko Lee: [00:05:59] For people that don’t know, can you give an overview about what the Day of Remembrance is all about? Jeff Matsuoka: [00:06:07] Sure. Yes. The Day of Remembrance is an annual event that we’ve been holding actually now for 45 years. This would be our 45th Day of Remembrance event and really what it’s commemorating is the signing of EO9066. This is an executive order signed by President Franklin Dela Roosevelt on February 19th, 1942. And essentially what this did was it essentially empowered the military authorities, the US Army authorities, to essentially evict all Japanese Americans living in what’s called the West Coast Evacuation Zones. So once again, this is right after Pearl Harbor, and what what was happening was the government feared basically Japanese Americans as collaborators with, of course, the Japanese and of course, there’s no evidence as it turns out that was true, but nonetheless what happened was all citizens are all really inhabitants of Japanese ancestry, whether they were citizens or not, were evicted from their homes on the West Coast and sent to concentration camps deep in the Midwest or certainly very far away from the coast. And they said it was for our own safety, but of course...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this week’s episode of APEX Express, host Cheryl is joined by Cẩm Trần, Thao Le from VietUnity, and Victoria Huynh from Asian Prisoners Support Committee (APSC) as they tell the story of how Cẩm came to be the first Vietnamese deportee to return home to the United States. Cẩm Trần is a Vietnamese mother who was deported and separated from her two young children in 2019. This January 2024, Cẩm will be the first Vietnamese deportee to return home to the United States. Like many survivors of domestic violence, Cẩm was criminalized for her attempts at self-defense. After arriving in the United States in 2009, Cẩm faced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of multiple partners. As a new immigrant, Cẩm’s social isolation and lack of English proficiency made her especially vulnerable to this cycle of abuse. In 2016, in a domestic violence dispute with her second husband, Cẩm called 911 for help, but was arrested and charged with an aggravated felony. Cẩm’s attorney advised her to plead guilty, but failed to advise her on the immigration consequences of this conviction or the legal recourses available to her. Given language barriers and her unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system, Cẩm was unable to fully advocate for herself. She took her attorney’s advice, not knowing it would lead to her deportation. After spending 6 months at the California Institution for Women, Cẩm was detained by ICE at the Adelanto Detention Facility for 2 years before being deported to Vietnam in 2019. Since 2019, Cẩm has worked relentlessly to reunite with her children. With legal advocacy and community support from ViệtUnity and the Asian Prisoner Support Committee, Cẩm pursued a motion to vacate her deportable charges. As of 2023, Cẩm’s deportable charges have been dropped, and she is now able to return to the United States to her loved ones. Cẩm now needs our support to rebuild her life upon return, including funds for secure housing, employment, and transportation. Cẩm also hopes to take community college courses and pursue her degree, and to give back to the communities who helped bring her home. Important Links and Resources: Cam’s GoFundMe Cam’s Re-entry Toolkit Transcript Cheryl Truong: This is the story of Cam Tran who through resilience, Self-advocacy and community support became the first Vietnamese deportee to return home to the United States. Thao Le: Yeah so VietUnity, right now it’s VietUnity Bay Area. VietUnity East Bay used to be its own thing and then VietUnity South Bay. Then during the pandemic we combined. VietUnity South Bay formed in 2016, and one of the reasons we formed at the time, you know, there was just a lot of progressive leftist Viets in the South Bay that wanted to bring our community together and take a proactive stance on the Black Lives Matter movement. And so we designed this, summer youth program. For those who know, there’s this school for organizing called Hai Bà Trưng School, which is named after two anti imperialist, anti colonial resistors in Ancient Vietnam against Chinese colonizers. And we designed the Bà Triệu school focused on youth in the South Bay for Vietnamese youth to learn about their history, learn how they can get involved in local politics and activism. And so that’s when South Bay was formed. Viet Unity South Bay was very active in a lot of anti deportation work, including trying to keep Đức home and Phuc home, which are two folks in our community. Viet Unity South Bay was able to stop their deportations. Cheryl Truong: Viet Unity, AKA VU, as you’ll hear it referred to throughout the episode, was one of the two crucial organizations involved in bringing Cam home. The other being Asian Prisoners Support Committee APSC. Currently speaking is Thao a Vietnamese Hakka American based on...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – February 1, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. A teach-in by Queer Crescent in collaboration with Palestinian Feminist Collective – Palestine is a Queer Issue: Resisting Pinkwashing Now and Until Liberation. Featuring guest speakers Rabab Abdulhadi from Palestinian Feminist Collective, Ghadir Shafie of ASWAT, Shivani Chanillo from Lavender Phoenix, poetry by Mx Yaffa from Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD). Moderator by Shenaaz Janmohamed of Queer Crescent. Important Links and Resources: Sign on to Queer Crescent’s Ceasefire Campaign for LGBTQI+ organizations and leaders Queer Crescent’s Pinkwashing Resources Queer Crescent Website Palestinian Feminist Collective Website ASWAT Instagram (@aswatfreedoms) Lavender Phoenix Website Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) Website Purchase Blood Orange by Mx. Yaffa Transcript Shenaaz Janmohamed: Thank you all so much for being here today. Welcome to the “Resisting Pinkwashing Now Until Liberation” teach-in. Queer Crescent is honored to host this teach in in partnership with the Palestinian Feminist Collective, Lavender Phoenix, The Muslim Alliance for Gender and Sexual Diversity or MASGD, Teaching Palestine, and Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora Studies Thank you all so much for joining us and for tuning in. My name is Shenaaz Janmohamed. I use she and they pronouns. I’m the executive director of Queer Crescent. Queer Crescent is really thrilled to offer this Teach-in and to be in learning with you all for the next hour and a half on Pinkwashing in particular, as we hold grief and rage and mourn towards healing, towards resistance, towards a free Palestine. Joining the resounding people all across the world who have been calling for a permanent ceasefire. To not let the violence and the destruction of Gaza go without our clear and determined voice to say that this is not okay, that we, our tax dollars should not be paying for this, that we do not consent to genocide. And as queer people, as trans people, it is very much a queer issue to be in solidarity with Palestine. For the next hour and a half we will take time to learn from Palestinian organizers. in Palestine, in the U. S., around the ways in which this moment can be used to understand our relationship to pinkwashing in particular and to Palestinian solidarity in general. And so thank you again for being with us today. We’re going to start our Teach in with poetry, because we deeply believe as a queer Muslim organization in the power of cultural work, cultural change, and imparting our shine as queer people into the culture. That is the way that our people have survived. That is the way that people share their histories their survivalship is through culture. And so, before I bring up Yaffa, who’s a dear friend and comrade, and also the executive director of MASGD, the Muslim Alliance for Gender and Sexual Diversity, let me introduce Yaffa. Yaffa is a trans Muslim and displaced indigenous Palestinian. She is sharing poetry from her new book, Blood Orange, shout it out, please get a copy if you haven’t already, which is an emotional, important, and timely poetry collection. Their writings probe the yearning for home, belonging, mental health, queerness, transness, and other dimensions of marginalization while nurturing dreams of utopia against the background of ongoing displacement and genocide of Indigenous people. Join me in giving some shine, energetic shine to Yaffa, and I’ll pass to you. Mx Yaffa: Hi everyone. It’s so nice to be here with you all. So excited to share space with all of you, with all the incredible panelists, with the entire Queer Crescent team, y’all are just incredible. Right before this, me and one of the other panelists realized we could potentially be related. So that’s the beauty of having spaces...

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – January 18, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – January 11, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – January 4, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – December 28, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Intimate Sounds of the Four Continents Episode #14 Intimate Sounds of the Four Continents combines Lisa Lowe’s theories and music from around the world to create intellectually stimulating sonic experience. DJ Miu created this radio show with a mission to spread the message: “Freedom is Yet to Come.” I encourage listeners to take the time to read, write, and resist. We require inoculations that repel the seductions of corporate servitude. Cauleen Smith told us. Starting with reading Lisa Lowe’s writing. Reading is Fundamental. Episode #14 This month’s episode is features a guest DJ JING JING. DJ Jing Jing is a mother and world traveler. She was born and raised in LA and has lived in the south of France, Paris, and Barcelona. The collection of music DJ Jing Jing presents in this episode spans the sounds reminiscent of her travels with artists and skateboarders over the past two decades. Instagram: @maryjanesanb Lisa Lowe’s Book: In this uniquely interdisciplinary work, Lisa Lowe examines the relationships between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth- centuries, exploring the links between colonialism, slavery, imperial trades and Western liberalism. Cop it over at Duke University Press About the Producer IS4C: Paige Chung is a writer and DJ. Her last project Nail Trap is juicier than your neighborhood gossip and her current project is hotter than your cousin’s mixtape. Listen to Intimate Sounds of the Four Continents on KPFA 94.1 and Sun Salutations on Twitch TV. Based in Los Angeles but she rolls everywhere. She currently trains at the Beat Junkies Institute of Sound and studies Performing and Media Arts as a PhD student at Cornell University. Lastly, special shoutout to my QT Việt Crew, deep study crew Quinnette, Zahara, Discott and the Soul in the Horn family. Find me anywhere and everywhere @DJxMIU Website Instagram Twitch Mixcloud SoundCloud PLAY LIST: OASIS – SMOKE CIRCLE STEPPING RAZOR – PETER TOSH ERNIE – FAT FREDDY’S DROP THE CHOCOLATE CONQUISTADORS – BADBADNOTGOOD, MF DOOM TENDME – IBRAHIM HESNAWI FUJI – SWUM LYING TOGETHER (INTERLUDE) – FKJ SKY RESTAURANT – HI-FI SET SPACE – GALT MACDERMOT LOS INDIOS – MONGO SANTAMARIA DUST A SOUND BOY – SUPER BEAGLE BABA HOOKER – ZAP MAMA LAXMIKANT-PYARELAL – YEH GALIYAN YEH CHAUBARA (JHANKAR BEATS) ME GUSTAS TU – MANU CHAO APPROACH WITH CAUTION FEATURING SAMPA THE GREAT – QUAKERS THE HEALER – ERYKAH BADU SOLDIER OF LOVE – SADE TONTON DU BLED – 113 HNA DJINA ZIYAR EL BOUASRIA – ZAHOUANIA AUDITORIUM FEATURING SLICK RICK – MOS DEF PART TWO: NIGHTMARE LUST – RAVI SHANKAR GENERALENS EIENDOM – KARPE AMAZON – M.I.A. SHIKI NO UTA (TRIBUTE TO SAMURAI CHAMPLOO) – MINMI CANTO DE OSSANHA – JURASSIC 5 HOOLIGAN FEATURING NIA ANDREWS – MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE DARKEST LIGHT – LAFAYETTE AFRO ROCK BAND BOY WHO CRIED WOLF – KMD The post APEX Express -12.21.23 Intimate Sounds of the Four Continents Episode #14 DJ MIU, DJ JING JING appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. The post APEX Express – 12.14.23 appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. DESCRIPTION: Shenaaz and Saba of Queer Crescent and Cynthia, Kaiyah, and A of Lavender Phoenix join Cheryl for this week’s episode of APEX Express! This first half of the episode dives into the insincerity of pinkwashing and the ways it has been utilized by the Israeli government to exploit LGBTQIA+ rights to distract from their oppressive policies towards Palestinians, both queer and non-queer. Shenaaz and Saba brilliantly expose the ways pinkwashing perpetuates Islamophobia and racist tropes about Palestinians, along with Arab, Muslim, and SWANA communities and shed light on the long history of trans and queer organizing within Palestine, uplifting work of Al Qaws, an organization at the forefront of Palestinian cultural and social change that builds LGBTQ communities and promotes new ideas about the role of gender and sexual diversity in political activism, civil society institutions, media, and everyday life. Queer Crescent urges queer organizations and leaders to speak up, take action, and demand a ceasefire, writing that “As trans, queer and non-binary people we understand too well what is at stake when our self-determination and sovereignty are removed. Palestine is a queer issue, and it is our duty to listen and learn from queer Palestinians who are living under Israeli occupation, and in the imposed Diaspora”. You can sign on to Queer Crescent’s ceasefire campaign at bit.ly/PalestineisaQueerIssue. In the second half of the show we are joined by Cynthia, Kaiyah, and A of Lavender Phoenix who emphasize the importance of care within the Palestine Liberation movement, urging our listeners to not fall into feelings of inaction. They highlight the importance of grief routines and using grief and rage as tools for momentum, and ask the provoking difficult question: What could it look like for people to feel as safe at a protest as they feel at home? We also gain intimate insight into the ways Lavender Phoenix has been organizing, as Cynthia, Kaiyah, and A emphasize the interconnectedness of all of our struggles and the interconnectedness of all of our freedoms. IMPORTANT LINKS + RESOURCES: Queer Crescent’s website Queer Crescent’s Call for Ceasefire Sign-On Queer Crescent’s Pinkwashing Resources Al Qaws’s website Lavender Phoenix’s website SHOW TRANSCRIPT: Cheryl: Good evening. You are tuned into apex express. We are bringing you an Asian American and Pacific Islander point of view from the bay and around the world. I’m your host, Cheryl and tonight is an acre night, which is short for Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. Apex express is proud to be one of the 11 API social justice groups within the acre network, working to advance positive social change. Tonight, we have two very spectacular guests here with us, Shenaaz and Saba from Queer Crescent. It is such an honor to have you both here with us today. Do you mind introducing yourselves? Who are you and who are your people? Saba: Hi, I’m Saba Taj. I am the communications coordinator for Queer Crescent. And, who are my people? Oh gosh, this is a beautiful question, and I think one that, changes at different moments. In large part, I really feel like I am on the side of humanity and Global dignity. As a queer Muslim from the South that struggle for our collective dignity often centers folks whom I share identities with and just more broadly, really thinking about individuals who are marginalized on multiple fronts. And so, yeah, that’s a really kind of vague answer. There’s a lot of different folks that are included, but, I hope that answers it for you. Shenaaz: Yeah, thanks Cheryl for inviting Saba and I on the show. Hi folks, I’m Shenaaz Janmohamed. I’m the founder and executive director of Queer Crescent. I’ve been asked this question ” who are my...

Gaza has been in the news for nearly two months now. Tonight’s South Asia edition of APEX Express is about uplifting South Asian solidarity with Palestine. Our multiple screens have been a tumultuous barrage of stories from West Asia the last few weeks, of Palestinian struggle and Israeli occupation, and a genocide unfolding on our collective clock of inhumanity. In the first half of tonight’s show, co-producer Anuj Larvaidya talks to Sunaina Maira and Gabi Kirk to help make sense of this moment. They discuss the historical context and complexities, about the ecological impacts of the war on the region, about how we can plug into the growing Boycott-Divest-Sanctions or the BDS movement, and about faith-washing – how matters of land and settler colonialism are spun as matters of religious rights and persecution. In the second half of the episode Preeti Gamzeh speaks with journalist Azad Essa about the relationship between India and Israel. How post-independence, India tried to be in solidarity with Palestine – but really was not; and how and where Hindu fundamentalism or Hindutva and Zionism intersect. LEARN MORE AND PARTICIPATE: Learn more about the BDS movement here: https://bdsmovement.net/ and https://www.whoprofits.org/ Join the BDS movement by organizing a No Appetite for Apartheid campaign in your localality or region: dsapalestine.link/NA4AInterestForm ABOUT OUR GUESTS: Sunaina Maira is a professor of Asian American studies at UC Davis. Her research and teaching focus on Asian, Arab, and Muslim American youth culture, migrant rights and refugee organizing, and transnational movements challenging militarization, imperialism, and settler colonialism. She is the author of the book Boycott! The Academy and Justice for Palestine. You can learn more about her work at: https://culturalstudies.ucdavis.edu/people/sunaina-maira Gabi Kirk is a graduate student in the Geography department at UC Davis. Working between political ecology, feminist geographies, and geographies of colonialism, her dissertation project examines how Palestinian farmers and sustainable development institutions in the northern West Bank use agro-ecological practices in order to challenge normative notions of sovereignty.You can learn more about her research at: https://www.gabikirk.com/research.html Azad Essa is an award-winning journalist and author based between Johannesburg, South Africa and New York City. He is currently a senior reporter for Middle East Eye covering American foreign policy, Islamophobia and race in the US. He has written for Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy and the Guardian, and his newest book is the highly timely, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance between India and Israel. You can learn more about his work at: https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/azad-essa The post APEX Express – 11.30.2023: South Asian Solidarity with Palestine appeared first on KPFA.