7 Inspiring Asian & Asian American Activists We ❤ This Women’s History Month and Beyond
Even though Women’s History Month is coming to an end, we want to celebrate incredible Asian and Asian American activists fighting for gender justice throughout the whole year. Here are a few of the many incredible, Asian and Asian American activists who inspire us here at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).
1. Amanda Baran
Amanda Baran is a highly experienced lawyer and advocate for immigrant, civil, and women’s rights with significant nonprofit government experience. Baran has worked in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, contributing to policies critical to immigrant communities like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). She has proudly shared with the world that “undocumented women are the lifeblood of our workforce” and how we must not ignore this administration’s war on immigrant women.
“She inspires me because she’s such a kickass activist who has worked tirelessly for immigrant and refugee women,” Satyam, Georgia Director
2. Yu Gwansun (유관순)
Yu Gwansun (1902–1929) was a Korean freedom fighter who protested against the Japanese occupation of Korea. She was one of the main organizers of what would come to be known as the March 1st Movement, a peaceful demonstration by the Korean people in South Chungcheong against Japanese colonial rule. Gwansun became one of the most well-known participants and the symbol for Korea’s fight for independence.
“I learned about her in grade school in Korea. She really left an impression on me about what it means to be courageous to risk and work to create a world we do not currently have,” Sung Yeon, Interim Executive Director
3. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Leah is a queer, disabled, nonbinary, femme writer and cultural worker of Burger/Tamil Sri Lankan and Irish/Roma ascent. She’s also a performance artist, educator, and a self-proclaimed “weirdo who writes about survivorhood, disability justice, transformative justice, queer femme of color lives and Sri Lankan diaspora sitting in her room.”
“She’s written some amazing books, like Bodymap, a poetry book about desire, survival, and living in her body. She’s a huge badass and I strongly encourage you all to check out her work! “ Anique, Finance & Operations Associate & RJLI NYC leader
4. Representative Pramila Jayapal
Rep. Pramila Jayapal is the first Indian-American woman to serve in the House of Representatives, elected from Washington State where she was previously a state senator. “I was really very tired of never — or very rarely — seeing people like me represented in politics. I felt that we needed far more women, far more people of color, far more activists involved in this process,” she said in an interview with Elle Magazine. Before she was in office, she was the executive director of OneAmerica, an immigrant and civil rights-oriented advocacy organization she founded in response to a wave of violent attacks on Sikhs and Muslims after 9/11.
“She’s my current political activist hero. Rep. Jayapal really is an an inspiring AAPI Congresswoman and such an effective public speaker, who isn’t afraid to be a vocal advocate for progressive politics,” Aliya, Policy Associate
5. Linda Sarsour
Linda Sarsour is a self described “working woman, racial justice and civil rights activist, every Islamophobe’s worst nightmare, and mother of three.” While ambitious, outspoken and independent, Linda shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American, born and raised in Brooklyn and the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-founder of the first Muslim online organizing platform, MPOWER Change. She’s voiced that women of color must be the leaders of women’s rights.
“I love that Linda is especially unapologetic about how her identity comes from multiple places: her family, work, religion, and generations of diverse history that make up who she is. In a world and media landscape that often tries to define my Chinese-American identity in a narrow way, that resonates with me so much,” Stephanie, Communications & Development Associate
6. Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit transmedia artist and activist who believes story is the most important unit of social change. Through her work across mediums she centers the voices of communities into the vital debates of our time. Thenmozhi is the executive director of Equality Labs, an art, story, and digital security collective and one of the first Dalit Women online @dalitdiva. Equality Labs’ cutting edge work includes the participatory history project Dalit History Month and the award winning women, gender non conforming, trans digital security training initiative.
“I went to one of Themmozhi’s talk a few years ago and it completely changed the way in which I’d been politicized. Her work on fighting caste apartheid, training activists in digital security, and organizing against Hindu fundamentalism is so necessary in our movements. Thenmozhi is one of the few people I know who is able to approach problems as both a brilliant technologist and a long-time organizer,” Tara, RJLI NYC Leader
7. Nellie Wong
Nellie Wong is a poet, activist, from Oakland, California, born to Chinese immigrant parents. Through her poetry and community activism, she confronts social problems such as racism, sexism, and labor issues. She is one of the founding members of the writing collective Unbound Feet, and her poems have been installed in public sites in the San Francisco area. She’s been an active organizer in the Bay Area socialist party, anti-war efforts, and women writer groups for decades.
“Can’t Tell” is a poem about witnessing the era of internment of Japanese-Americans as a Chinese-American child. I think this poem refers to how some Chinese people wore “China” buttons and armbands to avoid being mistaken as Japanese. It makes me reflect on how racism and xenophobia not only endanger communities of color but also tempt us to deny solidarity with one another. Her writing describes experiences of internalized sexism and racism that feel familiar to me,” Roula, Georgia Organizer
Stephanie Zhou is the Communications and Development Associate at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) based in New York City.
