013 - That's Just The Way The Ball Bounces

08/11/20 • 59 min

The language and phrases passed down in our families can reflect our specific cultures, heritage, and journey. But sometimes, they’re a way to cope with something darker and can belie hidden histories. Contributor Julianne Parker explores the depth and meaning of her grandmother’s signature saying in That’s Just the Way the Ball Bounces.

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012 - Letters for Black Lives

How do we act as allies to the Black community when we see injustice? How do we start those actions and intentions from our homes and communities? We explore the story of how hundreds of people came together from all around the world to work on a letter — a letter that would be translated into 40 plus languages and help everyone start talking to their families and communities about supporting Black lives.

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You can find the Letters for Black Lives project on their website. The full list of published translations can be found here.

The supplemental resource document, featuring a guide to follow-up conversations, can be found here.

First, this is not an open letter to all Black people from all the AZNs telling them how much we love them and asking for a cookie in return. It's also not even a letter *for* Black people. The letters aren't addressed to *them*.

— Gary Chou (@garychou) June 10, 2020

We're not utilizing words as weapons in the service of "being right" or simply showing we are down for the cause. We're using them to try to open some very complicated, messy, stuck doors. pic.twitter.com/hw11gfllBB

— Gary Chou (@garychou) June 10, 2020

One of the organizers, Gary Chou, has written an in-depth twitter thread further explaining the intentions and philosophy of the Letters for Black Lives project. We encourage you to read it to get a better sense of the project beyond our episode.

National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory Know Your Rights Camp: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/ Campaign Zero:...

In this episode, Aishwarya mentioned watching a special clip from Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. You can watch the full video above.

NPR’s Code Switch did a great piece about the original Letters for Black Lives project in 2016. You can find it here: A Letter From Young Asian-Americans To Their Families About Black Lives Matter

Kat Chow, formerly with NPR’s Code Switch, also wrote this very thoughtful piece: 'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks

Finally, here are some links to other resources that may be helpful to you. We’ve not checked every single resource linked, but hopefully these are useful starting points for you to learn more and do further work.

Asian American Advocacy Fund resource list
Asian American Organizing Project resource list
Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit
Asians4Black Lives Twitter and Instagram

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014 - Kala Bagai

Image of Kala Bagai used with permission, courtesy Rani Bagai

What was it like for a South Asian woman immigrating to the US in the early 20th century, and how did she build a community over her lifetime? And why name a street in Berkeley after Kala Bagai — especially since she may not have spent much time living there, if she did at all?

Listen:

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The organizers behind Kala Bagai Way have documented their own journey to rename this street after Kala Bagai. Some information of their retelling was sourced from our episode...which in turn came from some of the organizers themselves, along with Bagai’s family and the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). You can read more at Kala Bagai Way: The Inside Story.

Kala Bagai and her family. Photo used with permission, courtesy Rani Bagai and SAADA.

Kala Bagai and her sons. Photo used with permission, courtesy Rani Bagai and SAADA.

Learn more about Kala Bagai and her story on the South Asian American Digital Archive website. There you can also find the recording of her oral history, Vaishno Das Bagai’s letter to the San Francisco Examiner, and other archival materials, such as the newspaper clipping below.

Clipping of Los Angeles Daily News, featuring American Wives of India organization. Photo used with permission, courtesy Rani Bagai and SAADA.

You can read Rani Bagai’s letter supporting the Kala Bagai Way campaign on Berkeleyside here:
Opinion: Berkeley might name a street after Kala Bagai. This is her story

Community historians Barnali Ghosh and Anirvan Chatterjee have founded Berkelely South Asian Walking tour with a wonderful mission, ie to bring the South Asi...

Learn more about the Berkeley South Asian Radical History walking tour on their website.