-2.7 F
Spokane
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
spot_img
HomeNewsSpokane community to celebrate AAPI culture, history with Heritage Day

Spokane community to celebrate AAPI culture, history with Heritage Day

Date:

Related stories

Yoyot Sp’q’n’i brings hope to Spokane’s Indigenous communities

Learn more about Spokane's nonprofit Yoyot Sp’q’n’i that supports Indigenous communities facing domestic violence, mental health challenges, homelessness and more, offering cultural services and advocacy.

Spokane Council restricts local immigration enforcement

Spokane City Council votes to limit local immigration enforcement, drawing hundreds of community members to City Hall as immigrant advocates praise the move to protect residents.

New atheist report ranks Washington high in religious equality, Idaho low

American Atheists released its annual State of the Secular States report, which ranks states on religious equality. This year, Washington ranks high with Idaho low.

WSU health justice conference bridges communities toward healthcare equity

Healthcare leaders gathered virtually at WSU's Health Justice and Belonging Conference to discuss community-driven solutions toward healthcare equity in eastern Washington.

Fans say God doesn’t care who wins the Super Bowl

Despite 123.7 million Super Bowl viewers, most Americans don’t believe God cares about the game’s outcome. A recent Lifeway Research study shows only 13% think God is concerned.

Our Sponsors

spot_img

Spokane community to celebrate AAPI culture, history with Heritage Day

By Emma Ledbetter

In response to the recent rise in anti-Asian hate, Spokane’s United We Stand is hosting Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (June 12) at CenterPlace’s West Lawn Plaza in Spokane Valley. 

The event’s poster was designed by a local Asian American artist by the name of Remelisa Cullitan. She calls it “Sleep With One Eye Open,” to illustrate our community’s vigilance and our reawakening.

United We Stand members joined together for a vigil to honor the eight people killed in March in the Atlanta spa shootings, said community organizer Mark Carlos. They decided to plan an event celebrating AAPI culture to counter the hate they witnessed or experienced.

Organizers want to recognize historical contributions members of the AAPI community made to Spokane, Carlos said. Asian Americans who helped build Spokane, such as the Chinese and Japanese Americans who worked on the railroad system, are not recognized in local history education or books.

“We’re coming together to say ‘no more,’” he said. “We want to take over the narrative because the narrative has been set for us … we’re just trying to correct the record.”

AAPI Heritage Day is an opportunity for community members to counteract hate crimes by valuing and supporting one another, said Kristine Hoover, Faith Leaders and Leaders of Conscience member and associate professor at Gonzaga University’s School of Leadership Studies.

Even though people may have different backgrounds and perspectives, they can all come together with a common belief in human dignity, Hoover said. 

Cultural performances will occur throughout the day, including martial arts demonstrations, singing and drumming. There will also be local vendors, food trucks selling different cultural dishes and representatives from community groups, Carlos said. 

Representatives from FLLC, Muslims for Community Action and Support, the Spokane Hindu Temple and Cultural Center and other Spokane-based faith groups will be present, event organizer Charity Bagatsing wrote in an email.

FLLC will display art created by community members as a statement of solidarity with the AAPI community, Hoover said. The organization also hopes to share resources for reporting hate crimes, such as Spokane’s Hate Report

Photo of Spokane Filipino Club taken at the Davenport, in the 20’s during the time that the Philippines was an American Colony/Contributed

This is the first time this event has happened in Spokane, but it is just the beginning of something bigger, said Sean Lizama, event committee member and Milestones Media founder. There will be more organized events celebrating different cultures in Spokane, such as barbecues and parties.

“I think it’s a good time for the first time,” he said.

Lizama said he hopes to see the event expand in future years to include more community members, politicians and local faith groups. 

When Lizama moved from Tacoma to Spokane, he said he felt the AAPI community in Spokane was not integrated. He got involved with the event as a videographer to feel more connected to other Pacific Islanders. 

“From conversations I’ve been having with Asians and Pacific Islanders, they don’t feel like they have much of a voice here,” he said. “But Asian Pacific Islander culture is part of American culture.”

Your support helps pay local religion reporters, so SpokaneFāVS can provide more content like this.

Emma Ledbetter
Emma Ledbetter
Emma Ledbetter is a freelance writer from Newcastle, Washington. She is a rising senior at Washington State University, where she is a microbiology major. She has written for The Daily Evergreen, WSU's student newspaper, for the last three years and is currently serving as editor-in-chief. Emma is content as long as she is writing, and she hopes to be a science writer after she graduates. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking and playing with dogs.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x