'When culture transcends otherness'

Dolly Parton, Jimmy Carter and Yo-Yo Ma: These are the top three people Paste BN consumer travel reporter Eve Chen has dreamed of interviewing. She has chatted with Parton and recently had the opportunity to speak with Ma, the world-renowned classical musician who has inspired her since she watched him on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in the 1980s. As an Asian American, Chen considers Ma's representation in popular culture significant then and now because he uses music to connect communities and overcome differences through culture.

👋 Nicole Fallert here, and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). This week, we talk with Chen about her interview with Ma for Paste BN's "5 Things" podcast and the importance of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (read more about what this title means here).

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'There's so much complexity to our lives'

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to uphold AANHPI heroes and changemakers, telling their stories and sharing the impact these communities have on our country. But this celebratory time also comes amid the reality of racism and discrimination in the U.S. and how anti-AANHPI hate can be acknowledged beyond this month.

Threats to AANHPI people have always existed, Chen said, but have felt like a "very real weight" on the minds of community members in recent years. The harrowing memory of the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings echoes pandemic-era waves of hateful rhetoric by public officials and targeted violence. Asian Americans lack a feeling of belonging and safety in the U.S., according to a survey by the The Asian American Foundation, and the STAATUS Index found many Americans cannot even name a famous living Asian American.

And that weight is felt across the community. A national survey commissioned by Stop AAPI Hate and conducted by NORC, a nonpartisan and independent research organization, showed a staggering half of all Asian American and Pacific Islander respondents said they have had their civil rights violated.

Spending a few days a year telling AANHPI stories isn't enough to combat these attacks, Chen said, adding these experiences have existed long before anti-AAPI hate prompted more coverage on the community.

May is an opportunity to make such experiences visible, Chen said, which starts with undoing the AANHPI "monolith."

"There's so much more complexity to our lives," she said.

Two years after the Atlanta spa shootings, AAPI community continues fight to stop hate

For those unsure how to observe the month, Chen suggests learning about even one community's culture, embracing the aspects of a specific identity rather than coalescing so many different people into one identity.

"If you invest in one group, it's so much more rewarding than lumping them together," she said, adding that her interview with Ma for Paste BN's "5 Things" podcast highlighted the importance of sitting with the communities we don't know to bridge differences.

Ma's latest project, Our Common Nature, has taken him to national parks like Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains, where he has been able to play and connect with others who care deeply about the land, including Native peoples whose ancestors first stewarded those spaces.

"As Yo-Yo said, when culture transcends otherness, the more you learn about their culture the less you see them as other, recognize their individuality and realize how much you have in common," Chen said, adding that the goal is more than just words.

It can involve simple, daily attention. As a Paste BN travel reporter, she's always thinking about how unique identities experience various places differently and how those situations can be shared to help others.

"We each have different privileges and challenges that we take to every space," she said. "As a reporter, including all types of people in every story helps people truly see that everyone's voice is equally important."

Despite historic Oscar, Grammy wins, Asians still aren't everything everywhere all at once

Chen said she was inspired by Ma's careerlong dedication to exploration.

"We could be in that (mindset) if we put that much intention to the way we think about the world," Chen said, adding it was a "dream come true" and a "full circle moment" to interview one of the only Asian Americans she remembers seeing on television growing up.

"The common perception was this racialized Asian 'other' identity," Chen said of AANHPI representation during her childhood in the 1980s. But Ma was a genuine person, kind and genuine and just another friendly "neighbor."

Decades after that "Mister Rogers" episode, Chen said, reporting on AANHPI stories for Paste BN makes her proud every day, and there has never been a greater opportunity to keep moving forward.

"There's a lot of work to do," Chen said. "So many Americans still don't see us."

Thank you

This is a special long weekend to enjoy the sunshine and those around us. Take care and embrace this time. Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you. 

Best wishes, 

Nicole Fallert