Liz is the president of AAP(I belong), a nonprofit organization that aims to raise greater awareness on Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander discrimination and cultural challenges. Liz created AAP(I belong) after her mother was attacked — for being Asian. We talk about the way that the Asian American identity is structured to be successful and how we are gaslit to think that we are only subjected to so-called micro aggressions, all the while being constantly reminded that we are foreign and do not really belong. Liz talks about the “pie of racism” —all racism is connected. She could see the thread connecting the murder of George Floyd to the Atlanta spa shootings to the attack on her mother. We need to keep talking about racism, including defining racism as an ideology that is separate from individuals. Sometimes we can all get caught up with claiming how not-racist we are, that we end up enabling and upholding the system itself. I admire that Liz has been able to alchemize the trauma of her mother — and of herself — to build community, to educate, and to envision a more inclusive future where we are all free. Please enjoy, the very resilient — Liz.

AAP(I belong) website

AAP(I belong) IG

Leah’s IG