A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month!
Like others of Asian heritage, I spent May reflecting on how far I and other Asians have come, where we are now, and where we still need to be. I am proud to call LA County, home. For me and other Asian immigrants like me, there is no other home. As a refugee born after the Vietnam War, my family and I fled from communism by fishing boat to Hong Kong and ultimately, to LA County. We rode the rising tide of freedom out of Vietnam and followed our dreams to the U.S., where we settled in LA County in the 1980’s largely due to the diversity of the region and the Asian populations that lived here.
LA County is so unique and special because of the many Asian immigrants that have positively shaped the region. Some, like the Chinese, have been here since 1850. The fabric of LA County is weaved with many Asians, including the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Thai, and is dotted with areas like Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Historic Filipinotown, and Thai Town. Asians also expanded outside of these areas and created strong cultural enclaves in Monterey Park, Cerritos, Rowland Heights, and San Gabriel. With the strength of community (and voting bloc) created by these areas, Asians helped propel other Asians to local political seats, to the State Assembly, and to Congress. While we have had some limited success putting Asians into political office, this road has not been without challenges, and the road that remains ahead both in LA County and nationally, is riddled with the rise of AAPI hate.
It is against this backdrop that LACAAEA embarked in planning its AAPI Heritage Month celebration. We wanted to celebrate all that is wonderful and diverse about the Asian ethnicities that have helped shape LA County and its government work force, while also speaking out against AAPI hate. LACAAEA was proud to partner with the LA City Employees Asian American Association (LACEAAA) for the event, “Embrace and Empower: Uplifting the AAPI Community.” We went virtual with the event on May 22, 2021, and featured AAPI Heritage Month welcome messages from each of our five County Supervisors, the Undersheriff, and our Assessor.
The event celebrated the diversity of the AAPI community with a traditional Chinese lion dance and cultural messages/performances from Los Angeles County’s Cambodian, Chinese and Filipino employee associations. We heard from keynote speaker, Michael Woo, the first Asian American and first trained urban planner elected to the LA City Council. We were empowered by a special presentation from Asian Americans Advancing Justice on how to combat the rising AAPI hate, and learned of the numerous resources available to the AAPI community. LACAAEA and LACEAAA past presidents also shared their collective 39 years of experience leading Asian employees inside County and City government, including from our own Jackie Guevarra, who isnow the Executive Director of the LA County Quality and Productivity Commission.
In this May issue of Drum Circle, we feature a great Op-Ed piece breaking down the origins that led to the racism and sexism of AAPI women. We also highlight Yuri Kochiyama, an American civil rights icon, and County leader Robin Toma, Executive Director of the LA County Human Relations Commission as well as our committee chair bios. Let’s also lend our support to the featured local business, Wolfie’s Hot Chicken, a plant-based hot chicken sandwich joint in Highland Park.
As AAPI Heritage Month draws to a close, we should all continue to celebrate throughout the year the uniqueness of our Asian cultures and our indelible impact on LA County. We should also continue to rise up and unite against the wave of AAPI hate, for it is true, “A rising tide lifts all boats!” With the rising tide of voices speaking in unity against AAPI hate, we can lift all of our AAPI residents and LA County to an even better place.
Truc has been employed with the County for the last 14 years. She is an attorney with County Counsel and advises the County on information technology, intellectual property, contracting, procurement and government law matters. Truc is an avid traveler, foodie, cook and USC fan. Check out her Instagram page.
