Let’s start by telling us a little about yourself. What is your story — How did you get involved in organizing?
It wasn’t anything big that sparked my interest. It was more of a challenge. It was the summer of 2012, and I just finished with my freshman year of college. My brother Chong and I were just talking a lot about politics because I was taking some classes about communities of color. He mentioned that a field organizer position was open for Blong Yang’s campaign for Hennepin County Commissioner and figured I should just try it out! So I decided I was just gonna try it out, even though I had no experience organizing.
At first I didn’t think I would like the work at all. But what stayed with me is the conversations I had with people from North Minneapolis, which was basically my own backyard. Those conversations I had with people at the doors, on the phone, and at events just sparked an interest. I really appreciate those types of small conversations that can be impactful and make people think about their own power. And since then, I’ve stuck with organizing work!
Which communities do you serve? What does this community mean to you?
I think this question can be kinda hard to answer. Definitely what comes to mind first is my own home and my own neighborhood in North Minneapolis. I also serve communities of color, and specifically young asian women, folks with different types of abilities, and people who speak different languages. Those are communities that I help to serve and hope to continue serving in the future.
I think largely these communities are a reflection of myself. The reason I continue to serve them is also because I’m able to serve myself at the same time. You know doing this work makes sure that power is uplifted and that people’s narratives and stories are heard. I can do this for myself and others at the same time, which is why it’s important to me.
Why does the Census matter to these communities?
It’s hard for me to say how the Census might matter to so many communities, but I can talk about how it impacts myself first, and hopefully extend that to other communities. Originally the Census didn’t really mean anything to me. I didn’t know what the impacts were, and I only really knew that there was a survey that comes out every 10 years. Now that I’ve learned more about the Census, I see how impactful it is. Recently I learned that leaders and politicians draw “lines” through redistricting that allows them to choose who their voters are basically. It made me realize why when I was 18 I felt like my vote was never needed and that no one would pay attention. Once I understood this and how it matters for redistricting and the Census, I realized that all these things were connected.
How do you think the Census could help fix the inequalities you see in your communities?
So I haven’t ever experienced the impacts of the Census myself, since the last census was 2010 and I was a lot younger back then. But I believe in the Census and how it can identify issues in communities that we can address and figure out solutions for. For example, I don’t know what educational attainment within the Asian community will look like in 2020, so being able to see that and understanding the inequalities within that can definitely help what issues we hope to target in the future.
