If my previous identity query was grounded on, and perhaps confined by, this dualistic tension between Korea and America, the idea of diaspora liberated me from a geographic grounding of identity. It was a membership not only in the Korean or Korean American community but also in these larger sojourner communities around the world who share, no matter how remote or accurate, collective memories of the homeland, heritage and history. 

Throughout this spring of 2023, the world is witnessing a global surge in COVID cases, driven by variants of the virus such as the XBB.1.16 strain in India and the XBB.1.15 in the United States.1 The COVID crisis has glaringly underscored the need for nation states to prepare for the advent of global pandemics. Lockdowns […]

One decade on, it is essential to revisit the 2012 attack on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin–and to reflect on what more we must do to better protect our communities from similar horrific violence.

Asian American activists have been key to remembering the “comfort women” in the U.S. and globally. The act of remembering is often done through creating memorials, exhibits, films, conferences, and educational efforts. This paper examines Asian American activists’ remembrance work in building a memorial in the city of San Francisco.

I consider the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) an Asian melting pot. Growing up here meant that you were surrounded by the best Asian food (you would know when it was really good if the restaurant took cash only), boba was life, and your parents were most likely immigrants. For me and my friends, being a child of immigrants entailed silently dealing with being interpreters for our parents. I can’t tell you the countless times my mom pushed the phone to my ear out of nowhere to carry on a conversation with the cable company or to translate school flyers, even when she always had the Korean-English dictionary on hand. As I grew older, translating written material got more complex.

Under the structures of white supremacy, the pandemic has unveiled the dehumanization of Asian folks in the US. For many of us who are members of Asian communities, these lived realities have existed since the arrival of Chinese laborers in the 1850s.[i] We went from “dog eaters” to “bat eaters”;[ii] we exist dually as model minorities and perpetual foreigners;[iii] we’re seen as apolitical, non-combative, and submissive, yet also as the threatening yellow peril;[iv] we’re fetishized yet desexualized;[v] weaponized to perpetuate anti-Blackness;[vi] and the list goes on.

We stand at a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Domestically, inflation is forcing Americans to stretch every last dollar to afford to put groceries on the table and fill up their cars. Globally, the United States must contend with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the rise of autocratic governments. In the face of these […]

Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, addressed the African Development Conference organized by Harvard Kennedy School’s Africa Caucus and Harvard Law Students Association in Cambridge,Massachusetts, emphasizing the importance of Africa charting its own course towards a more prosperous and inclusive future. The conference’s theme, “Reimagining Africa’s growth on our terms,” was described as timely and […]

Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Tadeous Chifamba, recently spoke with the Africa Policy Journal in an exclusive interview, discussing various issues related to Africa’s relationships with superpowers. Ambassador Chifamba emphasized the importance of Africa being seen as an equal partner, rather than prey, and having a seat at the table. The interview was […]

The launching of Chat GPT by Open AI has sparked a heated debate about the future of language. Chat GPT is an AI-driven powered chatbot that allows people to have human-like conversations.  In an exclusive interview with the Editor-in-Chief of the African Policy Journal (APJ), Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u, John Mugane, Professor of the Practice of […]

In 2019, Zach Moore was a new software engineer at a San Francisco-based tech company. He showed up to work early, walked around the neighborhood, and cleared his head. Incarcerated at age 15, Zach learned how to quiet his mind while spending 22 years in prison. For decades, he worked on himself and helped others […]

Si vis pacem para bellum – if you want peace, prepare for war. For too long, Europe has ignored this fundamental Latin adage. As Russia’s war in Ukraine has made abundantly clear, Europe is still dependent on the United States as a guarantor of the continent’s security and as a deterrent to Russian aggression. Without […]