Green Card Voices, The Podcast

It's the Beyond Allyship season finale conversation! Please subscribe to the podcast, listen to all our amazing past conversations, and be ready for when Green Card Voices steps further into the new decade with bold feet and clear eyes with more voices speaking to the role of immigrants, refugees, and diaspora peoples in shaping the quickening currents of our messy world.

Podcast manager Asha Thanki sits down with Sergio and MaryAnne Quiroz to talk about how they, as Indigenous and Asian American artists and activists, collaborate with the movement for Black liberation.

Their nonprofit, Indigenous Roots Cultural Center, is not only a collaborative space for artists but also became a major mutual aid station for the East Side of St. Paul. Sergio and MaryAnne discuss the ways in which their art is inseparable from their activism, the ways in which they’re participating in conversations around colorism and anti-Blackness in their communities, and the deep ties to ancestry through the work they do in the community. Check out our sixth episode -- the last one of this season -- to hear more about why both Sergio and MaryAnne are hopeful for the future.

Listen to Episode 2 for the first installment of our conversation with Darian and Lily on reimagining our relationship with the United States.

We’re back with Darian Spearman and Lily Luo, doctoral candidates at the University of Connecticut, to continue the conversation from our second episode. With a little more political theory and history, this half of the conversation looks more closely at the intersection of labor and social justice, while investigating ways different cultural communities build solidarity.

We dive into complicated relationships with mythologized ancestry, as well as questions like: How can we build bridges through social justice conversations with our diaspora families? What does it mean to have one foot in a U.S. American identity and the other based in another homeland or motherland? How can we conceptualize “family” and “solidarity” in ways that bridge different communities?

Race, Feminism, Capitalism- oh my! 

[warning: explicit language used in podcast series, including this episode conversation]

Host Mahlet Aschenaki and podcast manager Asha Thanki join Freedom, Inc.’s Co-Executive Directors, Kabzuag Vaj and M. Adams, to talk about their work at the intersection of gender justice, queer justice, and Black and Southeast Asian Liberation.

We dive into the history of Freedom, Inc., and how it’s evolved from a Southeast Asian focus to one bridging Southeast Asian and Black youth, queer folks, and low- to no-income communities. M. explains the necessary integration of a labor lens to justice organizing while Kabzuag recounts her interactions with members of her community around the murder of George Floyd and their property-focused response. You don’t want to miss this one!

⚠️WARNING⚠️: no easy conversations ahead, and yet so much to gain.

Ready or not, welcome to the movement. 🖤🌱

In the third episode of Green Card Voices’ new series, host Mahlet Aschenaki and podcast manager Asha Thanki sit down with campaign managers Laura Li (18 Million Rising) and Kifah Shah (MPower Change) to talk about their personal relationships to organizing, advice for newcomers on how to get involved, and the importance of knowing your history.

Laura gives us a crash course on the relationship between Asian American and Black Americans’ social justice alignment, and Kifah highlights the importance of Muslim Black history in the U.S. The takeaway from both guests is clear: Organizing and social justice work takes dedication and time. Newcomers, buckle your seatbelts and prepare to dedicate the rest of your lives to this work.

In this second episode of Green Card Voices’ new series, podcast manager Asha Thanki and social media manager and former #LoveYourAsianNeighbors host Tri Vo sit down with Darian Spearman and Lily Luo, doctoral candidates at the University of Connecticut, to discuss how Asian Americans are communicating with their relatives about the movement for Black liberation, some political theory and history, and the steps they think must be taken next by communities to push forward.

Starting with critiques of different letters meant to bridge communication gaps, this conversation asks listeners how they’re ensuring their outreach to family and communities are truly conversations, how they’re keeping the fire from burning out, and lessons we can learn from organizers in the racial justice space. Part two of this conversation coming soon!

In this first episode of Green Card Voices’ new series, host Mahlet Aschenaki and podcast manager Asha Thanki sit down with Joy Marsh Stephens, Tomme Beevas, and Jeff Aguy to discuss their personal relationships to organizing, their efforts in the ongoing movement for Black liberation, and the steps they think must be taken next.

Bridging public and private domains, Joy discusses the changes she sees structurally and culturally at the city government level; Tomme dives into the mutual aid work centered at his restaurant, Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, and his support for on-the-ground organizers; and Jeff analyzes how entrepreneurs and financial support of organizers and political candidates can help allies put their money where their mouth is.

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Fred Lee and Na-Rae Kim, professors of Asian American Studies from the University of Connecticut-Storrs, check-in with each other and our series host Tri Vo. They discuss historical moments—including the H3N2 pandemic of the 1960s, the Vietnam War, and the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII—that have shaped the sinophobia of the COVID-19 crisis. Looking even further into the past, they share the stories—and acknowledge the missing stories—of their grandparents and great-grandparents in Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast China. Finally, they share their hopes for the memory of our current moment and the future of Asian America.

Join the Green Card Voices podcast community and hear more from Na-Rae and Fred by becoming a Patron at https://bit.ly/ForOurGCVNeighbors

Share Fred and Na-Rae’s conversation online—using the #LoveYourAsianNeighbors hashtag—and tell us your story of raising the voices, whether it’s your own or another’s voice, of Asian Americans.

During the first week of Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, our series host Tri Vo talks to Rev. Dana Neuhauser and Rev. Tyler H. Sit, spiritual leaders at New City Church in Minneapolis, MN. They share stories of confronting and adapting to the COVID 19 pandemic both in their personal lives and in their church. When communities can no longer physically gather, Dana and Tyler discuss what it means to maintain spiritual practices, to practice a mindset of abundance during a time of heightened fear and toilet paper hoarding, and to continue to collectively approach some of life’s biggest questions.

Share Mk and Hoang’s conversation online, using the #LoveYourAsianNeighbors hashtag. Share with us your story of raising the voices, whether it’s your own or another’s voice, of Asian Americans.

On this week’s episode our series host Tri Vo checks in with Hoang Murphy, the Founder/Executive Director of Foster Advocates, and MK Nguyen, a cultural worker based in the Frogtown Neighborhood of Saint Paul. With attention to both immediate needs and future possibility, they talk about making it through shelter-in-place with intentional community-building, the impact of the COVID 19 crisis on youth in Minnesota’s foster care system, and accessing resources in our communities and within ourselves

Our first episode of #LoveYourAsianNeighbors special series dives into what it means to be in community during the pandemic, to center those with the least access as we create solutions, and to find abundance in the face of scarcity.

We’re joined by series host Tri Vo, and community leaders Bo Thao-Urabe, Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL), and Nausheena Hussain, Founder and Executive Director of Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE).

Green Card Voices, the Podcast is shifting our regular storytelling program for a special series focused on the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in immigrant and refugee communities.

Thorunn Bjarnadottir first came to the University of Minnesota as an international student. Since then, she has built a life in Minnesota with a family born on multiple continents. Today Thorunn is the Director of Intercultural Education at the University of Minnesota’s International Student and Scholar Services. Through her work, she helps people from around the world navigate cultural differences.

Today Miguel Ramos is the Senior Director of  Diversity & Inclusion Strategy for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club. He is a tireless community advocate who strives to build rich partnerships and create better opportunities for those just arriving in the United States. But Miguel’s story begins in Puerto Rico, where he grew up and broke in his first baseball glove.

Muhend Abakar is well-known for his athletic achievements—from the soccer field to the basketball court to the 3,200-meter relay. Growing-up first in Sudan, then Egypt, and finally, the United States, sports were a familiar way for Muhend to connect with new people in unfamiliar places.

Regina Santiago tells her story of immigration, education, and optimism. It’s a story that unfolds in the many diverse classrooms where she has been both a student and a teacher: from a Filipino Catholic elementary school, to an American-style school in Indonesia, to a small liberal arts college in the Midwest, and finally to the classroom where she currently teaches first and second graders in St. Paul, Minnesota

Vy Luong grew up in Châu Thành district in Tiền Giang province, Vietnam. His immigration story begins much earlier and spans multiple generations of his family. Vy's grandfather is an American that served in the Vietnam War. Her mother is half American. After the war, they lost contact. When Vy was in sixth grade, his family left home in Vietnam to move to the United States to reunite with his grandfather. It's been 40 years since his mother has seen his father. Vy hopes to become a family physician after the support he received from moving to the US.

Tommy Beevas grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. The loss he felt leaving behind the familiarity of his grandmother’s kitchen was the spark of his entrepreneur journey in the United States. After winning the Food Network’s, Food Court Wars, Tommy left his corporate career to open Pimento Jamaican Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pimento’s flagship location is now a staple of Minneapolis’ Eat Street, a celebrated hub of international food.

Getiria Onsongo grew up in Kenya. He first arrived in the US as an international student at a small liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduation, he continued to build his life and career as a computer scientist in the Twin Cities. Looking back at the string of circumstances and opportunities that have shaped his life, Getiria considers himself lucky and hopes to break down educational barriers for future generations.

Ameeta Jaiswal-Dale grew up in India, in an area of the country well known for its apple orchards. She first emigrated to study economics in France where she received her doctorate from the Université de Rennes. After living and teaching in Minnesota for many years, Ameeta synthesised her knowledge of the apple industries and food cultures in India, France, and the United States to co-found Panache, a Minneapolis-based brand of artisan apple juice infusions.

After living in San Salvador all their life,  Luis Angel Santos Henriquez moved to the US without speaking any English.  Once in the US, they became one of many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and gender-nonconforming immigrants who finally found a place where they can be safe and be themselves.  Since, Luis Angel completed Wellstone International High School, and is currently pursuing their bachelors degree in Human Services at  Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

When Fadumo Yusuf was in 8th grade, her family resettled to Minnesota. There a high school teacher noticed her aptitude for STEM and encouraged her to join a club focused on invention. Now, this Gates-Millennium Scholar works for a medical device company, writes short stories and poems, and mentors young girls pursuing STEM.