Reflections on “Big Fight in Little Chinatown”: As Chinese Americans, how do we preserve a place we can still call home? By One Voice Introduction|A Moment to Ask: Where Did We Come From, and Where Are We Going? On July 26, 2025, a community screening and dialogue was held at the Marjorie Barrick Museum ofContinue reading “Preserving Our Map: The Future Battle for Chinatown and Chinese Belonging”
Tag Archives: identity
Assimilate or Stay True?
——When “Identity” Is Dismissed as a False Question Identity & Belonging Series (Extra) By Voice in Between At a recent community forum, an elderly Chinese immigrant raised his hand during the Q&A session and said earnestly, “I think for people like us—minorities in this country—there’s no point in obsessing over ‘identity.’ What really matters isContinue reading “Assimilate or Stay True?”
Who Gets to Write Our Shared Future?
Identity & Belonging Series (Part 5) When Ethnic Identity Moves Beyond “Who Am I” into Structures, Narratives, and Collective Action By: Voices in Between Prologue|From “Who Am I” to “Who Are We” In the first four essays of this series, we explored how identity is formed, distorted, and reimagined—from the shared struggles across ethnic lines,Continue reading “Who Gets to Write Our Shared Future?”
How the Younger Generation Is Redefining Ethnic Identity
Identity & Ethnicity Series (Part 4) Between Intergenerational Breaks and Hybrid Selves, They Are Writing a New “We” By Voices In Between Introduction|Tradition Is Not a Burden—It’s Raw Material In earlier installments, we mapped out ethnic identity across groups, explored five identity paths among Chinese Americans, and examined how schools and communities shape how we’reContinue reading “How the Younger Generation Is Redefining Ethnic Identity”
“Who Am I” Between School and Community
Identity & Ethnicity Series (Part 3) From Classrooms to Neighborhoods: How We Are Seen, and How We Are Overlooked By Voices In Between Introduction|Identity Is Not a Monologue—It’s a Public Encounter In Part Two, we outlined five evolving paths of Chinese American identity, each reflecting how individuals navigate culture, politics, and family.In this installment, weContinue reading ““Who Am I” Between School and Community”
Five Transformative Paths of Chinese American Identity
Identity & Ethnicity Series (Part 2) Between Labels and Lived Reality: How Chinese Americans Define “Who I Am” By Voices In Between Introduction|From Shared Struggle to Personal Reckoning In Part One, we sketched a map of America’s diverse ethnic identities, exploring how various groups navigate the tension between social structures, historical trauma, and dominant narratives.InContinue reading “Five Transformative Paths of Chinese American Identity”
A Map of Belonging: The Identity Struggles Across Ethnic America
Identity & Ethnicity Series (Part 1) Through the Lens of Chinese Americans, a Look at Immigrant and Indigenous Identity Journeys By Voices In Between Series Introduction|Living in the “In-Between” In a country shaped by waves of migration and complex histories, the question “Who am I?” is rarely simple.For immigrants and ethnic minorities in the U.S.,Continue reading “A Map of Belonging: The Identity Struggles Across Ethnic America”
Our Fourth of July: Finding Identity Between BBQ and Sticky Rice Dumplings
Every July 4th, a strange blend of aromas drifts from our backyard—grilled steak sizzling over charcoal, and the sweet scent of sticky rice dumplings steaming on the stove. This is how my family celebrates Independence Day: half burgers and popcorn, half salted egg yolk and lotus seed paste. As a child, I often wondered whyContinue reading “Our Fourth of July: Finding Identity Between BBQ and Sticky Rice Dumplings”
The Child’s Flag, the Parents’ Silence
My daughter received a small American flag outside the grocery store the weekend before the Fourth of July. “They said I can stick it in the garden or take it to the picnic,” she told me, clutching the little plastic flag like it was something ceremonial. When we got home, she placed it carefully inContinue reading “The Child’s Flag, the Parents’ Silence”
Independence Day Doesn’t Belong to Everyone: A Declaration Still Unfinished
By One Voice Every Fourth of July, fireworks streak across the night sky, the Stars and Stripes flutter in the wind, and the scent of barbecue fills the sidewalks. People raise their glasses to freedom, celebrating the birth of a young nation that, in 1776, declared its break from empire and its belief that “allContinue reading “Independence Day Doesn’t Belong to Everyone: A Declaration Still Unfinished”