Welcome to another episode of GENUINE, the podcast. Spark is a word you might hear mentioned frequently in the GENUINE community. For Dr. Carlton E. Green, co-host of the podcast, spark reflects the energy related to an epiphany after he has been reflecting on something, or a shift he feels as a result of some deeper understanding he has gained. Sometimes, spark could even occur as we relate to others. For this episode, Carlton has invited three self-proclaimed "badass" Asian American women to a roundtable discussion, hoping that they might all experience that spark.

We live in a time with record levels of hatred and reported hate incidents leveled towards Asian and Asian American people. Many listeners may be aware of the anti-Asian hatred and violence that have come to the fore recently, in the conversations about and the movement for racial justice in the United States lately. According to a recent peer research center survey, three in ten Asian Americans have reported experiencing racist jokes or racial slurs since the pandemic began. In their latest national briefing, StopAAPIhate.org disclosed 3,795 anti-Asian hate incidents between March 2020 and February 2021. And then, in mid-March, a man murdered eight people in the area of Atlanta, Georgia. Six of them were Asian women working in Asian-owned businesses.

At GENUINE, we are interested in experiences of genuineness. We wanted to talk to some people about how they manage to live through this time in our nation’s history. So we invited three Asian American psychologists to discuss the harm that is happening to people from the Asian diaspora. And to share their expertise because we wanted to hear about their experiences as Asian American women living through this challenging and overwhelming time.

It is important to note that while all our guests identify as Asian American, they are ethnically diverse. Marcia identifies as Chinese American. Cirleen identifies as a multiracial Asian American. And Kim is a Korean American transnational transracial adoptee.

We invite you to take a deep breath and soak into this potent episode.

Show highlights:

• Kim, Cirleen, and Marcia talk about how they experienced, in their bodies, the recent news and images about the violence perpetrated against Asian and Asian American folks.
• Tapping into the heart pain is a significant aspect of the racially violent experience.
• Marcia, Cirleen, and Kim discuss the effects that Anti-Asian racism and violence have been having on communities of people. Particularly on the Asian and Asian American folks.
• Kim talks about the visibility and the invisibility that Asian and Asian American folks face due to the current situation.
• There are times when Asian and Asian American folks may not talk about race because the white supremacy culture has set them up not to have a voice. That has become very upsetting, hurtful, and possibly even dangerous to Asian and Asian American folks, particularly women. Our guests discuss what that has felt like for them.
• Cirleen talks about Asian and Asian American people are being re-traumatized.
• A fresh public voice is emerging out of this conversation. And that is another hard part of what is happening right now for Asian American women in particular.
• Asian folks often get regarded as the model minority. Marcia, Cirleen, and Kim talk about what that means to them and how it affects people.
• Some recent reports in the public sphere have highlighted schisms or violence between black and Asian people. Our guests give their take on the way that gets produced in the news media.
• Our guests share some strengths that they are drawing on right now to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Bios:

Dr. Kim Langrehr is a licensed psychologist in the state of Missouri. She is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A part of her work focuses on Racial-ethnic socialization among post-modern modern families, especially transracially adoptive families.

Dr. Marcia Liu is a Licensed Psychologist in the State of New York. She is also the Mental Health Coordinator for HCAP, a federally funded grant program focusing on the needs of Asian American/Pacific Islander students at Hunter College.

Dr. Cirleen DeBlaere is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at Georgia State University; Her work examines the experiences of individuals with multiple and intersecting marginalized identities, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of women of color and sexual minority people of color.

Links and resources:

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