Today in AAPI History...

Hello, friends! 

On September 1, 2011, the University of California - Irvine launched Viet Stories, a Vietnamese American oral history project. It was also on this day in 1874 that the Chinese Mission Home, later renamed the Cameron House, was founded in San Francisco's Chinatown. 

How do I know this? Because I've been posting about things that have been happening on "This Day in AAPI History" for the past 2 years. I've learned a lot, not only about AAPI History, but also about myself. 

The project started for me in 2021. As I was working on my job plan for the upcoming year, I was thinking through all the different roles I'd be filling, I noticed that I didn't have any specific roles working in Asian American Ministries (AAM). Usually, there was at least some connection to AAM in the work I did. For the first 10 years of my staff career, I was leading ACF at Mizzou or supervising the staff who was leading ACF. When I first moved to Omaha, I got connected to the AAM bible study at Creighton and was helping out there a little. I'd also did some Zoom coaching for the ACF at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. But, in 2021, I wasn't really doing any AAM work, and I missed it. Added to that, because of the pandemic, there was a sharp rise in acts of violence against the AAPI community. It broke my heart to see the ways that the AAPI community was treated because of deep rooted racism. 

So, "Today in AAPI History" was my solution. I'd heard about this book, "Asian American History Day by Day" and committed to posting regularly about the important events in AAPI History on any given day, as a way for me to keep my connection to the AAPI community and hopefully educate some folk along the way. 

Friends, it has been such a joy to post these little tidbits, day after day. I'm not in it for the "likes" but one of the things that's been so much fun has been seeing different people from all my different spheres interact with any given post. Folk who have no connection to one another, other than the fact that they know me, are having similar reactions to the triumphs and tribulations that the AAPI community has faced in the history of our great country. 

Looking back on my posts over the past 2 years, one thing that jumps out to me is how much our people have suffered in the United States. From explotative labor practices, to exclusion, to internment, to hate crimes, we've been through a lot. 

But, we've also had a number of triumphs. I'm always proud and inspired when I get to post about the first Asian American to hold a post, be elected to an office, or accomplish a feat. We are also a resilient people.

With that being said, I'm going to retire Today in AAPI History for the time being. It's not that these stories are no longer necessary; quite the opposite. They're just as crucial as ever. I've just noticed that my time is more limited than it was before, at least in part because of some new work I'm doing with AAM in InterVarsity related to Ministry Partnership Development.

It's been a pleasure and joy bringing you bits of AAPI History each day. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam