The Spokane Public Library is planning a month-long virtual celebration of Heritage Month for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
The Spokane Public Library has a full May virtual event schedule and recommended reading and movie list in honor of the month of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage.
The month-long celebration comes as the number of assaults and harassment against members of the Asian community has risen across the country. In response, the library issued a declaration of solidarity.
“We stand in solidarity with all of our color communities at this difficult time in our history, but today we stand stronger for our Asian, Asian-American and Pacific islanders,” the statement said in part. “Our library is committed to unlearning racism, including anti-Asian racism. We raise the voices and stories of Asians, Americans from Asia, and the islanders in the Pacific through our collections scheduled for May for Asia-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and year round. “
Virtual
The first virtual event, “Representation Issues: Choosing and Reading AAPI Children’s Books”, will take place on May 18th at 6.30pm. This session, chaired by Dr. Melissa Bedford of Eastern Washington University is the first in a three-part series.
The second part is “Celebrating Diversity: Our Differences Make Us Great” on May 25th at 6:30 pm and the final session is “Let’s Talk: How To Have Conversations About Running With Children” on June 8th at 6:30 pm Sessions are for Adults thought.
A virtual “Meet the Artist” session with the local Filipino-American queer artist Remelisa Cullitan will take place on May 19 from 4 to 5 pm. Cullitan’s work can be seen in the “E” of the Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Spokane. The session is open to young people and adults.
Books
Readers are invited to join a virtual book club on May 26th from 12pm to 1pm. The book under discussion is “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” by Lisa See. Some physical books can be checked out at local library branches. The book is also available as an eBook from the Spokane Public Library.
Those interested in one of the online sessions must register in advance. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate in the free Zoom Virtual Sessions.
The reading list includes books suggested by local members of the Asian-American and Pacific islanders. Titles include “Fred Korematsu Speaks Up” by Laura Atkins, “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning” by Cathy Park Hong, “Interior Chinatown” by Charles Yu, and “Native Speaker” by Chang-rae Lee.
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Nina Culver can be reached at [email protected]