the post
scriptum project*
interviews*
in five-minute to hour-long conversations, we interviewed Asian-American individuals on their heritage and perceptions of identity.
Some of these were voluntarily requested by our voices contributors; some were painstakingly organized and set up months in advance; some were conducted spontaneously with shoppers in the aisle of an Asian supermarket—
—and all of them were incredible.
read their stories here.
Alexandra*
Alex is a current high schooler and dedicated advocate for social justice, mental health and body positivity through her account @alexfoodfreedom, which boasts 5k followers. We talked with Alexandra on May 30th, 2021 for ten minutes to speak about embracing ethnic cuisine, Eurocentrism and Gen Z’s BIPOC.
Allen*
Allen from Raleigh, NC currently studies music therapy in Indiana. Here he shares the more unconventional stories of his heritage—growing up with a white stepfather, pursuing his passion, and arriving at the value of empathy in and out of work.
Ayman*
Ayman Chaudary is a Pakistani Muslim. She is also a 'booktoker' on TikTok where she creates content/videos based on literature and fantasy/fiction novels. Here, she shares her thoughts on the importance of good Asian representation in media and even gives us a few book recs!
Binh*
Vietnamese-American Binh escaped a Communist-seized Vietnam in 1979 and now lives with his family in New Jersey. On May 28, he shared with us the details of his stunning journey, from Vietnam to Indonesia to America, from refugeeism to acculturation to a modern-traditionalist lifestyle.
Gabby*
Gabby Zonneveld is a queer, Asian-American musician based in New York. She shared with us heartbreaking and heartwarming anecdotes about her family and her trip to Malaysia, and the influences of her Asian identity on her music and upcoming album, DISORIENT
Hannah*
Hannah was our Korean-Chinese-American cashier at a Korean restaurant in New Jersey. We interrupted her work for a five-minute discussion on her double-Asian heritage, separation from the news, and visions of equality.
Katie*
We met Staten Island-based college student Katie in an Asian grocery store on May 29 and had a more-than-merry time discussing her upbringing, frustration with anti-Asian attacks, and “biting the shit” out of a sixth-grade bully mocking her race (at the cost of a two-day suspension).
Lily & Krithika*
We met Lily (Chinese-American) and Krithika (Indian-American), both college students from New York, sharing dessert at a local spot. In a fifteen minute conversation, we gained insight on Caucasian-dominant colleges, Hindu traditionalism, and the absence of Asians in conversations on race.
Winston*
Winston Chiu, a consultant-turned-chef-turned-entrepreneur, founded Rethink Food in 2018 as a pipeline dedicated to fighting food insecurity. He takes us from the personal, including rekindling his love for food, to the professional, including new social impact initiative Feed Forward, which continues to serve New York's minority neighborhoods today.