President’s Note

To our readers, Thank you to all those who have reached out or supported us in different ways these past few months. As you know, it is a challenging time for small businesses and for media groups—and Asian Avenue magazine happens to fall under both! We are doing alright and pressing on with coverage of our AAPI community’s stories and experiences.

Through this pandemic, we have discovered so many compassionate people doing great work to help others, including the Filipino Food Truck in Colorado Springs that is providing free food to those experiencing homelessness (featured in this month’s issue). Our cover story sheds lights on what pregnancy looks like during a pandemic. Mothers are having to go to doctor’s visits alone and families are hosting virtual baby showers to keep a safe distance. This is a challenging time as we all adapt to the circumstances including professional photographers who have had to pivot their businesses due to the cancellation of large events. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of two Asian American Hero of Colorado awardees who passed away last month: Dennis Apuan and George Yoshida. Both men made considerable impacts on Colorado’s AAPI community; their legacies live on through the Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado’s Filipino American community, and the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival (among other areas)! Annie Guo VanDan, President | Asian Avenue magazine | www.asianavemag.com

With May typically being a month of celebrations in the AAPI community, many organizational leaders turned to the internet to find creative ways to virtually celebrate AAPI heritage. Priscilla Rahn, Chairperson for the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Asian Education Advisory Council (AEAC) and candidate for CU Regent CD6, was inspired to reach out to 31 Asian leaders and spotlight one each day in the month of May.

“The first Sunday in May is always when we celebrate the academic, leadership and special talent accomplishments of students and contributions of educators in DPS,” said Rahn.

“May 2020 marked our 35th anniversary of AEAC and we were planning a monumental awards breakfast. We were also planning our annual Career Daze field trip to take Asian students to shadow an Asian leader in the metro area. Our goal was to have 500 people in attendance, so I was incredibly sad when we received the news that all large gatherings were canceled.”

Rahn was inspired to tell the stories of 31 Asian leaders for several reasons. “I wanted these spotlights to show the rich humanity within our community. I was sad to hear stories of hostile

Asian xenophobic acts across the nation, and as the only Asian candidate running for office (University of Colorado), I wanted to represent the Asian community.”

“One theme that was repeated throughout these interviews was that it’s crucial for Asian Americans to get involved in our churches, temples, schools, businesses, government boards, etc. and contribute our voice to make positive change.”

What started out as mini coffee chats has turned into a library of history. The conversations became intimate as individuals shared their journeys. As you watch the videos, you’ll hear from Korean and Japanese adoptees, first generation immigrants up through fourth-generation Asian Americans!

It stood out to Rahn that all the interviewees had a strong humanitarian focus in their work.

“Everyone’s work is grounded in equity while maintaining deep ties to their culture. I love that our Asian community is strong and that we can all come together, even with our different languages, foods and customs, and unite as Asian-Americans.“

The careers represented span a wide-range and the conversations are both light-hearted and deeply emotional. “I thought I would have a difficult time finding enough people to interview every day, but I soon realized that these 31 people are just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many people who are doing great things and who I want to spotlight,” said Rahn.

All 31 of the AAPI Heritage Month spotlights are archived and can be viewed online at: rahnforcuregent.com/aapi or on Facebook at: fb.com/dpsaeac.