90 Minute session delivered to students and staff at Governor's Academy and nearby schools. What are affinity groups? Affinity Groups can offer a safe space to discuss experiences of identity, create group solidarity, build resilience, increase confidence and engagement, and provide empowerment toward action and leadership. Many schools and organizations are starting to see the importance of such spaces. How do you start affinity groups? How do you attract members? What are some ways you can engage members of the community and have meaningful conversations? Using the lens of the Asian and Pacific American experience, we will discuss how members of the community can leverage affinity group spaces to understand the successes, challenges, and opportunities of the group to both gain in-group benefits as well as greater school engagement. When members of the community feel valued, heard, and connected, everyone in the school community benefits. Participants in this discussion can expect to: 1) get resources that make the case for affinity groups, 2) get practical how-to’s for starting affinity groups meaningfully, and 3) hear ways that affinity groups can benefit Asian and Pacific American students.
Governor's Academy Affinity Groups Through API Lens
1. Setting Up and Leveraging Affinity Groups
(Through the Lens of Asian and Pacific Americans)
Governor’s Academy
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
3. Agenda
Conversation Norms
Basic Definitions
Making the Case for Affinity Groups
Creating and Launching Affinity Groups
Why for Asian and Pacific Americans?
Going Forward
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
4. Conversation Norms
Speak from the “I” perspective
Disagree without being disagreeable
Seek first to understand before being understood
Criticize ideas, not people
Work from your own learning edge and acknowledge
others may be coming from different places
Demonstrate respect
Be open-minded; seek clarification
Take risks; lean into discomfort
Assume positive regard
Honor the spirit of confidentiality
Remember the right to pass
Ouch!
Share air time
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
5. Basic Definitions
The term affinity group is used as a
bringing together of people who have an
identifier in common, e.g. race, gender,
religion, family status, etc. Affinity groups
are for individuals who identify as members
of the group and can speak to the
experience of being a member of the group
from the “I” perspective.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
6. Basic Definitions
The term alliance group is used as a
bringing together of people who have a
common commitment to an identifier group,
e.g. race, gender, religion, family status,
etc. Alliance groups are for individuals who
identify as members of the group and/or as
people who support and stand in solidarity
with that group.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
7. Basic Definitions
The term interest group is used as a
bringing together of people who want to
learn about, share, and engage in a special
interest, e.g. hobby, skill, topic, etc.
Interest groups are for individuals who want
to gather to teach, learn, and share.
Membership can be fluid and changing.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
8. What Spaces Exist in Our Schools?
Please converse in groups
of 3 or 4. Please introduce
yourselves. Do you have
affinity, alliance, or interest
spaces at your school?
What are they like? What
do they do? How well
attended (or not) are they?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
9. Why Affinity Groups Are Great
Safety and Comfort to be
Authentic
Affirmation
Critical Mass
Identity Socialization
Building Resilience
Preparing to Engage
Deeply with Other Groups
Empowerment Toward
Action
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
10. Why Affinity Groups
Meet Resistance
Unacknowledged Fear
of Assembly
Unacknowledged
Resistance to
Empowerment
Desire to Stay Ignorant
of Issues
Privilege
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
11. Forms of Resistance
• False Parallels
• Inverting the Injustice
• Outright Dismissal
• Minimization
• Righteousness
• Colorblindness
• Jealousy
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
12. Stage 1: Identify the Need
Gather data around the
school’s population
Gather research on the
challenges groups face
Gather research on the
benefit of affinity groups,
explicit conversations
Gather data around need
and desire
CONNECT TO YOUR
MISSION
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
13. Stage 2: Determine Format and
Definitions
Affinity, Alliance, or Interest?
Identities/Identifiers
Timing
Space
Facilitators
Group Goals or Mission
Statements
Curriculum
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
14. Stage 3: Communicate and Invite
Initial Communication from
Head
Communicate the Need, the
What, the How, and the Who
Communicate Definitions,
Goals, and Missions
FAQs
Faculty/Staff,
Parents/Guardians, Students
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
15. Stage 4: Facilitate Groups
Identity Pride
History
Positive Change and
Activism
Opportunities and
Challenges
Strategies for Success
Supporting Each Other
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
16. Stage 5: Wash, Rinse, Repeat
Assess Effectiveness
Make Improvements
Re-Launch Every Year
Utilize Student/Family Voice
United Front
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
17. Possible Affinity Group Curriculum
Culture Share
Celebrations of
Holidays/Events
Identity Exercises
Current Events
Movies
Field Trips
“What Do I Do If…”
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
18. Factors Leading to More Success
Pride > Struggle
Deflection of Blame
Inclusive of Full Spectrum
Who’s in the Room
Youth Driven Curricula
Opportunities to Share
Collective Action
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
19. Factors Leading to Less Success
Lack of Consistency
Lack of Budget
Lack of Curricula
Reinforcement of
Stereotypes
Chauvinism
Adult Agenda
Visitors and Gawkers
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
20. What Does Asian Pacific American Mean, Anyway?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
26. Asian Pacific American History
1763 Filipinos settle Saint Malo
1778 Chinese sailors land in Hawaii
1820s Chinese immigration begins in earnest
1865 The Central Pacific Railroad Co. recruits
Chinese workers for the transcontinental railroad
1878 Chinese are ruled ineligible for naturalized
citizenship
1882 Chinese Exclusion Act is passed
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
28. Takao Ozawa vs United States
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
29. Asian Pacific American History
1941 Japan air force attacked Pearl Harbor; FBI arrests
pro-Japanese community leaders
1941-45 Filipino resistance movement, working closely
with U.S. Army, fights the Japanese invaders
1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive
Order 9066 on February 19, uprooting 100,000 people
of Japanese descent on the west coast to be sent to
Internment camps.
1943-1945 Japanese Americans volunteer for the US
Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team and becomes
the highest decorated military unit in US history
1946, the Luce–Celler Act of 1946 grants naturalization
opportunities to Filipino Americans and Indian Americans
(which included present-day Pakistanis and Bangladeshis)
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
31. Asian Pacific American History
1956 Dalip Singh Saund is the first Asian (Sikh) to be elected for
Congress
1962 Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaiʻi elected for the US Senate
1965 Patsy T. Mink of Hawaiʻi becomes the first woman of color in
Congress.
1965 Luck Wing serves four terms as the Mayor of Sledge
Mississippi, population 600
1968 Term “Asian American” is coined as a part of the Asian
American Movement, a radical movement for social justice (Red
Guard)
1971, Norman Y. Mineta elected mayor of San Jose, California;
Herbert Choy nominated supreme court justice.
1974, George R. Ariyoshi elected governor of Hawaiʻi
1975 More than 130,000 refugees enter the U.S. from Vietnam,
Kampuchea, and Laos as Communist governments are
established there following the end of the Indochina War.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
32. Black Panthers and The Red Guard
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
33. Asian American History
1976 Samuel Ichiye (S. I.) Hayakawa of California and
Spark Matsunaga of Hawaiʻi elected as US Senators
1978 Ellison S. Onizuka becomes the first Asian American
astronaut
1982 Vincent Chin is accused of being a Japanese
(being blamed for loss of jobs) and beaten to death.
1987 First formal signing of the Proclamation of Asian
Pacific American Heritage Week by the White House
1988 U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs Civil Liberties
Act of 1988 apologizing for Japanese American
internment and provide reparations of $20,000 to each
victim
1992 Korean businesses are looted and burned during the
LA Riots
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
35. Asian American History
1992 Eugene Chung is football offensive lineman in the NFL
1992, Hae Jong Kim elected Bishop of United Methodist Church
1996 Gary Locke is elected as the first Chinese American governor
1999 Gen. Eric Shinseki becomes the first Asian American U.S.
military chief of staff
2000 Norman Y. Mineta becomes the first Asian American appointed
to the U.S. Cabinet
2002 Yao Ming is the number one draft pick in the 2002 NBA draft
2003 Ignatius C. Wang becomes a bishop of the Roman Catholic
Church
2008 Tim Lincecum (half Filipino) a starting pitcher for the San
Francisco Giants, is selected as an All Star for the Major League All
Star Game
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
36. Emergent Themes
The Perpetual Immigrant
The Worker Not Leader
Black or White or Neither?
Weak as a Socio-Political Group
Ethnically Separated
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
37. Myth of the Model Minority
Overly Hard Working and Tireless
Will Work Under Extreme Circumstances
Quiet and Cooperative
Serene, Smart, Resilient
Doesn’t Seek the Limelight
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
38. Legacy of the Myth
Outsourcing of Cheap Labor
Orientalism in Health Care
Tokenism and Minimalization
Stress of Achievement
Funneling into STEM Fields
Where Are You From?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
39. What Kind of API Are You?
Southeast Asian
South Asian
Pacific Islander
Multiracial
Transracially Adopted
International Student
3rd Generation or Later
Recent Immigrant
Refugee
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
40. What Kind of API Am I?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
41. Young Man, Promising Career, Lovely Wife
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
57. Going Forward
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
58. Presenter Information
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
6th Faculty and
Professional Outreach
Seattle Girls’ School
2706 S Jackson Street
Seattle WA 98144
(206) 805-6562
rlee@seattlegirlsschool.org
http://tiny.cc/rosettalee
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
59. Talking Points for Affinity Groups
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
60. “Affinity Groups” We Already Have
• Gendered Bathrooms
• Faculty Meetings
• Tracked Classes
• Financial Aid Allocation Meetings
• Sports Teams
• Divisions and Grades
• Casts of School Plays
• Faculty/Staff Rooms
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
61. Equality versus Equity
Everybody gets a shirt versus everybody
gets a shirt that fits.
Say you have 10 bottles of insulin and 10
people. Equality says you should give
one bottle to each person. Equity says
you should distribute the insulin evenly
among the three who are diabetic.
What is “fair”?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
63. Privilege
“Privilege exists when one group has
something of value that is denied to others
simply because of the groups they belong
to, rather than because of anything they’ve
done or failed to do.”
[as described by Peggy McIntosh and quoted by Allan Johnson]
Privilege is SYSTEMIC. It drives the
systems that dominate our societies.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
64. Situational Advantage
There are prime parking spots and seats
reserved for people with disabilities. People
with disabilities are often first to board
planes and other transportation vehicles.
These advantages are situational and do not
balance out systemic oppression.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
65. Safety versus Comfort
Safety: I feel that, in this space, I can ask questions without
fear of judgment. I can voice my perspective and know that
I will be validated for the fact that that is my truth. Others
may challenge my ideas, but that challenge is in the spirit of
greater shared understanding and growth.
Comfort: I feel that, in this space, my reality will be agreed
with, validated, and unchallenged. I don’t have to explain
myself to be understood, and I don’t have to justify my
perspective, as everyone shares it.
In education, it is critical to have an environment where we
are always safe but not always comfortable...
SO THAT WE CAN LEARN AND GROW.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)