Luncheon celebrates Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American communities at Hopkins

To celebrate and honor the accomplishments of the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American community, at Hopkins, the Center for Diversity & Inclusion hosted a luncheon event on Thursday, April 20. Nationally, Asian/Pacific Heritage Month is recognized in May; the Hopkins event allowed community members to celebrate together prior to the end of the academic year.

"It is vital for Hopkins to acknowledge the challenges and celebrate the achievements of its Asian students, faculty, staff, and community members," says Charles Lu, associate dean for diversity and inclusion. "While we make up a substantial part of this university and contribute in unique ways, our experiences are often overlooked, forgotten, and dismissed. By hosting events like this, Hopkins can dismantle the 'model minority myth' and help advance leaders through opportunities."

Frank Wu, a Hopkins alumnus and president of Queens College, City University of New York, gave a keynote speech that focused on the diversity of the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American population, and the duality of the invisibility and hypervisibility in the population—while often looked over for leadership opportunities, Wu says, the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi Americans often received backlash during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wu also highlighted the promise that Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American youth hold, saying they are poised to make substantial contributions to American society and history.

"Hearing Frank Wu speak on building solidarity across communities of color was inspiring, especially since he's a Hopkins alumnus," says student Estelle Yeung. "A paper he worked on as a Hopkins undergraduate inspired his book Yellow, which is an important reminder that the work we do on a day-to-day basis can have a broader significance, as Yellow has shaped the Asian American Studies field."

The luncheon also honored two students who have made significant contributions during their time at Hopkins—Yeung, the incoming vice president of the Inter-Asian Council, and Isabel Veloso, the outgoing president of the Inter-Asian Council.

"Asians make up about 30% of the university, which is higher than many of our peer institutions, so contributions of APIDA individuals and APIDA history should be highlighted," Veloso says. "I appreciated Wu's emphasis on 'showing up' for other communities—it emphasized the importance of intersectionality in our work, and that achieving equity is not something that we can do alone."