MINNEAPOLIS (March 9, 2017) — The University of Minnesota’s Asian American Studies program released its March 2017 calendar of events. http://www.aas.umn.edu // FACEBOOK
March 11
Hmong Minnesota Student Association 9th Hmong Minnesota Leadership Conference
8am-7:30pm
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1054968164607920/
March 15
The Bride Price: A Hmong Wedding Story by Mai Neng Moua : Book Launch Celebration
6pm-8pm
Buenger Education Center, Concordia University
200 Syndicate Street North, St. Paul, MN 55104
When Mai Neng Moua decides to get married, her mother, a widow, wants the groom to follow Hmong custom and pay a bride price, which both honors the work the bride’s family has done in raising a daughter and offers a promise of love and security from the groom’s family. Mai Neng, who knows the pain this tradition has caused, says no. Her husband-to-be supports her choice.
What happens next is devastating, and it raises questions about the very meaning of being Hmong in America… (read more here)
Hosted by the Center for Hmong Studies and MNHS Press. Free and open to the public. Book signing and sales to follow. For more information visit www.mnhs.org/calendar
March 21
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: Resistance and Comedy in a Time of Uncertainty
4pm
Anderson Hall 310, West Bank UMN Campus
257 19th Ave S, Minneapolis
Join us for an afternoon full of conversations, laughter, and social justice! Taz Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh, co-hosts of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim Podcast, will be performing a live show featuring stand-up comedy, dialogue, and storytelling. They will be sharing their experiences of activism, comedy, and combating Islamophobia. A facilitated Q&A will occur immediately after the interactive lecture.
FREE EVENT. RSVP REQUIRED z.umn.edu/gmbmrsvp
Hosted by the UMN Asian American College Excellence Project. For up to date information, please check the Facebook event page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1046003482172990/
April 1
AAPI Youth Summit: “AAPI Student Leadership & Unity”
10AM – 3PM
Rapson Hall, Main Courtyard, UMN campus
89 Church St SE, Minneapolis
Please join the Asian Pacific American Resource Center (APARC) for the first-ever AAPI Youth Summit at the University of Minnesota! This year’s theme is “AAPI Student Leadership and Unity”, and seeks to bring together AAPI students from across campus to discuss what Pan-AAPI solidarity can look like at the University of Minnesota. This event is geared towards students of all leadership experiences, whether they are currently serving on a student organization board, considering running for a board position, or are just interested in learning more about leadership. This summit will include opportunities for networking and workshops on issues including: leadership, Pan-AAPI organizing, storytelling as a tool for social justice, self-care for ourselves and our community, and more!
Register at: https://docs.google.com/a/umn.edu/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScL1QTmzY6G8NgO-ic2RUD1VH46-WEiVupmuQWNNzSrOVKKOA/viewform?c=0&w=1
QUESTIONS? [email protected]
April 6
“Light” film screening
3pm-9pm
Cowles Auditorium, H.H.Humphrey Building
301 19th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55455
Hosted by Asian Women United, LIGHT is a film in which dance, memory, music, and poetry collide in a visual and aural landscape; a meditation on women being propelled into the unknown by courage and faith to risk their lives and everything they have for freedom.
April 18
Taiko Traditions and Taiko Going Forward
12pm-1pm
Social Sciences Building room 710
267 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455
Jen Weir is a taiko percussionist, composer, and the dynamic Artistic Director of Mu Daiko. To celebrate the 20 year anniversary of Mu Daiko, Jen will give a talk on the 2000+ year-old art form, its incomparable sound and role in Japanese/Japanese American cultural expression, and her vision for Mu Daiko in the next 20 years. Bring your lunch and come join us!
April 18
Pankake Poetry Reading featuring Bao Phi
4pm
Cowles Auditorium, H.H.Humphrey Building
301 19th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55455
The Eighth Annual Pankake Poetry Reading featuring Bao Phi – spoken word artist, writer, and visionary activist who seeks to build community through the arts – who will read from his 2017 book of poetry, Thousand Star Hotel. Reception and author signing to follow with books available for purchase courtesy of the University of Minnesota Bookstore. Please RSVP by April 11.
April 19
Hmong Lao Friendship Play performance
6pm
Coffman Union Theater
300 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
How did the daughter of a provincial governor and the daughter of a buffalo-riding gangster become BFFs? The Friendship Play is a comedy-turned accidental musical about real-life BFFs May Lee-Yang (a Hmong refugee) and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay (a Lao refugee). Set to the backdrop of karaoke music and Little House on the Prairie fantasies, Lee-Yang and Vongsay hack their way through stories about refugee life, American pop culture, and empowering their brethren through the Hot Asian Man project. This performance is part of the Power and Privilege Series sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Office of Student Affairs. Free. Reserve your tickets here.
April 21
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs” film screening
12pm-2pm
Location TBD
What does it mean to be an American revolutionary today? Grace Lee Boggs is a 98-year-old Chinese American woman in Detroit whose vision of revolution will surprise you. A writer, activist, and philosopher rooted for more than 70 years in the African American movement, she has devoted her life to an evolving revolution that encompasses the contradictions of America’s past and its potentially radical future.
Bring your lunch, watch the film, join the conversation.
April 28-29
Minnesota’s First Taiko Festival
Guthrie Theater
818 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Celebrate 20 years of Mu Daiko with guest artists from Japan, Canada and the U.S. Daytime activities are free to the public. Headlining the festival is Mu Daiko’s 20th Anniversary Concert featuring an amazing roster of guest artists, Mu Daiko favorites, and world premiere pieces.
A limited number of special VIP tickets include a pre-show reception with guest artists and preferred seating. All other seating will be general seating only. Tickets ($20 students, $40 adult, $60 VIP) can be purchased here.
May 5
Graduating AAS Minors Recognition and Celebration
4pm-6pm
U of MN Recreation and Wellness Center, Multi Purpose room 7
We will be celebrating graduation AAS minors Kaochi Pha, Benjamin Hartmann, Jia Mikuls, Catherine Dang, Jason Dawson, Marilyn Keo, Sunny Vang, Emma Berger, and Kendall Witaszek.
May 23
Gambatte: Legacy of an Enduring Spirit opening ceremony
6:30pm
Historic Fort Snelling Visitors Center
200 Tower Ave, St Paul, MN 55111
Day of Remembrance Event: Paul Kitagaki Photographs
On Feb. 19, 1942, with a frightened nation still reeling from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor two months earlier, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced removal of almost 120,000 Japanese Americans to incarceration camps during World War II. Two-thirds of them were native-born American citizens who were given but a few days to settle their financial affairs and report for relocation to desolate incarceration camps away from the West Coast.
Exhibition Dates:
May 27 – October 28, 2017
