Not Your Typical Asian

Original Program date: June 3, 2021

So what is typical anyway?  What we really mean is stereotypical…

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in the reporting of xenophobia and bigotry against the Asian community.  But who exactly is the “Asian” community?  What is their story?  Pew reports that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic demographic group in the United States.  Still, it is more likely that Asian people are reduced to myths and stereotypes, which lays the foundation for further othering, hate, and violence.

Join Mary Choi Robinson and Rachel Luce-Hitt as they explore the diversity and complexity of Asian cultures, identities, and experiences, while sharing their personal reflections of being “not your typical Asians.”   They will use the history of bigotry and discrimination against Asian people in the United States to understand the common, yet incorrect, narratives of Asians as being a single cultural monolith, a ‘model minority,’ and the ‘perpetual foreigner.’

About Our Speakers

Mary Choi Robinson

Mary Choi Robinson (she/her/hers) is an Asian American Korean adoptee who currently serves as Assistant Director of the Office of International Programs at Rollins College helping students to study abroad and gain intercultural competence and global citizenship. She also teaches a short-term course on global citizenship she co-created. She is part of the CREATE program facilitation team at Rollins (a program through an ACS grant), currently serves on DEI subcommittees for two study abroad professional associations, served as past co-chair of the Rollins Diversity Council, and wrote two recent articles on Anti-Asian Racism and Asian Allyship for Black Lives. She is an advocate for adoptees, orphans, and foster care youth and has mentored adoptee youth. She also is a prior adjunct instructor of Humanities at Valencia College. She earned her BA in Humanities and MA in Liberal Studies, both from Rollins. When not working or advocating Mary loves to travel, read, try new recipes, and spoil her dogs.

 

Rachel Luce-Hitt

Education Director, Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida

As Education Director, Rachel is responsible for providing strategic leadership for school and community education programs including UpStanders: Stand Up to Bullying. She is charged with creating experiences that help people make the connections between lessons learned from the Holocaust and issues facing our world today. Prior to joining the HMREC team, Rachel spent 13 years working in higher education focusing on designing diversity and inclusion curriculum, facilitating difficult dialogues, and empowering people to find ways to create kinder and more socially just communities. She earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rollins College. Additionally, she is a trained SEED Leader (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) and a member of the Jewish social justice Selah Leadership Network. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys working on her Jewish and Filipino genealogies, traveling, baking, and spending time with family.

Registration is required.

Thank you to our partners who have helped us promote this initiative: