Celebrating AAPI Heritage
If you are following us on Instagram, then you know we are very excited about AAPI Heritage Month! This year, it feels incredibly important - pressing even - to uplift the voices of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Over the past year, we have all witnessed a rise in hate crimes and hateful behavior against Asian Americans. Just this weekend, I learned about a disturbing incident not far from me. Police in Arlington, VA are asking the public to help them identify a man who was caught on camera fleeing a restaurant after physically attacking an Asian employee and hurling an anti-Asian slur.
How do we end hatred? That is a question we have grappled with in the U.S. for generations. Last year’s massive protests for George Floyd reignited the conversation. Have we found an answer? We all know Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” I see that quote in feel-good social media posts every MLK Day and it seems to be a favorite among U.S. politicians, but what steps do we need to take to create a love strong enough to drive out centuries of hate? Where does that bright light come from?
To learn more, let’s dig deeper into Dr. King’s book Strength to Love. In it, he also wrote, “One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong.” To me, this means that we can project “love and light” from the heart, but to truly drive out darkness we have to be educated as well. Social media campaigns like #StopAAPIHate can be impactful because awareness is important, but we have to also be vulnerable enough to personally acknowledge what we do not know and then choose to learn (and in some cases, unlearn) and grow.
As a writer and avid reader, I believe in the power of books and I truly believe that Representation Matters. We have to start with the littlest Little Friday Readers, ensuring they see kids of all backgrounds. And, we have to address the diversity gaps in children’s literature. While we advocate for more inclusion in publishing, we will uplift the voices of Asians and Pacific Islanders on our Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage bookshelf (which you can find on our Little Friday Reads Bookshop). Is there a book we should add and promote on our Little Friday Reads Instagram? Send your suggestions to Pixie@LittleFridayReads.com!