Challenging perceptions of the AAPI community in the U.S. is focus of heritage celebration keynote

Brown University professor of history, American studies and ethnic studies, Evelyn Hu-DeHart, will give a keynote presentation on “Black or White or Yellow? How Asians are Racialized in America,” Thursday, April 13, at 11:30 a.m., in the Swain Student Activities Center. This event, which also will be livestreamed, is part of UofL’s second annual Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Week, April 9-15.

Hu-DeHart served as director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Brown from 2002-2014, and director of the Consortium on Advanced Studies in Cuba during the 2014-2015 academic year, and again in Spring 2019. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University and a doctorate in Latin American/Caribbean history from the University of Texas at Austin. She also has received two Fulbright fellowships to Brazil and Peru, and lectures extensively in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, and Europe. Hu-DeHart has written, edited and published 11 books in four languages and five continents.

AAPI Faculty Staff Association(FSA) President Jianhua “Andrew” Zhao, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences, says although AAPI heritage is recognized nationally in the month of May, UofL, along with many other higher education institutions in the United States often celebrate in April before the spring semester ends.  

“This is a time when we recognize the contributions and influence of Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States,” Zhao said. “UofL’s AAPI FSA supports its members by fostering community and a sense of belonging, increasing visibility for the AAPI community, empowering AAPI individuals by providing mentorships and other opportunities, promoting awareness of the challenges and unique experiences of the AAPI community, and building alliances across the university and in the Louisville community that advance the university’s mission for diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

AAPI Heritage Week is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Equity, the Office of Community Engagement, the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE), Center for Asian Democracy, Asian Studies Program, Office of Community Engagement and Diversity Inclusion in the School of Nursing, Student Government Association and Asia Institute-Crane House. Find more information about the week’s celebrations on the AAPI Faculty and Staff Association website. Events are free and open to the public.