By Natalie Bui
When uplifting SEARAC’s important work around data equity, it felt important to me to humanize the necessity of data equity and put faces, people, and stories around the push to further disaggregate our data as “Asian Americans.” In doing so, I felt like I learned so much: about our connected histories, our sibling communities that are often overlooked, and WHY – and how it impacts our communities today. I’m reminded constantly, that all of our work and all of us … it is all connected. This series is a way to highlight the ways our actions inform our community, how when our stories don’t accurately reflect our communities shape the narratives of how we see ourselves and each other, and can further influence the ways our communities are impacted. And most importantly, reminds us of our commitment and responsibility to one another. Because we can’t do this alone – and a rising tide lifts all boats.
This was designed and shaped by the feedback and thoughtfulness of community members representing groups and people from of course SEARAC staff, data consultants, representatives from ARISE Education, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, Hmong American Partnership, Iu Mien Community Services, Laotian American National Alliance, Legacies of War, and more. We met three times as a group over 6 months to shape WHAT people need to understand about data equity. And with many email updates on further edits, clarification, and illustrations, I’ve received such great feedback. Many of them gave feedback on language, better clothing and skin color choices, history, spelling, and more. This back-and-forth feedback also led to the importance of creating a series dedicated to our NH & PI siblings for which I’m grateful. And WITH that, I still don’t always have it right. It’s so hard to capture all the nuances and histories but I hope this can be a start for us to dig around and create more resources to connect it to the now.
Natalie Bui is SEARAC’s 2023-24 Artist-in-Residence. Follow Natalie on Instagram at @nataliepbui.
