What Does It Mean to Be Chinese American?
Writer/Director’s Note
“What does it mean to be Chinese American?” This poem started as ramblings in my head, reflecting on precisely that question. To be Chinese American is to be thrown in a constant state of limbo between Chinese and American. The two identities always seem to work in opposition, and that has only been exacerbated this year. How do both COVID-related racism and the strained geopolitical relationship between China and the US perpetuate the alienation of Chinese Americans? How do I as an Asian, and specifically a Chinese American, navigate not only the in-between of Chinese and American but also POC and certain proximities to whiteness? How do historical oppressions continue into the present? This piece offers no definitive answers, for the “answer” is different for each person. As such, it brings in the voices of some Chinese Americans in the Smith community in hopes to highlight the different thoughts, feelings, and experiences of individuals. Thank you so much to Clarissa, who brought my words to life, to Cara for the animations, and to Kadin for SMing! Thank you as well to the participants who graciously shared how their identity as Chinese Americans has impacted them.