Dear Asian adoptees: You're not alone this month

Plus, how Wong Kim Ark forever changed the path of American immigration law.

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen May 25, 2024 Good morning. This is a special Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month edition of the Up First newsletter. Meet some of NPR’s AAPI employees and read about how we’ve covered the community so far this month.   Hey! Adoptees are AAPI too by Ashley Westerman, Morning Edition supervising editor and producer "How did you find your biological mother? I want to find mine too." This was the subject of an email that showed up in my inbox recently. A girl adopted from Guatemala was seeking advice on how to start the search for the woman who gave birth to her. Ashley Westerman/NPR I get a lot of emails with this or similar subject lines and I know why. In 2018, I detailed my personal journey to find my Filipino birth mother in a three-part series for NPR. The process was surprisingly simple. In the end, I closed the door on a near-lifelong goal with little more than a putter. Since my story aired, I’ve received dozens of emails from other adoptees about finding their birth parents. They trickle in, every other month or so, from people in various stages of the process. But they’re all searching for one thing: To finally talk to someone else with whom they have something in common. What led these people to me — I've only written about my experience of finding my birth mother once — is an utter lack of stories in the media and Hollywood about adoptees and their experiences. In a time when intersectionality and complication are crucial to people’s identities, adoptees are, somehow, still being left out of the conversation. They're left out despite the fact that millions of international adoptees live in the U.S. and contribute to society. It's a population that's growing, as the multi-billion dollar intercountry adoption industry continues to bring thousands of adoptees to the U.S. each year from around the world. This feeling of being overlooked was acutely felt by many Asian adoptees, which make up the majority of international adoptees in the U.S., since the wave of violence against Asian Americans began amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As Asians, we felt fear. But as adoptees, our fear was often dismissed by our white families and our “more Asian” friends. Asian American Pacific Islander Month makes me squeamish. I know I'm not likely to see stories or coverage of the Asian American adoptee community during this “celebration.” This is ironic, given that this month has such a ridiculously long name because it’s a catch-all title that attempts to encompass everyone with a background from Lebanon to Rapanui. Yet, in its attempt to include everyone, AAPI month manages to further other those of us who don’t fit in its already monstrous box. Frankly, it shouldn’t be up to adoptees to address the coverage gap when it comes to our stories. But we should also not be afraid to tell our stories either; I know people just need a little push sometimes. So, to the Asian adoptees out there: You are not alone this month. I see you. And perhaps, if enough of us tell our own stories, others will see us too. Newsletter continues after sponsor message AAPI Faces of NPR Claire Murashima, Adrian Ma, Regina G. Barber, Anika Steffen, Hiba Ahmad, Hafsa Fathima Meet a few of NPR’s Asian employees and read about what they love most about working at NPR, what they’re proudest of and how they want to see coverage of the Asian American community evolve: Claire Murashima, Morning Edition and Up First production assistant I’m half white and half Asian. Never fully fitting into either group has made me more attuned to thinking about and including the stories of other people who feel like they don’t easily fit into a box. I like that at NPR, I’m able to cover topics that are personally interesting to me — internet culture, dating and tech — through different mediums — audio, digital and video. I’m proud of being the first major news outlet to write a story breaking down the TikTok hype behind the viral tween boutique Dear Hannah Prep. I’m also proud of my 2022 series about young people living with their parents. Recently, I listened to Slate’s ICYMI podcast and heard a mention of my reporting about how people talk on TikTok. That was cool, because I went in thinking I was just listening to another episode of the podcast. Adrian Ma, host of The Indicator from Planet Money I love getting paid to be curious. I feel proud whenever I feel like we’ve made something that makes our often-baffling economy understandable. I want to give listeners an “A-ha!” or “I get it, now!” feeling and make them feel something (empathy, laughter, concern, surprise, etc.) When it comes to NPR's coverage of Asians and Asian Americans, I’ve occasionally been bothered by certain pieces where the explicit or implicit framing suggests that we are monolithic bit players in the broader culture, or political pawns without agency. This doesn't happen often, but I’d love to see more stories that move away from these simplistic frames and dig deeper to try to capture more of the complexity of experiences and perspectives in this incredibly diverse group. Regina G. Barber, Short Wave host I jumped from a career in academia to science journalism and I haven’t looked back since. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to reach so many people to make science more approachable on Short Wave, All Things Considered and Morning Edition. I think the AAPI community at NPR is really good at making sure all of AAPI culture is celebrated and showcased. My mother is from Taipei and my father is Mexican American from East LA. I’m not an identity that’s usually thought about when Asian Americans or even mixed Asians are discussed. At NPR, I’m included in this celebration. Anika Steffen, chief employment counsel I appreciate how NPR makes a space for its Asian employees to speak and share their experiences and ideas, even if they’re not from the Content Division. I was asked to write about Ms. Marvel and what it meant to me as a Pakistani Muslim American. I appreciated the opportunity, and I think it was a great example of ways NPR flexes its diversity to better serve its audience. While as a lawyer I’m not directly serving NPR audiences, my support of staff and my work in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion helps empower employees who do directly create the content for our audiences and employees who support those creators. Hiba Ahmad, Weekend Edition and Up First producer NPR has some of the most generous journalists I’ve ever met. People approach their work with empathy and rigor, and it’s a privilege to be part of the process of bringing these stories to our listeners. When I think of serving our Asian audiences, I often think of my parents, who are immigrants from Pakistan, and my aunties and uncles and the many Uber/taxi drivers who always beamed with pride after dropping me off at the NPR office. How can I tell stories in a way that is accessible and interesting to them? What will make them laugh? Sometimes it’s as simple as letting a soundbite of someone speaking in Mandarin or Urdu run a little longer in a news segment so they can hear someone like themselves on the radio. Often it’s pitching and making sure we are covering these places and people in a nuanced and fair manner — not just when tragedy strikes. Hafsa Fathima, NPR senior political editor/correspondent I’m continuously amazed that I get to work with the kind of people at NPR — generous, funny, incredibly smart. I’m often told it’s the coolest job — and I wholeheartedly agree. I love that we explore the various facets of Asian American identity in our coverage, from conversations about dismantling the model minority myth to incredible musicians like Sid Sriram performing at Tiny Desk. As someone who produces film and TV coverage every day, I’m always thinking about and pitching work that examines Asian American identity, belonging and culture. There’s been a long overdue entry of Asian content in the “mainstream” media, and I enjoy seeing how new audiences react to shows, movies and music we’ve always known are gold. I’m most proud of my work when it highlights the stories of immigrant communities. I’ve talked to people who grew up in the U.S. on visas but still faced deportation. I interviewed Ukrainian refugees about entering a green card lottery, and have explored films and TV series about identity and culture in my current role. Part-interview, part-existential game show This is Wild Card from NPR. Host Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to play a game about life's biggest questions. Rachel takes actors, artists and thinkers on a choose-your-own-adventure conversation that lets them open up about their fears, their joys and how they've built meaning from experience – all with the help of a very special deck of cards. LISTEN TO WILD CARD NOW AAPI Stories you may have missed by Suzanne Nuyen, Up First newsletter writer Julie Caine/Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco If you're a child of immigrants and a U.S. citizen, there's a name you need to know: Wong Kim Ark. His landmark Supreme Court case forever changed the path of American immigration law, and plays a pivotal role in the ongoing battle over who gets to be a citizen of the United States. Think you know his story? Take Throughline's history quiz to test your knowledge. You can listen to the episode first if you need to study up. There's still time to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with a new book, a good movie or a delicious recipe. The members of the NPR AZNs Employee Resource group compiled a list of their best recommendations, from the entertaining to the educational.  While no culture is a monolith, psychologist Jenny Wang's work has revealed some common burdens that many Asian Americans experience. Living between different cultures forces some Asian Americans to navigate between languages, customs and cultural ideals. It can make feelings about safety, belonging and authenticity hard to figure out. Wang offers a few tools to help handle these challenges. The first two episodes of NPR's new podcast Inheriting are out. The show explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In each episode, NPR's Emily Kwong sits with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations. Listen now and explore how these personal, private moments are an integral part of history. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from Central Florida Public Media (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! 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