After a year of virtual operations and looking for a physical place to call home, UNC’s first ever Asian American Center welcomed students and staff into its new building last week.
Since 1994, Asian American student activists have fought for permanent on-campus resources, dedicated staff members, and a physical space on campus for all students to learn about and engage with Asian American identities.
More than 25 years later, those dreams have come to fruition. Tucked behind the Carolina Campus Community Garden and across the street from Granville Towers and the Franklin Street Target, stands the newly opened Asian American Center.
Approved by the UNC Board of Trustees in January of 2020, the center opened virtually last fall amid the pandemic and virtual instruction. Since then, the Asian American Center has strived to secure a physical location on campus to “help cultivate the Asian American community at and around Carolina.”
Dr. Heidi Kim is the center’s director and an associate professor in the English and Comparative Literature Department at UNC. She said said while the past year of virtual operations has been exciting, it has also been stressful – mostly due to the surge of anti-Asian racism that has come with the coronavirus and the heightened consciousness about race that has come with the Black Lives Matter protests.
“It’s been a really exciting and rollercoaster year for us as it has been for the whole world,” Kim said. “But I think particularly for a brand-new center with the surge in anti-Asian racism, we were really thrown into a very prominent position, especially in March after the Atlanta shootings. So, there’s just been unbelievable campus awareness and support, but there’s also been a really, really high need for our resources and events.”
Virtual events held over the past year have varied, from lectures and workshops on identity and heritage to open forums and small groups on Asian American books and recipes.
When looking ahead to future events this academic school year, Kim said the center welcomes anyone wanting to learn more about Asian America and Asian American issues.
“The center is absolutely an open door,” Kim said. “So, we have public events, everything is free and open to the public. And we really welcome not just Asian Americans, but anyone who is sincerely interested in learning more about Asian America. That’s very important. That’s at the heart of our educational mission.”
It WAS a great day. Thanks to everyone who got us here!! https://t.co/7Wa0rpxzpb
— Heidi Kim (@HeidiKKim) August 27, 2021
Also at the heart of the Asian American Center’s mission is UNC junior Selina Shi, who is just one of the center’s student leaders and members of its campaign team. Shi said when she first came to campus there were hardly any avenues for her to explore to learn more about her identity. The opening of the Asian American Center is a big step in the right direction.
“It means the world to me,” Shi said. “I think growing up as a minority, you get really used to hiding parts of yourself from the outside world, either out of shame or fear. And so, I think the center is really a physical representation of the fact that those parts of ourselves that we’ve hidden are celebrated here, which is incredible.”
North Carolina’s Asian American population has grown exponentially in recent decades, with an increase of 85 percent between 2000 and 2010 and a nearly 50 percent increase since 2017. At Carolina, 18 percent of all students as of fall 2021 identify as Asian or Asian American.
Shi said this growing representation, alongside a need for more resources, makes having the Asian American Center on campus more important than ever.
“I hope that we can keep up this momentum of acceptance and proactive action towards including more students on this campus,” Shi said. “Because I think without somebody actively doing this type of work, it just won’t ever get done. So, I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Lead photo via Jon Gardiner/UNC.
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