Immigration: St. Maron’s Church Brings Together Middle Eastern Immigrants For Prayer And Community
On Sunday mornings at St. Maron’s Church, congregants listen as Father Vince Farhat leads the liturgy, and afterward congregants come to the church hall for coffee and pastries. St. Maron’s has existed in South Philadelphia as a spiritual haven for Middle Eastern immigrants since the latter half of the 19th century and is currently made up […]
Arts & Culture: Yellow Rage Explores Asian-American Experiences With Poetry
Catzie Vilayphonh, 37, and Michelle Myers, 46, known as the poetry duo Yellow Rage, met and penned their first poem together at a writing workshop at Asian Arts Initiative in 2000. The poem, “I’m a Woman Not a Flava,” expresses the women’s anger over the sexual fetishization of Asian women. After working on the poem together, Vilayphonh and […]
Immigration: Councilwoman Helen Gym Calls For Reform, Reflects On City’s Progress
As the daughter of immigrants, Councilwoman Helen Gym has dedicated much of her time in public service as an at-large member of Philadelphia City Council to advocating for the city’s immigrant and refugee communities. Gym is a former teacher and organizer, notably having worked at Asian-Americans United. She is also the first Asian-American woman to […]
Immigration: Haitian Roots Inspire Art That Examines ‘Unconventional Bodies’
Didier William is originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 6 with his father and brother to seek asylum. His mother and another brother arrived just a year prior. The political instability at the time that caused many Haitians to come to the U.S. during this […]
Adoption: Korean Adoptees Bond Through Shared Experiences And Monthly Meals
Liz Mehaffey Wade, 34 and a resident of the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, is the executive director of the Korean Adoptee Association of Philadelphia. Wade was adopted from outside Daegu, South Korea, when she was 3 months old before moving to northern New Jersey. She received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania, […]
Immigration: As Flow Of Refugees Slows, Those Already In Philadelphia Settle In
Amnah Ahmad is the associate director of the Arab American Community Development Corp. at Al-Aqsa Islamic Society in North Philadelphia. Ahmad, along with a handful of other volunteers, works with refugees and immigrants from Middle Eastern countries to help them apply for work permits and green cards. The CDC also offers English as a Second […]
Chinatown: Activist Worked With Obama, Advocates For Immigrant Children With Disabilities
Chinatown resident Anna Perng is an advocate for both immigrant communities and for people with disabilities. Perng, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, has been an activist and organizer since her time studying at Swarthmore College, she said. After graduating, she also spent time working at Community Legal Services and in 2017 became a local community organizer […]
Immigration: VietLead Pushes Back Against Federal Government Policies And Practices
Nancy Dung Nguyen has made her career in social justice work, focusing originally on domestic violence issues and youth organizing. Now, she uses her advocacy skills to help her own community as the executive director and one of the co-founders of VietLead, an organization that works with the Vietnamese community in Philadelphia, as well as other […]
Immigration: Cambodian Youth Leader Talks Literacy Challenges And Solutions
Rex Yin has been the youth development coordinator at the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia for the last three years. He said his favorite part of the job is seeing the growth of the students he works with. Yin helps lead several youth programs, including the SumOur Roots program, a collaboration with VietLead and the Bhutanese […]
Immigration: Grassroots Asians Rising Protest Through Illumination Art
On Saturday night, Asian-American activists and organizers gathered in the parking lot of the Chinese Christian Church and Center on the corner of Vine and 11th streets to protest current immigration policies as part of the event Here to Stay. Here to Stay featured illuminations by the Chinatown Art Brigade that were projected onto the […]