Rise Up for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders exhibit
On Monday, May 10, in an act of solidarity, Stanford Libraries staff gathered outside of Lathrop Library while many viewers on Facebook tuned in to the live stream for the raising of the RISE UP – STOP AAPI HATE banner. The raising of the banner commemorated the opening of the Rise Up for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders online exhibit. Vice Provost & University Librarian Michael Keller opened the event with a statement denouncing the violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and his desire for peace among individuals from various backgrounds and ethnicities. He then introduced Astrid Usong, Stanford Libraries UX Designer who served as both visionary and curator for the exhibit. Astrid stated that the goal of the exhibit is to “inform and inspire,” inform about the history of systemic racism against the AAPI community, and inspire activism against the various forms of racism.
The exhibit was created by several library staff in response to the anti-Asian hate crimes in Atlanta, Georgia, throughout the United States, and the rise in elder abuse right in our own Bay Area neighborhoods. The online exhibit includes stories of victims whose lives were taken due to recent anti-AAPI hate crimes and of AAPI activists; a timeline, documenting instances of systemic racism against AAPI in the Unites States; points of unity and discord within the Asian American and African American groups; as well as a list of resources to gather more information around these topics.
While the online exhibit is live, you should know that it is still a work in progress; additional content, covering more ethnic groups and a broader range of issues will continue to be added until the fall quarter of 2021. The physical exhibit, which will be on view at the East Asia Library in Lathrop, is in progress and is also scheduled to be completed during the fall quarter. Stay tuned for a formal announcement of the complete, online and physical exhibit.
