♪ (upbeat techno intro) ♪
- (React) As we honor and celebrate Asian American
and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're showing you videos
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
speaking about their childhood and adult experiences.
- Love that. - (React) So, we want you to share
with us how your experiences as a biracial person of Asian descent
differs or relates to these clips. - Sounds good.
- Okay. Well, I'm gonna have a lot to say. (laughs)
Let's get started, shall we?
- (React) Racially and ethnically, how do you identify?
- So, I'm Asian. That is my race. I'm Filipina and Japanese.
- I am half Puerto Rican and half Filipino.
- I'm half Asian and half white, but I feel like I'm more Asian
just 'cause I go to my mom's hometown a lot
in the Philippines. - I am an Asian American,
Japanese and Filipino. - I identify myself as a Chew,
which is a Chinese Jew. It's a funny nickname
my whole family has given me and my sister,
since we both come from Jewish side and the Chinese side.
- (Aaron) Being a multiracial Asian affects everything
about my life. My culture is a mix
of not just being Black and Asian, but also, there's like a third thing
that's not either of those. - (Kira) On one hand,
I was able to experience some white privilege.
And on the other hand, I experienced certain prejudices
and stereotypes of also being Asian. - I felt that. I felt that.
- (Will) We grew up being referred to as hapa haole.
And as I grew, it became more of a widely accepted term
for anyone who was part Asian. Often, when I meet people,
the very first question I get is "Where are you from?"
- Okay, I've gotten that actually. I'm just like, "I'm an American.
Like, what the [censored]?" (laughs)
- (Kira) It confuses people, because they usually associate
being American with being white. They don't really know how to react,
and it usually comes off as offensive. - Yeah. Yeah.
A lot of people always-- "What are you? Where are you from?"
Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Los Angeles.
"No, where are you REALLY from?" - If I say, "Hey, I'm American,"
yeah, a lot of people tend to automatically assume
that means I'm white. (chuckles)
Americans, I believe, you know, we're just a bunch
of different things. - (React) Fill in these blanks.
When strangers look at me, they see...
And when I look in the mirror, I see...
- (sighs) They see an Asian person, who's probably not from America
that came here when they were like younger.
But to me, I just see an Asian American.
- They usually just think I'm full Caucasian.
Every time I tell them I'm Asian, it's like, "What?! You're Asian?
No way," 'cause, I mean, I don't look Asian at all.
- Maybe people sometimes see me as Asian.
Maybe some people have shockingly at one point said I was adopted.
When I look into a mirror, I see a creative Emma,
because that's the correct answer. - I would say a lot of people
do expect me-- how I present myself on social media, I'm always like--
I'm very confident, and I show myself off on social media.
And even in public, I walk with my head high
and strutting like the world is my runway.
But when I look in the mirror, sometimes I see--
like, do I really fit in? Am I good enough?
Am I proud of who I am? There's still a lot
of second guessing to this day. - When strangers look at me,
they see someone who they can't really describe,
because I don't fit a certain box. When I see myself, I just...
see who I am, 'cause I know me the best.
I don't even see myself as half Filipino.
I see just a Filipino Puerto Rican, 100% on both ends.
And it's beautiful. You know, I've grown up being taught
how beautiful it is. It's amazing.
- (Joon) All the perpetual foreignization of Asian Americans
in this country, it's what leads to the violence
that we saw in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.
And the thing that really struck me about all of this is that,
you know, you look at the victims of that shooting and...
- Just hearing about it already is getting me heated.
- (Joon) And I saw people who could have looked like members
of my family, who could've been family friends of mine.
You know, I see my mom and my sister and my dad
among a lot of these victims and my grandparents
among a lot of these victims to Asian American hate crimes right now.
And so, you know, the history of hate crimes in this country
towards Asian Americans isn't new, but it hasn't been talked about.
- Facts. I mean, there are a lot of races around the world
getting harassed specifically, but in terms of Asian Americans,
no one wants to speak up, you know? - (Joon) You know,
the Chinese Exclusion Act, the murder of Vincent Chen
in Detroit, the Japanese internment camps during World War II.
This is nothing new, but it hasn't been talked about,
because Asian Americans haven't been willing to speak up
about these issues. - Such a big wake-up call.
If you look Asian, it's like you're a target,
and I think that's the scary thing. - My dad said it's been happening.
It's just now that there's cameras, it's like everything's getting posted.
I don't understand how some people can just... have so much hate.
- There was recently a Filipina woman, I think she was like 65 maybe
who was literally kicked to the ground in New York City.
That's literally the age of my grandmother, of my great aunt,
and I was like... (choked up) please, it's so scary,
'cause you don't know what's gonna happen to them.
My grandma shouldn't be scared to go on a walk
when she just wants to go on a walk for fun.
My great aunt shouldn't have to worry about those types of things,
but it's just so sad, 'cause we have to.
I don't think enough people are talking about it for sure.
- (React) With the recent rise in anti-Asian violence,
how do you lead or participate in conversations that bring awareness
to the Stop Asian Hate social movement?
- Oh, of course, yeah. A lot of my friends,
they weren't really aware of this kind of problem in the world
with the Asian American hate crime violence.
And, you know, I just had multiple conversations with them,
long conversations about them, just kind of telling them
about what's going on and why it's a problem
and how it's been a problem. - I had a lot of friends
specifically who are Asian call me and, A,
make sure I was okay, which I was,
and B, talk to me about what I thought.
But instead of using that as hatred and sorrow and depression,
I use it as fuel to keep moving forward
and keep living each day to the fullest I can,
because I'm living life for myself, for my mother, for my family,
and for those who are no longer with us.
- (Sara) Transracial adoption is where a child from one race
or ethnicity is adopted by parents
from a different race or ethnicity. - Right.
- (Sara) In my generation, children who are adopted
from Korea were assimilated into the culture of their adoptive parents,
so I was raised as if I were white. Growing up, occasionally,
my family would eat at a Korean restaurant,
or we'd go to the Asian festival,
but I did not identify with being Asian.
Looking back now, having my tattoo removed
is symbolic of losing a connection with my Korean ethnicity and culture.
- (gasps) Oh my gosh. Whew! - (React) What responsibility
do non-Asian parents who adopt Asian kids have
when it comes to teaching their adopted kids
about their native culture? Or is it the child's duty
to learn on their own once they're old enough?
- (sighs) It's hard to say, because I would honestly
be happy for that child to be taken care of
just in general. I'm not going to be like,
"Oh, you have to teach them these Asian things."
But then again, it's also... I don't wanna, you know,
just totally get rid of the fact that, yeah, that would be dope
if they were able to learn their heritage of exactly
where they're from. - I think all parents should give
the opportunities for your kids to learn about themselves,
okay, figure out who they are. As long as you give your kid
an option to learn more about themselves,
then I think that's the right thing. - I've always known where I'm from.
And growing up, I feel like that's helped me develop a sense
of pride and a sense of confidence walking out on the street,
knowing who I am. So, it is important.
Especially during your development years,
you wanna know-- you wanna have a sense of pride
of where you came from. - (React) Should adopted families
keep their adopted kids' birth names, or, as in Sara's case,
their adopted kids' tattoos or other cultural markings
that are linked to their native heritage?
- I think it's-- yeah, I think they should, you know?
It defines who they are. It's just a symbol
of who that person is, you know? And if you remove that,
it's kind of taking away a piece of them, you know?
- You should let the kid decide if possible.
And I know it's very weird because asking a baby, like,
"Hey, you know, what do you wanna be called?"
Like, that's not how it's gonna work.
So, a simple solution is don't change anything
until a little later.
- (Paul) Filipino culture and/or traditions are in line
with a lot of other Asian countries. We have the same kind of values.
We teach high respect for elders, thriftiness.
We celebrate the same festivals and traditions.
We even take our shoes off before we enter the house.
- Yes! Oh my god. (laughs) - (Paul) How Asian is that?
And another point: food. I mean, look at this.
We have very similar cuisines. - Yum. I'm getting hungry. (laughs)
- (Paul) We eat rice. - Every day.
- (Paul) Egg rolls. - Every day.
- (Paul) Rice desserts. - Every day.
- (Paul) Siopao, tofu, and, I mean, pretty much everyone
drinks boba. If that isn't evidence enough,
I don't know what is. - Jollibee! I love Jollibee.
(laughs) - Jollibee's great!
Filipinos can make some good fried chicken,
'cause that's fire. - (React) Talk about how accurate
that depiction was of Filipino culture.
- I mean, it's like that guy is my brother, you know?
He basically described everything that my family does,
you know, with the respecting my elders, the food, you know,
the boba, and that's what really caught my attention,
'cause, you know, I love boba.
- We celebrate a lot of the same festivals and everything.
We have great food to add in. (laughs) And I think...
I love the Asian community especially because of how diverse we are.
- (React) Who are some of your Asian, Asian American,
and Pacific Islander influences and idols?
Okay, this was kind of recent, but I saw an audition tape
of Bruce Lee. He was just so confident in the room
when he was just explaining kung fu and chi and energy and all this stuff.
I just thought that was really amazing.
I was just like, wow, if he can do that back then,
then you can do anything as an Asian person.
- Oh, there's this Filipino comedian. You might have heard of him.
His name's Jo Koy. - (React) I love Jo Koy!
- He's so funny. And as much as he's funny,
he also brings light to the beauty of the Philippines.
- Oh my gosh. Catriona Gray, Miss Universe.
I think it was 2018. A queen. One of my favorite,
favorite, favorite people to listen to.
She speaks so gracefully, so eloquently.
It makes me so, so proud to be Filipina.
- I like Jackie Chan of course, you know.
I love Rush Hour, the whole series. That's one of my favorite movies.
And he's definitely an influence to me to be proud of who I am,
'cause I know he loves representing his culture.
That's something I definitely know about Jackie Chan.
Oh, and Manny Pacquiao! Every time this guy had
a boxing match, it would be an instant family party
at someone's house with a lot of food,
and of course, shoes off. - If I had to be really cheesy,
I would say my mom's out there. I think she's done a really good job
at raising me until she passed away.
And I especially think, coming from someone
who's actually none of these things, my father, who embraces, you know,
my other side as well. But I don't see him
as, you know, non-Asian. I still see him as part of the family.
- (React) And then, finally, what words of wisdom would you give
to people wanting to learn more about Asian American
and Pacific Islander culture? - Ask the people around you.
Ask them about their story. Be empathetic is what
I'm kind of saying. - When we say we need help,
I promise you we need help. We're not over exaggerating,
and anything helps, whether it's one click on Instagram,
adding it to your story, or just a simple retweet.
Anything helps. - If you wanna learn,
I'm gonna tell you this right now: Stop using the stereotypes first.
Each person is, in fact, different. It's our similarities
that make us become friends, but it's our differences
that makes our bonds closer.
- Hey, guys. Thanks for watching this episode of React.
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that Like button. - Thanks for watching. Bye!
- Hey, guys! It's Sierra. If you wanna get notified
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