华裔青年：我们的黄口哨项目

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The Yellow Whistle Project

By Maggie Yang, Luke Yu & Arwen Zhang

APAPA Youth in Columbus came together on May 30, 2021 packaging over 5,000 Yellow Whistles for later donation and distribution to the wider community.

What is Yellow Whistle Campaign about? - by Luke Yu

THE YELLOW WHISTLE campaign was started by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and her husband Oscar Tang and was officially launched on April 19, 2021. The yellow whistle is used as a symbol of self-protection, to bring attention to the hate crimes, to call for solidarity with Asian Americansand fight against historical discrimination and Anti-Asian violence. By choosing the whistle, Dr. Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang break the stereotype of Asians being a silent minority. The whistle is a simple gadget with a universal purpose — to signal alarm and call for help — for all Americans. We shall not remain silent. This is the country we call home and this is where we belong. The Yellow Whistle Campaign unites Asian Americans to fight against racism and hate crimes. We mobilized the public and more than 200,000 whistles are planned to be distributed throughout the country.

What did we do? – by Maggie Yang

APAPA Youth in Columbus came together to package yellow whistles and to get to know one another on May 30, 2021 during Memorialweekend. Ranging from 5th grade up to juniors in high school, these APAPA youth got to know each other through the volunteer work packaging the yellow whistles. As an icebreaker, the APAPA parent volunteers organized a game where each person would write down a fun fact about themselves and drop it into a container. The facts were read out loud and everyone had fun guessing who wrote which one. Later on, both adults and kids began to package the yellow whistles and created an assembly line for efficiency. Everyone working together was effective and we packaged a total ofover 5,000 yellow whistles. Everyone got to know each other by conversing while packing and it made the whole process quick and fun. After packaging the whistles, snacks were laid out and people began to play frisbee, soccer, and volleyball. The kids all wrote down their contact information and were able to create a group chat to plan out future events or just to make new friends. It was great being able to have fun with people that were also Chinese and allowed for the adults to be more comfortable when getting to know one another. Can’t wait for next time!

Why did I do what I did? - fighting against racism and hate crimes - Arwen

Growing up, I learned to accept all the racism, insults, and microaggressions that came my way. When kids made snide remarks about the food I ate or teachers joked about the shape of my eyes, I thought it was fine. If they laughed at me, I assumed that I had to laugh with them. In the back of my mind, I knew it was wrong, but the truth was that I didn’t think that anyone would believe me. The one time I had told a teacher I felt uncomfortable, I had been told that it was “just a joke”, and that I should “stop being so sensitive”. I learned to make excuses for other people’s behavior, and I told myself that this was the price I needed to pay to be American.

Looking back, I realize that many people probably shared my experience, it was just no one ever said it out loud. When I was asked to speak at the Unity Against Hate rally, I jumped at the opportunity. As a kid, I had always wished somebody had stood up and validated my feelings for me. Speaking at the Unity Against Hate rally was absolutely imperative because I wanted other youth to understand that their anger and frustration was okay. Especially now, with the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans, we need to all stand up together to fight. Being Asian American is not something we need to be ashamed of, and we need to recognize as a country that our diversity is our strength, not our weakness.

The Yellow Whistle Project在全美为亚裔社区草根组织免费提供黄口哨，由各组织免费发给社区成员，尤其是老人、孩子等。如果您的社团有兴趣参与这个社区公益活动，请在黄口哨项目的官网https://www.theyellowwhistle.org/申请，或者与我们联系（[email protected])。

Appendix:

Arwin’s Speech at Unity Againt Hate Rally on May 15th, 2021

My name is Arwen Huanyan Zhang. I like mint chocolate chip ice cream, playing Monopoly, and binge watching TV shows instead of doing homework.

I got my first name, Arwen, from when my parents had their Lord of the Rings phase. My last name, Zhang, is the most common last name in China. Basically, this means that whenever the teacher does attendance, I always prepare for two things: getting called Owen Zhang, followed by, “Are you related to so-and-so Zhang?”

Jokes aside, my name represents my culture, heritage, and identity. My name is complicated - I am proud of it, but it also represents my struggle to find my identity, the pain of never really belonging anywhere, and death of an American dream that was never mine.

Those five syllables, seventeen letters, are an elegy for the foods I stopped eating, the qipao I stopped wearing, the languages I stopped speaking. It’s an elegy for the culture I stopped learning, the history I abandoned, and the heritage I suppressed.

My name is an elegy, for the girl who wanted to be President, who learned too quickly that the world is not fair, that people will judge you solely on the color of your skin and not your personal character.

Following the rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes, racism, and the Atlanta spa shootings, I immediately felt angry, sad, and frustrated. There was a sickening fear that I felt, that I still feel, and a haunting realization that that could have been me.

But now, I just feel exhausted.

I am tired of having to justify my existence, tired of seeing so many hurt and killed because of their race, tired of being treated like a second class citizen, tired of being denied dignity and respect just because of the structure of my nose and the shape of my eyes.

Many of you also feel exhausted. Yet, we must continue to fight. We must acknowledge our own biases, call out racism and discrimiation, stand up and support each other, and ensure that our world has a better tomorrow.

My middle name is Huanyan. It roughly translates to “happy language”, and my nickname, Huanhuan, literally means “happy happy”. Even though I am not quite happy, I am hopeful.

As I look around me, from the audience, to the volunteers and event organizers, to the other youth speakers standing next to me, I know that, no matter what, we will still always have hope. Because it was hope that brought my parents to America, it is hope that leads me to stand here in front of you today, and it is hope that will drive us forward.

Thankyou.

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关于俄州亚太联盟公众号

俄州亚太联盟公众号是APAPA Ohio在Ohio Chinese American Association（俄亥俄华人协会OCAA）的支持下办的公众号，旨在为俄亥俄的亚裔群体、尤其是华人群体提供一个分享、交流、互助的平台，宣传APAPA Ohio 、OCAA和其他亚裔团体的活动，促进亚裔社区对美国社会、政治、文化、体育、艺术、教育、法律等的了解。APAPA的全名是Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (美国亚太联盟)，是在美国联邦政府注册的501(c)(3)非营利组织。

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