Long before Kenji Bunch established himself as one of America’s most influential and prolific composers, he came to classical music in a way familiar to many young Asian Americans. “For a long time, I’ve tried to come up with any other reason, something somehow more intelligent,” he said. “But what I’ve realized is that I saw classical music as my calling largely because it made my parents happy.”

Read more at All Classical Radio.

“We can start a new life somewhere else,” she told me. “To find a dream and a life of our own. A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone.”

These fickle fuddled words confused me. “Where the streets have no name?”

“No, no, no, no, no. I'm moving out to the Great Pacific Northwest. And there's nothing you can do to stop me.”

Watch at The Bushwick Book Club Seattle.

The conversation about race in America is often between Black and White, leaving Asian Americans out of the dialogue. Between Black & White: Asian Americans Speak Out is a three-part series about communities building bridges, confronting racism, discovering surprising connections, and fighting hate – together.

Between Black & White: Asian Americans Speak Out is a co-production of Exploring Hate and The Serica Initiative.

Watch at PBS | Exploring Hate.

What does it mean to belong? During the pandemic, misinformation about the coronavirus contributed to an alarming spike in racial violence against Asian Americans. The pandemic became an excuse for anti-Asian xenophobia, drawing attention to a painful reality: In this country, Asian Americans—even when born and raised here—often are viewed and treated as perpetual outsiders.

be/longing: Asian Americans Now, a co-production of Exploring Hate and The Serica Initiative, profiles Asian American trailblazers from across the country in five stories of belonging and exclusion; resilience and hope; and solidarity in the face of hate. profiles Asian American trailblazers from across the country in five stories of belonging and exclusion; resilience and hope; and solidarity in the face of hate.

Watch at PBS | Exploring Hate.

“You look like my daughter,” Yingying’s mother, Lifeng, tells the filmmaker Jenny Shi. Lifeng is hunched over a wooden bench in her home in Nanping, China, the bare wall behind her faintly out of focus. She turns and looks into the camera, her voice tinged with melancholy if not also a hint of spite: “I wish my daughter could come back like you.”

Read more at The China Project.