Voices

Voices

As America marks 250 years, rich Chinese history lives on at Portland Chinatown Museum, which plans major exhibit changes

May 21, 2026

From Oregon Artswatch (by Amy Wang) – “A new book, ‘Portland’s Chinatowns,’ will accompany planned exhibit update/redesign — funded by a gifts campaign — that will represent Chinese life through the 1980s.”

Voices

Standing Rock 10 Years Later: ‘We Still Have a Lot of Unknowns’

May 15, 2026

From Underscore (by Amelia Schafer and Kevin Abourezk) – “The fight continues on in court a decade after protests began over the controversial construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.”

Voices

‘Sama-Sama: A Movement of Collective Joy’ opens at the Filipino Community of Seattle Tanggapan Gallery

May 7, 2026

From International Examiner (by Jan Edrozo) – “On Tuesday evening, March 17, 2026, the Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) Tanggapan Gallery welcomed guests into its first exhibition of the year with Sama-Sama: A Movement of Collective Joy—an immersive and deeply reflective celebration of Filipinx/a/o identity, community, and togetherness.”

Voices

JA flower nurseries project captures industry bloom

April 23, 2026

From Nichi Bei News (by Derek Tahara) – “While researching a Caltrans retrofit project in Oakland, Calif. in 2013, Dana Ogo Shew, an oral historian and interpretive specialist at the Anthropological Studies Center at Sonoma State University, found a former Japanese nursery. Ogo Shew, a Yonsei who grew up in San Leandro, Calif. by a Japanese nursery, knew she had to dig deeper.”

Voices

Puyallup elder Ramona Bennett Bill recounts the fight for Native rights

April 20, 2026

From Seattle Times (by Frank Hopper) – “TEAR GAS, WHIZZING BULLETS, burning fires and hundreds of cops swinging billy clubs — that’s what Indigenous warriors faced when the Puyallup Fishing Protection Camp was razed by Tacoma police on Sept. 9, 1970. On that day, the tide turned in the fight to protect Native fishing rights in Washington.”

Voices

When You Speak Up, They Come For You: The Documented Reality of What Happens to Leaders of Color Who Refuse to Stay Quiet

April 1, 2026

From Humberto Rodriguez – “There is a moment that happens to almost every leader of color who steps into public life and decides to use their voice for their community. The moment is not when they win their seat. It is not when they take their oath. It is not even when they make their first difficult decision. The moment comes when they name something that powerful people would prefer to remain unnamed.”

Arts & Literature

‘Bing’s Cherries’ rewrites the American tall tale through Oregon grower’s life

March 27, 2026

From OPB (by Crystal Ligori and Winston Szeto) – “If you grew up in the United States, chances are the folk stories you read in school featured mostly white heroes, like Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan. But what if you had grown up with a folk tale featuring an Asian character — a perfect hybrid of man and myth, a farmer with a larger-than-life presence?”

Voices

With UW’s Khmer Language Program in danger of disappearing, students, professors, and the community gather to save it

February 25, 2026

From International Examiner (by Sarah Goh) – The UW’s Khmer Language Program, one of only seven in the US, faces an uncertain future at the end of this academic year.

Voices

Like Mother, Like Daughter

January 2, 2026

From DIGITIZE (by Yaslynn Makein) – “I’m okay,” she says as she pieces together a soft smile.

I’ve heard my mother say things were okay for years, but I knew it was never true. Staying in motels and shelters, my mother disappearing for days without a word, holding our breath when my (now former) stepfather walked through the door. These weren’t things to be okay with, but to my mother they were. At least, that’s what I thought.

Arts & Literature

Chinese Lion Dances in Seattle: A Lunar New Year Tradition

December 29, 2025

From MOHAI – From the collections of MOHAI, look into the long history of the Chinese lion dance in Seattle.

Community Voices