[News] [CA, USA] Queer Asian group celebrates silver anniversary
Stephanie Stevens
NEWS
Queer Asian group celebrates silver anniversary
by Heather Cassell
hea...@whimsymedia.com
Published 04/19/2012
[Photo: APIQWTC co-founder Crystal Jang (Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland) ]
The Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community is
celebrating its 25th anniversary with a bang at its annual Lunar New
Year Banquet this weekend.
More than 400 queer Asian women and transgender individuals and allies
will celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the sold-out silver
anniversary event April 21 that has brought out a host of
entertainment for the evening in Oakland's Chinatown.
"It's going to be an exciting and lively event," said D'Lo, a queer
political theater artist who is flying in to emcee.
Award-winning writer Willy Wilkinson will perform a piece, "Transition
in the Fierce Year of the Dragon" about his transition from female to
male in honor of the spirit of a year that opens up possibilities and
transitions.
Wilkinson, 49, has participated in the organization since its early
years and used to edit its "Phoenix Rising" newsletter, he said.
"We've come a long way in 25 years," said Wilkinson, reminiscing about
a time when Asian lesbians and transgender individuals were isolated
and experienced prejudice in the LGBT community. "To see ... how far
we've come is pretty amazing."
Amber Field, who will be performing a piece from a forthcoming
performance at the Queer Arts Festival in June, agreed with Wilkinson.
She moved to the Bay Area from the Midwest specifically to be "around
people who look like me, live like me," said the 37-year-old queer
woman.
"It's given me a sense of pride in that APIQWTC is well recognized
within the LGBT community as an Asian entity and the involvement in
joint efforts with other organizations," added Lynn Sugihara, a core
member and a banquet committee member.
Other performers at this year's event include rap artist Skim;
genderqueer artist Tonilyn A. Sideco; country musician Michelle Lee;
and Lindsay Chan, a member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Building community
A quarter century ago a small group of queer and transgender Asian
women's organizations came together and created the annual API Lunar
New Year Banquet to network with each other. The banquet eventually
evolved into what is now APIQWTC, an all-volunteer umbrella
organization that produces political and social events and supports
queer Asian women's and transgender activism.
APIQWTC provides the space for an estimated 1,000 queer women and
transgender individuals of Asian descent to gather and celebrate who
they are, said co-founding members Crystal Jang and Koko Lin.
Oftentimes, even today, many queer women and transgender Asians live
in the closet in fear of losing their family and community, the women
said about APIQWTC and its importance.
Celebrating means honoring the women who have given to the community
and supporting rising stars. APIQWTC organizers have given out the
Phoenix Award since 2002 and scholarships since the beginning, except
when lack of funds halted the program for a while. Organizers
reinstated the scholarship program six years ago, Jang and Lin said.
This year, Vuong Nguyen, founder and organizer of "Song That Radio,"
an LGBT Vietnamese American weekly radio program that celebrated its
20th anniversary last year, is being honored with the Phoenix Award.
"Receiving the Phoenix Award means 'Song That Radio' works and my
works in Vietnamese American LGBT community [work]," wrote Nguyen in
an email. "That's a great honor for 'Song That Radio' and for myself."
Christine Pan and Jamie Sumague are this year's scholarship awardees.
APIQWTC is more than bringing activists together, there has always
been a social element, said Jang and Lin about the banquet and other
events that help raise funds for the grassroots organization.
Jang and Lin declined to provide the organization's annual budget.
"People want to party and have fun," said Lin about some of the social
events that include skiing, wine tasting, movie outings and more.
Creating change
In its 25th year, core members of APIQWTC are restructuring to broaden
the organization's reach and support for its growing members, that now
include families and spans generations, the leaders said.
Organizers are also aiming to continue building coalition with other
LGBT organizations, they added.
"I want to see not just being able to blossom in the broader area in
the LGBT community, but also to be able to go back home and be proud
of ourselves," said Jang.
For more information, visit http://www.apiqwtc.org or email ban...@apiwtc.org.
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