AAARI Events

Please join Thirdworld Newsreel and the Documentary Forum at CCNY for a screening and discussion of the documentary film Slumlord Millionaire, co-directed by Ellen Martinez and Steph Ching. The co-directors will joined by housing activists.

Prof. Francisco Delgado will read and discuss his novella, On Remembering My Friends, My First Job, and My Second-Favorite Weezer CD (TRP: The University Press of SHSU, July 2025).

Please join Thirdworld Newsreel and the Documentary Forum at CCNY for a screening and discussion of the documentary film Because of You: A History of Kilawin Koletibo, co-directed by Desireena Almoradie and Barbara Malaran. The co-directors will be joined by past participants of Kilawin Kolektibo.

Vina Orden will present on her essay in CUNY FORUM Volume 11:1, examining how narratives in popular media can perpetuate or challenge existing power structures and colonial mentalities.

In Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community (Stanford University Press, 2024), historian William Gow argues that Chinese Americans in Los Angeles strategically used their performances in both Hollywood films and Chinatown tourist attractions to influence perceptions of race and national identity during the Chinese Exclusion Era.

Drawing on his role as a Cool Japan Producer for the Japanese Cabinet Office, Benjamin W. Boas highlights the need to shift from a government-branded “Cool Japan” paradigm to the more participatory, fan-driven “Your Japan.”

Prof. Aleah Ranjitingh will present her research on Chinese-Caribbean immigrants in the United States, and the ways in which they understand self in terms of race and ethnicity.

Prof. Zai Liang’s presentation focuses on the substantial challenges faced by small businesses in Manhattan Chinatown and the subsequent transitions they have made in the post-Covid pandemic era. Attendees will gain insights into the key findings conducted during Summer 2025 by the specialized research team from SUNY Albany, in collaboration with the Chinatown Partnership Local ... Read more

A hybrid panel with Queens and Baruch College presidents explores how student visa revocations are reshaping CUNY campuses, immigrant communities, and New York’s educational landscape.

Family Amnesia (Daylight Books, 2025) is a visual tribute and love letter honoring author Betty Yu’s Chinese American family roots in the United States. The art book explores her family’s multi-generational resilience and resistance through mixed-media collages, her grandfather’s photographs, and own captured images and archival material.

Prof. Jayashree Kamblé will present on her essay in CUNY FORUM Volume 11:1, focusing on love and gender roles in the recent globally successful films Godzilla Minus One and Past Lives.

Join this free information session to learn about the 2026 AAARI Innovators Fellowship, a 16-week program empowering changemakers to address complex challenges facing Asian American communities. The AAARI Innovation Fellowship is open to CUNY undergraduate and graduate students, interested in social impact. No prior experience required.