Asian American / Asian Research Institute

Queens College Diversity Week 2026 - Dismantling & Combating Hate Conference
2026-04-30 09:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Queens College – LeFrak Concert Hall, 153-49 Reeves Ave, Flushing, NY, 11367
The Dismantling & Combating Hate Conference is the culminating event and highlight of Queens College’s Diversity Week program. The conference will take place on Thursday, April 30 from 9 am to 3 pm in LeFrak Concert Hall and the Music Building Atrium. This year’s theme is “Where Do We Go From Here?” This daylong conference brings together DEI practitioners, leaders and stakeholders of Queens College and the CUNY system, our neighboring higher education institutions in the borough of Queens, and our community and industry partners. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Uncharted: DoYeon Kim & Firas Zreik
2026-04-29 20:00 - 22:00 | Greenwhich House Music School, 212-242-4770, 46 Barrow St, New York, NY, 10014, United States
Greenwich House Music School presents DoYeon Kim & Firas Zreik as part of its 2026 Uncharted Concert Series and Elebash Residency

History of NYC’s Chinatown: The Toishanese Migration
2026-04-29 18:30 - 20:00 | Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street, New York, NY, 10013
The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) invites you to a special screening of History of NYC’s Chinatown: The Toishanese Migration, a newly released documentary from NYC Media that traces the origins of one of New York City’s most enduring neighborhoods. Through sweeping historical insight and intimate community voices, the film centers the Toishanese immigrants who helped build not only America’s railroads, but the foundations of Chinatown itself.
Featuring appearances from MOCA and members of the community, the film offers a glimpse into a living history still unfolding. Following the screening, stay for a conversation with producers Andrew Chow Guidone and Joy Lau, joined by community members Virgo Lee and Chester Lee featured in the film. Together, they will reflect on the process of documenting Chinatown’s layered histories and the urgency of preserving stories that are too often left untold.

The Grocery List Show (Screening & Discussion)
2026-04-29 18:00 - 20:00 | The City College of New York – Shepard Hall, 259 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031
Please join Third World Newsreel and the Documentary Forum at CCNY for a special screening and discussion of the cooking documentary series, The Grocery List.

Suddenly Stateside: Postscript Book Talk
2026-04-29 18:00 - 20:00 | NYU Wagner – Main Event Space, Room 101, 105 East 17th Street, New York, NY, 10003
About the book:

Marivi Soliven’s deeply felt chronicle of immigration, identity, and reinvention. Thirty years after leaving Manila for marriage, graduate student life, and the uncertainties of America, Marivi Soliven returns with Suddenly Stateside: Postscript—a sharp and funny memoir that spans surviving Martial Law to navigating the INS, from learning the dark arts of American housekeeping in Berkeley to the indignities of public restrooms, flashers, driving tests, and a pet rat named Janet, Soliven captures the bewilderment, humor, and wonder of building a life an ocean away from home.
Expanded with new essays and postscripts, this collection confronts the long shadows of authoritarianism, the contradictions of belonging to two countries, and the messy, marvelous business of starting over. Unsparing, subversive, and irresistibly engaging, Suddenly Stateside: Postscript affirms the immigrant imagination in all its resilience and hilarity.

About the author:
Marivi Soliven has authored 17 books, including The Mango Bride, which won the grand prize at the 2011 Palanca Awards, the Philippine counterpart of the Pulitzer Prize. “Pandemic Bread,” her nonfiction personal essay about interpreting for end-of-life calls during the Covid pandemic, was adapted to an award-winning short film. “Pandemic Bread” has been screened at 11 film festivals across the country as well as in Mexico and London. Apart from writing, Marivi helps fellow immigrants manage their medical, legal and financial issues in her day job as a phone interpreter.

Sponsors:
Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at NYU
Wagner Office of International Programs
New York Southeast Asia Network

2026 AAPI Policy Priorities Survey Briefing
2026-04-29 15:00 - 17:00 | NY
OCA’s Executive Director, Thu Nguyen, will be speaking at this briefing on the latest survey findings shaping Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) policy priorities in 2026.
As economic pressures continue to rise and global instability impacts communities at home, new data shows AAPI voters are deeply concerned about affordability, healthcare costs, civil rights, and the direction of federal spending. This conversation will explore how these concerns translate into actionable policy priorities and what leaders and advocates can do next.
Hear from leading voices across the AAPI community as they break down key findings and connect them to urgent policy solutions impacting working families.
We hope you can join us for this important discussion.

Communicating with Care, Clarity, & Compliance to Protect Your Organization
2026-04-29 14:00 - 15:00 | NY
With less than 140 days until National Voter Registration Day, many organizations are asking an important question: Is it still safe and worth it to engage our communities in voter registration? The answer is YES, and it matters more than ever.
Join us for this timely webinar and panel discussion featuring trusted cultural organizations, including the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, Arab American Institute, and Poder Latinx. Together, we will explore how organizations can respond to the real concerns communities may have about registering to vote this year, and how to build and sustain trust with those who may feel targeted, uncertain, or disengaged.
Building on proven strategies from past National Voter Registration Day trainings, this session will offer practical, real world guidance on how to restore voter confidence, communicate with care, and engage communities in ways that are safe, nonpartisan, and grounded in trust Whether you are new to this work or navigating new challenges, you will leave with the tools and confidence to support your community in getting #VoteReady.

Common Ground: Exploring Names, Roots, and Identity in AAPI Poetry Community
2026-04-29 12:00 - 14:00 | Queensborough Community College(Humanities Building, Room H-230), 222-05 56th Ave, Bayside, New York, NY, 11364, United States
This Conference and Workshop is for Students, Faculty and Staff

Students and the Creative Writing Club are invited to listen to local poet Jed Munson recite poetry on the AAPI experience. Students will also participate in an interactive creative writing activity following the reading. Lumpia and bao will be served.

This event is sponsored by Asian American Faculty and Staff Association, The Office for Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, English Department Creative Writing Club

Sonic Histories: Living Room Stories Workshop with Chinatown Records
2026-04-29 12:00 - 13:30 | Queens College (James Muyskens Conference Room), 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367
Bringing together music and oral history, Rochelle Hoi-Yiu Kwan (aka yiuyiu 瑶瑶) gathers us for an intimate living room listening through the Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 archive of over 30 record collections inherited from her family and neighbors. We’ll explore the ways that stories can live all around us and how you can tune in through song to get started remembering your own sonic histories with your loved ones.
No prior experience or skills required, and all Queens College students are welcome!
Materials will be provided for this workshop, and snacks too!

The Grandmaster: Tony Leung
2026-04-29 - 2026-05-07 | Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th Street, New York, NY, 10023
Marking his first return to FLC in more than 25 years, this career-spanning retrospective gives audiences the chance to rediscover, on the big screen, why the world continues to fall for Tony Leung time and time again.

The Unwritten Word: Voices, Verses, and the Living Archive of Oral History
2026-04-28 18:30 - 19:30 | Countee Cullen Library, 104 West 136th St, New York, NY, 10030
History is often found between the lines of textbooks—breathed, sung, and passed down through the generations. While traditional archives rely on the permanence of ink and paper, our most vital cultural truths often exist in the spaces where memory meets oral traditions. The Unwritten Word invites you to explore the idea of oral history as a form of literature, a realm where the folklore, poetry, and cultural lineage converge to keep our communities’ stories alive.

This program brings together a group of experts and artists to discuss the art and importance of the spoken record. Historian Mark D. Naison, poet and sound artist LaTasha Diggs, writer and curator J. Faye Yuan, come together in a conversation moderated by oral historian Bridget Bartolini, to celebrate the power of the spoken word to reshape our understanding of the past and safeguard the legacies of our shared future. From the stoops of Harlem to the steps of the library, we examine how the act of listening allows us to recover stories that might otherwise be lost to time.

What Hibakusha Can Tell Us
2026-04-28 17:45 - 19:30 | LaGuardia Community College, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, Long Island City, NY
A conversation with atomic bomb survivors visiting New York as part of United Nations nonproliferation meetings. Hibakusha is the Japanese term used for survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Speakers will share personal experiences and reflections on peace and humanity. Student representatives will moderate the discussion.

Learning and Unlearning Asian American Representation in Film: The Intersection of Pop Culture and Policy
2026-04-28 17:00 - 18:30 | NY
This workshop explores the history of Asian American representation in visual media, with a focus on film. Participants will examine how policies and laws have shaped—and been reflected in—film through recurring archetypes, tropes, and narratives. Together, we will trace the intersection of policy and popular culture, analyzing how these representations have evolved over time and how they continue to influence public perception and understanding of Asian American communities.
Facilitator: Kathryn LeBlanc, TAAS Fellow
Free and open to all. Professional Development hours awarded.
This event is brought to you by Teach Asian American Stories and AAPI New Jersey.

HCAP Mental Health Event - Building Self Confidence
2026-04-28 15:00 - 16:30 | Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065
What do you do to stay positive? To think positive thoughts about yourself and all that you’re doing right now? It’s normal to struggle with self confidence, especially when we are in new or challenging situations. We may experience doubt or put ourselves down. Join us for a workshop where we practice self compassion and positive self talk in order to build up our self confidence and take care of ourselves.
This program is open to Hunter College and BMCC students of all identities and backgrounds.

Power Building for Racial Equity (PRE) Virtual
2026-04-28 12:00 - 18:30 | NY
This workshop offers practical strategies and insights for confronting power dynamics to advance racial justice in organizations.

This workshop focuses on the role of power when addressing systemic racism and advancing racial justice. Systemic racism is a system of power–hierarchical, coercive, and oppressive power–based on race. Racial justice, to be achieved and sustained, also requires power–inclusive, collective, and liberatory power. As we do the work of racial justice, power plays a critical role and needs to be explicitly examined and deliberately transformed. When power is ignored, unjust patterns of power can be unintentionally replicated. This workshop provides an opportunity for reflection, sharing tips and tools, and exploring ways to transform power in your racial justice work, whether internal-facing (within your organization) and/or external-facing (with your community or the broader society).
Racial and social justice activists, organizers, and educators are seeking more frameworks and tools for deepening their work.

Film Screening: The Vow from Hiroshima
2026-04-28 11:45 - 13:45 | LaGuardia Community College, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, Long Island City, NY
The Vow from Hiroshima is a documentary profiling Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing and a longtime nuclear disarmament advocate. The film follows Thurlow’s friendship with Mitchie Takeuchi, a second-generation survivor and New York City–based filmmaker. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Mitchie Takeuchi.

Book Event: The Blue House I Loved with Kao Kalia Yang & Jen Shin
2026-04-27 17:30 - 19:30 | south of Bryant Park, South of Bryan Park, New York, NY
Celebrate The Blue House I Loved with authors Kao Kalia Yang & Jen Shin — read-aloud, Q&A, and light refreshments!

Join us for an evening celebrating a beautiful new children’s book — and a true Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship collaboration.
The Blue House I Loved is written by award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang (2003 Fellow) and illustrated by artist and architect Jen Shin (2018 Fellow). Together, they’ve created a lyrical, luminous story about a Hmong family’s first home in America—a blue duplex in St. Paul, Minnesota that is too small, imperfect, and utterly beloved. It’s a book about memory, belonging, and the homes that live on in our hearts long after they’re gone.
Kalia and Jen will read the book aloud, with illustrations displayed on screen, and then open the floor for questions from you and your little ones.
Come for the reading, stay for the conversation, and leave with a book your family will return to again and again.

Book Talk: Balikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland with Dr. Adrian De Leon
2026-04-27 15:00 - 16:00 | NYU Espacio de Culturas, 53 Washington Square S, New York, NY, 10012, United States
What does it mean to go back home, especially when “home” is shaped by conquest, labor, and longing? This question has animated the experiences of global migrants displaced by imperialism, capital, and the nation-states that have sought to manage their movements for their own political and economic benefit. Through vivid storytelling, Adrian De Leon traces how Filipinos, both at home and overseas, have both shaped the societies they’ve settled in and transformed the very idea of the Philippines itself.
By following the emergence of the Filipino return migrant (balikbayan), De Leon explores how statecraft in the Philippines—from the late Spanish period through the post-1946 independent state—attempted to co-opt value from migrant communities. Balikbayan shows how diasporic labor and transpacific political imaginations were central to the development of a modern Philippine nation-state, through enabling the continued conquest of the islands’ frontiers, and sustaining the economic recovery of a nation indebted by native elites and overseas empires. In turn, these lands were reframed by the state as the birthright of overseas Filipinos who yearned to connect with their roots.
Compiled through deep and thoughtful research in community archives, the itinerant histories brought to life in Balikbayan coalesce around a new cultural-economic form that has come to define contemporary nationhood: the homeland.

Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom Festival
2026-04-26 12:00 - 17:00 | Charles B. Wang Center – Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, United States
Welcome spring to Long Island with the blooming of sakura (cherry blossoms), the sounds of taiko drums, and a wondrous array of Japanese cultural exhibits at the Wang Center! The Wang Center will provide many exciting activities, including koto plays, Japanese traditional dances, martial arts demonstrations, bonsai workshops, calligraphy workshops, ikebana flower arrangement, tea workshops, manga drawing, origami paper folding, and cosplay (costumed role-play of a Japanese manga character) for all ages. Join us in your favorite manga character costume!

Holi Dance & Music Celebration: Festival of Colors
2026-04-25 14:15 - 16:15 | Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11354, United States
Celebrate Holi with ullas (joy), sahbhaajan (sharing) & prem (love) at our dance concert as we invite you to experience India’s rich folk-dance legacy with live musical accompaniment. Abha B. Roy and Srijan Dance Company perform lively dances from Bengal, Jammu-Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh. Featuring the renowned classical Hindustani vocalist, Sanjukta Sen alongside Tapan Modak on tabla and Mirashi Gulam on harmonium. Delicious Indian food, drinks and more for sale by Chef Nupur Arora and Queens Curry Kitchen.

A Conversation with Mei ZhenCai: 梅振才先生訪談
2026-04-25 13:00 - 14:00 | Chatham Square Library, 33 East Broadway, New York, NY, 10002
Mr. Mei Zhen Cai is a local author, educator, and member of the Chinese Cultural Art Association. He will be joining us at Chatham Square LIbrary to discuss his work and writing process.
This program will be conducted in Cantonese.

Moving Objects: Modes of Conveyance & the Making of Global Asias
2026-04-24 10:00 - 17:30 | 20 Cooper Square – NYU, 20 Cooper Square, New York, NY, 10003, United States
The Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and Pennsylvania State University’s Global Asias Initiative are pleased to present “Moving Objects: Modes of Conveyance & the Making of Global Asias,” a one-day symposium at NYU and a Convergence feature for a special issue of the journal Verge: Studies in Global Asias. “Moving Objects” examines the varied modes of conveyance and the material infrastructures that facilitate the movements of people, cultural objects, and materials, by which Global Asias come into existence.

New York City Air Quality and Health Summit (NYC AQHS)
2026-04-24 10:00 - 16:30 | Fordham University, 150 West 62nd Street, New York, NY, 10023
The New York City Air Quality and Health Summit will bring together academics, clinicians, policymakers, and community stakeholders to explore the health impacts of air pollution. The program includes a plenary address by Dr. Wolfram Schlenker of the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as presentations by leading environmental economists, policymakers, and clinicians. It is organized by Fordham faculty (Dr. David Rosenkranz and Dr. Marc Conte) and the head of research at Lincoln Hospital (Dr. Vidya Menon), and sponsored by the Bronx Research Institute for Community Solutions at Fordham. Lunch will be provided for registered attendees.

K-Dialogue: New Technology and AI Development In Korea Workshop
2026-04-23 19:00 - 20:00 | NY
Do you want to improve your Korean speaking skills? In this workshop, we will read articles from Korean newspapers about AI and new technology development in Korea, and discuss various questions related to the topic. The workshop will be conducted using both English and Korean, but discussions will mainly take place in Korean. It is designed to be engaging and will provide plenty of opportunities to practice speaking in Korean. Intermediate-level Korean proficiency or above is recommended. This workshop is open to ages 16+.

Beyond Borders: Highlighting Immigration Stories
2026-04-23 18:30 - 20:00 | 53rd Street Library, 18 W 53rd St, New York, NY, 10019, United States
New York City, a city founded by immigrants, has been shaped and enriched by generations of newcomers across the five boroughs. Each story of immigration is deeply personal and unique; at the same time, many immigrants share core experiences of settling in a new place. Finding community, speaking a second language, navigating institutions and paperwork, staying connected to culture—these experiences shape the lives of countless people who call the city home.
This event brings together authors Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Grace M. Cho, and Ruben Reyes Jr. in conversation with author and journalist Maria Hinojosa to explore modern stories of immigration. They’ll discuss the connections between their work, navigating the world of publishing, and how immigrant stories can speak to our moment.

SCREENING: Don’t Be Long Little Bird & LA Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement
2026-04-23 18:00 - 21:00 | The People’s Forum, 320 West 37th Street, New York, NY, 10018
Join us at the Paul and Eslanda Robeson Cinema at The People’s Forum, created in the spirit of their love of art, film, and revolution.
Don’t Be Long, Little Bird (2025, 23m) follows a story of the daughter of a displaced Palestinian family, who accidentally finds herself time traveling to 1930s Palestine, where she spends a few days with her great-grandmother when she was her age.

LA Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement (2025, 56m) Following the Watts Uprising, UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television enacted affirmative action policies to increase enrollment of students of color in its film program — a group historically underrepresented in the student population. The “ethno-communications” initiative to recruit students from Black, Asian, Chicano and Native American communities became a movement known as “LA Rebellion.”

Cooking to the President's Taste: Asian Chefs in White House History
2026-04-23 18:00 - 19:00 | Museum of Food and Drink, 62 Bayard Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11222
Join MoFAD for a special evening with Adrian Miller and Deborah Chang in celebration of their award-winning book, Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking to the President’s Taste. Chefs cooking for the president — in the White House kitchen, for state dinners, on presidential yachts, and at Camp David — help define American cuisine on a national scale. Asian Heritage chefs with roots in China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand have been cooking for presidents for over a century and continue to do so today.
Learn more about these chefs from Adrian Miller and their recipes, Asian and American, from Deborah Chang at this important conversation moderated by Ernabel Demillo from CUNY-TV.

AAPI New York: Stories From Brooklyn
2026-04-23 17:00 - 20:00 | Brooklyn Technical High School, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY
New York City teachers, community members, and youth are invited for an interactive day of storytelling, community building, and curriculum development on the localized history of Brooklyn’s Asian American community.

Neha Dixit: Media, Power, and Democracy in South Asia
2026-04-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Room 527, Gallatin School, 1 Washington Place, New York, NY, 10003, United States
Join us for a talk by Neha Dixit on “Media, Power, and Democracy in South Asia.” Hosted by the Gallatin Human Rights Initiative, co-sponsored by the Global and Joint Program Studies, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. April 23, 5 PM, Room 527, Gallatin School.

America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation
2026-04-23 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us for a discussion with Mark Christopher, author of the new book: America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation. In conversation with policy director Jonathan Corrado, Cristopher unpacks the findings from his rigorous open-source analysis of how America’s key allies—South Korea, Japan, and Australia—would respond to US intervention or inaction in a Taiwan conflict. If Beijing attempts to forcibly annex Taiwan, Washington’s decisions will have far-reaching consequences for its credibility in East Asia and beyond. Yet, the long-term implications of these choices on America’s alliances and global standing remain largely unexamined—until now. Based on over 100 interviews with leading experts from South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States, this book provides unparalleled insight into how America’s allies view the stakes in a Taiwan contingency. It captures, in their own words, their perspectives—sometimes contradictory but consistently pragmatic—as they grapple with their reliance on the United States as a distant security guarantor and their unease with an increasingly assertive China nearby.
