Real Talk about Big Questions series to host discussion about supporting Asian/Pacific Islander populations in the U.S.

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with the Office of Global Affairs, is hosting a virtual event to foster personal reflection and strategies to combat violence and discrimination against Asian/Pacific Islander populations in the United States.

The event is part of the Critical Dialogue Series “Real Talk about Big Questions” and will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 23 via Zoom.

Participants should register for the event here. 

The featured speaker is Helen Zia. The daughter of immigrants from China, Zia has been outspoken on issues ranging from human rights and peace to women’s rights and countering hate violence and homophobia. She is featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” and was profiled in Bill Moyers’ PBS series, “Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.” In 2008 Helen was a torchbearer in San Francisco for the Beijing Olympics amid great controversy; in 2010, she was a witness in the federal marriage equality case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Zia received an honorary doctor of humane letters from the University of San Francisco and an honorary doctor of laws from the City University of New York Law School for bringing important matters of law and civil rights into public view. She is a Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of Princeton University’s first coeducational class. She attended medical school but quit after completing two years, then went to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life’s work as a writer. 

Zia will deliver a talk on Asian American history, resistance and contributions to creating U.S. culture and society. The talk will be followed by a Q&A session facilitated by Dr. Lijing Yang, associate professor of counseling and higher education, Patton College of Education, as well as small group dialogue and reflection sessions to foster strategies and internalized allyship to better support Asian and Pacific Islander populations in the U.S and at Ohio University.