New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will host an in-person Standing in Solidarity event on May 6, 2024, in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Standing in Solidarity is NJPAC’s ongoing series of social justice conversations, often paired with a PSEG True Diversity Film Seriesscreening.
The event includes a screening at 6PM of the documentary Far East Deep South, a PSEG True Diversity Film about Chinese-American settlers in the Mississippi Delta and their kinship with their Black neighbors. A panel conversation with the film’s producer and other thought leaders follows at 7PM.
The program is produced by NJPAC and the New Jersey Chapter of Ascend, the largest global network advancing Pan-Asian professionals in the workplace and corporate boardrooms.
“I hope Far East Deep South, and our conversation after the screening, will help people see that we have more in common than we have been told, and these commonalities should unite us while our uniqueness should help us grow together,” says Baldwin Chiu, a panelist, producer of Far East Deep South and co-founder of Giant Flashlight Media.
In addition to Chiu, the panelists include Jack Tchen, historian, curator, and writer at Rutgers University–Newark, and Jennifer Rasing, Research Scientist and Leader of the Pan Asian Network (PAN) People & Business Resource group at Bristol Myers Squibb.
“This powerful panel event will show what people have in common to unite us,” says Sandip Mehta, Co-President, Ascend New Jersey Chapter, and Director, Global Pricing at Merck. “The AAPI network has a long history of building bridges in our communities.”
The conversion will be moderated by Michael K. Hyun, Vice President Procurement & Deputy General Counsel, at PSEG.
“We’re fortunate that great films can move us, connect us to each other, educate and open up new paths for dialogue and understanding — the film Far East Deep South is certainly no exception,” says Hyun. “It’s a beautiful and deeply personal story of immigration, race and the American identity. Our discussion is timely and I expect it to be extremely powerful.”
“Far East Deep South is a beautiful love story of family and community that resonates,” says Donna Walker-Kuhne, Senior Advisor, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, at NJPAC. “Baldwin Chiu’s forebearers are models of perseverance in the face of xenophobia, racism and economic hardship. They teach us valuable lessons on how to be good neighbors with people different from us.”
To RSVP and for more information visit Standing in Solidarity.
