ST. LOUIS — It's officially 'Very Asian Day' on Jan. 19 in the City of St. Louis.
The Very Asian Foundation all started with a racist voicemail 5 On Your Side Anchor Michelle Li received.
The voicemail said among other things she was ‘very Asian’ and to ‘keep her Korean to herself.’
“I still believe that that voicemail was a gift, because look what it did,” Li said.
Li said it sparked worldwide change that is making a difference.
“It's not about excluding anyone. It's not about making a big deal even about what we look like. It's just about being able to be happy and have joy about who you are and really the community that we build together,” Li said.
The City of St. Louis’ first Asian American Alderman Bret Narayan said the entire board of alderman signed a resolution and Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a proclamation to make Jan. 19th "Very Asian Day" in support of the entire Asian community that makes St. Louis what it is today.
“I think supporting initiatives like this is the best thing to do for virtually every community. Lots of communities, kind of self-appoint leaders among the community. I think it's important for the halls of government to hear those voices and to amplify them,” Narayan said.
While Jan. 19 is now "Very Asian Day" in St. Louis, the foundation hopes to spread this movement and support for it to other cities across the country.
Very Asian Foundation Executive Director Soogi Hong said:
“We are about to launch the Very Asian Foundation's Creators Grant. What we want to do is be able to be a launchpad for API creators. We just want to be able to tell their stories, especially as they shift into a career of what they're passionate about. So that's something that we are launching this year. We are still working on the May Book Campaign, which is a national awareness campaign on how to build and maintain diverse libraries because as we know, youth need to see themselves reflected in books."
To donate or support the foundation click here.
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