Kiran Ahjuna, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans ran down the list of groups that make up the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
South Asians , Ahjuna screamed out to the hoots and hollers of those attending the opening ceremony for Asian American Pacific Islander American Heritage Month in Washington, DC yesterday.
“Southeast Asians, Pacific Islanders, East Asians,” she yelled out in rapid succession. Each time members of those communities responded with enthusiastic applause.
But then playful protest broke out from the back of the room.
“Did I forget anybody?” Ahjuna asked.
“Hapa,” they screamed from the back of the room.
Yes, more and more Hapas are seeing themselves as their own racial identity.
Sharon Chang whose twitter handle is @MultiAsianFams wrote about her experience being multi-racial and raising a multi-racial son in Hyphen.
It’s an interesting story about when her son asked mom if he was white.
It’s worth checking out.