By Adam Chau
Edina, MN includes what was once the first fully enclosed shopping mall, and according to at least one survey, is ranked as the best “city-like” suburb in the United States. At the same time, it has been considered a mostly white upper-class suburb, however changing, with more Asian Americans moving into the neighborhood.
In 2022 multiple racist incidents occurred, including one where a video of high school students using Nazi salutes and mocking Asian American accents was being circulated. The Edina Asian American Alliance was formed as a response.
This past weekend the group, started by high-school and parent leaders, held their second annual AAPI festival in Rosland Park.
The festival this past Saturday had tables from community organizations, food trucks, drumming, martial arts, face painting, free books with authors, and a Q&A on Asian American heritage.
Sun Yung Shin, who was there to help give away free copies of Where We Come From for AANHPI month at the event (along with another co-author of the picture book, John Coy) said that she was happy that Edina had put resources into inclusion.
“Events like this are so important. Asian Americans are a growing group. We’ve been in Minnesota for a long time, but there are so many more of us now, and we have so much to offer in terms of our many different cultures and our many different perspectives on life here in Minnesota. I’m grateful that this suburb has put its resources into inclusion because what is good for the Asian American community is really good for everybody.”
Sally Sudo from the Twin Cities JACL, who also had a table at the event, said, “I know that for a long time Edina’s history is that it used to be an all-White community, and it really wasn’t until the Act of 1965 that they were forced to allow people of color to live here. As more and more Asians started to live in this community they were very discriminated against.”
She spoke about the incident with the video at Edina High School, and how the JACL was one of the many different ethnic and cultural groups there that day to help people learn and get educated about Asian culture.
Below are pictures from the event.
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