Bringing Chinese Culture Into Our Homes

Since the start of the pandemic the Asian-American community has faced heightened discrimination, racism, and violence.

In this episode I give concrete examples of what it looks like to stand up against this racism and how we can model these anti-racist actions for our children. We then transition into my conversation with children’s author Andrea Wang to learn how we can bring Chinese culture into our homes and get involved with the Chinese community in our area. Andrea shares ideas for learning about and celebrating Lunar New Year. Not only is Andrea a talented, hilarious writer, she also has two boys and an advanced degree in environmental science. It was such a joy to connect with someone I admire so much! 

During our conversation we cover:

• Her path to becoming an author and her inspiration behind writing The Nian Monster 
• Lunar New Year, her favorite Lunar New Year traditions, and how families who don’t usually celebrate Lunar New Year can get involved 
• Her experiences growing up in a predominantly White community 
• The importance of teaching our children about implicit bias and how to help your children dispel stereotypes they may have about the Chinese community
• The #ownvoices movement in which authors of color and other marginalized groups are advocating for themselves and fighting for the space to tell their own story
• The importance of having an inclusive bookshelf
• Using the OurStory App to find inclusive books
• The issues with the book Tikki Tikki Tembo and Grace Lin’s essay about the book 
• The projects that Andrea has coming up in the next few years