I want to embrace the New Year with an open mind and heart. The year will bring me my freedom! May I be free. – Eddy Zheng, 2002 I wrote these words on December 31, 2002, while in solitary confinement, or “the Hole.” This was my second time in the Hole, where I stayed for…
We sat down with NBF Board Member McArthur “Mac” Hoang, who joined the Board earlier this year and now serves on the NBF Fundraising Committee. We asked Mac about his relationship with NBF and experiences serving on the Board. We are in deep gratitude to Mac for his service and for sharing his reflections with…
Below, you’ll read personal stories from one of NBF’s community members that focus on the values that ground our work: Racial Solidarity, Collective Learning, Collective Healing, and Collective Liberation. We’ve commissioned Chanthon Bun, a community member impacted by the criminal legal system, to provide artwork to accompany these stories. Bun is also a Reentry Coordinator…
“I now understand the need for affirmative action,” my mother said after the 1988 U.S. presidential election. As a first-generation immigrant from Japan, she lacked context and knowledge of U.S. history—until this election laid bare the extent of white privilege that enabled Dan Quayle to become Vice President of the United States. I am a…
In the past three years, I have driven across the continent five times, visited cities and states I’ve never seen before, met with dozens of organizations around the country, and learned so much about incredible and diverse AANHPI communities fighting systemic violence and racism. During the ongoing pandemic, at a time when so many people…
In June, we held our first NBF Convening with We Got Us Fund grantee partners and our Community Advisory Committee (CAC) members. Our gathering of 31 community leaders and organizers was held at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) on unceded Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo land. People traveled from near and far to…
Earlier this year, we sat down with Micky Huihui, Executive Director of Hawai’i People’s Fund (HPF), an organization that exists to specifically address the needs of grassroots progressive movement building in Hawai’i. Established in 1972, they are a model for progressive social change and participatory, activist-advised grantmaking. Micky is the first Native Hawaiian ED at…
My name is Ly Ia. I am currently a 3rd-year student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Asian and Asian American Diaspora Studies. For 9 months of the school year, I had the pleasure of working at New Breath Foundation (NBF) as a Fellow through MOVE, an Asian American community organizing fellowship program. During my fellowship,…
May is a significant month for many. This month is a time to recognize and honor the heritage of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. It’s when we commemorate international workers and the labor movement on May Day and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. And it’s a time to observe the birthdays of several important…
In March 2018, I sat in a crowded hallway outside an interview room at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office in San Francisco. Four Bay Area Cambodian refugees had been summoned to report to ICE, and I accompanied them with a few others. We waited with their families and lawyers as individuals were…