Dragons danced in Portland’s cultural district in Old Town this weekend, and they weren’t alone.
Beyond the festive music, colorful performances and eclectic cultural displays at Oregon Rises Above Hate’s Saturday festival was something deeper. An important message to all Oregonians that Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities may all be under one umbrella this month, but that, like their cultures, their challenges are diverse as well.
“We need to raise the issues that our diverse communities are faced with – they’re not all the same, and we’re not all in one bucket,” said Chisao Hata, an event organizer and creative director at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. “We also want to change the myth of the model minority.”
In honor of that message and AAPI heritage month, Oregon Rises Above Hate gathered some of Oregon’s most diverse leaders to discuss the issues facing the AAPI community and the actions they’re taking to help solve the problem.
“I think one of the things that we experience, as I experience as an Asian immigrant, is this odd combination of visibility and invisibility,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal. “This event allows us to reclaim our visibility, and say, ‘We are here, here’s who we are in all of our diversity.’”
Leaders from local to federal levels came to show their support and share what legislation or initiatives they’re working on to help minimize bias crimes and assist the state’s immigrant and refugee population.
The Oregon Legislature currently boasts a record number of people of color, and several state representatives of Asian background spoke at the event, including Khanh Pham, Hoa Nguyen and Hai Pham.
Over a dozen artists took to the stage in the city’s Chinatown/Japantown on Northwest Flanders Street. Performances included dances from Lee’s Association, Devigals Filipino Dance and Teva Oriata Polynesian Dance Troupe, among others.
Groups supporting the festival also set up tables in the square, and food carts offered free meals to attendees.
Oregon Rises Above Hate was founded in 2020 amid rapidly rising anti-Asian sentiments brought on by the pandemic. Anne Naito-Campbell, who was one of the main organizers of the Rise Above Hate movement, said the event has grown steadily in the last three years.
“I’m just thrilled,” she said. “The first year we were in the middle of the pandemic, and that made it very hard. The year after that, not many people were able to come. This year we got everyone.”
Naito-Campbell said she wants the event to continue being a space where the community can gather and work together to feel safe and comfortable in their state.
“We’re empowering them not to be hidden any more,” she said.
In addition to the speakers and performances, the Japanese American Museum, Portland Chinatown Museum and Lan Su Chinese Garden offered free admission throughout the day. A private lunch was held at Lan Su for elected officials, AAPI community leaders and others.
“I don’t think people give Portland enough credit,” said Venus Sun, an executive director at Lan Su. “I see that everybody here wants to do good for the community. They see the struggles and want to be a force for change.”
Zoltan Methias stumbled upon the festival on his way to another Portland event, but stopped by to watch some of the performers. He was born in India, and was excited to see so many cultures gathering in one place.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It brings people together through diversity. You get to see how people do different things, but you get to see how similar they are at the same time.”
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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