AARW History

compiled by Ching-In Chen, Janet Gee, Peter Kiang, Vivian Lee, Helen Liu, Michael Liu, Shauna Lo, Shirley Mark, Don Misumi and Wen-ti Tsen

We at Asian American Resource Workshop would like to thank our countless volunteers and members, many of which have gone unacknowledged. There have been many who have taken great leadership in generating and implementing all the projects and community work AARW has undertaken. You are the ones who have made the organization what it has been and we celebrate your hard work.

1979 – 1984
Located at: 27 Beach St., Boston
Founders: Fred Ho (staff, 1979), Ramsay Liem, Michael Liu (1979-1980); Program Director, Peter Kiang (1980-1986)

Asian American Resource Center is established, spun off from the Boston Chapter of Pacific Asian Coalition (PAC) and similar to other established Asian American organizations as Visual Communications, LA, Kearny Street Workshop, SF, Basement Workshop, NYC, etc. 1977

Incorporates as Asian American Resource Workshop, November 10th, 1979

Organizes the first Boston exhibition of Asian American artists, 1979

Organizes Asian American poetry, music and art coffeehouses, including the first performances by Southeast Asian refugee groups, 1980 onward

Conducts art and culture workshops and classes, 1980 onwards

Produces Asian American history and heritage calendars, 1980, 1982

Leads workshops on Asian American history, identity and issues for schools and agencies, 1980 onwards

Forms AARW Media Group and Chinese Folksinging Group, 1981

Organizes Asian Lunar New Year celebrations that include pan-Asian and African American performances, 1981 onward

Shows the first Asian American produced feature film, Hito Hata, Raise the Banner, 1981

Collaborates in organizing Boston hearing of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Incarceration of Civilians, 1981

Sponsors annual Day of Remembrance events to commemorate the World War II internment of Japanese Americans, beginning in 1982

Sponsors China Film Week and Asian American International Film Festival, 1982, 1983

Co-sponsors AARW Teachers' Conference with Children's Museum, 1984 onwards

Commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Chinese Exclusion Act with a multi-media production that includes the publication of booklet, Our Roots in History, 1982

Initiates local Vincent Chin Support Committee, which evolves into the pan-Asian community coalition, Asian for Justice, 1983

Produces videos, Boston Chinatown History, Staying Well, and a bilingual series on Chinatown culture, 1983-85

Organizes Chinatown Cable Television conference, 1983

Co-organizes Dragon Boat Festival, 1983

Sponsors Asian American Artists Exhibition, 1984

1985 – 1989
Directors: Julian Low (1984-1986), Carlton Sagara (1986-1987); Executive Director: Fred Dow (1987-1989)

Sponsors the Asian American Studies Seminar, 1984

Produces video, Pei Lee: Portrait of a Chinese Teenager, 1984

Leads campaign to bring justice for the stabbing death of Anh Mai, 1985

Organizes East Wind, an art and culture forum, 1985

Sponsors Asian American Studies Teachers Conference, 1985

Works with community in support for Long Guang Huang, victim of police brutality, and produces the video, Long Road to Justice: The Case of Long Guang Huang, 1985

Presents AARW Film & Forum Series, 1985-86

Organizes Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week events. 1986-1992

Produces the documentary video, Against the Zone, 1986

Co-develops Southeast Asian Studies Curriculum Development Project with Chelmsford Public Schools and the Southeast Asian community, 1986

Institutes Summer Internship Program, 1987

Produces the play, Paper Angels, with ECASU (East Coast Asian Student Union), 1987

Conducts an assessment of civil right needs of Asian Americans in Boston with the report, To Live in Peace: Responding to Anti-Asian Violence in Boston, 1987

Produces documentary video on garment workers, Through Strength and Struggle, 1987

Organizes Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week: 10th Year Celebration, America is in the Heart: The Strength and Spirit of Asian Americans Through Art and Culture, 1989

Presents the film: Who Killed Vincent Chin, 1989

1990 – 1994
Located at: 34 Oak St., Boston (1991–1993), 160 Kneeland St., Boston (1993–2002)
Executive Director: Michael Liu (1990–1995)

Publishes the first Massachusetts Asian Pacific American Directory, 1990

Initiates Leadership Training Project to mentor and train young people to become effective leaders

Initiates the creation of Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition, 1991

Researches and produces the background paper, Recognizing Poverty in Boston's Asian American Community for Boston Foundation's Boston Persistent Poverty Project, 1991

Publishes The Asian American Comic Book, 1992

Produces Day of Remembrance programs, 1992, 1993

Produces the multi-media art installation: Welcome to Asian America, Challenging the Myths, 1993

Organizes the Korean American and African American Relations Program

Collaborates on Media Education Project, with Roxbury Community News and Hispanic Office for Planning and Evaluation to document the media's biased portrayals of community of color

Launches the Chinatown Voter Education/Registration Project with Chinese Progressive Association

Initiates the SafetyNet Violence Prevention Project to help victims of anti-Asian violence.
Plays key role in the Coalition to Protect Parcel C for Chinatown, 1993

Organizes book parties and receptions for Gish Jen, Laurence Yep, David Henry Hwang, Jade Ngoc Huynh, Roberta Uno, Karin Aguilar-San Juan, et al., 1991-1994

1995 – 1999
Executive Directors: Koshy Mathews (1995), Michael Liu (1995-1996), Tracey Tsugawa (1996-1998), Anne Marie Booth (1998-2002)

Organizes art exhibit for Day of Remembrance: Threading History: The Japanese American Experience, 1995

Produces art installation, Welcome to Asian America 2: Visualizing a New World, 1995

Organizes Welcome to Asian America:'96: Drama, Poetry, & Dance, 1996

Initiates Neighborhood Information Network (NIN), formerly Community Information and Technology Project

Organizes Asian American Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Co-sponsors the 1st Boston Asian American Creative Music Festival, 1997

Publishes The Massachusetts Asian Pacific American Directory, 1996, 1998

2000 – 2004
Located at: 33 Harrison Ave., Boston (2002-present)
Executive Directors: Anne Marie Booth (1998-2002), Eun-Joung Lee (2002-2004); Director of Programs: Ching-In Chen (current)

Brings back the potluck discussion series, 2000

Brings Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American who challenged the constitutionality of the
Japanese American internment, to the Boston area as part of its Asian American Film & Video Festival, 2001

Co-sponsors 60th anniversary Day of Remembrance program, After Pearl Harbor and 9/11: Civil Liberties Under Threat, 2002

Joins 12 APA groups to call on New Hampshire attorney general to prosecute the killing of Thung Phetakoune, an elderly Laotian American, by his neighbor, 2001
Co-produces CreAsian, a pan-Asian art festival, with Boston Center for the Arts, 2001
The Sticky Rice Project: Uniting Asian Americans Through Anti-racist Education is born, 2001

Launches the Eating History program, a series of discussions for the Asian American community in greater Boston to learn about our diverse histories and communities, 2002
Joins in the nation-wide demonstrations against Abercrombie & Fitch, for retailing racist T-shirts featuring demeaning images of Asians, 2002

Co-sponsors a community briefing on Asian American women's issues, 2002

Co-sponsors a roundtable discussion about the Asian American student movement with Azine, 2002

Hosts a talk with activist author Helen Zia, Our Face in America: Wen Ho Lee and Our History of Mistaken Identity, 2002

Over 200 community members, including youths, attend Eating History, Beyond Shaq and Yao: A Cross-Community Dialogue about Black-Asian Relations, 2003

Joins with other Northeast and Asian American groups to protest the US invasion of Iraq, 2003