Live With The 19th: The AAPI Perspective on the Pandemic, Racism and Violence

The rise of anti-AAPI violence across the nation has been harrowing — and its impact on women and the LGBTQ+ community outsized. Join U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York and author and consultant Kim Tran to learn the history behind harassment targeting Asian Americans and discuss community-level and policy solutions for curtailing it. This conversation will be moderated by 19th general assignment Reporter Mariel Padilla and feature a special performance of "Gold" by Ella Jay Basco and Ruby Ibarra.

👉 Click RSVP NOW at right to let us know what questions you have for our panelists.

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (@MazieHirono) was elected to the Senate in 2012 and sworn in as Hawaii’s first woman senator and the country’s first Asian-American woman senator.

Congresswoman Grace Meng (@RepGraceMeng) is serving her fifth term in the U.S. House, where she represents New York’s 6th Congressional District. Meng is the first and only Asian American member of Congress from New York.

Kim Tran, Ph.D. (@but_im_kim_tran) is an anti-racist author and consultant researching solidarity in the Black Lives Matter era. Tran holds a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from UC-Berkeley.

Ella Jay Basco (@EllaJayBasco) made her big screen debut in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn as DC Comics’ Cassandra Cain. She has appeared in Veep, Grey’s Anatomy, Teachers, Superior Donuts, HAPPYLAND and the short film Glimpse of Heaven. Basco is a dancer, singer/songwriter and accomplished musician. She recently released her song “Gold” and its accompanying music video to serve as an anthem for the AAPI community.

Ruby Ibarra (@RubyIbarra) is a rapper and spoken word artist from the Bay Area in California. Having released her debut album CIRCA91 at the end of 2017, Ibarra has been steadily promoting her iTunes and Amazon-charting record through live and virtual tours across the U.S., Canada and Asia.

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The 19th thanks The Asian American Foundation for helping make our events free to the public.

Note: our sponsors play no part in the selection of our event participants or programming.