Carrie manages Heartland Alliance’s National Center on Employment and Homelessness (NCEH), which supports efforts 
nationally and in communities across the country in ensuring equitable pathways to employment for people experiencing homelessness. Carrie sees Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month as an opportunity to build solidarity to dismantle white supremacy.
How does your racial-ethnic identity shape the way you understand equity and opportunity for ALL?
As a Korean adoptee, growing up in a white family in a white community, my racial and ethnic identity was defined by my proximity to whiteness. As a kid, I tried really hard to be as white as possible and separated myself from other people who weren’t white, particularly other Asians. As I became older and started my career in the social service field, I learned more about injustice, inequality, and marginalization towards people in poverty. I began to see how these economic injustices were tied to racism and white supremacy in the United States.
The more I was able to recognize the injustice towards other groups, particularly Black Americans, Native Americans, and Indigenous people, the more I was able to see the ways in which white supremacy had impacted me throughout my whole life. I had always been quick to shrug off microaggressions, stereotypes, exclusion as “not that big of a deal” compared to the racial injustices other groups faced. I have only recently begun to see how dismissing less overt forms of racism only serves to uphold white supremacy. I am learning more and more how important it is for all people of color—no matter how you connect with your racial identity or heritage—to find ways to work together to dismantle racism, oppression, and inequity in all its forms.
One way that I have practiced building solidarity with other people of color has been through my work with Heartland Alliance’s Anti-Racist Council (ARC). As a member of an ARC working group, I connected with staff of color and white allies from across the organization, working toward the same goal of racial equity. And while I can’t personally understand the impact anti-blackness has on our organization, I can bring my own experiences and perspectives to the table as a non-white person.
In light of all the ways members of the AAPI community have experienced racism and injustice, what would you like your team members at Heartland Alliance to know?
First, I think it’s really important that people understand the multitude of ethnic identities, nationalities, cultures, and histories under the label AAPI. My experience as an East Asian adoptee is unique and quite distinct from the experiences of my South Asian friends whose families immigrated to the United States recently, for example. Another thing I would like my team members to know is that all people of color existing in predominantly white spaces feel pressure to assimilate. Every person’s experience of this is different, but it’s important for people to understand that the default to whiteness is really pervasive. When people of color make choices to assimilate into the dominant culture, it’s not necessarily a choice. As we work toward a more inclusive culture at Heartland Alliance, it will take intentional work to create space for co-workers of color to feel comfortable expressing their unique selves and the many ways that can look.
