AARP Celebrates AAPI Leaders, Small Businesses and Authors During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

AARP Spotlights AAPI History, Culture and Legacy through a Collaboration with Co-Authors of “RISE: A Pop History of Asia America from the Nineties to Now”

WASHINGTON – In celebration of Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month, AARP is paying tribute to its Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders and bringing attention to AAPI small businesses and authors.

Celebrating AARP’s AAPI Leaders

AARP — one of the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations, dedicated to people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age — is committed to protecting the health and well-being of the AAPI 50-plus community. The organization’s workforce includes AAPI leaders all across the nation who advocate for equitable access for older adults and the AAPI community, educate communities on voter participation, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and more. This May, we recognize 15 AARP AAPI leaders:

RISE Book Event on May 18

On May 18, AARP invited Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, authors of the New York Times best-selling book Rise: A Pop History of Asia America from the Nineties to Now, and three special celebrity guests — Lauren Tom (The Joy Luck Club), Dustin Nguyen (“21 Jump Street”), and Kieu Chinh (“M*A*S*H,” The Joy Luck Club) — to a virtual fireside chat at 7 p.m. EDT to discuss pop culture of the ‘80s and ‘90s and how it fed into larger cultural conversations as well as impacted their own lived experiences. The co-authors also brought the audience an intimate perspective on TV, drama, movie, music and movements of the time.

Jeff Yang is a long-time author, screenwriter and cultural critic who regularly contributes to CNN, NPR and The New York Times, among other media outlets. Phil Yu is the award-winning founder and editor of the popular Asian American news and culture blog, Angry Asian Man, which has had a devoted following since 2001.

Rise— which was released to rave reviews in March — is the authors’ nearly 500-page love letter to and for Asian Americans who remember both fondly and unfavorably a bygone era known for Margaret Cho’s All-American Girls, Disney’s Mulan, boba tea, as well as “yellowface” where white actors portrayed mainly unflattering caricatures of Asians in lieu of using authentic, non-stereotypical Asian actors.

For more information on AARP’s support and advocacy for the AAPI community, resources on caregiving, COVID-19, brain health and more, please visit aarp.org/AAPI. To get the latest updates and conversations on social media, follow @AARPAAPI on Facebook and Twitter.

About AARP: AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP, @AARPadvocates and@AARPAAPIon Facebook and Twitter for more community news and videos. For translated resources, please visit the AARP Chinese website, or our AARP pages in Korean and Vietnamese.

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