AAPI Heritage Month Dialogue

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined us for the AAPI Heritage Month Dialogue last month.

With over 30 participants in attendance, the event was a powerful and highly successful gathering. From the start, it was clear that people were showing up with a range of emotions — worry, anxiety, uncertainty, even fear about what might come up in the space. But through conversation, reflection, and deep listening, those emotions began to shift.

By the end of our time together, people shared that they felt motivated, grounded, and passionate about creating change, not only within their own communities, but across cultural lines. Many expressed a renewed commitment to bridge-building, solidarity, and continued dialogue.

We’re proud that this space held true to the goals we set: to affirm identity, create space for truth-telling, and build empathy through shared experience. These are the conversations that spark movement, and we are honored you were part of it.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue this work. Recently, INVLA was able to attend the Vincent Chin memorial service in El Pueblo, Los Angeles. This harrowing and devastating event is not just a piece of the Asian American Pacific Island narrative, but it is also weaved into the very fabric of US history. It is imperative to honor Vincent Chin’s legacy, and the lessons Americans were forced to learn in the wake of his tragic murder. INVLA is thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the event, while also carrying on the message from our AAPI dialogue.

This October, we will be hosting another dialogue focused on the Chinese Massacre of 1871, one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in Los Angeles history. It will be an opportunity to reflect on historical harm, community healing, and what it means to reckon with the past in pursuit of justice today. More details coming soon.

In the meantime, we invite you to stay connected at www.daysofdialogue.org, where you can subscribe to our newsletter, sign up to host or attend future dialogues, and explore more about our mission.

Thank you again for showing up! We are looking forward to what is next, together.

Warmly,

Brett David Louie