Race has shaped our lives throughout history and continues to do so to this day. As many in America and in Chicago seek new awareness about race, it is important now more than ever to be educated on and to shed light on modern racism, particularly amid a spike in anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes.
In the videos below, members of the Asian American Pacific Islander communities in the Chicago area recount personal incidents of racism and microaggressions they've experienced. Several discussed both how these events have impacted them and how we can move forward.
Watch, learn and empower others.
For complete coverage of NBC 5's ongoing Race in Chicago series, click here.
Jennifer "Nuky" Pham is the co-founder of Celebrate Argyle, a community initiative to "shine a spotlight on immigrant-owned restaurants and businesses in the West Argyle Historic District" and connect community members. An entrepreneur, Pham also serves on the Board of Directors for the Uptown Chamber of Commerce.
She says her experience with racism "has run deep" and been something she's dealt with her entire life.
"I just remember internalizing that my whole entire life, thinking that it wasn't okay to take up any space, to not speak up," she said. "And fast forward to this day: After many experiences of thinking that I couldn't take up space, I realized how important it was to actually take up space and to understand my own experiences and to talk about my experiences with other Asians."
