‘Claim your power’: How AAPI communicators find strength through storytelling

To kick off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, The Museum of Public Relations hosted a virtual event that celebrated the work and lived experiences of AAPI communicators with a keynote and panel discussions with AAPI leaders and students in the industry.

MSNBC anchor and civil rights reporter Richard Lui kicked off the program in conversation with Bey-Ling Sha, Dean, College of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Lui spoke about being the first Asian-American man to anchor a national daily news broadcast in the U.S.

“I can probably count on less than one hand the number of folks that are Asian-American, male, and anchoring on a national level,” Lui said. “And that’s a problem. I’m not conflicted with the idea of it. I’m conflicted with the issues around it.”

Sha mentioned that AAPI heritage month is an opportunity for members of this intersectional community to share their cultures and create space for allies to learn about those cultures too. She asked Lui why there are sometimes important lived experiences and stories from the AAPI community that go unshared.