Category: Blog

Image Description: over a pale purple background, dark text reads: “APIENC is an ecosystem of so many leaders guiding our work. I’ve seen from movements before me that the trap of individual leadership is the belief that one person can take on responsibility for all. The road through that misconception is interdependence.” Below that is a ridged dark purple banner, with text that reads: “Yuan Wang, Incoming Director.” A photo of Yuan in a black shirt and pink hair smiling at the camera to the left.

A message from Yuan, APIENC’s Incoming Director

October 7, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

On a hot summer day in 2018, Sammie first welcomed me into APIENC. It was the first day of my Summer Organizer Program, and I didn’t know what to expect. As folks filtered in, Sammie sat our group down and asked: what is radical welcome? I stared at them blankly, the sweat making my dress

Image description: Graphic of a bird's eye view of roadways with yellow cars on them. In big red and yellow text reads, "Living at the intersection of queer and South Asian identities," followed by smaller white text that reads, "By Sajneel Naicker, 2021 APIENC summer organizer"

Living at the Intersection of Queer and South Asian Identities

September 1, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

For a huge portion of my life, I’ve been in denial that South Asian society is ready to fully support my sexuality and attraction to the same gender. I’d replay the thoughts in my head: “If they didn’t support me at thirteen, why would they now?” At home and around my family, my “choices” turned

Image description: A group selfie of APIENC staff, a sunflower, and summer organizers smiling outdoors.

I am reminded I am enough

August 25, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

When my time as an APIENC Summer Organizer came to a close, I brought ink to skin, tattooing a representation of my transformation this summer. Now, on my right arm is an abstract person whose head is exploding, three bold eyes flying in different directions. If I could encapsulate this summer with APIENC in a

Image Description: a Zoom photo of 16 QTAPIs, including Nisha. Everyone is smiling at the camera, and making hearts and peace signs with their hands.

We need to extend humanity to ourselves.

August 18, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

I sat in a Zoom room with 30 other people—most, I didn’t know, and all, I had never actually met in-person. It was our first weekend of LEX—APIENC’s API Queer Justice Leadership Exchange—and I felt a mix of anxiety and excitement. Just over a year ago, I first joined APIENC. At the time, the COVID-19

Image description: Leo as a child wearing a yellow raincoat and boots next to Leo as an adult standing in front of a lake.

Trans and non-binary APIs: we have what it takes.

July 7, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

My name is Leo Shanti Hegde, I use he and they pronouns, and I am excited to share that I’m APIENC’s newest community organizer! I’m a second-generation Indian American who grew up in Edison, New Jersey. I attended college on the ancestral lands of the Cherokee and Shawnee people in Nashville, Tennessee, and since 2019

Image description: A graphic in the style of Pokemon with a photo of Leo floating atop a blue and orange background. The text “Leo!” and "APIENC" is to the right.

Who’s that new staff person?! – 24 hours to #PowerUpGiveOUT

June 29, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

Dear APIENC community, This year, our community has faced crisis after crisis. We’ve been targeted by white supremacist attacks, denied access to gender-affirming healthcare, isolated through the COVID-19 pandemic and so much more. So many trans and queer APIs have been made to feel helpless. While many of us may be feeling low on charge,

Image Description: the Dragon Fruit Committee Reportback team showing hearts after our first meeting in April 2021.

What would you do in a world without hope?

June 22, 2021 — — By Lavender Phoenix

“What would you do in a world where compassion, hope, or liberation doesn’t exist?How would you teach someone about it?” This prompt was etched into my memories from a creative writing opportunity in 2018. Looking back, I would have explained the work and community of APIENC. From the past six years of being in the