Vimalin Rujivacharakul, Asian American Anti-racism UDARI Small Grants Sub-committee Update
Posted on August 4, 2021 at: 11:00 am
UDARI Grant Report: Asian American Subcommittee
Fighting for All: Legacies of Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs
The Asian American subcommittee applied and received a grant in the amount of $1000 from
UDARI to support our project Fighting for All: Legacies of Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs.
The project consisted of two major weeklong events, each comprising a public film screening, a
structured panel of discussion, structured questions from graduate students and undergraduate
students, and finally a Q&A period open to all participants. Both events are virtual. We had a
record of 237 registered participants for the first event, and 186 registered participants for the
second event. Panelists in the first event included the Kochiyama Family members (Audee,
Akemi, and Zulu) and renowned film producer Rea Tajiri. Grace Lee was the guest of honor for
the second event. Peter Feng and Madinah Wilson-Anton moderated both events. Participants
for structured Q&A sessions were: Angela Yu (undergraduate student, president of Asian &
Pacific Islander Student Association), Marissa McClenton (undergraduate student, vice
president of Black Student Union), Danni Statia (undergraduate student), Jessica Thelen
(graduate student, English), and Jennifer Semrau (faculty member, Women’s Caucus). Drs.
Michael Vaughan and KC. Morrison gave opening remarks at the beginning of each event.
The Asian American subcommittee also worked with UD’s Admissions Office to invite high
school teachers and students from Delaware and nearby states to participate in both events.
Additional funding (see below) allowed the subcommittee to acquire rights for participating
high schools to stream films about Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs for 14 days. We also
developed teaching materials and circulated them to participating high schools in advance of
the events.
For this project, the Asian American Antiracism subcommittee received a grant from UDARI in
the amount of $1000. We subsequently raised additional funds from the Center for Black
Culture ($500), Student Diversity and Inclusion ($1000), the Center for Global Studies ($200),
the Department of History ($100), the Department of Art Conservation ($200), the Department
of Art History ($200), the Department of English ($200), and the Japanese Studies Program
($100). UD’s Office of Equity, Equality, and Diversity generously financed all participants’
background check fees. UD Admissions kindly covered the costs of all PR and service to
circulate materials to all high schools in Delaware and nearby states.
Respectfully submitted,
UDARI- Asian American Subcommittee