Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month - Spotlighting MICHELLE LI, Co-Founder of The Very Asian Foundation and Co-Anchor on KSDK News "Today in St. Louis"
Join me in celebrating Michelle Li, Co-Founder of The Very Asian Foundation and Co-Anchor on KSDK news, “Today in St. Louis.”
I’ll start by throwing it back to when I first caught wind of the #veryasian hashtag and reaching out to her to be on The Avenue Mama podcast, you can listen here. Since that podcast, I have been inspired seeing how much The Very Asian Foundation grew from a hashtag in a few short months.
Michelle Li is an award-winning, veteran journalist who co-launched The Very Asian Foundation in January 2022 alongside friend and fellow journalist Gia Vang. Her response to a racist voicemail became a global movement of unity and caught the attention of The Ellen Show. Ellen’s monetary gift of $15,000 helped start the seed money to create a non
profit focused on shining a light on all walks of Asian life.
A Korean adoptee, Michelle spent many years supporting adoptees through heritage camps and
volunteer tours to Korea. She also launched a program to support Missouri children in foster
care. This work led to a congressional award in 2010. Michelle’s reporting has been honored
with a national Peabody Award, four national Murrows, and multiple regional Emmys– often for
covering topics related to race or gender inequities. Michelle has appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS,
ABC, and The Washington Post.
Michelle currently resides in St. Louis with her family and you can find her here on Instagram!
Enjoy my interview with Michelle and please consider spreading the word about The May Book Project!
Q:What part of Asia does your family descend from and let us know your lineage !
MICHELLE LI: I am a Korean immigrant, I am a naturalized citizen and an adoptee
Q:Tell us about your upbringing, where your parents very strict for instance? Were you pressured to study what they wanted or did you feel you had freedom to do what you wanted?
MICHELLE LI:I had white, Midwestern parents so the conversation around my upbringing is often not shared or represented in the AANHPI community. I grew up feeling insecure about being judged for not being Asian enough because of my parents--even though I went to Korean camps, studied the language, visited Korea multiple times, and was born in Korea. My parents told me I could do anything I set my mind to, and they were always so loving and supportive of my interests. I feel very lucky that I had them as parents, even though we didn't have a lot of financial resources or privilege.
Q: What advice do you have today for your peers who are looking to do what you are doing now?
MICHELLE LI:If you want to be a journalist, focus on your writing and fight for uncovering truths. And remember, while it's critical for you to be a journalist to everyone, don't forget to bring your humanity to the workplace. We need more equity in newsrooms and more empathy in storytelling.
Q:A lot of people have a "why" they do what they do, if you have a "why" please share it with us ;)
MICHELLE LI:I love what I do as a journalist and a philanthropist. Journalism is about making wrongs right and so often, so is philanthropy.
Q: What are you working on right now?
A: I am working on the May Book Project — A Very Asian American Youth Literature Guide For All Readers. It's inspired by high schoolers in St. Louis who created an AAPI book list in 2021 and pitched it to 10 schools -- they were all ignored. This year, they came to The Very Asian Foundation and asked for help. They also mentioned how hard these last two years have been on their mental health-- being invisible in their schools and yet hyper visible in their communities. Some of their families own small businesses and had some scary interactions with the public. Some of these students even talked about suicide plans with their friends, and I think that's especially timely given the fact that suicide is now the leading cause of death for young Asian Americans. By the way, some of the students go to schools with a 17% AAPI population, which is higher than some Seattle schools. And when we looked at Seattle/King County's public library app they did not even have an AANHPI section this month. How is that possible on the west coast?
Here’s what we did with The Very Asian Foundation:
- We partnered with Asian American national scholars, authors, publishers, schools, educators, students, and community organizers to create a robust list of Asian American Youth Literature.
- We used the existing APALA Rubric and created a toolkit to help libraries have access to resources on how to build and maintain diverse libraries (ie: get rid of slanted eye illustration, balance folklore, etc.)
- We are committed to giving books to at-need libraries that have no budget to buy books
This is not a curriculum in classrooms. This is about access to literature in libraries. Our list of 200+ books gives schools a choice. Trailblazer Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop tells us it is crucial that readers see both reflections of their lives as well as windows into the lives of others. We believe Missouri is a great litmus test for how other states will receive. We have given resources, guides, and choices... and all we're asking in return is a chance to reflect and celebrate lives. And the response so far has been tremendous.
Our ask:
1)Would you be willing to check out the book project? Would love it if you pitch to someone you know in media -- if you wanted to go harder, you could center discussions around the need for more opportunities for youth to see themselves in literature. Our invisibility has impacted mental health -- which is also problematic because so many students say they don't have access to mental health resources because of a lack of parent support, opportunities, or stigma.
2) As a parent, I would love it if you would print out the items below (or forward) and ask DEI chairs -- and just ask if they'd be willing to look at their library collection and consider buying some books... or getting an AANHPI author to the school... or just celebrating the collection they do have! If they are at-need, we can provide them with books, too.
We know there are a lot of lists, but we ours is one is vetted by people in the right spaces.
Here's our tool kit.
Our new site: veryasianfoundation.org + Soogi Hong is our new executive director!
Toolkit to build a diverse Asian American Library
Q: If you're like me, you were taught to be very humble. This is NOT the time to be humble, please share sis!! Tell us all the things that make you feel really proud!
MICHELLE LI:Every mom can relate -- I'm most proud of my kiddo. I love watching him grow, sleep, learn, play, and more. He is my whole heart. I'm proud to be married to my husband for 13 years. I'm proud of the community we're building with The Very Asian Foundation, and I'm proud to be a journalist who strives to make an impact. Lastly, The May Book Project is not a curriculum in classrooms. This is about access to literature in libraries. Our list of 200+ books gives schools a choice. Trailblazer Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop tells us it is crucial that readers see both reflections of their lives as well as windows into the lives of others. We believe Missouri is a great litmus test for how other states will receive. We have given resources, guides, and choices... and all we're asking in return is a chance to reflect and celebrate lives. And the response so far has been tremendous, we would love for the Avenue Mama community to take part in the conversation.
Thank you Michelle!
Here are all the ways to support Michelle Li!
The Very Asian Foundation website The Very Asian Foundation on Instagram o
Lastly, a favorite tweet that I found at the beginning of the #veryasian movement. I also follow the hashtag to discover others who are celebrating our heritage.
