April 7, 2021
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) Acting Provost Erwin Wong—Co-Chair of the 32nd annual Asian Heritage Month Committee along with Media Center Videographer Lisa White, Tribeca Performing Arts Center Technical Director Mark Goodloe and Student Success Outreach and Programming Coordinator Albert Lee—opens the month in a welcome video and provides an overview of events scheduled through April 30.
“The purpose of Asian Heritage Month is to share with the community all the accomplishments that Asians and Asian Americans have made throughout the course of history, and how they’ve been incorporated into the fabric of our everyday life,” says Provost Wong. “During the month, you will have experiences that deal with literature, social justice, film, language—a vast array of topics that you will find very exciting and informative.”
Among several film screening events, Professors Vincent (Tzu-Wen) Cheng, Eva Kolbusz and Phyllis Niles will present on April 12, “Remittance,” a film which garnered accolades including Best Actress (Angela Barotia) from Film Festival Philippines and Best Screenplay from the Brooklyn Film Festival. This screening is free—as are all the month’s events—and will provide an intimate look at the lives of low-wage domestic workers in Singapore.
To mourn the passing and celebrate the legacy of Corky Lee; Queens College, CUNY graduate and self-proclaimed, “undisputed unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate,” Asian Heritage Month is presenting videos of his talks, archived by CUNY’s Asian American Asian Research Institute (AAARI).
As part of Asian Heritage Month, the BMCC community is invited to participate in two competitions, the BMCC Dumpling Challenge, and a haiku (poetry) contest.
For the Dumpling Challenge, BMCC community members are invited to submit a video of how they make dumplings, a staple of many Asian cuisines and featured in important cultural celebrations.
To compete in The Annual Haiku Challenge, BMCC community members are invited to submit their original haiku—a form of poetry originating in Japan and featuring just three lines; five, seven and five syllables each. Each haiku must also contain the word “heal,” which relates to the Asian Heritage Month’s theme.
Submissions for both contests will be accepted through April 26, and winners will be announced on April 30.
The theme of healing, Provost Wong says, “is especially important, since for the past year we’ve been challenged by the pandemic and social justice issues that have raised a great deal of concern among the Asian community. Hopefully you’ll find that much of what we are presenting during the course of this month will help to alleviate some of those concerns and also help to illuminate what things we can do to correct them. We hope as you participate in this month, that you will be enlightened, educated, engaged and entertained … Be safe, be well, and enjoy.”
See a complete list of Asian Heritage Month events. All events are free and open to the BMCC community. Registration is required for every event.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The 32nd annual Asian Heritage Month features film screenings, a traditional Chinese medicine workshop, dumpling-making contest, haiku competition and more
- All events are free and open to the BMCC community. To receive a Zoom link for an event, registration is required.
- The purpose of Asian Heritage Month is to share accomplishments that Asians and Asian Americans have made throughout history, “and incorporated into the fabric of our everyday life,” said Acting Provost Erwin Wong, who co-chairs the heritage month committee with Lisa White and Albert Lee.
