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News 12 Staff

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Figures from the US Department of Labor blog show 3.9% of Asian Americans here in New Jersey, live their lives with disabilities. Jennifer Lee of Edgewater is the founder of the nonprofit Asian Americans with disabilities initiative. She explains what they are doing to draw attention to this issue. Founded in the intersection of spirit of intersectionality. Our organization really focuses on three different tiers of organizational promotions. First, we offer outreach in terms of connecting with young individuals with disabilities and being able to provide programming experiences here. Second, we work on community engagement, producing in person and hybrid events, bringing together thousands of disabled Asian Americans on a monthly basis. This includes speaker panels that are hybrid and also in person talking about which disabled aging change makers are working in the fields of the arts in terms of policy making and just those who are making a difference on the front lines. Last but not least, we also focus on research, work in tandem with the Department of Labor, the Center for American Progress and so many wonderful organizations to really push forth how we can spotlight the Asian American experience and the disability space. Part of this has really been compounded with my work with the Born This Way Foundation um and working on how we can build a kinder and braver world for everyone. What activities do you offer throughout the year that people can take part in and help your group um in terms of activities and ways to get involved. Our organization is centered around the disabled asian-american experience, although we welcome allies to volunteer and support our cause on a monthly basis, we host community zooms as a way for people to meet other individuals in the disabled and Asian American space. We sometimes focus on caretakers as well as family members in order to really expand our community. And we also offer speaker panels on a seasonal basis, supported generously by the American Association of people with disabilities. I wanna remind people you are speaking in the Princeton Library during this interview. So just in case you wonder why people are walking in and out, this is you're based here in Princeton. Tell us about the chapters across the US. I am. Yes. Um I'm currently an undergraduate student here at Princeton University, which is where I'm calling from. And once I graduate this spring, um I'll be working in DC with the Center for American Progress, but still working as the executive director of the nonprofit. Although we are based in New Jersey, we operate on a national scale, meaning that we operate in every single state opening our resources to really be accessible to anybody um living abroad or even living in the States, in particular, in January 2022 two, we published the first national and accessible resource guide for disabled Asian Americans with more than 80 pages of testimonials, resources and first person resources for how to get involved. Um And more in initiated with the organization and with the community at large. It's in this way that we're able to really bring people together and to show that it's not necessary to disclose a disability to necessarily identify as part of that community. Where can people get their hands on this resource to learn more about ad I, you can find us at a ad initiative dot org and you can find us at our handles at a ad initiative on almost all social media platforms. And coming up next at nine Jennifer talks about the mother of the disability rights movement and her influence this weekend, American Dream Mall is hosting events for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It kicks off today with a Chinese art festival then a K pop dance contest on Sunday. More events will be held through out this month.

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May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Jennifer Lee is the founder and executive director of the Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative. She talks about the Mother of the disability rights movement. Uh Judy Human recently passed away and she was, as you mentioned, the mother of the disability rights movement. I was fortunate enough to meet Judy as one of the inaugural 2021 Human Armstrong Award winners um for educational excellence and really showing how advocacy is bleeding into the next generation. It's Judy's loss that really resonates with our community and recognizing that we have lost such a strong voice. But part of what serves as consolation for the next generation is knowing that her work was really foundational for what is to come next. And we truly believe that disability advocacy will be the voice of the next generation and that it is up to us to really make sure that these issues are the forefront of every conversation of every single policy discussion happening, whether it's on the hill or whether it's in the classroom. And so Judy's legacy will live on not only through our organization here at AD I, but amongst all disability activists in the United States, Jennifer. What do you want people to know about your experience as a disabled Asian American woman? Hm. I love that question. Bella. I think that for me, I would want people to know that disability is such a human experience and it's something that has touched all of our lives. If it's not you, it could be a family member, a classmate or someone in your immediate personal circles. And so for us, it's recognized that health is truly temporary and feeding and that disability should be seen as a necessary and important part of the conversation, whether in policy making or in everyday life. And it's my hope that we can destigmatize this in the next decade to make sure that everyone has equal access and inclusion no matter where they go, you go, girl coming up at noon, Jennifer talks about her staffers and how they all work together to promote awareness.

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News. 12 New Jersey is marking May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Researchers find one in 10 Asians have a disability. Jennifer Lee is the founder and executive director of the Asian Americans with disabilities initiative. She suffers from Crohn's disease. I think that it's important to always really emphasize the human element of all this. Uh it's easy to com modify a disability or someone's chronic illness for a story or for a narrative. But recognizing that we are all on our own journeys, that we are all making progress in our own ways and really just making sure that disability is an inherent part of that conversation is one of the things that really drives me and motivates me to this day and you don't let it limit you or restrict you in any aspect of your life. Hm. I think that the idea of a limitation is really interesting. I think that for me, I certainly have had to grapple with the physical fatigue that comes with having Crohn's disease. But I think that honoring one's body and its boundaries is such a crucial part of living, whether one identifies as disabled or not I think that especially in this day and age where it seems like work always ongoing and it's hard to figure out where those boundaries lie. Part of disability justice tells us that it's important to really have these boundaries for where we understand work and life to really end and being sure that we are kinder to our bodies and to ourselves. I love that being kinder to our bodies and ourselves. We have two pictures of lovely young ladies. Tell us all about them. I mean, ad I would not be here without them today. It really does take a village and it's thanks to my core team of June Megan and I that I'm able to really start this organization at all. We operate on a grassroots scale with around 25 volunteers that work part time. But it's these four ladies right here on the screen that make the dream come true. And I'm so grateful for their sisterhood and for their work that really make this organization possible. And I know that it's the power of youth led advocacy as well as the sisterhood that is continue to drive them today. Jennifer, feel free to name the young ladies so they can hear their names on TV. Uh A special shout out to G and Roe to Megan Leon and to Iu Pandy. I really wouldn't be here without them today. Are you all best friends? How did you come together? It really is. Um quite a journey. I met June my sophomore year of undergrad experience. Um And she was the one that actually believed in the idea of the nonprofit to begin with. Uh Not many people know this, but I was actually rejected from almost every single grant and scholarship that I applied to um to start this organization. I was told that it was too niche, that it was too ambitious, that I was too young and it was June that really believed in me at first and told me that this was worth starting. I met Megan and I a little bit later on once we acquired more funding and we were able to really build out the organization further. But they've been with me since early 2021 they serve respectively as our Director of outreach, our director of External Relations and our director of community engagement. And these are all parts of those different tiers that I mentioned earlier for how we're able to maintain A B I in our programming on a regular basis. Is it just the group of you all working together? Do you have staffers across the US even worldwide? Yeah, these three ladies are the ones that I work most closely with as my core team. We have another four members who serve as our vice core. And then we have another 20 volunteers that work and operate across the nation um part time. And so we're lucky to have interns that range as young as high schoolers all the way to folks who are well out of school um operating our team. And it's thanks to this really broad depth of experience that we're able to have such a robust team that covers um so many different states and so many different ethnicities and disabilities. And it's been such a pleasure working with this all-star team. Tomorrow. Jennifer talks about the discrimination faced by people with disabilities.

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May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month one in 10 Asians suffer from a disability. The nonprofit Asian Americans with disabilities initiative is there to help Jennifer Lee is the founder and executive director. She suffers from Crohn's disease. We zoomed from the Library of Princeton University. You and I both know how cruel people can be and discriminating against you. What are some of the challenges and experiences that you have gone through? That you don't mind sharing because you're probably gonna make me cry. But go ahead. I think that ableism is always a tricky subject to talk about. I have been fortunate in my life to have the immense support of my family and through every step of my chronic illness journey. And I'm very grateful to have had the support of institutions such as Princeton throughout this. I think that for me, ableism can also appear in smaller interactions, ones that might not be malicious or even intentional but reveal the kind of discrimination that people face. I think for me as someone with a nonvisible disability, uh one moment that I often think about is the time in my sophomore year where Professor in my appearance and said that I looked so great and that I must not need all those extensions anymore because I was doing so well. And I think what this reveals is that a lot of disabled people are under the pressure of having to constantly look disabled or to look like they're in pain in order to quote unquote, deserve the accommodations that they're receiving. I think that building a world in which we're able to really see disabled people as full human beings and recognize that we shouldn't have to prove or exhibit pain in order to deserve these accommodations is one that we should all strive for in that larger mission of access and inclusion. All of my segments with a ad I will be posted on news 12 dot com and my Facebook page.

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Lee spoke with Della Crews over Zoom from the library at Princeton University. 

Spotlight New Jersey: Asian Americans with Disabilities Initiative founder Jennifer Lee

Lee spoke with Della Crews over Zoom from the library at Princeton University.

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