 Women today are doing more than deserve recognition. Your vibe attracts your tribe, the power of sisterhood is our topic for this episode. And joining the conversation is Crystal Kwok, director and producer, blurring the color line documentary and Sequoia Carr-Brown owner of Strange Fruit Express. Welcome, ladies. Hello. Hey, hello. Welcome back, I should say. Yeah. Yes. You know, your vibe attracts your tribe is such a hot topic in today's world. And sisterhood is another hot topic in this world. And I just want starting with Crystal and this Sequoia, tell our sister power viewers all the wonderful thriving things that you are doing. It's all about vibing and thriving. Crystal. I like that, vibing and thriving. I feel like we should be doing a little dance on that. Yes. So hello everyone. I just want to tell you a little bit about my film because that's really what's consuming, it has been consuming my life for the last five years that I created this documentary that is really intended to disrupt racial narratives. And when I say that, I mean it because when I first moved back to the States after being in Hong Kong for many years, I really realized that everything here, obviously around the racial narrative is based on a very black and white divide, right? Very binary way of looking at things. And so I got to thinking about why, why are we so binary? It's not a black and white world out there. There are many colors in the spectrum and speaking to my personal experience, my grandmother grew up in the Deep South, Augusta Georgia to be specific. And this was in the 30s. And I just started thinking about, wow, what is an Asian girl, a very traditional Chinese girl, how does she grow up in the black neighborhood of the segregated South? Navigating both the racialized structure at the time, as well as a very strong patriarchal system because of the Chinese traditional ways of parenting. And so these kind of double pressure systems, how does that affect a woman growing up and how does that shape her perceptions on race relations and herself as a woman? And so that's how I started to dig into the idea of Chinese growing up in the Deep South, disrupting racial narratives. And boy, I'm telling you, you know how when you open up something, you don't realize how it's just the tip of the iceberg. This whole race relations story became way bigger than I thought it would be. And it's opened up to speak to the recent troubling aspects that I hope we can converse about today, which is the Afro-Asian tensions, but solidarity. I wanna say it's both, right? Because sometimes media likes to frame it as if it were just an animosity that's deeply rooted in these kind of pitting against each other type of stories, but at the same time, we've had a very connective history and it's very interesting. And I think it illuminates a lot of things that we don't see or learn in history. So I'm hoping this conversation today back to your theme of vibe and tribe is that through sisterhood, through women's voices, because I do focus on the women's voices, how do intimate histories reveal a deeper history? I think that's something that women come together and we have these kind of like intimate conversations and some people in the male dominated world will dismiss it as being something petty, but they have no idea the depth and the richness that comes out of a sisterhood conversation. And I think that's why I commend you for having the space for us to talk like this. So I'm just gonna leave it there for now and I just wanna say, yes, my film is in the festival circuit route now. It's going to different places. It has been going to different places. I'm very happy how it's been received. And we are gonna be doing another event here in Hawaii, the three of us. So we can talk about that a little bit later too. I hope that's a good way to kind of tease out what I'm doing. Thank you. I like that teaser, right? Vibing and thriving sequoia. Yeah, I'm gonna kind of just pick up from what Crystal was saying in terms of the historical significance of our community's AAPI and African-American communities and solidarity. The media indeed tends to divide us. It's the vice division makes money, big money and hate, right? But the real true story that isn't told is that we've always been united. There's been times of animus, but dating as far back as what the 1860s, like 1869, Frederick Douglass was a strong advocate for advocating for Chinese migrants, right? He has a famous speech called The Composite Nation and his whole concept of like, equality and justice for all free migration, right? And there's been a thread of that throughout the African-American community in terms of anyone coming, migrating in on terms of Asian AAPI, you have like, what was it, 1889 was the Chinese Exclusion Act? 1882, yeah. 1882, okay, thank you. And I know that that time period, 1880s, there's a lot going on and overlapping with Jim Crow. So both of these communities are, we have some interconnections here. And I think that the white social structure, constructed white social structure likes to pit us against one another to help keep that power. Because when they see that when we are united, that their constructs will fall, right? So my work at Strange Food Express kind of brings in these elements, community-based collaborative concepts. And I bring forth our history, those unsung heroes, those narratives that are swept to the wayside, and I use the arts to bring them up, to lift them, to lift those voices. Women, people of color in particular, I use dance, I use fine art, do art installations and all kinds of projects. I'm really, really excited to be collaborating with Crystal and you, Sharon, to bring this story forward and talk about it. It needs to be spoken of. Yeah, talking about vibing and thriving, the three of us were together in studio with Crystal, and we had such a unique conversation. I have some pictures of us, I think, in the studio. But later on in September 10th, this is a part of Hawaii, along with Strange Food Express, is one of the sponsors. And we're doing Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe, September 10th. And this is such a unique way of women coming together at the Outrigger Canoe Club. And I'm so excited about that. Sisterhood is a bond between women who share common goals. So I'm gonna ask you this question, Crystal. What is the historical significance of Afro and Asian solidarity? Okay, well, picking, backing off of Sequoia's mention of the historical 1882 Exclusion Act, which really was a pivotal and the first and only real legal policy that forbade Chinese people coming over based on their race. And so that kind of like is the opening conversation of the Chinese immigration story in that sense of the racism against Chinese. But so in my particular research is that many people from China went to San Francisco as first immigrants and then eventually some of them trickled over to different parts of the country to make a living. And they entered the black neighborhoods of the segregated South because the white people didn't wanna do business with black people back then after the plantation life kind of fizzled out. And so there was a very interesting dynamic between the two cultures. And when we talked earlier about the both tension and friendships that kind of works together because there was a power structure, right? The Chinese were the storekeepers. They held the purse and they made money off of black people in the neighborhood. At the same time, some people claim as it was a symbiotic relationship because they needed each other to make the system work. But it's complicated, right? It's like, again, to Sequoia saying about how media frames us hitting each other against us against each other is that how do these, this past how does this inform us today of these preexisting kind of discriminations against each other? Where does it come from? And we don't think about the past informing these tensions today because we just wanna build our own narrative over, okay, well, that case or that violent case that was because of the so-and-so, you know it just, we wanna tell the stories we wanna hear. And I think that's a weak way. It's harder to make the effort to understand each other's history. For example, in my film, I did not when I interviewed this long time resident in Georgia, I didn't think about if I were a black person as a mother I wouldn't have to worry about, so if I, as it was a Chinese, sorry I wouldn't have to worry about my kids and the dangers of letting them go out and confronting police. Whereas if you were a black mother and then we talked about this before and that type of fear and the way you have to educate your children I didn't think about these things before. And so this ignorance gives me that kind of urge to need to grow out of my comfort zone of what I don't know. And we need to know about each other's cultures. We need to be in each other's seats to really empathize and to really figure out why we have these tensions. Yeah. You know, you did bring, I'm glad you did bring that up because just yesterday, the policeman, 2 a.m. in the morning, opened the door and shot and killed this young black man. He didn't know who was at the door. Brianna Taylor was sleeping in her bed and she was murdered by the policeman. Yes, these are the conversations black mothers and black fathers have with our children on a daily basis. You know, you just have rules that because you want your children to come home alive. You know, our children are our heartbeats. Well, let me come to you, Sequoia. How does being open to community-based ideas attract like-minded individuals to your tribe? A lot of it has to do with being fork-right and honest about who you are as a person, I think. I find it works well for me. And, you know, you attend events or you find projects where life-minded people will be, right, where you develop this kind of a kinship, right? And you can't close your mind to assuming or presuming that because they don't, someone doesn't look like you, that they don't respect you or value who you are. Took me a while to learn how to navigate those waters because you can make, as Crystal mentioned, you can make assumptions and presume, you know, that, you know, make general sleeping observations, if you will, that everyone that is white or AAPI, is racist against you or all the police are going to kill you. You know, you have to have a certain piece within your own mind, body, and spirit, have them all aligned and that you send out a vibe. I can't explain it better than just knowing that this vibe, this energy, if you will, will exude from you and you will attract the right people to you. Now, at the same time, when you're positive, like this basic science, you're like this negative force, if you will, will try to come in, but you're able to recognize them and shun them off. Like, I think Chair and I would discuss this, you know, in terms of feeling and navigating through racism in certain spaces. You can read somebody before they even approach you, you already know that they're gonna try to attack you in a negative way. So you learn how to navigate through those, you know, those situations. So I find that overall being positive, knowing who you are as a woman, in your culture, having pride in that, I think your energy will attract the right people to you and you build the right events, have the sessions be open and your tribe will manifest. And I think that that energy, you know, Sequoia, you're onto something. It's really about energy and that's something that you have to develop, you have to work on, you know. Of course, people will have different energies, but then that positive energy comes from your value system, your core values and the way you embrace life and things around you and it really manifests. You don't have to speak and you'll know if something is soothing, like you said, positive or negative energy. Yeah, and it's not about everyone being looking the same. You know, not a lot of people kind of think that tribe means primitive or you have to be all the same culture and ethnic group, but not necessarily, right? It's as that energy is that slow and when you find it and you feel it, you know it. Yep. Yeah, my girlfriend used to say, I heard you when you drove up. That vibe is there and it comes with wisdom too. Yes. Definitely comes with wisdom. So Crystal, let's discuss why your tribe matters, accountability, fulfillment. Why does your tribe matter? Well, I'm gonna take it back to like, you know, Chinese culture is a collective society and for better or for worse, okay? I'm gonna say that because on one hand, it's great. We all work together collectively to have a certain in major pride, but at the same time, it doesn't give room for individuality where people can shine with their own specific ways of thinking, right? But I think that when I think tribe, I think of the positive aspect of that is that we learn from that. You know, a lot of younger generation and I'm not trying to critique the whole younger generation, but I find that a lot of people don't have that collective way of doing things now. There is something missing and that is why there are so many problems out there because people are doing things for themselves. They're not thinking for, like the village mentality is a beautiful thing back in the days, whether it was a China and Africa or, you know, wherever in the world, you work as a team because it builds your own life in such a richer way. And I think we've lost that and we need to regroup. We need to find that sense of power, you know? Well, we used to say it takes a minute. Yeah. You know who said that too? In my film, James Brown's daughter, Deanna Brown, who I had the privilege of interviewing, she was saying because James Brown worked as an errand boy for some of the grocery stores. And she says, you know, they all don't have to look the same, but you know, it takes a village. And it was just a beautiful way of consolidating it. Oh, great. So true, so true. You know, vibes are just, it's an emotional segment in our being, in our core, our vibes. And so what you put out is what you get. And Sequoy, I wanna ask you, are there, excuse me, other organizations working to unite Black, Indigenous and people of color? Well, very much so. We have the Asian American Advancing Justice, that's aajc.org. So that's more of on a domestic front. They are very active in bringing the communities together, understanding one another, various projects to inform the community. And then we have, oh, and that's or on an international front, it's the Asian, Afro-Asian People Solidarity Organization. And that's aapsorg.org. And that's more like over 90 countries. So you know, this anti-Blackness or this concept of dividing Conqueror AAPI against the African diaspora people, it's an international kind of vibe here, right? Negative vibe. But so we have to fight it on so many fronts, not only like in the interior, amongst within our own circles and domestically within our country. And then it spans out internationally, unfortunately, but there are organizations home in a way who are working to resolve that. And to dispel that old colonial myth that you have to divide everyone up and bring in countries that have been colonized to indoctrinate them with constructed state of whiteness to become anti-Black or to even just to not even love their own culture and not use their own language and feel ashamed, right? So I just love that the African-Americans have always been there. I wish more would be there for us from Frederick Douglass onto like both colonial wars, what Vietnam and Korea were, right? Their African-Americans were fighting and standing up against that. The Black soldiers of the Philippines, like the Philippine-American War, right? They deserted, right? And they fought with the liberation front and the Philippines, right? So, and even with Vietnam, he had MLK, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali. Yeah. You know, actually, you're giving me idea. You know, what you're saying now is this kind of cross-pollination of cultures because of our historical way, the colonized world and how we've been forced into situations that kind of bring us together, right? Militarism has brought together the experience of Filipinos and the Americans and the Black soldiers. But it makes you think about this blurring space, speaking to the title of my film, what does it mean to blur? And a lot of times I feel like to mix the in-between spaces. Like, there are some young, wonderful young people that are doing great work now. I just learned about this one. She's half Korean, half Black. And you know how there's that whole controversy about the hair shops with the Korean hair store owners and, right? She owns a hair store, but she's also an artist and she uses the idea of the hair weaving into her art making like amazing chandeliers. And her embodiment of being of mixed culture, she feels compelled to bring together these conversations. So I think, you know, it's hopeful while the dominant narrative is dismissing these smaller stories, there are some gems of people doing things that blend spaces that show the beauty of this combination and of how we can work together with different cultures, even though we were supposedly on each other's sides of the spectrum, which is kind of a silly concept. We really are blending our spaces like we are here to talk about really the positive connectivities as opposed to pushing us aside. Yeah. And come to, we're talking about the bond of sisterhood. I'm excited about February the 9th, 2023. And we want our audience to know that we're going to blend the cultures at Jay Dynasty. And it's going to be about, we're going to have a deep conversation of blurring the color line. So Sequoia, let's talk about that day, that Thursday that's coming up. Yeah, it's going to be fantastic. I'm so excited because we are blending, not only it's Chinese New Year, it's African-American History Month, right? So again, blurring those color lines, showing that we are more alike and connected and unalike, right? And bringing entertainment and conversation, the screening of the documentary, having a real heart-to-heart, deep, profound talk with activities to kind of engage the audience to get to know one another, right? And to see how we can move forward and press as a united front of people, like Wipoc working against the colonial mindset and kind of just decolonizing ourselves, mind, body and spirit. I'm loving it, I'm so excited. Yeah, and going to that vibe, we're utilizing through food as a wonderful, fun, engaging way to bring us together too, culturally. And I'm working with a Jay Dynasty menu and it's so fun to think about what are the connective ingredients that bring our histories together and to think about, like in my film, I talk about, I interview people and they say they remembered eating pickled pig feet a lot in the past. And so was that a southern thing? Because Asians ate that too. And it's so interesting to hear our blended history through food. So we're gonna really kind of utilize that as a fun way in to engage in these kind of conversations about our past. That when people attend this event, February the 9th, 2023, and we did deeper conversations and discussions that we have far more in common than that. Yes. You know, we all believe the same. We have emotions, we cry, we celebrate, we're happy for one another. And we have maybe four minutes left to Koya and Crystal, and I'll start with you to Koya. Let's, I want you to speak to the camera and motivate, educate and empower all of our listeners. I want you all to know that you are beautiful people. We are a united front of global citizen that are working to develop our mind, body, and spirit in a positive way to see that we are all more alike than unalike. We have much to learn from one another. And when you hear something negative against someone that you don't even know yet, that's a trope, cliche, shun it away and learn for yourself what is going on. Learn one another's history. It's a very rich history. It's not centered to just one particular group that conquered or colonized of people. We all have something that has contributed to the history of this world and made wonderful, beautiful culture. So embrace that, enjoy that, and I'll see you along the trail. Oh, that's so beautiful. Yeah. Crystal, take us out. Man, she said it all. Well, just, you know, because I also teach a course in women and film at UH and I talk to my students and I think about going back to questioning things, to never take things as space value because there's always a context to how something's framed. And I think we need to be critical learners and you don't have to be in school to do this. We are, as we embrace, when we look at social media, for example, all this bombardment of information to really have a critical view of who's framing something and who's setting the standard for what defines us. And we need to disrupt that. We need to resist these kind of so-called normative ways of thinking because it's not true. We are stuck into this very binary world and to complicate it. And that's what we sisterhood thing does too. We complicate the narrative because all these little nuanced stories that we all individually offer as a collective become such a powerful thing that we have no idea how much energy and power we can contribute to making change. And I think we all need to believe in ourselves to do that. And that's just what I want to leave with y'all. Yes, I am because we are. Woo-hoo. I'm loving this conversation. And I want to remind everyone that September 10th, your vibe attracts your tribe will be happening at the Outrigger Canoe Club and I want to remind you for February the 9th, 2023 Day Dynasty, we're having Blurring the Line a deep conversation. Thank you, Sequoia Carl Brown. Thank you, Krista Pop, for your expertise and your knowledge and your beautiful smile. I'm your host Sharon Thomas-Yarbaro and I want to leave you with this. Choose to live within your purpose. Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.