Austin’s all-Asian American improv troupe, Y’all We Asian, is coming to ACC to join our annual celebration of AAPI Heritage Month.

The Y’all We Asian troupe was founded in 2017 by a small group of comics and improvisers who aspired to showcase and increase representation of Asian American comics. The troupe has performed at the San Francisco Sketchfest, the Del Close Marathon, Out of Bounds Festival and won the Austin Chronicle’s “Best of Austin’s Critics Pick,” as well as two B. Iden Payne awards. In 2020, they opened the monthly show Y’all We Asian: Family Style at Fallout Theater in downtown Austin. The monthly show has since filled up the Fallout Theater each time. Follow Y’all We Asian on Instagram and Facebook.

Chinese dumplings, also known as jiaozi in Mandarin, are believed to have first appeared around the Tang dynasty (618-907). Jiaozi have long been a major dish during Chinese New Year and other major family gatherings, especially in Northern China. They also have a cultural symbolic significance related to the changing of seasons. That’s why jiaozi are customarily served on Chinese New Year’s Eve in Northern China to mark the end of one year and the beginning of another. With a shape like silver ingots, jiaozi also symbolize “making a fortune.”

There are many ways of making and cooking jiaozi. Ingredients for the filling typically include minced meat (shrimp, pork, beef, chicken, lamb, etc.) and vegetables, the combination of which is completely up to the chef’s preference. Boiling, steaming, and pan-frying are the most common ways to cook jiaozi in China. Pan-fried dumplings are also called “potstickers” in English, or gyoza in Japanese.

To celebrate our Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invited Chef Jeffery Li and Jessie Li, owners and chefs of Taste of Home Handmade Dumplings, to give us a demo on how to make Chinese dumplings.

The term “model minority” was first introduced in the 1960s by publications such as The New York Times Magazine and U.S. News & World Report. Since then, it has been applied to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to portray AAPI communities as “model Americans” who achieve success through hard work, perseverance, and determination. But the “model minority” stereotype is a myth, based on an incomplete view of AAPI communities. This myth, benevolent though it may seem, has a harmful impact on AAPI communities, as well as other minority communities.

ACC will be screening Not Your Model Minority, a documentary by award-winning independent filmmaker, Jon Osaki:

Not Your Model Minority explores the [model minority] myth and the intersections with past and present anti-Asian violence. The film reveals the ways the model minority myth has been used to create a wedge between communities of color, while also examining opportunities to build power towards addressing systemic racism in America. (“Not Your Model Minority” on New Day Films)

May is not only Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month but also Mental Health Awareness Month. While AAPI groups celebrate their identities and contributions to the success and prosperity of our country, we also recognize the challenges they face, including the recent rise in anti-Asian crime. We’d like to take this opportunity to discuss mental health, personal growth, and professional development with our AAPI community at ACC. 

You are invited to a celebration of AAPI heritage and a conversation about mental health, coping strategies, and resources available for your own self-care hosted by ACC’s AAPI Cultural Center and Clinical Counseling Services.