As part of our work and efforts to ensure that all community members feel a shared sense of
belonging at Taft, we are bringing greater intention to our monthly celebrations of the richness
of cultures and identities across campus and within the school calendar.

Working toward that end means that our school celebrations may not align with global
celebrations on a traditional calendar. To wit: October is Asian American, Pacific Islander (AAPI)
Heritage Month at Taft (globally, it is celebrated in May.) Taft’s Pan Asian Affinity Group has
been hosting events this month to honor this celebration. Among the activities: they have made
posters celebrating Asian history and culture, sponsored a movie night, and hosted a ping pong
tournament and a coffeehouse.

On October 18, Taft will welcome Dr. Evelyn Hu-Dehart to campus for an AAPI Heritage Month
Morning Meeting talk entitled, “The Illusion of Inclusion: The Case of Asians in America from
Yellow Peril to Model Minority.” Dr. Hu-Dehart is a Professor of History, and Director of the
Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. Born in Chongqing,
China Dr. Hu-Dehart’s academic work examines the history of Asian migration in Latin America,
and the ways Asian immigrants have contributed to their respective societies and cultures. She
is a noted theorist of diasporas and transnationalism, as well as multicultural education in the
United States, and the founder of the Asian/ Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute.