"Racial Equality: Building a Better Austin for AAPIs"

STORYTELLING CATEGORY

KVUE-TV
05/17/2021

In March of 2021, the murder of six Asian females in Atlanta shook the Asian American Pacific Islander community, even as violent attacks continued on AAPIs nationwide.

That brutality forced me to reexamine the history of AAPIs in Austin and in the U.S. It was heartbreaking to discover the racism they faced, especially with the help of the federal government through The Chinese Exclusion Act, something I never learned in school.

Despite the racism, some in the fastest-growing minority group in Austin managed to make long-lasting contributions, like the design of the Ann and Roy Butler hike and bike trail. A trail that's widely considered one of the city's gems and used by thousands every day. But how many people can say it was Alan Taniguchi who designed it?

I did not want those contributions to get lost, as more than 150 new people move to Austin every day. A fast-growing group in an even faster-growing city.

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Submitted by Jenni Lee.