On Moving Forward with the World We Want To Live In — with Miko Lee

How Change Happens: Stories & Insights from Social Justice Changemakers

In this episode I reconnect with my friend and colleague Miko Lee (she/her) — an activist, storyteller, educator, and Director of Programs at Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality. Miko and I roam through a conversation about ancestry and intergenerational patterns; transformative justice, personal responsibility, and self-care; how the U.S. government is disappearing Bhutanese American Refugees; the power of story and the danger of stories going "MIH (missing in history)"; plus some creative ways she and her collaborators are experimenting with cultivating intergenerational connections.

You'll hear the stories behind the gorgeous embroidered artworks Miko shared to illustrate how she believes change happens (view images of them here!). And you'll learn about Miko's "change lineage": past and present movement leaders who energize her, and how her parents' civil rights era activism and ethos continue to inspire her own.

If this episode resonates with you...

• Contribute to the GoFundMe campaign to Help Mohan Karki Reunite with His Family — and learn more about Bhutanese Americans here,
• Subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast app,
• Support How Change Happens with ratings, sharing feedback with me, and/or by sharing it with a friend, colleague or network, and/or
• Learn more about my (Kai's) change work at www.createknowledge.org, on Substack, and/or on LinkedIn.

References

• Ancestral Mathematics
• Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
• Asian Law Caucus
• Asian Refugees United
• 'Borges and I' by Frank Bidart
• Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel by Loretta J. Ross
• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
• Transformative Justice

Fejezetek

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. How Miko Believes Change Happens: Embroidered Ancestors (00:02:18)

3. Change as Intergenerational Iteration (00:09:51)

4. How Miko Defines "Change": The Personal Is Systemic (00:12:07)

5. Narrative Change & The Power of Story (00:14:11)

6. The U.S. Government Is Disappearing Bhutanese American Refugees (00:16:31)

7. On Connection, Intergenerational Divides & a Bridging "Experiment" (00:24:13)

8. More On Miko's Change Lineage (00:30:53)

9. Shout Out: Asian Refugees United & Robin Gurung! (00:36:21)

10. Shout Out: Aisa Villarosa of the Asian Law Caucus! (00:37:54)

11. We Are the Leaders We've Been Waiting For (00:38:07)

12. Outro (00:39:18)