API Rainbow Parents’ 10th Anniversary Conference: Building Future Together

Date: Saturday, November 12, 2022
Time: 9 am ET – 4:45 pm ET (in-person & online)
In-person Venue: General Assembly, 10 E 21st St, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10010

Virtual & In-person Tickets available:

Register Today!

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Launched in 2012, API Rainbow Parents of PFLAG NYC has supported API LGBTQ+ people and families by facilitating monthly support meetings, safe gathering spaces, and intergenerational conversations. API Rainbow Parents addresses the culture-specific needs of Asian American, Pacific Islander, East Asian, and South Asian people. The organization bridges API LGBTQ+ people and the broader API immigrant community, in part by offering training and leadership opportunities to parents and LGBTQ+ individuals.

To commemorate its 10th anniversary, API Rainbow Parents is planning a daylong hybrid (in-person & online) conference on Saturday, November 12, 2022. The conference aims to provide a safe, nurturing space to bring together API LGBTQ+ people and their parents, family members, and allies to celebrate, share, learn, and envision the future together.

This conference is for families, friends, and allies of the Asian Pacific Islander (API) LGBTQ community and is inclusive of API LGBTQ+ individuals. It is a space where we may envision together, learn from each other, and collaborate for a better future for the API LGBTQ+ community.

Please help us create a respectful and supportive environment where the topics will center around API identities and experiences. We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive community space for everyone and honors all ages, races, genders, and expressions. Thank you and welcome!

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM

9am-9:30am: Opening Plenary
Opening remarks: Clara Lee, Drew Tagliabue, and Melissa D’Andrea
Keynote speakers: Pauline Park and Marsha Aizumi

9:30am-10:45am: Launch Pad – Braver Space to Land Softer
Facilitated by: LoAn Nguyen and Rej Joo
This opening session for both parents and LGBTQ+ community members is intended to prepare conference participants for the day’s sessions. Facilitators will help participants navigate being in a mixed space together, find deeper connections, and be as open-hearted and as present as possible. This includes broadly outlining some shared understandings of (ever-evolving) LGBTQ+ concepts and terminologies as well as discussing ways that participants can support one another throughout the conference.

10:50am-12:05pm: LGBTQ+ Acceptance and Christianity
Moderator: Phoebe De Padua
Panelists: Kai Lin Ngu, Rev. Vicki Flippin, Laura Zhang Choi, and David “Mink” Chung
Organized by HA:N United Methodist Church, this workshop focuses on “queering the status quo” from the perspectives of Christian clergy, Christian LGBTQ+ people, and the Christian parents of LGBTQ+ people. The workshop will center queer-affirming stories that celebrate people who identify with the Christian faith and who are seeking to challenge hateful, binary, and unimaginative beliefs and theologies about queer people. The organizers of this workshop acknowledge the various faiths and non-faith practices of API LGBTQ+ people and want to be clear that this workshop seeks to help repair the harm caused by Christian supremacy, cis-heteropatriarchy, colonialism, imperialism, and weaponized religion.

12:05pm-12:55pm: LUNCH

1pm-2:15pm: Allies and Family Showing Up

Allyship in Action: How to show up for each other as allies
Moderator: Dahee Lee
Panelists: John Park, Ryan Letada, Maggie Wong, and Melanie Dulfo
We all want to live and work in safe environments where we feel accepted and respected. This is often not a reality for API LGBTQ+ people, especially in the immigrant community. In this session, participants will hear from API community leaders and LGBTQ+ individuals on the courageous work they have been doing to create a more inclusive and safe culture in their own ways. Participants will then be invited to examine how they themselves can show their allyship and show up for one another.

Family Acceptance: Stories of API Parents
Moderator: LoAn Nguyen
Panelists: Kate Young Joo Shim, Mohit Chandra, and Helen Liao
Do you ever wonder what Asian American parents go through when their child comes out? In this workshop, participants will hear Asian American parents share their experiences of confusion, fear, love, acceptance, and celebration of their LGBTQ+ children. The workshop is intended for parents of LGBTQ+ kids who would like to talk with other parents who understand the unique cultural issues in Asian American communities; LGBTQ+ people who want to come out to their parents; and participants who are struggling with family acceptance and want to understand different ways to bring people together. If you are already out to your parents, caregivers, or other family members, you are welcome to bring them along.

2:20pm-3:35pm: Intergenerational Connections

Creating Space for Conversation: A Multimedia Project Showcase
Featuring: Mengwen Cao, Youbin Kang, Jeffrey Buan, and Aruna Rao
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, API Rainbow Parents invited API LGBTQ+ community members to participate in a 10-week Multimedia Project to learn how to conduct interviews, edit interview files, and take portraits. The project also paired community members with parents who have gone through their own journeys of acceptance toward love and celebration of their LGBTQ+ children. The goal was to promote intergenerational conversation and healing through a creative process in a supportive environment. This conference session showcases the final interviews and portraits from the Multimedia Project. Participants will also hear from the trainer, participants, and parents about their experiences and what they learned from the project. Join us to learn about and be inspired by different ways to promote intergenerational conversation toward better understanding and healing.

Cultivating Empathy for Ourselves and Each Other
Facilitator: Rej Joo
This session will offer an opportunity to invite truth-telling about participants’ relationships and understandings of generational patterns in their families. The workshop strives to build more awareness around the following themes:

• Recognizing unique trauma/conflict responses (physically/emotionally/mentally);
• Inviting more emotional spaciousness for curiosity (instead of judgment); and
• Reflecting on family dynamics that cause harm or healing regarding LGBTQ+ issues, racism, and more.

Participants will be invited to affirm one another’s complicated experiences and will build toward an understanding that community is healing and healing is community.

3:40pm-4:10pm – Affinity Spaces
Please note that affinity spaces are meant for individuals of shared areas of identity (see descriptions below) to connect and come together in a more informal space.

API Parents of LGBTQ+ Children – facilitated by Clara Lee
API LGBTQ+ Community Members – facilitated by Gregory Hom
API Ally Organizations – facilitated by Aries Liao

4:15pm-4:45pm: Closing Plenary
Closing remarks: Clara Lee and & Aruna Rao
Our conference culminates with an opportunity to reflect on collective experiences from the day and empowers us to envision the future.

WHO IS THIS CONFERENCE FOR?

• LGBTQ+ people of API descent
• Parents and family members of API LGBTQ+ people
• Allies and friends of API LGBTQ+ people, including members of faith communities and of local organizations serving the API LGBTQ+ community

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS!