What I Learned While Getting to Know ARCC

Growing up, I rarely learned about Asian American history in school. It’s a part of U.S. history that’s often overlooked, so it wasn’t until I started seeking those stories out myself that I realized how much I’d been missing.

While doing my research on ARCC, I listened to two episodes of the ARCC of Change podcast honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. One episode explored the “model minority” myth and how it’s used to divide communities. Another examined the complicated history between Asian Americans and African Americans, and why unity across communities is so important for real change.

Together, they reminded me that representation is about more than seeing yourself in a textbook. It’s also about understanding other people’s lived experiences, and recognizing how those stories still shape our communities today.

As a Vietnamese American, a lot of what was discussed in the episodes hit close to home. I didn’t have many other Asian classmates until high school, so conversations about feeling overlooked or hard to place felt familiar. At the same time, listening made me realize how much I still have to learn, even within my own community. No one person’s experience can represent everyone else’s.

Listening to the podcasts, along with reading articles on ARCC’s website, reminded me that learning about my own community’s history has given me the confidence to speak about the issues Asian Americans face, rather than just experiencing them quietly. Understanding the broader history, the stereotypes, and the moments of both tension and solidarity has helped me explain why these conversations matter. More importantly, it reinforced the value of staying curious and recognizing that there’s always more to learn.