“Meet the Activist” event showcases inspiring Asian-American stories

Asian-American activists share the stories of their life with the USD community and spark meaningful conversations around one’s purpose and uplifting marginalized voices 

Taylor DeGuzman / Arts & Culture Editor / The USD Vista 

She found her place helping others feel seen after a college experience that left her speechless and with a fervent longing for change. He immigrated to the United States from Thailand, trying to navigate life as an undocumented immigrant, wanting to feel more supported and deserving of a fulfilling life. They both decided to share their stories with the USD community about how they overcame adversity and broke molds in order to find their calling. 

The graduate student organization, Asian Students In Alliance (A.S.I.A.), hosted their virtual event, “Meet the Activist: Asian American Activists, Stories of their life,” on Feb. 26. This event encouraged the USD community and allies to join meaningful conversations with two Asian-American activists surrounding Asian-American activism and uplifting and empowering Asian-American voices within the USD community. 

A.S.I.A. invited Jouapag Lee, owner of Alignful Consulting and Coaching, and Boonyarit “Bo Thai” Daraphant, fashion designer and community organizer, who were both vulnerable and authentic in sharing their stories of resilience motivated by a longing to leave the world a better place than they found it. 

Lee’s desire to make waves in social change was sparked in college, while attending a predominantly white institution. She shared that there weren’t a lot of resources for students of color to feel seen and feel heard on campus. One specific experience changed her life forever: while walking home from campus, she and a group of her friends were racially and sexually harassed by a group of college boys. 

“I was naive at the time, and I just realized that because of the color of my skin I would always be seen as the ‘other,’ as an ‘outsider,’” Lee said. 

Lee became involved in a campaign on campus with school administrators that advocated for a safe meeting space for students of color. Although no space was officially installed during her undergraduate career, Lee was invited back when her school finally established a safe space for students of color to meet and share their experiences.  

Though Lee’s original plans post graduation were to work for a newspaper or work within the PR or journalism landscape, Lee’s passion for student organizing and building cross-cultural solidarity took precedence. After receiving her Masters in nonprofit management at the University of Oregon and working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors for the past four years of her life, she felt a calling to align her purpose by starting her own business. 

“Some of the best career advice I’ve ever received was that if you’re not finding a role that fits what you love, maybe that means you have to create it for yourself,” Lee said. “Just earlier this year, I launched Alignful Coaching and Consulting because I started to notice a lot of people were burnt out because activism can really burn you out. I wanted to bring healing and coaching to activists and organizers that were like me, who were doing this work and wanted to find a different way of being in this world.”

Through consulting and coaching, Lee has seen what sets her heart on fire come to fruition. 

“I realized that once you align to what your purpose is, you start attracting the people and the opportunities into your life that actually make a difference,” Lee said.   

  Furthering the meaningful conversation, Daraphant shared his story of resilience in overcoming the challenges of living as an undocumented immigrant within the United States. Born and raised in Thailand, his transition to the United States was stunted by restrictions that did not allow him to legally work and provide for himself. 

At just 13 years old, Daraphant tried to navigate life in the U.S. that he explained was different from the mainstream. 

“Eventually I found my way to continue my life forward, but it was rough; because for a young person to be hit with, ‘you can’t do all of these things,’ in combination with wanting to achieve this ‘American dream,’ I just felt the need to justify why I deserved a great life,” Daraphant said. 

However, Daraphant didn’t let anything stop him from living the great life he deserves. 

“I began devoting my life to sharing my story and fighting for immigration reform,” Daraphant said. 

Daraphant has devoted a majority of his life to projects that create safe spaces for uplifting undocumented immigrants’ voices. He created an art collective that gives undocumented people the space to feel and share their stories. Through this collective, Daraphant created a set of tarot cards with stories of 16 undocumented Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to fundraise for a scholarship for a DACA student. 

He has found his calling through fashion and making fashion that is intentional and meaningful. Now a full-time entrepreneur, he has two clothing lines, “Bo Thai” and “Illegal Drip.” 

Illegal Drip came from “me trying to survive but also me trying to integrate activism and lifestyle together,” Daraphant said. The first shirt he created had the phrase “No human being is illegal on stolen land.” 

After sharing both of their stories and what led them here today, the conversation shifted toward current events, specifically the recent wave of violence and hate crimes toward the AAPI community. Lee paused before adding to the conversation, baffled by the amount of trauma that marginalized communities endured since the beginning of the pandemic. 

“What a traumatic year we’ve all lived through, as people of color,” Lee started. “This is a moment of collective trauma for us, because we haven’t had a time to pause and just grieve. And with racism and xenophobia, these movements have been going on for years and years, but with what’s happening now with COVID-19, it’s calling us forward into where we want to go as a community.” 

Lee began to explain how the model minority myth continues to play a role in the way people remove Asian Americans from a narrative of experiencing racism. 

“As an Asian American, we are actively erased from movement work so that we can be used as the model minority myth instead,” Lee said. “This year has made me realize that we cannot allow ourselves to be erased from racial injustice. As Asian Americans, we cannot mistake a bigger cage for freedom.” 

Daraphant experienced the impact of the model minority myth when he first immigrated from Thailand. 

“When I was 13, my idea of being Asian was very different from how the U.S. sees and portrays Asians in America,” Daraphant explained. “They just see an Asian and attach these specific expectations to them.” 

From a young age, “I was seen in this great light, in terms of schooling,” Daraphant said. “When I came here, I didn’t speak any English and it took them a month to put me into ESL because they just assumed I knew all of these things.” Some people’s perceptions of Daraphant shaped his experience at school to one that perpetuates the model minority myth. 

“Throughout schooling, I felt that I would never get in trouble with teachers because they would always assume I was never doing anything wrong,” Daraphant said. “The whole model minority myth worked in a way that made people assume and not give me any support or access to information that I needed.” 

Even now, Daraphant continues to see how the model minority myth warps how others view him. 

“I have some undocumented folks that will tell me I’m ‘lucky’ that I’m Asian because no one would assume that I’m undocumented,” Daraphant said.

Both Daraphant and Lee continue in their work toward social change and uplifting marginalized communities, whether that be through consulting and coaching, or art and fashion. Both have found their purpose and calling through the stories and experiences that shaped them. 

Daraphant and Lee continue to make an impact on this world and those around them by using their voices and empowering others to use their voice just as much.