Amplifying Voices: Digital Storytelling for Asian and Pacific Islander Students Working for Social Justice

Anti-Asian Hate and the Need for API Stories

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities in the United States experienced a surge in harassment, violence, and other acts of hate.¹ While several factors may be attributed to the rise in violence towards the API community, the political and social stigmatization of APIs in relation to the coronavirus was considered a driving factor.² The pandemic perpetuated anti-Asian sentiment and furthered its expression through acts of physical violence and discrimination.³ These incidents not only led to increased fear, anxiety, and other mental health concerns in the API community, but also shed light on the biases, prejudice, and misperceptions of API individuals in the broader population. 

As the recent wave of attacks targeting API individuals became increasingly visible in the U.S., they demonstrate how the long history of anti-Asian sentiment and violence in our country has been largely overlooked and ignored. While multiple approaches are needed to address systemic violence and to ensure that API individuals’ needs and concerns are addressed, one important step is to enhance knowledge about API communities. Greater knowledge and information about the complex and diverse experiences and histories of API communities in the U.S. are critical to promoting dialogue and understanding across cultures and identities. 

Digital Storytelling Presents an Opportunity to Share Stories to Spark Change

Digital storytelling is an arts genre that has been adapted for use in various contexts given its therapeutic, educational, and movement building potential.⁴ Digital stories are short (2- to 3-minute) videos that allow individuals to create stories about specific issues and their lived experiences.⁵ Hence, digital stories can be understood as “counter-narratives” that counter dominant perspectives and provide alternative interpretations of the world.^6,7 Counter-narratives are important when considering aspects of identity that are stigmatized or marginalized.

For API students, digital stories can “challenge the largely negative and deficit-focused connotations” attached to aspects of their identities.⁴ There is evidence that digital storytelling can have a therapeutic benefit in addressing stigma and negative beliefs about oneself as participants explore their personal and cultural understandings of their identities.⁸ As participants share experiences and obtain feedback from peers during the storytelling process, they may be able to disclose information that they may have initially felt ashamed about.^4,8 These experiences can enhance resilience in individuals and promote compassion. 

Using Digital Storytelling to Share Stories of API Social Work Students

As digital storytelling is an empowering program that may decrease stigma and facilitate dialogue, we propose to conduct a digital storytelling workshop with API students in the UW School of Social Work (SSW). Students in the UW SSW are pursuing careers in commitment to social and economic justice for poor and oppressed populations—they seek to enhance the health and well-being of disadvantaged communities. For API social work students, many are drawn to the field due to their own experiences and challenges navigating complex social problems. Hence, the stories of API social work students present important opportunities to promote dialogue about the social issues that impact API communities in the U.S. and abroad. 

References:

1. U.S. Department of Justice. Learn about hate crimes. The United States Department of Justice. Accessed May 10, 2021. https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/learn-about-hate-crimes
2. Lee S, Waters SF. Asians and Asian Americans’ experiences of racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on health outcomes and the buffering role of social support. Stigma and health (Washington, DC). 2021;6(1):70-78. doi:10.1037/sah0000275
3. Croucher SM, Nguyen T, Rahmani D. Prejudice Toward Asian Americans in the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Effects of Social Media Use in the United States. Original Research. Frontiers in Communication. 2020-June-12 2020;5(39)doi:10.3389/fcomm.2020.00039
4. de Jager A, Fogarty A, Tewson A, Lenette C, Boydell KM. Digital Storytelling in Research: A Systematic Review. The Qualitative Report. 2017;22(10):2548-2582. 
5. Creative Narrations. Digital Stories. 2020. http://www.creativenarrations.net/gallery/
6. Lambert J. Digital storytelling : capturing lives, creating community. Hoboken : Taylor and Francis; 2013.
7. Mnisi Tmuaz. Digital storytelling: Creating participatory space, addressing stigma, and enabling agency. Article. Perspectives in Education. 12// 2015;33(4):92-106. 
8. Willis N, Frewin L, Miller A, Dziwa C, Mavhu W, Cowan F. “My story”—HIV positive adolescents tell their story through film. Children and Youth Services Review. 2014/10/01/ 2014;45:129-136. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.029