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How storytelling fights stereotypes about the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander community

Katherine Cheng, Co-Founder of Our Stories are Your Stories (#OSAY), talks about celebrating the diversity and the contributions of the AANHPI community.

SEATTLE — May is AANHPI Heritage Month. One way to celebrate is by joining a grassroots movement that started in Western Washington called Our Stories Are Your Stories (#OSAYS). This week on Mindful Headlines, find out how you can become a part of it.

“The stereotype of Asians being this mild, meek… I certainly am not! I never have been,” says Katherine Cheng, a co-founder of the social media campaign #OSAYS.

“I just wanted us to be seen and heard,” says Cheng. “I realized there aren’t a lot of stories out there that are about Asians, and I’m not talking about just the prominent ones. […] I’m talking about the people that are in our everyday lives.” 

Cheng and others have been collecting stories of everyday Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) people to help celebrate the diversity and recognize the contributions of the AANHPI community. You can watch the full list here on the #OSAY website.

The #OSAYS campaign highlights everyday people but also some very well-known names, including: Seahawks legend Doug Baldwin, former Washington Governor & U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and NBC News analyst and Pulmonologist Dr. Vin Gupta.

“There are so many diverse cultures and ethnicities within being AANHPI,” explains Cheng. “The stories are trying to show the diversity of cultures and ethnicities, but also the range of areas in which we contribute in this country.”

The #OSAYS campaign has received several awards including the national Anthem Silver Award for Social Impact Campaign / Non-Profit. It also received the “Mosaic Award” at the American Advertising Awards in Seattle.

It is also currently nominated for a 2021 regional Emmy award; the winners will be announced in early June.

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