Exciting conversations with sisters & brothers in communities of color.
Interview with Mina Fedor & Maxwell Wongsa Sharon Harper
Mina Fedor, founder of AAPI Youth Rising, and Maxwell Wong, a student at Head Royce share with Pastor Gerald what AAPI Youth Rising is about, and about the programs they have launched for youth in response to the rise of hate crimes against the Asian American communities.
Interview with Lisa Sharon Harper
Pastor Gerald speaks with Lisa Sharon Harper – founder and president of FreedomRoad, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap in our nation by designing forums and experiences that bring common understanding, common commitment, and common action. Her book The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right, was named 2016 book of the year by Engelwood Review of Books. Her latest book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair it All, is a powerful story following the 10 generations of her family and it took her 31 years to research! Fortune recovers the beauty of her heritage, exposes the brokenness that race wrought in America, and casts a vision for collective repair. Lisa has been a guest on CNN’s Belief Blog, NPR, TVOne, and her writings have appeared in Sojourner Magazine, the Huffington Post, Relevant Magazine and Essence Magazine. Harper received the Bridge Award from The Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation in recognition of her dedication to bridging divides and building the beloved community.
Interview with Rev. Dr. Charlene Han Powell
Charlene is the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. She is the first woman and first woman of color to serve as their Senior Pastor. She spent ten years at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City-first as an Associate Pastor, leading adult education and community groups, family ministries, and young adults and later as Executive Pastor. Charlene is a second generation Korean American and is from Alamo, CA. Charlene shares her journey in ministry, and of the importance of the church listening to one another’s stories, the commitment for inclusion and diversity and the importance of addressing systemic racism.
PAST INTERVIEWS FROM TALKING STORY
In this special edition, Hailey Hilsabeck and Amanda Young, share their stories and talk about their experiences as interns with Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit organization which tracks incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Amanda and Hailey grew up at LOPC and were both involved with our youth programs.
Pastor Gerald talks with Dr. Robert Chao Romero, Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA, about how God led him to becoming a Professor and using this platform to address the intersections of justice, race, and Christianity.
Dr. Jeung shares with Pastor Gerald how important the biblical mandate of being in this world but not of it has led him to incredible experiences of seeking God’s justice and putting his faith on the line particularly in Asian American, Latinx, and refugee communities.
Ray Valido shares with pastor Gerald what working under four presidential administrations is like, and also how being a gay man in the Catholic Church impacted his standing as a musician in the church. Ray is currently working at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. with the office of Language Services. He has a Master’s degree in Spanish translation and localization management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
The Rev. Sandhya is a friend of our church and has been a guest speaker on several occasions here. Reverend Sandhya serves as an anti-racism/anti-oppression trainer with the Reconciliation Ministries for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also provides anti-oppression, cultural humility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consulting and coaching for companies, higher education institutions, non-profits and faith organizations.
Over the span of his career, Rev. Dr. Ken Fong has become widely recognized as a pioneer and innovator in Asian-American ministries, a visionary leader in the broader AAPI community and a fearless bridge-builder between churches and the LGBTQ+ communities.
Anthony Lucero’s directorial debut film, East Side Sushi, has garnered 14 film festival awards nationwide, been listed as one of the “top 10 films of 2015” by SF Weekly, and touted as one “the most overlooked films of 2015” by the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Radcliff shares with Pastor Gerald his journey, which has led to his passion for social and racial justice. Dr. Radcliff has a unique perspective, living as a black man in this country and having served as a Deputy and Chaplain with the LA County Sheriff’s Department.