Cheryl Mai, A01, Week 10

W.P.'s "My Kintsuki" is beautiful yet powerful. Kintsuki is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with gold. It is very symbolic of the academic system because it is very broken but can be fixed and made better. In the beginning of the poem, W.P. did all that she could to fight against the system. On the verge of giving up, she found encouragement from God who encouraged her to keep fighting. The message of the poem is to not completely get rid of the system, but to reform it. In professor Valverde's conclusion, the fight includes replacing positions in academia with more women of color. She also talked about using power for healing and support instead of oppression. I never imagined there would be any form of bullying within academia for faculty because the university enforces anti-bullying on the students. As an Asian American women, we are stereotyped as quiet and submissive, but we must speak up. I have learned that silence is not going to help you. Even when you speak up, you will receive backlash and that is better than not doing anything. Being woke means finally learning the shocking truth of the system that is designed to oppress us. The system that was designed to make Asian American women believed that they are privileged is the same system that oppresses them. Fight the Tower is an important movement that give women of color a voice and support system to fight against and reform the system. How long will it take for change to happen?

source: google images

References

Valverde, Kieu-Linh Caroline, and Wei Ming Dariotis. Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars' Resistance and Renewal in the Academy. Rutgers University Press, 2020.