Member Spotlight: Angela

We often say DSA is a “big tent”. It’s true that we all come from different backgrounds, but every one of our unique experiences has brought us to the same conclusion: A better world is possible, and it is ours to build. The following is the third in a series of stories told by our members about the events and experiences that led them to the Left.

Hi, I’m Angela Jiang. I am Singaporean-Taiwanese. But that identifier is too long, too inconvenient for white America to bother remembering. And while we speak Mandarin Chinese in my home, it’s completely inaccurate to box me into being “Chinese American”—Teochow, Hokkien, Malay, and Cantonese also flow through the corridors of my home. I instead tell folks I am a member of the Han Chinese diaspora—and still am, given that not one generation of my family has remained in a single country for at least the past 5 generations.

I haven’t written my name in several years. That is, my Chinese name: 姜傲亚. Look at my name again. Creating and writing a Chinese name is truly a work of art: your parents and your elders work together to select the metaphors that will capture a lifetime of aspirations in a name. And when I was born, my grandfather wrote my name using traditional calligraphy on a red and gold paper “lucky money” envelope. However, my Chinese name is too foreign sounding, and only worthy as a token to my Asianness to white America. When I try and read other people’s Chinese names and fail to read them, I can’t help but cry in frustration, knowing that white America has long stripped me of a critical tie to my heritage—that is, being fluent in my mother tongue.

What is the price of being Asian American? The pressure to cut off the very legacy that generations of my ancestors, constantly traveling and being forced to move throughout the world, have struggled to give to me for so long.

Read the rest of Angela's story on our website.

Stream your comrades on every channel

Vanguard Army (@VanguardArmyPod) joins forces with the Progressive Army (@ProgressiveArmy) with Lili (@LilTheTrill) and Aaron (@posadist_trapgd) welcoming Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) to talk about the DNC, the VP pick, and the paths to November for everyone. Discussing the Democrats' decades long flawed strategies, why they don't work, and what everyone on the left needs to do to get not only Trump out but this legacy of corporate Democrats' failures.

Hear @BrandynBuchanan and @posadist_trapgd talk about the Kenosha shooting and black conservatives on Twitter.

The latest efforts for the Rayshard Brooks Peace Center: Join us on Saturday

Long-time Atlanta organizer Susana Duran wrote a piece this past week for The Georgia State Signal about the Rayshard Brooks Peace Center and the organizing happening in that space.

Join us for the next action this Saturday, Aug 29 at 7pm.

Medicare for All canvass in Kirkwood

- and more to come

Last Saturday, August 22, East Atlanta members knocked doors in the Kirkwood neighborhood for signatures on a petition to our City Council member, Natalyn Archibong, urging her to support Medicare For All (M4A) and to introduce a resolution to City Council doing the same. This was the pilot for what will hopefully become regular canvassing efforts around Medicare For All and other socialist demands in our neighborhoods.

Wondering how to organize a canvass in your own Block? Or how to join the efforts to push City Council on M4A? Reach out to the members of #inner-east-atlanta_block on Slack to plug into their on-going efforts or organize the next canvass in your neighborhood.

What you missed on #seizethememes

Join us on Slack

Not finding what you're looking for here? If you’re a member, you’ve got access to the Slack channel. (Email [email protected] if you have questions about your access to the Slack.) There’s no faster way to get plugged in to committees, working groups, and find answers to your questions.