美国华人联合的公民行动

2022年的暑假伊始，我过着平淡却又典型的美国高中生生活 ——参加体育活动、准备下学期的课业、学习计算机编程、参与莱镇华协青少年STEM义工组网页建设的项目等等。这里我要介绍一下莱镇华协青少年STEM义工组。它是一个非营利组织，致力于运用具有创新性的计算机科学项目来服务于莱镇社区各个团体、组织和部门，比如：Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL)莱镇社区基金会, Cary Memorial Library Foundation莱镇图书馆基金会, Town of Lexington Government莱镇政府, 和 New Moon International 新月国际。STEM 团队与莱镇华协的诸多青少年义工组协同合作，为莱镇和附近大波士顿地区的华裔青少年提供了很多参加社区志愿服务的机会。尽管我积极地参与义工组的活动，但我很少意识到我们的这些志愿服务项目会和在美华人的公民行动紧密相连。2022 年 7 月 14 日至 7 月 16 日我有幸参加了在华盛顿特区举行的第三届美国华人 (UCA) 大会，开阔了我的对社区志愿服务实践活动的视野，加深了我对华裔青少年参与义工项目来参与公民行动的理解。

For me, the summer of 2022 opened up in the typical way for a high schooler, with the usual activities of sports, studying for the next school year, working on computer science projects, and building web applications in the Chinese-American Association of Lexington (CAAL)’s Youth STEM Team. As a nonprofit organization, the CAAL Youth STEM Team works on innovative computer science projects benefiting organizations in the community of Lexington, such as the Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL), Cary Memorial Library Foundation, Town of Lexington Government, and New Moon International. The STEM Team is connected to the association's numerous Youth Programs, which provide community volunteering and social activism opportunities to Chinese-American youth in the Lexington area near Boston. However, I seldom thought about the connection between the projects that my team has worked on and civic engagement efforts by Chinese-Americans in the US, that is, until I attended the 3rd biennial United Chinese Americans (UCA) convention in Washington, D.C from July 14 to July 16, 2022.

 今年的美国华人大会有两个主题：打造真正的华裔美国人身份；建构公民参与式的社区。通过其精心组织的小组讨论、圆桌会议和有影响力的嘉宾演讲，大会的议程传达了这样一个核心思想：华裔美国人有潜力影响并塑造美国的政治和公民的新前景，但前提是我们华人需要积极地参与并倡导社会改革。

The conference this year revolved around the ideas of forging authentic Chinese-American identities and building a civically active community. Through its thoughtfully organized panels, roundtable discussions, and invited speakers of influence, the convention conveyed its core message through its programs that Chinese-Americans have the potential to shape the political and civic landscape of the US, but only if we facilitate the change, and lead social reformation initiatives on our own accord. 

为期 3 天的大会贯穿着大量的小组讨论和嘉宾演讲，探讨的内容涉及到了与华裔密切相关的几个热点问题，比如：2021年对田纳西大学工程学院胡安明教授的无罪判决。在有关“‘中国行动计划’与在美国争取平等和公正”的专题报告中，UCA 领导层邀请胡教授和他的辩护律师 Philip Lomonaco，以及陪审团成员围绕这个热点问题与参会者进行了深刻的讨论。随后的专题讨论还涉及了以下的焦点问题：“US-China Competition & its Implication for Chinese Americans” ；“Cross-Culture Tri- Diaspora Dialogue”。政府和国会成员也参与了对这些问题的讨论。他们的发言涵盖了美国政府在“中国行动计划”期间特别针对华裔美国人的调查；特邀嘉宾们也批判性地分析了在新冠疫情期间仇恨亚裔社区成员的犯罪现象。    

The panelist discussions, spread out over the 3-day conference, opened with speaker events on recent victories in keystone Chinese-American civil rights cases, such as the 2021 acquittal of the trial of Professor Anming Hu from the Department of Engineering at the University of Tennessee. Professor Hu was a panelist in the event “‘China Initiative’ and Our Fight for Equality and Justice in America,” along with his lawyer Philip Lomonaco, members of the jury, and the UCA leadership. Later panels, such as “US-China Competition & its Implication for Chinese Americans” and “Cross-Culture Tri- Diaspora Dialogue” included members of government and Congress. They spanned the facets of the disproportionate targeting of Chinese-Americans by the US government during the “China Initiative'' crackdown, and critically analyzed the problematic hate crimes committed against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community during the ongoing pandemic. 

在大会期间，UCA 青年大使和其他的年轻社会领导者， 比如 Christina Lu (宾大学生，反种族暴力倡导者），Stephanie Hu (Dear Asian Youth 创始人和组织者), and Peter Zhang (Youth Voting Initiative 的联合创始人和领导者), 积极倡导并参与了有关亚裔美国青年问题的研讨会，并向政府官员们探讨了他们是如何看待这些问题的。大会还为对政治问题感兴趣的高中生以及大学生组织了一系列有意义的活动，比如探讨参政议政的社会活动，拜访国会山并与议员对话。在与议员们对话的过程中，不少华裔青少年向议员们询问他们是如何看待最近美国各地反亚裔和种族歧视等紧迫的社会问题。18 岁的 Sam Cao -- 俄亥俄州立法机构政治竞选的有力竞争者关于“华裔青年如何参加并组织社会运动的研讨会”也给人留下深刻的印象。著名的华裔美国国会议员代表，如 孟昭文（Grace Meng） ，赵美心（Judy Chu）也接受大会邀请，亲临会议现场，发表精彩演讲。美国未来前进党创始人和总统候选人杨安泽（ Andrew Yang）通过视频现身此次美国华人大会，接受大会的连线采访。杨安泽在访谈中鼓励亚裔青少年为实现自己的梦想去勇敢地尝试并不断挑战自我。这些重量级嘉宾的出席深深地鼓舞着与会青少年积极地投入到公民参与的社会活动中，这些优秀的华裔精英也为今天的华裔年轻人做出了榜样。从这个角度来看，2022年的美国华人大会为有志从政的华裔青少年提供了一个绝佳的与杰出的亚裔政治家对话的机会。

The social activism and government participation workshops, along with the Capitol Hill visit with government representatives to discuss Congress’ take on pressing issues against Chinese-Americans, were led by the UCA Youth Ambassadors, politically-minded high schoolers and college students such as Christina Lu (a UPenn student who is an advocate for bystander intervention in racial harassment), Stephanie Hu (Founder and Executive of Dear Asian Youth), and Peter Zhang (Co-Founder and President of the Youth Voting Initiative), all of whom led workshops on issues concerning Asian-American youth and inquired about the problems to members of government. The workshops on youth involvement in organizing social movements were facilitated by exceptional young changemakers such as Sam Cao, an 18-year-old who is a top contender in the Ohio State Legislature political race. Prominent US Congress representatives and senators like Grace Meng and Judy Chu, and US Forward Party founder and presidential candidate Andrew Yang, further amplified the inspirational sentiment among the attendees that Chinese-American youth are capable of great things through our civic participation through their own respective speaker sessions throughout the conference. In perspective, this was an amazing opportunity for intergenerational dialogue to be sparked between youth seeking to get inspiration on leading social reformations of their own and Chinese-American role models in government and positions of power, such as the members of Congress.

富有开拓性的亚裔美国政治家的演讲，以及来自各个州自信精干的青年大使们所分享的公民参与项目和活动，激励着我去思索如何进一步推动莱镇青少年义工项目，以便更好地为我们的社区做出更大的贡献！在过去的几年中，我们莱镇华协青少年义工组开展了大量有意义的公益活动：青少年带头在新冠疫情期间给波士顿地区无家可归者分发生活必需品；组织音乐表演，为亚裔历史走进莱镇高中课堂而筹集资金；为低年级学生提供免费的课程辅导；帮助莱镇政府开展社区活动......这些公益活动不仅仅代表我们莱镇华协和青少年义工组为参与社区服务所付出的不懈努力，也可以由点及面带动全美华人联合的公民参与行动的发展。

After listening to the civic engagement efforts of the trailblazing Chinese-American political figures and the headstrong youth ambassadors, I was simultaneously motivated and inspired to further the aim of the Youth Programs in contributing towards positive change in Lexington. The work they were doing was meaningfully and relevantly connected to the civic action efforts of the CAAL Youth Programs in Lexington. In Lexington, youth are also leading efforts to distribute essential supplies during the pandemic, organize musical performances to raise money to add Asian-American history courses at Lexington High School, mentor young students in free teaching programs, and aid the town government in growing the community.

2022美国华人大会的亮点还体现在它组织的首届青年大会上。青年大会为全国各地的华裔青少年义工组织提供了展示其公益项目及成就的舞台。共有40多个州,  60个社区展示项目，250多个青年代表参加。在参观各个展台时，我注意到有的青少年义工团体关注如何提高华裔美国人的政治参与度，有的倡导进行系统性的社会改革，还有的侧重于社区的服务建设。在会议的第二天和第三天，我用海报的方式展示了莱镇青少年 STEM 组近年来所开展的公益活动。为了更充分全面地展示 STEM 义工组的志愿服务活动及其对社区产生的积极影响，我设置了一个三折海报，突出强调我们STEM 团队自 2020 年初成立以来开展的9个项目。我也设计了配套的宣传小册子，并把我们STEM义工组的联系信息加在宣传册上，以便于与那些感兴趣和我们合作的其他义工组织建立联系。我设计的海报与莱镇华协精心准备的强调莱镇青少年义工组总体项目的海报相得益彰。两张海报结合起来，全面又有重点地展示了我们莱镇青少年的社区志愿服务活动。我们的海报吸引了很多参会者的关注。我详细地解答了每位经过我们展台的参会者所提出的问题。我在向观众解释我们 团队所做的软件开发项目及其产生的社会影响的同时，也强调莱镇青少年义工组在开展社区服务、丰富华人文化、推动有意义的教育活动等三个主要领域所做的努力以及所取得的显著成绩。

The speakers and panelists weren’t the only amazing highlight of the conference; the youth convention also provided ample opportunities for organizations across the country to showcase their work. The convention itself was broad in scope, with 60 community showcase projects and 250 youth organization representatives hailing from over 40 states. Whether the objective of their organization was to increase political participation among Chinese-Americans, create social reform on a systematic scale, or service their communities through creating change in a positive way, representatives from initiatives across the country were able to exhibit their work at the UCA community organization showcase. On the second and third days of the conference, I got to see the work of other youth organizations, as well as exhibiting and subsequently presenting the work of the CAAL Youth Programs and its connected Youth STEM Team in front of convention attendees, along with 11 other selected youth organizations. For the exhibition, I set up a tri-fold poster board filled with sections summarizing the STEM Team’s 9 projects since its founding in early 2020, paired with brochures with the contact information for the team in case any of the other organizations’ representatives that I was networking with were potentially interested in collaborating with my organization. Additionally, there was also an exhibition setup for the CAAL Youth Programs. On the afternoons of Day 2 and Day 3 of the conference, I fielded questions from showcase attendees while explaining the social impact of the software development projects done by the Youth STEM Team, as well as the meaningful education, cultural enrichment, and impactful service done by the CAAL Youth Programs. 

此外，我也非常荣幸能代表莱镇华协青少年义工组与其他11个被选定的华裔青少年组织在本次美国华人大会暨UCA全美青年大会演讲。在7 月 16 日举行的青年组织展示会闭幕式上，我被安排为第一个讲演者，向参会的几百名来自美国各地的华裔青少年和各界华裔精英介绍莱镇华协青少年义工组在过去的11年里所开展的十二个不同社区志愿服务项目。在总结莱镇华协青少年创建的丰富多彩的义工活动时，我特别强调这些义工项目在社区服务、文化推广和教育发展等方面所产生的积极影响。莱镇华协青少年义工组为年轻人提供参与公民行动的机会，无论是自愿组织的“将亚裔历史纳入美国学校课程”的慈善音乐会，还是协助莱镇亚裔文化节的筹备，热心公益活动的青少年在莱镇华协的引领和支持下积极参与社区服务。作为莱镇华协青少年义工组的一员，我为我们的团体所取得的成绩感到骄傲和自豪。同时我也相信，通过此次的全美青年大会，全国各个华人协会和青少年义工团队可以互相了解、探讨和学习，这样有意义的交流和沟通可以增进华人组织和团体间的合作与相互激励。 

At the end of the final showcase session on Saturday, I was the first to present at their closing youth organization showcase with an extensive slideshow presentation covering all the community development-centered projects under the Youth Programs. I highlighted my interpretation of their purpose in impactfully serving, culturally enriching, and meaningfully educating the community of Lexington through the aforementioned initiatives. All of this creates opportunities for youth, I explained, to obtain hands-on experience in shaping community growth. The programs provide civic action opportunities such as volunteering to organize concerts, town events, and festivals, as well as organizing events and creating programs to promote AAPI culture. Besides preparing for my own presentation at the showcase events, representing the CAAL Youth Programs, I also got to understand the service of other organizations towards their communities, and noted down their initiatives and projects. Taking inspiration from the projects of other associations can help facilitate future collaboration between the CAAL Youth Programs and other organizations across the US, and aid in organizing new youth programs inspired from the work of other organizations.

回顾参加2022年美国华人大会暨UCA全美青年大会的所学、所获、所感、所得，我清晰地意识到：有些华裔社区团队之所以能在众多的华人组织中脱颖而出，不仅是因为他们积极地宣传亚裔历史和文化，懂得如何利用独特的技能和人才来创造新的社区服务项目，更是因为他们重视激励社区积极参政议。这次大会给我留下印象最深的是，华裔美国人可以在美国的政治舞台上有所作为。大会也拓展了我对社区志愿服务活动的认识，让我获得了很多灵感。我希望把学习到的关于公民参与的理念引入到莱镇华协青少年义工项目的发展中。我也希望我们展示的关于莱镇青少年义工组的社区志愿服务活动可以给那些和我们志同道合的年轻人带去灵感和启发。 

As the convention drew to a close during the gala on the evening of the third day, I reflected on what I had learned from the panelists, workshop leaders, youth organization representatives, and invited speakers, as well as my work in the community organization showcase sessions and closing presentations. Through motivating the community to increase political participation, promoting AAPI history and culture, and utilizing unique skills and talents to create new projects, various Chinese-American community organizations stood out. The information I learned from the exhibitions provided the inspiration I needed to come up with new civic engagement ideas to be introduced to the CAAL community youth programs back in Lexington. Combined with the panelist meetings, speaker events, and leadership workshops, my experience in the convention coalesced into the overarching idea that Chinese-Americans could play a crucial role in the politics shaping the lives of the American people. Presenting the CAAL Youth Programs in the convention, and learning about the work of other organizations enabled me to see how AAPI youth could also have an impact on society. The showcase, in particular, was an exceptionally memorable moment for me, where I was able to present the work of Chinese-American youth organizations in Lexington. In front of the audience of like-minded young changemakers and experienced activists, the work of the CAAL Youth Programs could potentially serve as inspiration for future reformers.

 值得一提的是，在本届美国华人大会中，莱镇华人协会 (CAAL)荣获很多殊荣。比如，CAAL获得了“杰出华人组织奖”，林小梅女士荣获“杰出社区及公共服务奖”，莱镇华协青少年义工组获得了“莱镇华协青少年项目成就奖”。我想特别感谢莱镇华协领导团队的Leeying Wu，Wendy Qin，Liying Kuang和Judy Qiao老师们，谢谢他们一如既往地扶持引导莱镇青少年义工组的发展，特别感谢他们在我准备演讲稿的过程中为我提供大量的参考材料。感谢莱镇华协的联合主席王华教授和林小梅女士，谢谢他们在整个大会期间为我提供的指导，感谢他们帮助我获得了展示莱镇青少年义工项目的机会。最后，我也想特别感谢我所在的莱镇青少年STEM团队的导师丁薇教授；感谢丁教授将我介绍到这个朝气蓬勃的、富有创造力、互助合作的STEM 团队；谢谢她悉心地指导我如何做好参加大会所需要的展品和演讲材料。因为参加了美国华人大会暨UCA全美青年大会，我的2022年暑假生活变得更难忘、更充实。

On a national scale, there’s the UCA convention, and on the local scale, there’s the work of grassroots organizations such as the award-winning Chinese-American Association of Lexington (CAAL), which won the Outstanding Chinese-American Organization Award. The CAAL’s Youth Programs received “Certificate of Achievements.” Melanie Lin won “Outstanding Community and Public Service Award.” The Youth Programs wouldn’t exist without the support of CAAL, and the members of its leadership team who mentor the programs, including Leeying Wu, Wendy Qin, Liying Kuang and Judy Qiao. The aforementioned mentors provided the reference material I used to build my presentation on the CAAL Youth Programs. The CAAL co-presidents–Professor Hua Wang and Melaine Lin–provided guidance to me throughout the convention, and helped obtain opportunities for me to showcase the work of the youth programs and network with other community leaders across the US attending the convention. Last but not least, I would like to thank Professor Wei Ding, the mentor of the CAAL Youth STEM Team that I am a part of; she introduced me to the Youth STEM Team, and mentored me throughout the process of creating the presentation materials I brought to Washington D.C. for the convention’s exhibition and showcase events. The 2022 UCA National Convention, and the Youth Convention were keystone platforms for me to grow and learn from inspirational Chinese-American leadership figures. Through this conference, I gained new experience and inspiration in helping the CAAL Youth Programs further its mission of impacting Lexington through community service, cultural enrichment, and meaningful education.

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