Location: Hopkins Bloomberg Center, room 944
555 Penn
Washington, DC

Please join the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship for a panel discussion about the contemporary landscape of diasporic and immigrant-rights organizing at the new Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC. This event is part of a soft launch for a new undergraduate program at Hopkins called Critical Diaspora Studies (CDS), which will enable students to study the solidarities and dissonances between geographical and cultural areas of study such as Asian-American, African diaspora, Indigenous, and Latinx studies. This panel builds on a previous workshop on community-engaged learning, research, and internships held on October 13.

The speakers will be:

• Haddy Gassama
  National Director of Policy and Advocacy, UndocuBlack Network
• Ted Gong
  Executive Director, The 1882 Foundation
• Kham Moua
  National Deputy Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
• Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli
  Director for the Andes, Washington Office on Latin America

The CDS major is the result of an undergraduate student movement that began in 2021 and advocated for an activism-oriented academic program that enables students to study the connections, solidarities, and dissonances between geographical and cultural areas of study—from Asian American Studies and the African diaspora to Indigenous and Latinx Studies—that are usually considered separately from one another, but are in fact connected through entangled histories of migration, colonialism, and social movements. The major will include a required community-engaged learning and research that focuses on these entangled histories and contemporary social movements. This panel on Nov. 4 will present some possible opportunities for pursuing community-engaged learning.

This event is open to JHU undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the public. The panel discussion will be followed by a lunch reception.

Students who are interested in attending should pre-register by e-mailing gcho2 at jhu dot edu. Travel costs and lunch will be provided, along with a Barnes & Noble giftcard.

Funding for this event provided by a JHU Nexus Award and the Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship. Co-sponsored by Critical Responses to Anti-Asian Violence (CRAAV).

Guest Speaker Bios:

Haddy Gassama is the National Director of Policy & Advocacy for the UndocuBlack Network. Haddy is from The Gambia and immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 with her family.  She holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science, a Masters in International Affairs, and a Juris Doctor degree. Haddy is licensed to practice law in Washington D.C. She has years of experience in the fields of international human rights and immigration law and policy. She has previously worked at the National Immigrant Justice Center, where she advocated for policies that enhanced Congressional oversight on the immigration detention system. She also represented survivors of torture from Sub-Saharan African countries, in their asylum proceedings before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When she is not doing advocacy work, Haddy is also an accomplished writer who has published several essays and articles on a range of topics including gender equity, international politics, and pop culture.

Ted Gong (Executive Director, The 1882 Foundation) retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2009 as a Senior Foreign Service Officer.  He worked on policies, laws and operations related to visas, border security, immigration, refugees, citizenship, and consular services.  He served in U.S. Embassies and Consulates in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila, and Sydney and at the Departments of State and Homeland Security.  He is the Founder-Director of the 1882 Project Foundation and President of the DC chapter of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance.  Ted was educated at the University of California in History, University of Hawaii in Asian Studies, and U.S. Army War College in National Strategic Studies.  He received a Frederick Douglass FD200 Award in 2019.

Kham S. Moua (National Deputy Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center) oversees SEARAC’s communications, field, and policy portfolios through landscape and strategic analysis, community engagement, and legislative and regulatory advocacy. Kham has spent over a decade community building, organizing, and advocating on a wide range of issues, ranging from immigration to tech policy and military justice. Prior to being National Deputy Director, Kham served as SEARAC’s Director of National Policy. While in that role, he raised the profile of Southeast Asian immigration issues and helped introduce the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act and New Way Forward Act. He also previously served as the Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates as a board member for the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance. Kham is a 1.5 generation queer, Hmong American. He was born in a Thai refugee camp but calls Saint Paul, Minnesota his hometown. He currently lives in Alexandria, VA with his partner and dog. In his free time, he enjoys staying active, writing short stories and poetry, and baking.

Gimena Sanchez is a human rights and antiracism advocate with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an independent organization that promotes human rights and justice within the framework of U.S. foreign policy in the region, where she leads the Colombia, Brazil, and Haiti work. For over 18 years, she’s brought the voices of persons affected by U.S. policies in the region — Afrodescendants, indigenous, women, LGBTQ+, trade unionists, victims, and the displaced to DC. Her work focuses on dismantling illegal armed groups, advancing peace accords, and antiracism measures, protecting social leaders, seeking justice for atrocities, and upholding labor rights. Prior to WOLA, she was with Peace Brigades International, where she provided unarmed accompaniment to defenders and communities during conflict in Colombia. She worked on displacement in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as an advisor to the UN Representative on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng of South Sudan at the Brookings Institution. She previously worked with the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR), United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), American Red Cross, Amnesty International, NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Department. Gimena has received numerous awards for her work including from the Colombian Senate, Afro-Colombian coalitions, and DC’s Mayor’s office. Born in Argentina, she was forced to live in multiple countries due to that country’s dirty war. She has an Environmental Science and Dance degree from Columbia University and a master’s in international law and international Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Student Speaker Bios:

Matt Arcillo is a fourth-year undergraduate double-majoring in International Studies and Economics. Matt has an interest in the relationship between economics and politics on the national and international level, and its effects on immigration and inequality. As a Filipino immigrant, he is passionate about advocacy for AAPI immigrants.

Kaitlyn Jung is a third-year undergraduate double-majoring in Political Science and Sociology. Her interests range from Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) research at the local and federal level, racial politics and citizenship policies, and disability advocacy. Additionally, she is excited to be working with other students to advance a Critical Diaspora Studies major at Johns Hopkins.

Kobi Khong is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Public Health Studies at JHU interested in health equity and public policy, serving as the Advocacy Director of the Inter-Asian Council, dedicated to advancing diversity in education in co-leading the formation of the Critical Diaspora Studies major. 

Natalie Wang is a fourth-year undergraduate double-majoring in Neuroscience and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities. She is a co-conspirator in the formation of the Critical Diaspora Studies major.