Mercer Times

Yifeng Hu, an associate professor of communication studies, has been named the first recipient of the ASIANetwork-Mellon Foundation Award for AAPI Voices and Stories: Community-based Digital Storytelling. This award includes $500,000 in funding over three years to support projects that aim to capture and preserve the experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals and communities.

Hu will travel to the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, one of two initial sites for this nationwide project. Over seven weeks this summer, she will collaborate with community members, students, and faculty from the university on a Chinese heritage project. The focus will be on documenting stories from the Chinese population in Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta region, a community with roots going back more than 150 years.

“One store there has existed for almost 80 years,” Hu noted. “Many of the community members are very old, and it’s urgent to document their voices and stories.”

The project involves conducting interviews, recording them, transcribing them, and creating a digital repository of stories and historical artifacts. After completing her work in Arkansas, Hu hopes to lead a similar initiative in New Jersey communities. Her overarching goal is to advocate against the perception that Asians are "perpetual foreigners."

“They’ve been here as long as anyone else and have made contributions,” Hu stated. “When we talk about Asian-American histories, it’s really American stories.”

Hu has been active in AAPI advocacy at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and throughout New Jersey for several years. In spring 2022, she led TCNJ's first Asian American Pacific Islander advocacy campaign with eight students. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about AAPI history and contributions while promoting representation and combating stereotypes through interactive campus activities.

Since then, Hu has continued her advocacy efforts by bringing author Dr. Erika Lee to speak at TCNJ and organizing performances of "Illegal: A New Musical" on campus. She also co-chairs TCNJ's newly formed Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition.

In December 2021, Hu spoke at a press conference at the New Jersey State House in Trenton. She urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would include Asian American Pacific Islanders' stories in K–12 education standards.

“Not only is it imperative to make the young generation more aware of AAPI struggles," she said, "but it is equally crucial to celebrate AAPI contributions in U.S. society.”