Dear Asian Youth (DAY) is a non-profit organization and literary magazine that aims to empower the Asian community. According to their website, their goal is to “uplift marginalized communities through education, activism, and celebration.” The organization was founded by 16-year-old student Stephanie Hu in order to create a space for her to publish her literary works. From there, it expanded and grew to be a blog that aims to uplift the Asian community and its stories. It then went on to become an organized non-profit of over 100 team members nationwide. The organization functions remotely and is run by volunteers who share the belief that marginalized communities deserve a place to share their stories.
DAY covers countless topics through blog posts such as “Mental Health in Asian Communities” and “The Problem with Asianfishing.” Their team of writers, project managers, social media experts, podcast members, and diversity and inclusion task force all work together in order to contribute to the nonprofit.
The members of the DAY social media team combine their knowledge of literature, art and research to publish content that represents the Asian American community on social media platforms such as Instagram. The team aims to “diversify the Asian narrative through visual, auditory, and education content.” Through its social media, DAY hopes to connect with its audience to foster growth and understanding within the Asian American community and beyond.
DAY’s literature team is “dedicated to providing an education and inclusive platform to spread the unique voices of Asian youth.” The team publishes literary works such as poetry, prose, articles, music and more to expand the Asian narrative while bringing awareness to the community. They hope that a holistic approach to writing and visuals will aid in representing otherwise underrepresented communities.
The organization also has a podcast called “Dear Asian Girl” which was created to highlight the stories of Asian women and foster “an intersectional and relatable point of view.” With a combination of humor, relatable content and reality, “Dear Asian Girl” strives to shed light on important topics in a way that is receptive to their growing audience.
In addition to the various teams of DAY, the diversity and inclusion task force and chapter are important extensions of the publication that aid in further uplifting the community. Their diversity and inclusion task force focuses on content that reflects intersectionality in both the DAY publication as well as the recruitment processes. Chapter works as an extension of DAY in order to assist and empower young Asian leaders within their communities. They have created an extensive network that equips these young community leaders with the necessary tools and resources to accomplish their goals.
Rather than solely focusing on the Asian community in the United States, DAY aims to create an inclusive platform that is supportive of all marginalized groups. Their website features resources such as links entitled “Support Indigenous Communities” and “Be a Good Activist!”
DAY exemplifies an incredibly important aspect of the Asian American community as Asian youth work to uplift marginalized communities within their own lives and beyond through teamwork and literary publications. With over 400 pieces published and 110,000 followers on Instagram, DAY works to empower the Asian community by creating a space for Asian youth to create, relate and share their stories.
Featured image from Amanda Mills, licensed under CC0
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