Today (April 25, Tuesday, 2023), we kick off the Season 7 “Find Your Roots” special series!
Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a one-on-one in-depth podcast interview show with Asian “Roots-Finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational podcast project is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions—as well as forgotten struggles and sacrifices—of our ancestors who paved the way for us today.
Episode 1: Don’t Deny It
Dr. Elaine Shiang – Boston, MA
Are you denying your roots if you ignore them? Why should one’s culture be a forethought and not an afterthought? Who defines your cultural identity?
Dr. Elaine Shiang is a retired Chinese American medical doctor at MIT with over 35 years of experience. Episode 1, Don’t’ Deny it is her account of her family history in China, their journey to America, her parents’ influence on her, and her advice for the next generation.
Elaine is a mother of three adult children – Andrew, Margaret, and Irene. All of them were born in the greater Boston area, including Elaine herself. However, Elaine was introduced to the Chinese language early in her childhood and even lived in Taiwan for three years. That experience, she says, exposed her to the wider world and a greater appreciation of the value of embracing your roots.
Elaine also talks about her late husband, Dr. Frederick Pei Li, who came to America as a refugee. Dr. Li, a Chinese-American physician, was a pioneer of population cancer genetics. For more about Dr. Elaine Shiang, click here.
We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story.
To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org
or go to our Facebook page or website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.”
“One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time.
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