PRESS COVERAGE
Read a selection of our latest press coverage with articles and media featuring Rising Voices' work and initiatives
PBS NewsHour - August 8, 2022
[Interim Executive Director Jungsoo Ahn] described the high court’s decision as a racialized attack on the rights of women and persons of color, especially those in low-income communities without means to seek reproductive health services elsewhere. Ahn also saw the decision as a kind of social control over poor and working-class, queer and trans, disabled Black and brown and Asian Americans.
“Basically, 2022 is like act of hate, after act of hate, after act of hate. This is no different,” Ahn said. “We have to just get tough. And this is one of those things where we need to plow through and fight because abortion isn’t illegal in Michigan yet, so there’s a chance here to make sure that we’re mobilizing our communities to really advocate for this.”
New York Times - June 16, 2022
“Asian Americans in Michigan have a very different experience than Asian Americans on the coasts,” said Jungsoo Ahn, a native of the Detroit suburbs who is Korean American, and who leads Rising Voices, a left-leaning organization that works to mobilize Asian voters in the state. “In other states, you’re able to create a sort of pan-Asian identity, whereas because of the sprawl and geography here, and the various waves of immigration, it’s been harder to form that.”
PBS NewsHour - June 29, 2022
“People think that that work is just about votes or elections and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re not political people,’” said Jungsoo Ahn, interim executive director of Rising Voices. “But it’s not whether you’re political or not. It’s the fact that we’re at a time where harm is too likely to come upon our communities. So if we do not act, then all that harm will act upon us. Many people are talking about these elections as harm prevention elections, especially in Michigan.”
PBS NewsHour - April 11, 2022
“Those of us who have known that white supremacy is the issue, are finally being heard,” said Jungsoo Ahn, interim executive director of Rising Voices, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote the civic participation of Asian American women and families in Michigan. “Those who have ascribed to, hidden under, and/or been forced into the model minority myth are beginning to resist. In Michigan, we are a group who has historically not been talked to and ignored in terms of the value of our voices and the resources attached to making our voices heard.”
The Detroit News - March 16, 2022
Regina Tsang, field director for Rising Voices, an organization that works to develop the leadership of Asian American women in Michigan, said anti-Asian and other racially-motivated hate crimes are symptoms of a broader problem. "We understand the pain, the fear that motivates our communities to call for increased policing," said Tsang. "But more surveillance and more policing is not the answer; multiracial solidarity is.The realization that we're all fighting the same system of White supremacy is the answer. Showing up, doing the work, fighting for all marginalized communities is the answer."
All Things Considered, National Public Radio - October 25, 2021
“We really saw how the pandemic heightened existing inequality in our communities, and we wanted to make sure that folks had equal access to information about what was happening, how to stay safe, how to access testing, and then later vaccines but then also making sure that we’re demanding of our government officials to take into account our communities, in preparing a response." - Rising Voices Executive Director Laura Misumi