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| Photo Credit: Kim Nguyen |
Before joining Oregon Humanities in 2013, Kyle has worked and volunteered with racial justice organizations in Portland with a focus on civic engagement, racial justice, and identity in Oregon.
As a photographer, researcher, writer, and historian of Oregon, Kyle developed a sharp racial justice analysis while growing up in North/Northeast Portland. "That is where I witnessed gentrification and discrimination faced by African American residents, and where I learned to navigate society as a multiracial Chinese American," Kyle says.
For Colors of Influence, Kyle discusses his passion and energy around his work at Oregon Humanities.
What is your primary role as Program Coordinator at Oregon Humanities?
My primary work is split between coordinating our Humanity in Perspective (HIP) program and managing grants Oregon Humanities makes to nonprofits. I make sure all the logistics are taken care of and that everyone is supported and connected. In HIP that could be brainstorming with instructors on assignments or how to make ideas resonate with students. It could be helping students with papers, connecting them to mentors and making sure they are able to grow in a way that makes sense for them.
On a personal level, why is this work important to you?
By playing a role in people's education, I live for creating conditions for students to have those "ah ha!" moments. I love seeing people make connections between the text, ideas, or theories and their lived experiences to help them understand the world and each other. I know the role discovering ethnic studies in college had on me and to see life experiences and histories that I had grown up with but were rarely given space in academic text. Then, to use that knowledge to understand things I saw growing up: gentrification, anti-blackness, orientalism, etc.
How does your work impact diverse communities?
We have two requirements for the Humanity in Perspective program: that you can read a newspaper in English and that you live within 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline. After that, you get a wide range of people and lives experiences in the room, and that is the strength of the class. Everyone is facing some type life challenge that they carry with them. People take the course for a range of reasons (thinking about college, proving they can challenge themselves, better future job opportunities, etc) but what I hope students can take away beyond skills are seeing themselves and in a different way than when the class started.
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| Photo Credit: Tim LeBarge |
What do you find most challenging?
Working with people is the best part, but it is also the most challenging because this is not a traditional classroom. We likely have a wider range of academic abilities, and live experiences in our classroom than most college classrooms. It can make for challenging ways to find how to provide academic support, how to best facilitate class, or present materials. But it is also part of what is the most fulfilling is when you see it work. You see the light bulbs going off, confidence being built, people leaning in where they might not have before.
How do you incorporate your cultural background into the work that you do?
I lead with who I am when I facilitate the classroom. I try to use my personal experiences growing up in Northeast Portland, as a multiracial Chinese American, and my own struggles feeling like I belonged in college classrooms, to help talk about topics we cover and struggles students face completing college level work. I don't forget my own challenges as a students and try to be constantly aware of what it might be like for students. I try to model and provide connection points for students to see different points or views or ways of doing things.
How can diverse communities connect with the work of Oregon Humanities?
What Oregon Humanities does is get people talking about challenging issues. Some of this is done on the pages of our magazine, Oregon Humanities, which has recently been elevating work by people of color through our "This Land" project. We do this person to person through a wide range of programs through our own work (Conversation Project, facilitation training, Think and Drink, HIP), partnerships, and grants we make to help Oregonians strive toward justice.
Given the current social climate, what give you the most hope?
In a social and political climate where it can feel like no one listens to each other, reflects on their own actions, or deeply cares about the well being of others, hope can be hard to come by. But in Oregon Humanities work we consistently see people around the state and around the country willing to lean in, listen to each other, and lead with love. It is hard, and sometimes it is not pretty, but it is the act of doing these things that will help move our communities closer to everyone being able to live to their full potential. I am lucky that I get to spend 8-months with students practicing this twice a week. They inspire me.
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| Photo Credit: Tim LeBarge |