ANC075: Dear Mrs. River-Dragon by Vivian Kao
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I meet a Korean American man and / a Chinese woman ... / Birds of a feather only because we happened / to rest on the same branch.
Flint, Michigan gained national attention at the onset of its water crisis in 2014, but its problems began decades prior. The city followed a textbook boom-and-bust arc through much of the twentieth century, emerging as a global leader in automotive manufacturing until shifting economics led to General Motors all but abandoning the area in favor of outsourcing work to nonunion employees in other states and countries. Deindustrialization begat urban decay, with Flint's citizens facing an unemployment catastrophe, rampant poverty, and subsequent high crime. White flight more than halved the population, dramatically shifting demographics. Traffic remains primarily outbound in "Vehicle City" today, leaving a void for others to fill.
Vivian Kao documents her family's efforts to acclimate to Flint in Dear Mrs. River-Dragon, focusing on the challenges of being an Asian-American woman and mother in a marginalized city where AAPI residents comprise less than one percent of the community. Kao writes of parenting biracial children in a disinvested environment, relations between Asian-Americans and other groups, and the lasting impact of the water crisis as well as anti-AAPI sentiment in the early days of the pandemic. Her collection navigates the personal and political, exploring the complexities of finding a home in a place that neither needs, wants, nor claims you.
For every copy sold, Another New Calligraphy will donate $1 to ETM Flint, an organization creating movements for environmental change through the development of diverse resident champions and issue advocacy.
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