Helen Zia is a second-generation Chinese American activist and a journalist. She advocates against racism and hate crime that affects the Asian American community. Not only does she advocate for racism and hate crime, but she also involves herself in the LGBTQ+ community.
Helen Zia was born in New Jersey in 1952 to first-generation immigrants from Shanghai. She went to Princeton University in the early 1970s and became a member of the first graduating class of women. As a student, she was a vocal antiwar activist, voicing her opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and active in movements creating cross-racial unity among low-income people of color.
Zia played a crucial role in the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982. Vincent Chin was killed after a racially motivated bar fight. She brought civil rights charges against the perpetrators of Vincent’s killing and ignited an Asian American response to the crime through her journalism and advocacy work. She has also spoken on issues ranging from civil rights and peace to women’s rights and countering hate violence and homophobia.
Zia was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine. She has received numerous journalism awards for her amazing stories. In August 2020, she was one of the three recipients of the NAAAP100 Award from the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP).
She has many amazing books and journals that I will start reading.
