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Changing lives since 1901

brilliant boba

amplifying asian voices

Brilliant Boba is a unique resource for educators to center Asian American voices in their classrooms through art and narrative. It gives students and educators new ways to reflect on how we can build community and empathy through experiencing others’ perspectives.

This bite-sized resource kit was designed by artists and educators to easily integrate Asian American voices, social-emotional learning, and art into learning spaces facilitating empathy and creative thinking. These activities are meant to spark thinking, creativity, and learning in a short amount of time. Rather than immediate change, this resource kit acts as seeds for learning and empathy.

Educators can choose their own story or artwork or use a ready-made plan. Our kit gives both learner and educator agency to choose how they engage with Brilliant Boba.

All brilliant boba resources are free of use. Please credit artists and storytellers when applicable.

This project is funded by the International Association of New Haven and the Yale Community for New Haven Fund.

Terminology note: Currently, this project exclusively uses the term “Asian American” as an umbrella term. While our project does not encompass the entirety of the Asian American community; it is a representation of the individuals we worked with whose stories lie at the heart of this project. It is our hope to continue to expand this project to tell more histories of individuals in this important and resilient community.

If you wish to give feedback to the design team about the project or website, please contact us here.

Revealing the Hidden History

History is not just the capital-H history that is taught in school. History is also the stories that we live everyday that shape who we are, how we interact with the world, and how we are seen. This lowercase-h history is just as important but often left out. Everyone can be a historian because everyone has a history to tell.

These stories tell us the history of a few of the many Asian Americans in Connecticut. Told in their own words, these unique histories unveil an important part of the shaping of our community. These important historians have penned and read aloud their stories to give others the opportunity to learn but also to have the courage to tell their own.

The stories below are a selection of the collection. See the full collection of stories (audio and text) here.

The Things We Carried by Quan Tue Tran

I brought a souvenir gifted to me by my best friend in elementary school to remind me of our friendship. My sisters packed their favorite Vietnamese teen and kid magazines and books.

Perpetual Foreigners by Anonymous

We’ve been in America for over 30 years and are Americans citizens yet are still looked at as the perpetual foreigners. Why is it so difficult for our society to accept that it’s ok to look different and still belong?

A Family That Lives Apart by Lily Engbith

“So, who are your real parents?” This is usually the first question that people ask when they find out I was adopted from China.

Okra by Frances Yuko

Food is a place where I feel whole. Food is a place where I understand being Asian and American. Fusion in comfort food.

A Natural Customer Representative in the Making by 郑颖盈, Yingying Zheng

“[insert Chinese takeout restaurant], how may I help you?”
What you probably can’t tell is sometimes on the other end is probably a young adult.

Cultural Appreciation. Or Cultural Appropriation? by Shirley Chock

You may know me. I’m the Tai Chi lady. For the past 20 years, I have studied Tai Chi in its authentic form as an internal martial art and been the disciple to one of the greatest masters in the world.

A Musical Prodigy and Matriarch by Clara Shen & Family

On July 27, 2012, Clara Shen turned 100 years old. She had four children, six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

You Are So Special by Diane Phelan

Growing up mixed race, of Filipino-American ancestry but having grown up in Taipei, I always had a lot of pride growing up in how different I was.

Your Identity Is in Your Palate by Gloria Han

I seemed to have the most “authentic” taste buds, with a special liking for oxtail soup, pig ears, fried pig intestines, mapo tofu, bitter melon soup…I could go on.

Artwork

These pieces of artwork were created by local Connecticut artists. While they are inspired by others’ stories, each artist has imbued their own work with their personal history as well.

All of our artists have created something that showcases the importance of creativity in learning. Finding ways to express oneself, exploring the possibilities, our artists have created a beautiful repository of artwork that is easily integrated into any learning space.

Each photo links to the artist’s work on Google Drive.

 
 

Using Brilliant Boba in Your Classroom

Below are a few examples of how to use the stories and/or artwork in your classroom. We also encourage educators to riff off of what is here and design something that works best for your learners. Please share with the design team any suggestions or comments or creations from students here.

 
Ui, 의(義): Justice, Righteousness by Sun Hee Choe

Ui, 의(義): Justice, Righteousness by Sun Hee Choe

Create Your Own Munjado: Korean Letter Painting

Munjado, the Korean folk letter painting, is a type of painting where the calligraphed letters are drawn with the symbolic graphics representing the meaning of the letter. Although the traditional Munjado mostly depicts Chinese characters, the genre of letter painting originates from Korea during the Joseon dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries. They usually show the Chinese characters that represent traditional Confucian virtues. See the full activity here.

Artist Statement

Names are a fundamental part of one’s identity. Many Asian Americans have a shared experience of having hard times establishing this basic part of their identity—people would question their names, their identity, and eventually where they belong. However, while having to navigate the duality of identity as “Asian” and “American” is indeed a challenge, it also opens up an expansive possibility of exploring and embracing a multiplicity of one’s identity. Read Jisun’s full process and thinking here.

A Musical Prodigy and Matriarch by Clara Shen and Family

They listened to stories that “Gma” or “GGma” told about her life: her childhood in Oregon, the “perfect” Cantonese she picked up from her father’s business associates in his dry-goods store, modeling for magazines and poster art, lessons from her brief career as a concert pianist, teaching piano in Hamden during the later years of her life, perusing shops in Maine for exceptional Chinese antiques, and many other remarkable tales. A favorite story was when Clara gave a piano recital at Yale University’s Sprague Hall and while pedaling, her heel was caught in a dent previously made by a cello’s endpin. (full story text here; audio here)

Questions to Explore (pick one or let learners choose)

  • What did you feel while you read or listened to this story?

  • Does this story remind you of anything or anyone?

  • If you were part of this story, who would you be and why?

  • Create your own

Response Options (pick one or let learners choose)

  • Paired discussion

  • Writing

  • Drawing

  • Acting

  • Create your own

Alternative: Use Kaitlin Tan Fung’s artwork to explore this story

Kaitlin was inspired by Clara Shen’s story. See Kaitlin’s suggested activity here.

From Shanghai to Chicago: A Matriarchal Map by Kaitlin Fung

From Shanghai to Chicago: A Matriarchal Map by Kaitlin Fung

What Fills My Bowl by Zulynette Morales

What Fills My Bowl by Zulynette Morales

What Fills My Bowl

What makes you you? What defines a person? Who are the important people that influence you? Explore what fills your bowl with Zulynette’s activity. See the full activity here.

Artist Statement

I was inspired by a common thread in many of the stories I read from the Brilliant Boba Project - we are being handed stories, lessons, memories, skills, and more from those who came before us. These things shape our identities, who we are, and how we relate to the world. This activity is meant to help you identity and share those things visually OR in another way that feels aligned with you.

Alternative: Use Zulynette’s artwork to explore the story

See Zulynette’s video version of Gloria Han’s story here.

Read Gloria’s story here or listen here.

Brilliant Boba in Context: Asian American History

The Brilliant Boba stories are from Asian and Asian Americans living in Connecticut and reflect the way Asian and Asian Americans are woven into the fabric of American society and history. This condensed history of Asian American history (compiled by Immigrant History Initiative) places the Brilliant Boba stories within the larger context of Asian American history. This history starting in 1850 and spanning through 2020 presents 16 important historical moments that have shaped how Asian and Asian Americans exist, experience, and interact with life in America. It is broken into four major themes:

  1. 1800s Asian Migration & Exclusion

  2. Early Asian American Activism

  3. U.S. Military Action in Asia

  4. Modern Immigration from Asia & Today’s AA Communities

Educators can view the full timeline and each theme page below. They are also available to download here.

Printable versions (letter size paper) are available to download here. Please note printable versions have slightly shortened text descriptions.

Design Team and Funders

A huge thank you to all the members of the design team who helped bring Brilliant Boba to life. This would not be possible without the creative knowledge and expertise of these artists and educators.

Jisun Kim, artist

Jisun Kim (she/her) is a fourth-year MFA candidate in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale School of Drama. She is an idealist, dramaturg, artist and scholar. She created a non-verbal puppetry/movement piece benjisun presents bodyssey with Benjamin Benne, and an online puppet musical Let's Go to the Moon with Nicole E. Lang (Yale Cabaret). Her recent dramaturgy credits include Today is My Birthday by Susan Stanton, directed by Mina Morita (Yale Repertory Theater), Measure for Measure directed by Alex Keegan, and How Black Girls Get Over Fuckbois, Vol. 1 by Angie Bridgette Jones, directed by Christopher Betts. Jisun is a former managing & web editor of Theater magazine (Duke UP). She received her BA and MA in English Literature from Ewha Woman’s University, South Korea. 

Kaitlin Tan Fung, artist

Kaitlin Tan Fung is an Asian-American artist and art educator based in New Haven. She grew up in North Haven, CT; earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Studio Art and Psychology at Connecticut College, and earned her Master of Science degree in Elementary Education at Johns Hopkins University. Her passions for art, education, and activism collide and combine to inform her work. Art has allowed her to communicate, attach greater meaning to moments and movements, and provide a lens with which to view and interact with all things.

Phuong Nguyen, artist

Phuong Nguyen is a Vietnamese costume designer for theatre, film and dance with a background in East Asian studies. Her work dissects different aspects of her and other marginalized groups' heritage and identities, and tells stories absent from the "victors'" history books. She is currently a Costume Design MFA Candidate at Yale School of Drama. Website: phuongtlnguyen.com

Keith Leonhardt, artist

Keith Leonhardt, a native of Connecticut, is a professional tap dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor.  He is a graduate of The Greater Hartford Academy of The Arts and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Keith is also an alum of the 2017 Tap Program at The School at Jacob’s Pillow under the direction of Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S. He has performed with a variety of tap dancers and companies including Corey Hutchin’s CT Tap, OD N Tap (Clare O Donnell), and as a featured tap dancer with dfx Entertainment. Other past performance credits include Six Flags New England Entertainment, Foxwoods Resort Casino, & RAW Artists of NY and Boston.

Ying Ye, artist

Born in Fuzhou, Fujian, China and based in the Great Hartford Area in CT, Ying Ye received her BFA from the University of Hartford in Sculpture and Painting. In 2021, She received Scholarships offer from the American Makes and Makerspace CT for industry training programs. From 2020 to 2019, She is an artist-in-residence at Farmington Valley Art Center. She works in between architecture, art, languages, symbols, mural, design, and culinary art, and She presents her works publicly in the urban environment and educational resources.

Zulynette, artist

Zulynette is a queer, Puerto Rican, womanist, artist, social worker (MSW), performer, and author. As the creator of the annual storytelling show A Little Bit of Death, she uses her artistry, research background, and social work background as tools for community transformation. Her work explores the themes of identities, our emotional resonance as humans, and death as a metaphor for change. Recognized as the first Hartford Iron Poet champion and a 100 Women of Color honoree, she has chosen to dedicate her life to using the arts as her form of social work. Her website is www.zulynette.com

Jim Carlson, educator

Jim Carlson spent 8 years as a Social Studies teacher in New Haven Public Schools, with a focus in United States History. He now works as a Social Studies Instructional Coach for Branford Public Schools. He is a lifelong New Haven resident, and holds degrees in both English and History, as well as in Education.

Erin McElhone, educator

Erin McElhone (she/her) is an elementary educator with New Haven Public Schools. Commitment to restorative practices and anti-bias, anti-racist social emotional learning are central to her work. 

Lindsey Bauer, educator

Lindsey Bauer (she/they) is a New Haven based dance artist, teacher, and choreographer. Lindsey works as the lead teacher in the Department of Dance at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School (Co-op), serving as the advisor for the National Honor Society for the Dance Arts, and as a member of the capstone and leadership teams. Lindsey is an advisor for the Senior Capstone Project and works as a mentor for beginning teachers. Lindsey is also a Co-Artistic Director of Elm City Dance Collective (ECDC), a non-profit organization that provides dance experiences for and with communities in New Haven and beyond.

Marco Cenabre, educator

As a New Haven Public Schools graduate, Marco is passionate about creating learning experiences that foster critical thinking, empathy, and collective growth. He is the lead high school English teacher at New Haven Academy, one of the flagship schools of the Facing History and Ourselves Schools Network. Marco also leads his school-wide advisory and student leader program, dedicated to mentorship and the ongoing improvement of school-wide culture.  Alongside his work at NHA, Marco is actively engaged in work connected to anti-racist pedagogy, including leading teacher communities of practice on a district, state, and national level and also, creating two curricular humanities units centered on racial identity and writing-- both published by the Yale New Haven Teachers Institute. 

Immigrant History Initiative

The Immigrant History Initiative is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 by two Asian American women passionate about bringing immigrant histories, like those from their own communities, into the mainstream. We understand the deep power that learning one's own history can have on identity development, mental health, civic engagement, and community advocacy.

Immigrant History Initiative works with families, schools, and organizations to share this knowledge and design thoughtful, anti-racist programs and workshops for people from all works of life. We also develop curricula, train educators, and create free educational resources. Learn more at www.immigranthistory.org.

emily chew

emily is a third-generation ABC and native Memphian. emily is an educator passionate about designing learning at the intersection of arts, story, and culture. They are a graduate of the University of Mississippi with a degree in Social and Cultural Identity and will soon complete the Arts in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Funders

International Association of New Haven

As an independent charitable foundation, the International Association of New Haven is committed to funding programs that enhance and promote cultural understanding in our diverse community.

Founded in 1949 as "The International Center," it was originally established as an organization that provided housing to students, scholars, and their families from all over the world. It quickly became a hub of communal activities not only among its residents but also between the international and local communities of greater New Haven.

In 2005, upon the sale of the house, we reorganized in 2007 as the International Association of New Haven (IANH), a grant-giving organization supporting local projects that enhance and promote international understanding, thus keeping the spirit of the International Center alive.

Since its inception as a grant-giving foundation, the International Association of New Haven has awarded more than $200,000 in grants to support programs in the New Haven area.

Yale Community for New Haven Fund

In March 2020, Yale University announced the establishment of the Yale Community for New Haven Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in our city and distributed funds to non-profit organizations providing food, shelter, personal protective equipment, educational assistance, the delivery of healthcare, and assistance to businesses in the local area. 

The fund is managed by Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs and is overseen by an advisory committee. Yale has also engaged in regular consultation with both the United Way of Greater New Haven and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to provide the best support to those in need.