S2 EP5: The Gates Discovery Center's 'Enduring COVID-19' Series
** We apologize that this episode was released later than we hope. A few of our guests mentioned projects that already occurred during the recording of this podcast. We have included links to these events below and we hope that you will look at their websites and their YouTube videos. **
In this podcast we are excited to launch our first episode of our series with The Gates Discovery Center's Enduring COVID-19 events. Each event will highlight the people who are working with our community as we restore ourselves during this pandemic!
Today's podcast brings together people who are creating community through food, fashion, and radio. We are grateful to be joined by Roxana Pardo Garcia of LaRoxay Productions, Ming Ming Tung-Edelman of Refugee Artisan Initiative, and Tony Benton of Rainier Avenue Radio. Our guests share stories around the importance of mentors, the power of family and talismans, the changing media landscape, and how we can endure this pandemic together.
0:46 - Roxana Pardo Garcia self-introduction
1:02 - Ming Ming Tung-Edeleman self-introduction
1:17 - Tony Benton self-introduction
2:11 - Roxana's Origin Story - Life growing up in Burien, WA. The power of a strong mentor while in high school. Activism and organizing while at University of Washington. How to usher the collective into a new way of being during the pandemic. Quit her government job in order to serve community full-time with a private business.
7:28 - Ming Ming's Origin Story - First generation Chinese-American who immigrated to join father in the US along with siblings and mother. Brought a chiffon dress that her grandmother made for her when she immigrated. Power of grandparents on children's lives. Grew up in California. After 25 years as a pharmacist, switched to fashion and combined that with a circular economy model with refugee women. Pivoted to PPE during the pandemic.
15:12 - Tony's Origin Story - Being a Black man has shaped him. Being a father to a daughter has shaped him. Long history being engaged in media. 20 years in a major market and saw how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed everything. Communities overlooked by the corporatization of massive media companies. Switched gears to Low Power FM Radio Stations and Internet Radio. With the pandemic, people were pushed online more and more.
23:04 - Roxana talks about the projects she's working on through her site LaRoxay Productions. Started two businesses during the pandemic. Launched a fundraiser to raise $1,000,000 for their food bank. Shift from a culture of charity to a culture of justice. Also runs a company that curates events for companies. Lastly, has an apparel/life-style brand that blends the Northwest and Chicana cultures.
30:21 - Ming Ming talks about the Refugee Arts Initiative. They hired six more women during the pandemic. Twelve full-time staff now! Trying to hire even more women to work to make PPE. Also taking the circular economy model towards zero-waste for pet accessories. They upcycle people's clothes to make clothing accessories for pets. Is a finalist for the Northwest Circular Design Contest! Lastly, love for her community of Lake City but are using a donated space that will be torn down in a year or two. Looking to buy a location through a capital campaign to be their permanent home.
39:45 - Tony talks about his projects. Rainier Avenue Radio ran some amazing events such as Asian Voices Initiative around anti-Asian hate crimes. They also broadcasted live from the Juneteenth Festival in mid June and even did a full-day program called Make Music Day in late June. You can listen and view all of these events in the previous links.
Thank you again to the Big Phony, a Korean-American singer/songwriter living in Seoul, South Korea for allowing us to his music in our intro and outro, all royalty-free!