On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, NDF’s Inclusion and Equity Committee (IEC)  hosted the second Dharma at the Movies night, facilitated by Won Jae Hur and Alex Marie. We viewed the documentary “We Need to Talk About Anti-Asian Hate,” by Eugene Lee Yang.

This remarkable film shows the pervasive anti-Asian oppression, bias and violence in the U.S, dating back to the gold rush era. It has visibly increased over the past few years due to the impact of social media, ignorance and the spread of disinformation regarding the cause of the Covid-19 virus. If you missed it, it is available free of charge on YouTube.

Yang also describes the fallacy of the “Model Minority Myth,” which states that Asian-Americans are the most compliant and successful minority, implying that they do not experience racism and that those who do are inferior. In fact, Asian immigration was long restricted to those whose education and background predisposed them to success. Eugene Yang encouraged us to keep talking about this topic and not to succumb to the “sinister oppression of silence” adding that “silence is the sound of erasure.”

After the film, we had an opportunity to explore and share how the film impacted us. Many people said that they found it to be both moving and informative.

Please join us for the next Dharma at the Movies, scheduled for Wednesday April 13, 7:00 pm. . We will watch a panel discussion on “The Radical Conditioning of Reconstruction,” moderated by Senator Bernie Sanders. We’d love to see you there!

Click HERE for details on registering for the April 13 event.

Throughout 2022, Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Inclusion and Equity Committee is hosting monthly online film screenings. The committee will air both documentaries and fictional movies that have Dharma content related to diversity, inclusion, and the conditioning that limits our understanding and expression of who we are. After each film, members of the IEC will explore the dharma themes of the movie through a facilitated question and comment session.  Please note that each screening will have a different registration link, but all screenings will take place via Zoom on the second Wednesday of the month from 7:00 – 9:00 PM.