May is AAPI month, “but AAPI contributions are 365 days a year”

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. To celebrate, LexObserver will feature individuals from the AAPI community with remarkable stories, in collaboration with My American Story, organized by Chinese Americans of Lexington (CALex). 

Social justice activist Mona Roy is involved in various local and state initiatives on racial justice and special education. She is a former chair of Lexington’s Human Rights Committee and current vice chair of the Town’s Lex250 Commission. She is also part of the team drafting pending state legislation, An Act To Promote Racially Inclusive Curriculum in Schools (HD3360).

LexObserver spoke with Roy about her experiences as an Indian American and her efforts to advance racial justice at both local and state levels. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

LexObserver: Can you introduce yourself and how you identify with the AAPI community?

Mona Roy: My name is Mona Roy. I’m involved in a number of different activities. By profession, I’m an intellectual property attorney. I was born and raised in America. I’m first generation. My parents are immigrants from India.

I’m very proud of my roots. We’re wonderful Americans because we are Asian Americans. We contribute so much to this country, not just the delicious food, not just the amazing art and philosophy, but truly we contribute to the community every day. The people, particularly in Lexington, are very hard-working. We are very community-minded. Wherever we need volunteers, our AAPI community shows up. 

That’s one of our hidden strengths that people don’t realize. I think a lot of times people assume we’re model minorities—which is actually a terribly pejorative term—that we’re just quiet and that we don’t speak up. I’m not your model minority. I speak up quite a bit.

LexObserver: What have you been up to lately?

Mona Roy: At the state level, I work on decolonizing education, advocating for racially inclusive curricula. I’m a co-drafter of pending legislation. The idea is simply that we want to make sure that everybody’s stories are included. After all, if you have a 15-chapter book and you’re missing chapters three, seven, and eight, or worse, that’s a problem. 

LexObserver: Could you tell us more about the legislation and why you became part of it? 

Mona Roy: I grew up here. I’m in my 50s now. I have a kid who’s in college. So I’ve seen two generations of misinformation, about not just my culture, but other people’s culture and heritage.

So to me, it was very important to make sure that we correct the record and that we teach the right information. Also, it’s important that our AAPI students, our Black students, and our next students—everybody see themselves in the curriculum, not just as supporting players. We are the heroes of our own stories, too. It’s very, very important that the curriculum reflects everybody, not just one demographic. And it’s also important for our White friends, neighbors and classmates to understand that everybody contributes to this world.

It’s for the benefit of everybody, and I feel that is my passion. It’s a lot of work. It’s hard to pass legislation. We’re working on it. We owe it to the next generation. I want to recognize that I’m privileged enough to be able to work on these things. Not everyone has the opportunity.

LexObserver: What drives you to put so much effort into work advancing racial justice and equity?

Mona Roy: Ultimately I care for people. I believe in fairness, and I know that life is not fair. I have one son who—I hope he doesn’t mind—he has dyslexia, and there are challenges associated with that. And then my older son, which is far more heartbreaking, has a seizure disorder. He has autism. He is intellectually disabled. 

You asked me what drives me. In some ways my life is so sad. On the other hand, I recognize that today I’m still in the privileged position to be able to bring joy to others and to give support to others. Many people struggle in this town. For example there are students who struggle with reading or other disabilities and getting the  services that they need.

I’m so happy that CALex is doing My American Story because one of the hardest things about being AAPI is that no matter how many generations you’re here, people will say, “But where are you from?” Because they can’t see me as American. We saw that during COVID when they kept saying those things. What does being AAPI have to do with the pandemic? That’s ridiculous. But they kept saying those things because they see AAPI as permanent foreigners.

Similarly, when I was growing up, we had Dot Busters. A lot of Hindu women wear bindis and they would target or assault them. And then after 911, anybody who was Brown was targeted because they were “Arab looking,” whatever that means. The Sikh community was also profiled. 

The AAPI community is vast and diverse. We might look different, we might speak different languages, and eat different food. But do you know why the grouping of AAPI itself is important? It is important because the one thing we have in common is that we are still seen in America as permanent foreigners. This My American Story program is very important because they didn’t name it “My Asian American Story.” They named this program “My American Story” to make the point that we are just as American as anybody else.

LexObserver: What is the American story you wanted to tell?

Mona Roy: When I was a kid, I was the only Brown girl in my elementary and middle schools. I don’t mean the only Indian— there were no Puerto Ricans, no Mexicans, nothing. When I got to high school in Delaware, it was slightly better, but it was still horrible. There was just very little diversity. Forget sensitivity, people were just outright racist. 

I’m fortunate that I had very good parents. And I’m also a musician. I found my way and I was fine, but I recognize that many people who grew up like me struggled. They really struggled. I’m curious to hear from this next generation what is good and what needs improvement.

LexObserver: How have you seen changes in Lexington in the past few years in terms of diversity and racial justice?

Mona Roy: I’ve lived in Lexington since the turn of the century. Certainly, Lexington is becoming more diverse. If you look at our lex250.org calendar, you’ll see many AAPI events featured. That shows that we’re not visitors, we’re not foreigners, we are Lexingtonians, we’re here to stay, and we define and shape the culture of Lexington as much as anybody else.

The culture of Lexington is everything. It’s the Minute Men. It’s the William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corp. It’s the smell of Indian food on the Green. It’s all those things at once. We’re really lucky to live in Lexington. Even on the worst traffic day, we’re really lucky to live here. Still, we must continue to be honest about where it needs to improve. 

LexObserver: What are some things in Lexington that need improvement? 

Mona Roy: About 45% of our students are AAPI. But how many AAPI teachers do we have? How many AAPI administrators? I believe we have one AAPI principal, former My American story panelist Chris Wai, the principal of Hastings Elementary School.

It’s no one’s fault. It’s just something to note. We should try to strive towards encouraging teachers to apply here, right? That’s not at all to take away from the wonderful teachers that we have across any racial demographic. It’s important to recruit from diverse pools. We also want to make sure that we are retaining our educators of color. 

LexObserver: What do you want the Lexington community to take away from this AAPI Heritage Month? 

Mona Roy: I want the youth to know that this is their superpower. I want people to know that they’re not Chinese at home or Indian at home and American at school. They are what they are every single day. It’s different than just being American or the proverbial melting pot. It’s like—I put Indian pickle in my grilled cheese sandwich. 

We don’t have to be boxed in. And I want Lexington to know that. I want everybody in Lexington to know that May is AAPI month, but AAPI contributions are 365 days a year. We are making Lexington better. We are making it more colorful, more delicious, and more exciting. And it’s not just because we’re AAPI but because we’re Lexingtonians.