Recognizing and celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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Recognizing and celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Inclusion & Diversity June 3, 2021

May was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—and all month we recognized the influence of this group on the history, culture, and achievements of the United States, and their contributions to Campbell.

Our Asian Network employee resource group (ERG), hosted a series of events to help us learn more about the experiences of the Asian American community. With the recent rise in incidents of racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever for us to have conversations, learn from each other, and support our colleagues and neighbors.

A conversation about AAPI history, culture, and identity

Historian, scholar, and author, Dr. Ellen Wu, hosted the event “How did we get here and where do we go now?”—a conversation about Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history, culture, and identity.

We learned about the history of the Asian American experience, from when the first wave of Asian American immigrants arrived in U.S., and how the Asian American identity and “model minority” myth was created, to how the “perpetual foreigner” narrative still impacts AAPIs’ experiences and image today.

Sharing our stories

Throughout the month, members of the Asian Network shared their stories by giving us a glimpse of their unique experiences.

Jenny Huang, Senior Associate Marketing Manager, talked about her experience as a first-generation immigrant, and how she leans into her Chinese culture living in America with her family today.

Our Treasurer, Ashok Madhavan, talked about his Malaysian upbringing—and his favorite childhood memory gathering with classmates to celebrate holidays with lots of food!

Dina Reagan, Senior Director of Salty Snacks, R&D, talked about how seeing her father make Filipino cuisine when she was growing up influenced her decision to work in the food industry.

Wellness rooted in Asian culture and heritage

The Asian Network and leaders from our health and fitness center hosted weekly wellness sessions to help us exercise our minds and bodies through Asian techniques.

We practiced yoga in our chairs, explored nutrition rooted in Asian heritage, and learned about the origins, practices, and benefits of meditation.

Spotlighting influential Asian American pioneers and leaders

Watched a YouTube video recently? Spice up a meal with Sriracha sauce? You can credit the work of an Asian American for that!

From tech-founders to food industry leaders, entertainment trailblazers to engineers, we shared the stories and accomplishments of influential AAPI leaders and their remarkable contributions to society all month long.

Breaking through invisibility together

To close out the month, we hosted a panel discussion with Ascend Philadelphia about breaking through invisibility together. Moderated by our Chief Marketing Officer for Meals & Beverages, Linda Lee, the panel of influential leaders across media, entertainment, journalism, and politics shared their own journey to finding their voices.

The panel of powerful storytellers—Bill Imada from IW Group, Janice Min from TIME, Debbie Leilani Shon from USA Gymnastics, and Sanjay M. Sharma from Marginal Mediaworks—talked about the importance of having the confidence to speak up, take up space, and tell the unique stories of Asian Americans so that we can be the agents of the progress we want to see, and for others to recognize that AAPIs are also part of the fabric of America.

Inclusion & Diversity Life at Campbell’s