AANHPI - Daylight San Diego

Dancers perform in front of an audience outside.

AANHPI

How to celebrate AANHPI month in San Diego

From festivals to K-Pop dance workshops and crafting opportunities, May is a time to embrace San Diego’s AANHPI communities. Written by Maya Srikrishnan, Edited by Lauren J. Mapp Editor's note: We have used AI to help us extract information from event flyers and websites, but humans have

A photo of a mural with a yellow mural that says "Little saigon" with colorful images painted within each letter

Newsletter

Newsletter: The 51st anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

Plus, we’re suing San Diego for police records. April 30 marks the end of the Vietnam War, a date that continues to carry deep meaning for Vietnamese and Lao communities shaped by displacement, resettlement and the long tail of its impacts across generations. In San Diego, those legacies are

Two dancers perform in front of a patterned backdrop

Education

Educators, students and community leaders push for Lao history in K-12 schools

After years of exclusion, San Diego organizers are advocating for students to learn Lao history in ethnic studies classes. Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey For decades, Lao history has remained largely absent from California classrooms, a gap community advocates say has left generations of students without

Three women dance while wearing red dresses and gold jewelry. Two women are in the background and the focus is on the woman in the center.

Arts & Culture

Light over darkness: Diwali brings hundreds to Balboa Park

Hundreds celebrate light overcoming darkness at the Deepotsav Festival of Light in Spreckels Organ Pavilion Photo Essay by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran, Edited by Lauren J. Mapp Hundreds of San Diegans celebrated Diwali at the Deepotsav Festival of Lights at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park last Saturday. The Festival of

Three people sit in chairs on a panel at an event while one person speaks into a microphone

Newsletter

‘Suffering in silence:’ Advocates shed light on immigration enforcement’s impact on AAPI communities

At a panel hosted by the AAPI Democratic Club of San Diego, political and community leaders discuss the Trump administration’s immigration policies through the lens of Asian American and Pacific Island immigrants. Written by Maya Srikrishnan, Edited by Lauren Mapp Hi everyone! From policies targeting international student visas and

people stand in a spiral braiding one another's hair

Arts & Culture

AAPI artists make space for creative exploration in San Ysidro chapel turned theater

Four fellows with Viet Voices worked across media to connect with audience, the land and themselves. Written by Sam Barney-Gibbs, Edited by Kate Morrissey Correction: A photo caption in this story was corrected on Aug. 1, 2025 at 3:26 p.m. to reflect that the photographer was C. Ryu,

Weekend Energy

Pride, Blanket Sounds and a Filipino American Friendship Festival bring the Weekend Energy to July 17-20

Plus, local activists honor the late Rep. John Lewis during the Good Trouble Lives On protest. Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey Between San Diego Pride in Hillcrest and the Filipino American Friendship Festival at Liberty Station, there’s lots to do this weekend in San Diego.

painting of a mural that says little saigon with images painted within each letter

Newsletter

Newsletter: Vietnamese community and refugee resettlement programs commemorate 50 years in San Diego

Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, networks formed to welcome Vietnamese families continue to serve new groups of refugees — from Afghans to Congolese. Saludos a todes (Greetings everyone), Fifty years ago, tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees arrived at Camp Pendleton after the fall of Saigon. The organizations that

A woman in a floral dress with her back to the camera looks at a woman in a green dress who looks off to the right. Both sit at a table with laptops and food in front of them.

Newsletter

Newsletter: What does it mean to be an ethical journalist?

Plus, a dragon boat race festival and a school nurse making a difference with periods Greetings everyone, buenas and bom dia, When I was a young reporter, covering the immigration beat during the first Trump administration, I attended an Immortal Technique concert. I still remember the moment when he began

A long slender dragon boat with black and green painted scales moves to the left carrying a drummer on a chair and several paddlers

Culture

Teens, cancer survivors among growing dragon boat racing community at Mission Bay festival

San Diego nonprofit’s organizer honored with a volunteer lifetime achievement award by city council member Written by Marco Guajardo, Edited by Kate Morrissey Hundreds of paddlers and spectators gathered in Mission Bay on Saturday for the annual San Diego Dragon Boat Festival, where teams raced to the steady beat

Dancers in grass and leaf skirts perform on a stage during an outdoor event with people in the background

Social Justice

AANHPI leaders urge San Diegans to remember community's struggles during heritage month celebrations

Months into President Donald Trump’s second term marked by the slashing of diversity initiatives, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander leaders say San Diego needs better mental health programs and push for more to join anti-hate initiatives and the fight for lasting inclusion. Written by Lauren J. Mapp,

Four women wearing purple, patterned skirts, white shirts and flowers in their hair dance in front of a tree on the grass at an event with people sitting in the background

Culture

Celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian/Pacific Heritage Month with events across San Diego

From film screenings to dragon boat racing, San Diego’s May calendar is packed with ways to connect with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultures. Written by Lauren J. Mapp, Edited by Kate Morrissey Update: This story was updated on May 16, 2025 to reflect that the 50th