golden guide started as a thought exercise, an answer to the question:

“what does resilience and hope look like for aanhpi communities and what would be needed to build it?”

we met while working together on a hate-reporting tool that addressed many of the barriers faced by those who experienced or witnessed incidents of hate. as we began discussing what roll-out would look like, we tried to figure out how we could not just achieve adoption but shift feelings of anger, fear, sadness and hopelessness—feelings that while understandable, could not sustain the initiatives and work needed to move forward—to feelings of hope and determination.

how could we shift feelings of fear and hopelessness at what felt like a huge step backward to hope and determination at the opportunity to move society forward?

as we worked on different projects, we kept our standing weekly meeting putting our heads together over the next several months. we took our learnings, brainstorms and many, many conversations and began ideating something that we believed help build more resilience and hope for aanhpi communities. with our combined experience and perspectives, we began to ideate a centralized wiki, a knowledge base for aanhpi communities that could serve not just as a record but a living resource to be able to know not just what’s happening in your own communities but in communities all over the country.

in a time when people were looking for more awareness, discovery and support than ever, this guide could become a platform for crucial knowledge, inspiration, collaboration and connection, bridging and building shared ownership and celebration of our communities across the country.

the goal of golden guide is to make it so everyone feels a sense of welcome and belonging—to feel connected and supported not just at home but in places, spaces and communities anywhere and everywhere.