Portal 2 Liberation 2 Year Anniversary: A World Free from Police & Prisons

Sat Aug 13 2022 at 03:30 pm to 06:00 pm

6785 Imperial Ave | San Diego

Asian Solidarity Collective
Publisher/HostAsian Solidarity Collective
Portal 2 Liberation 2 Year Anniversary: A World Free from Police & Prisons
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Join us for a panel led by speakers impacted by incarceration for Asian Solidarity Collective's Portal 2 Liberation 2 Year Anniversary.
About this Event

As part of our 2nd year anniversary of our Portal to Liberation Campaign, Asian Solidarity Collective (ASC) presents a panel discussion on the impacts of policing and mass incarceration on Asian communities in San Diego. Together, we will continue to call on our San Diego Asian communities and non-Asian co-conspirators to enter the Portal to Liberation, in solidarity with Black lives calling us to free ourselves from the police state and culture of policing in order to reimagine a world free from policing and borders.

Featured Speakers

  • Opening Speaker: Lon Chhay, Asian Solidarity Collective Organizer
  • Moderator: Ree Obaña, Community Organizer
  • Panelists: Capone, Community Organizer, Kay, Rap & Hip Hop Artist, Sophat, Dedicated Family Man
  • Panelist and Closing Speaker: Dina Sirypangno, Community Member

About the Speakers

Lon is a son of refugee parents who fled Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime. He grew up in City Heights where he found himself caught up in the wide net of injustices of the legal system where he has spent 22 years in its revolving doors. Chhay has an Associates Degree in Sociology, Social & Behavioral sciences, and Communications & Media Languages. During his studies he was awarded the Student of Distinction Award.

From his lived experiences in gangs and incarceration he brings an all too common perspective to the challenges and divisions that poverty has brought upon our communities. His goal is to bring unity and hope through education of our communities and family members.

Kay is an Upcoming Cambodian-American rap & hip-hop artist, who has had his fair share of adversity growing up in a lower class community & prevailed against the odds stacked against him.

Capone’s parents survived the Cambodian genocide in the early 1970’s. We migrated as refugees from a Thailand refugee camp in 1978 to San Diego. Growing up differently in a foreign country, him and his family, along with those that had similar backgrounds, were discriminated against. This was when Capone first encountered racism. Because of cultural differences, him and his siblings engaged in numerous physical conflicts and soon formed a gang of brotherhood to protect our small community. This led to his conviction where Capone served 27 years for a crime he committed. He shared, “I came to understand from my past experiences, I’ve learned tremendously about myself and who I am today. A person who cares about others that struggle with addiction, gang violence, racism, criminality etcetera. I now live a life of servitude and will continue to be of service to myself and my community.”

Sophat Hang was born in Khao-I-Dang Thailand refugee camp in 1983. He immigrated to the US in 1985 and settled in San Diego in 1987. Safety Engineer by trade, he has been doing it for 13 years. Currently working for Clark construction with the new Aztec stadium project and will be foreseeing the river walk project next year.

Dina is a first generation Laotian-American, born in the refugee camps of Thailand, as her family escaped the Vietnam War that has impacted Laos. She is Director of Sales & Business Development in the biotech and life science field, and a graduate of UC Berkeley. Her family has been impacted by the Pr*son industrial system with her younger brother, Donald Sirypangno, incarcerated on a life sentence. She grew up in East San Diego/City Heights back in the 80’s, and lived first hand the refugee experience in the face of heavy policing and mass incarceration culture. She would like to share a message of hope and the need to transform the policing culture to one of community agency for change and self-liberation.


Event Photos

About Asian Solidarity Collective

Asian Solidarity Collective (ASC) is a grassroots organization in San Diego whose mission is to activate Asian American social justice consciousness, condemn anti-Blackness, and build Asian solidarity intersectionally with Black, Brown and Indigenous folks, people with disabilities, queer and trans people of color, and all oppressed communities. Our work includes political education, community building, and collective action. Learn more at asiansolidaritycollective.org

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

6785 Imperial Ave, 6785 Imperial Avenue, San Diego, United States

Tickets

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