Inspired by the shared birthdays of Malcolm X and Yuri Kochiyama, the May 19th Project is a multimedia campaign that promotes solidarity within Asian and Pacific Islander communities and with all communities through video stories, essays and social media content. 

Founded by filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña and writer Jeff Chang, the May 19th Project was created by a collective of filmmakers and creatives who are building upon the powerful mobilizing narrative of Stop AAPI Hate and moving the narrative to the next stage by focusing on solidarity — which is about seeing each other, standing together, and acting together—and solutions for the way forward. The filmmakers include Joua Lee Grande, Grace Lee, Stephen Maing, Juan Mejia, Bo Mirhosseni, Tadashi Nakamura, PJ Raval, and Jun Stinson.

The May 19 Project was first launched in partnership with SEE US UNITE, a social media campaign that celebrated the resilience and power of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders coming together. The videos were launched on lnstagram, Twitter, Facebook, and the web. The collective also collaborated with A- Doc (Asian American Documentary Network), For Freedoms, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the WeChat Project, and Chinese Americans for Affirmative Action to cross-pollinate and promote each other’s solidarity and racial justice-centered projects. 

The May 19 Project is now available, free to the public, on KCET.org. The videos are translated into multiple languages, including Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

#MAY19PROJECT

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Yuri Kochiyama and Malcolm X

Two icons of American history, Yuri Kochiyama, and Malcolm X share a birthday—May 19—and a passion to change the world.

Bruce Lee’s Fighting Stance

Bruce Lee takes on students of all races and influences millions to stand up against hatred and violence.

Grace Lee Boggs and James Boggs Change The World

Grace Lee Boggs and James Boggs emerge in Detroit to plant visionary seeds for the racial justice movement.

Youa Vang Lee Mourns George Floyd

Minneapolis police killed Youa Vang Lee’s son. She channels her pain into supporting George Floyd’s family.

7 Bayard Rustin and Asian America

Inspired by Gandhi, Bayard Rustin transforms the civil rights movement and mobilizes support to welcome Southeast Asian refugees.

The National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit

Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans help to build a multi-racial environmental justice movement.

Dragon Fruit: Intergenerational Solidarity

Sammie Ablaza Wills and Vince Crisostomo navigate life, death, and intergenerational conflict as they organize in the LGBTQ+ community.

Frederick Douglass + Wong Kim Ark: Who Can Be An American?

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and a restaurant worker named Wong Kim Ark fight for immigrants and the right to become Americans.

The Delano Grape Strike

Farm workers Larry Itliong, Philip Veracruz, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta join forces to spark a global labor movement.

Sugar Pie DeSanto and Etta James Rock

In the 1950s San Francisco singers Sugar Pie DeSanto and Etta James change the direction of R&B.

“The Concentration Camp Law”:  Fighting the Emergency detention act

Black and Japanese Americans join to repeal the Emergency Detention Act, a law that could put activists into concentration camps.

“Education Is Solidarity”: The Third World Liberation Front

Asian, Latino, Black and white students stage the longest student strike in US history to demand ethnic studies.

Sikhs and Muslims Together Against Hatred

A young Sikh American reflects on family, culture, and Sikh solidarity with Muslim and Arab Americans in the call for racial justice.

1 Dreaming America

Ever since the Chinese Exclusion Act made Chinese laborers “America’s first undocumented,” Asian Americans have helped to dream a new America. Poet Michelle “Mush” Lee takes stock of the past and imagines the future.