Inheriting NPR

Carol Kwang Park was 12 years old, working as a cashier at her family's gas station in Compton, California, when the 1992 L.A. Uprising forever changed her life. Her mom was at the gas station that day and Carol was unsure if she'd even make it home. At the time, she didn't understand why tensions came to a head in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of the officers who beat Rodney King. She also never understood why her mother insisted on keeping the business going, especially after the Uprising. As an adult, a personal crisis prompts Carol to finally start processing that event and her place in history.

Content Warning: This episode contains racial slurs and discusses police brutality. If you want to learn more about any of the historical moments we talk about on our show, visit our website: LAist.com/Inheriting

We have a variety of resources for you, as well as lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project.

Lesson 5.2 (Grades 5-12): The 1992 L.A. Civil Unrest https://asianamericanedu.org/1992-la-civil-unrest-systemic-racism.html

Lesson 5.3 (Grades 7-12): Building Community Consciousness and Coalitions https://asianamericanedu.org/building-community-consciousness-and-coalitions.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

In part two of Carol Kwang Park's story, we follow Carol's journey to connect more deeply with her family – and introduce the family-led conversations that are central to "Inheriting." Decades after the 1992 L.A. Uprising, Carol finally learns what her mom experienced during the riots and how she made it back home. It allows for a better understanding of her mother, as well as her family's journey leading up to the Uprising – which she never had as a child. For the first time, Carol also talks to her brother, Albert Park, about what it was like to work at the gas station as kids, especially around the time of the Uprising.

If you want to learn more about any of the historical moments we talk about on our show, visit our website: LAist.com/Inheriting

We have a variety of resources for you, as well as lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project.

Lesson 5.2 (Grades 5-12): The 1992 LA Civil Unrest https://asianamericanedu.org/1992-la-civil-unrest-systemic-racism.html

Lesson 5.3 (Grades 7-12): Building Community Consciousness and Coalitions https://asianamericanedu.org/building-community-consciousness-and-coalitions.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Growing up in Long Beach, California, Victoria Uce was surrounded by a loving and supportive family, while her dad, Bo, lost his parents at a young age in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Victoria only ever knew the basics of this story. Mainly, that her dad was forced to join the country's mobile youth brigade and take part in the state-sponsored violence that tore Cambodia apart. In this episode, Victoria talks to her father about how he turned away from a life of violence to live a life of compassion and gave her the kind of safety in childhood that he never had.

If you want to learn more about any of the historical moments we talk about on our show, visit our website: LAist.com/Inheriting

We have a variety of resources for you, as well as lesson plans from The Asian American Education Project.

Lesson 4.6 (Grades 6-12): Southeast Asian Refugeeshttps://asianamericanedu.org/southeast-asian-refugees.html

Lesson 5.5.2.1 (Grades 9-12): Fight for Just Immigrationhttps://asianamericanedu.org/fight-for-just-immigration.html

Lesson 4.6.4 (Grades 9-12): Cambodian Refugees in the United Stateshttps://asianamericanedu.org/cambodian-refugees.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Bảo Trương's parents both fled Vietnam in 1975 following the war. His father Thuận was a pilot for the South Vietnamese Air Force and left the day before the Fall of Saigon, evacuating almost 100 people to Thailand on a plane. Thuận has now been settled in the U.S. for decades, but he still writes songs mourning the Vietnam of his childhood – a country that, to him, no longer exists because it is still under a communist government. On the flip side, his son Bảo wants to live in the Vietnam of today, a yearning his father doesn't understand. In this episode, the father and son sit down for a frank conversation about the country they both long for, in different ways.

Inheriting is entirely funded by supporters like you. If you want to hear future seasons, go to LAist.com/Inheriting and click on the orange box to donate.

You can also find resources about the historic events covered in each episode and relevant lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project, including the ones below.

Lesson 4.6.1 (Grades 3-5): Resettlement of Vietnamese Refugees in Southern Californiahttps://asianamericanedu.org/vietnamese-refugees-in-socal.html

Lesson 4.2 (Grades 9-12): Asian Americans Serving and Fighting in the Vietnam Warhttps://asianamericanedu.org/asian-americans-serving-and-fighting-in-vietnam-war.html

Lesson 4.5 (Grades 7-12): Asian American Veterans and the Anti-War Movementhttps://asianamericanedu.org/asian-american-veterans-and-anti-war-movement.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Leah Bash is an avid runner, a dog mom, a wife – and there's a part of her family's history she can't stop thinking about. The fact that both sides of her family were incarcerated alongside 125,000 other Japanese Americans during World War II. Her father and his six siblings spent more than three years behind barbed wire at isolated camps in Manzanar, California and Crystal City, Texas. After Leah learns about her father's struggles with panic attacks and is herself diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she starts to wonder: could those experiences at camp during World War II have far-reaching consequences a generation later?

Inheriting is entirely funded by supporters like you. If you want to hear future seasons, go to LAist.com/Inheriting and click on the orange box to donate.

You can also find resources about the historic events covered in each episode and relevant lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project, including the ones below.

Lesson 2.1.1 (Grades Pre-K - 6): Japanese American Incarceration and the U.S. Constitution https://asianamericanedu.org/2.1.1-japanese-incarceration-camps-elementary-lesson-plan.html

Lesson 2.3 (Grades 6 - 12): Who Defines Loyalty? Japanese Americans During World War II https://asianamericanedu.org/2.3-define-loyal-american-lesson-plan.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Shakeel Syed has been a longtime activist within his South Asian community, fighting for the civil liberties of Muslims who were targeted by the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. But his activism had a cost. He was away from home on nights and weekends, absent from his wife, Saira Sayeed, and their four kids. Saira took on the work at home by herself, and they've never really talked about it. Now, for the first time, Shakeel and Saira open up about the roles they played after 9/11 and the future they want to build together.

Stay connected with us! E-mail us at inheriting@laiststudios.com to share your questions, feelings, and even your story.

Inheriting is entirely funded by supporters like you. If you want to hear future seasons, go to LAist.com/Inheriting and click on the orange box to donate.

You can also find resources about the historic events covered in each episode and relevant lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project, including the ones below.

Lesson 5.6 (Grades 5-12): "Victimized Twice": 9/11/2001, South Asian Americans & Islamophobiahttps://asianamericanedu.org/victimized-twice-9-11-2001-south-asian-islamophobia.html

Lesson 5.6.1 (Grades 9-12): Hate Crimes Analysis, Post 9/11https://asianamericanedu.org/hate-crime-analysis-post-911.html

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy