“We were finally able to celebrate that part of ourselves”

Happy Pride Month! As we transition from Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to Pride Month this June, we are thrilled to highlight the significant work and contributions of queer Asian Minnesotan organizers in our community.

This week on the MinneAsianStories Podcast: Season 2, our host Julia Gay chats with Ka Oskar Ly, multidisciplinary artist and cultural producer and the former Interim Executive Director of Shades of Yellow (SOY), the first ever Hmong LGBTQ non-profit organization.

Ka shares how SOY got started in 2003 as an informal social and safe space reaching Hmong, and later pan-Asian, LGBTQ communities locally and globally. Listen in as Ka reflects on the influential role SOY played in empowering a new generation of queer Asian leaders in our community.

 You can find photos of the colorful Hmong pride flag Ka designed on our website at www.caalmn.org/podcast/ka.