6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com 831 From a living room in a home in Marina in 2018, three Asian Americans formed a group with a goal that extended well beyond the living room: to bring the Asian community in Monterey County together. That group, the Asian Communities of Marina, is a nonprofit that seeks to increase participation, unity and visibility of Asian Americans in Monterey County. It isn’t surprising this group originated in Marina; the city has the largest proportion, nearly 15 percent, of Asian residents in the county. Kathy Biala, a Marina City Council member and ACOM president, was one of the founders. “Asian Communities of Marina is trying to facilitate, in our local region, having our diverse Asian communities understand each other, work together, and to appreciate each other’s backgrounds,” Biala says. ACOM has members who come from a variety of backgrounds, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Pacific Islanders and South Asians. They work to create an alliance and collaborate on issues. “Asian voices needs to be heard,” says Jihua Zhou, an ACOM board member. Several members say ACOM has helped them connect with other Asian communities. “I used to know mostly just Chinese, but since then, I know a lot more Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese,” says David Kong, ACOM treasurer and a board member of Greenfield Union School District. Yong Soo Oh, ACOM’s secretary, says the Korean community tends to be shy. “They don’t speak outside of their community,” Oh says. One of ACOM’s goals is to share the Asian experience beyond cultural events. It’s also about sharing their contributions, struggles and their immigration experiences. ACOM has championed different matters in Monterey County including ending the Feast of Lanterns, a decades-long festival in Pacific Grove that was criticized as racist, as well as advocating for the sister city program in Marina pairing with Izunokuni, Japan and Namwon, South Korea. Kong grew up in Pacific Grove in the ’60s and he spoke against the Feast of Lanterns at P.G. council meetings. As a kid he used to wonder, “Why are they making fun of Asians?” “My parents did not feel comfortable living in Pacific Grove,” Kong recalls. The contributions of Asian Americans in Monterey County run deep, from agriculture to fishing and commerce. Longtime contributions are described in history books and John Steinbeck’s novels. Incidents such as the burning of Pacific Grove’s Chinese village in 1906, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, dwindled the Asian American presence in the area. While it has been a long journey, Asian Americans today are a thriving local community that is organizing to become a united front. Despite the name, anyone is welcome to join. “We are an action group,” says May Holland Dungo, an ACOM board member. Holland Dungo says numbers matter: “If we need something done, we have to go together as a group.” Their latest plan focuses on creating the first public Asian American garden Monterey County in Marina at LockePaddon Wetland Community Park, managed by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. Their idea came from the Shinzen Friendship Garden in Fresno, a Japanese garden that is a popular attraction for locals and tourists. “It’s not just for Asians, but it’s for the entire community that deserves to have a beautiful [Asian] garden in the county,” Oh says. Oh points out there aren’t many places that showcase the Asian diaspora in Monterey County, and this would he a space to share their history. “It adds to the diversity of the whole Monterey County,” Holland Dungo adds. ACOM members plan to attend the next MPRPD board meeting on Sept. 4 to show their support for the Marina garden. Learn more about Asian Communities of Marina at acom2022ca.org. 242-0023, acom2022ca@gmail.com. United Front A local nonprofit is bringing Asian Americans together in Monterey County. By Celia Jiménez Asian Communities of Marina members including (from left) Yong Soo Oh, Jihua Zhou, Kathy Biala, May Holland Dungo and David Kong meet once a month. Since its inception, ACOM has grown from three to 40 registered members and dozens of volunteers. “It adds to the diversity of the whole county.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE CELIA JIMÉNEZ LOCAL PEOPLE n LOCAL BANK
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