Growing up attending Arcadia’s schools was a contradiction of growing up with an Asian majority, yet scarcely having an opportunity to seriously address the racial and ethnic issues that affected me and my peers. The grand narrative of my life has been constantly wrestling with this reality of 21st-century Arcadia. Inevitably, as I dissect and analyze my own life experiences and those of the people and communities I love in this one place, it reveals a myriad of systems, details, complexities, and livelihoods that bleeds into a greater understanding of the San Gabriel Valley (SGV), of Los Angeles, and of California. All politics is local and I’ve been fortunate enough to have the resources and privilege to approach Arcadia through the lenses of a son, a child, a student, an activist, an advocate, a filmmaker, a preservationist, a political scientist, a historian, a geographer, an Asian Americanist, and an intern. In this vein, my time with CAUSE has furthered my every aspiration as I continue this journey to greater heights and deeper depths, pushing against the status quo.
Working for the Office of Assemblymember Mike Fong acquainted me with the structures of power that shaped the environment and how I grew up in the SGV. My main project during my time at the office was developing reference maps for both our district office and our capitol office. Using Esri’s ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Instant Apps, and publicly available data from state and county agencies, I created two reference maps and two web apps for Assembly District 49’s city council and school board districts. The web apps also had tables of publicly available contact information for local city council members and school board members on a left-hand sidebar.
Reference Map of City Council Districts in Assembly District 49
These efforts are a testament to the attitudes towards politics and community I found working for Assemblymember Fong’s office. All of my colleagues at the district office are either from the district or live right next to it and all speak another language, which would assist constituents who have difficulties with English. The development of these maps was guided by the philosophy that understanding local power and politics should be generally accessible and spatially observable both for the interest of the general public and to help our office better connect with local decision-makers.
Reference Map of School Board Districts in Assembly District 49
My project built on my hands-on experience working with constituents, helping plan a college and career fair, and discussing political issues in city council meetings, 4th of July events, backpack giveaways, and at JPL. These experiences infused me with both a comprehensive understanding of what power, politics, and change look like here in the SGV and, with CAUSE, a greater awareness of what specific needs our diverse AAPI communities have that should be addressed. Building on this foundation of knowledge and experience, I look forward to continuing to advocate for the marginalized and the unheard, whether it be within systems I am acquainted with or worlds I have yet to enter.
Author Robinson Lee at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles