>>ANNOUNCER: REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW MEXICO, AN ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS WHO BELIEVE THAT INVESTING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STATE'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM >>LORENE: HELLO, I'M LORENE MILLS AND WELCOME TO REPORT FROM SANTA FE .

I'M HONORED THAT OUR GUEST TODAY IS DR. DORA-LINDA WANG, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>DORA: LORENE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE SPENDING TIME WITH YOU.

>>LORENE: WELL, I INTERVIEWED YOU WHEN YOUR FIRST BOOK CAME OUT, LET ME JUST SHOW THIS, THIS IS SUCH A WONDERFUL READ, THE KITCHEN SHRINK AND WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO INTO HOW MEDICINE HAS CHANGED AND WHAT YOU LEARN FROM THAT.

IT'S SO WELL WRITTEN.

>>DORA: THANK YOU.

>>LORENE: DR. WANG IS A PSYCHIATRIST WITH AN MD DEGREE, BUT SOMETHING THAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU THAT PEOPLE DON'T FOCUS ON, YOU HAVE A MASTER'S IN ENGLISH LITERATURE.

>>DORA: I DO.

>>LORENE: AND YOU'RE A REALLY GOOD WRITER.

YOU GOT THE LANNAN FOUNDATION WRITING GRANT, YOU'VE GOTTEN THE NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA BOOK AWARDS FOR BOTH BOOKS, RIGHT?

>>DORA: FOR THE DAILY PRACTICE OF COMPASSION .

>>LORENE: OKAY, NOW YOUR LATEST BOOK, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BOOK , THE DAILY PRACTICE OF COMPASSION AND IT'S A HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO MEDICAL SCHOOL.

SO TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THIS, IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

>>DORA: SO, UNM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE ASKED ME TO WRITE IT FOR THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY, WHICH WAS 2014, ONE THING I REALIZED WHEN I WAS RESEARCHING THAT IS THAT THE UNM HEALTH SYSTEM STILL TRIES TO CARE FOR EVERYBODY, REGARDLESS OF INSURANCE STATUS OR FINANCIAL STATUS AND A LOT OF HOSPITALS OR MEDICAL SYSTEMS DON'T EVEN MAKE THAT A GOAL ANYMORE.

SO IT'S VERY NOBLE THAT UNM HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.

>>LORENE: YES.

AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME GREAT LEADERS, I'M PARTICULARLY FOND OF LEONARD NAPOLITANO, JUST A GIANT IN NEW MEXICO AND NO LONGER WITH US.

YOU ARE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION'S DIVISION OF DIVERSITY AND HEALTH EQUITY.

>>DORA: I AM PRESIDENT OF THE CAUCUS OF ASIAN AMERICAN PSYCHIATRISTS.

>>LORENE: THIS IS OLD, SO YES THAT'S RIGHT AND IN THAT CAPACITY, I OBSERVED A WONDERFUL PROGRAM THAT YOU DID ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH OF ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS DURING COVID, DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC AND THE RISE IN XENOPHOBIA.

SO MAY IS ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH AND EVEN TODAY THE VERY DAY WE'RE TAPING, SENATOR GRACE MENG INTRODUCED A BILL ABOUT ASIAN ANTI-ASIAN HATE IN THE US SENATE.

SO IT'S A REALLY TIMELY TOPIC AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>>DORA: THANK YOU.

LORENE.

>>LORENE: WE'RE GOING TO DO TWO PARTS, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NATIONAL SITUATION OF ASIAN AMERICAN STATUS AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE POLITICAL MOVES THAT HAVE PROVOKED SO MUCH FEAR AND ANXIETY AND PTSD IN ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS.

THEN I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT NEW MEXICO AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE AND WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN AND WHAT WE CAN DO.

>>DORA: VERY IMPORTANT.

>>LORENE: SO I'M GOING TO SHUT UP NOW.

IF YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE NATIONAL SITUATION WITH ASIAN AMERICANS, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ALL OF AMERICA?

>>DORA: WELL, TURN ON THE NEWS AND EVERY DAY YOU'RE SEEING ATTACKS AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS, YOU'RE SEEING PEOPLE MOBILIZING TO OFFER TO WALK ASIAN AMERICANS TO THE SUPERMARKET, TO THE PARK, WHICH IS A WONDERFUL MOVEMENT.

THERE'S BEEN A HUGE RISE IN HATE CRIMES, HATE ACTIVITY AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS SINCE THE START OF THE COVID, PANDEMIC, THE FBI HAS ISSUED TWO REPORTS ABOUT THE RISE IN HATE CRIMES.

THERE IS A GROUP CALLED, STOP AAPI HATE OUT OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA THAT'S BEEN COLLECTING THESE REPORTS, THERE HAVE BEEN OVER FOUR THOUSAND INCIDENTS IN THE PAST YEAR SINCE THE COVID PANDEMIC STARTED.

>>LORENE: LET ME ADD, IT'S STOPAAPIHATE.ORG, THEY HAVE A WEBSITE AND YOU CAN FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS.

WE'LL HAVE TO GIVE JUST A SUMMARY, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT SOMEONE IS KEEPING THE RECORDS AND LIKE YOU SAY, OVER 4,000 IN THE LAST YEAR AND THOSE ARE ONLY THE REPORTED INCIDENTS.

HOW MANY PEOPLE OUT OF FEAR AND SHAME HAVE BEEN ATTACKED AND NOT TOLD ANYBODY.

>>DORA: OR DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE WEBSITE OR HOW TO REPORT.

>>LORENE: RIGHT, RIGHT AND LIVE IN FEAR.

YES, UNFORTUNATELY, THE FORMER INHABITANT OF THE WHITE HOUSE FANNED THE FLAME SOMEWHAT BY CALLING IT THE CHINA VIRUS AND UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE THERE'S A LOW INFORMATION ELEMENT OF SOME OF THE FOLLOWERS, IT MAYBE HAVE BEEN THE CHINA VIRUS, BUT THEY ATTACK FILIPINOS AND JAPANESE AND KOREANS.

IT REMINDS ME OF WHAT HAPPENED TO VINCENT CHIN IN DETROIT WHEN THE CAR WORKERS WERE MAD AT JAPANESE AND THEY ATTACKED HIM.

HE WAS CHINESE, HE WAS AN ENGINEER, HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THE JAPANESE CARS WERE, IN THEIR MIND, INVADING THE AMERICAN MARKET.

SO THERE'S JUST LIKE WILLFUL IGNORANCE AND TOXIC HATRED.

>>DORA: THERE WAS A BURMESE AMERICAN FAMILY SHOPPING AT A WALMART IN TEXAS AND SOMEBODY BLAMED THEM FOR THE CORONAVIRUS AND A TWO-YEAR-OLD BOY HAD HIS FACE SLASHED AND THE FAMILY WAS STABBED.

THEY DID NOT DESERVE THAT.

>>LORENE: NO, NO, NOT AT ALL, ESPECIALLY A CHILD, MY GOODNESS, WHO WOULD DO THAT TO A CHILD.

TELL US WHAT WE CAN DO AS WE OBSERVE THIS NATIONALLY, I'VE HEARD ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED BYSTANDER TRAINING WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY GOOD IDEA IF YOU ARE REALLY TRAINED.

BECAUSE IF PEOPLE ARE USING KNIVES, TO ME THE MOST TRAGIC THING IS THAT IT'S ELDERLY PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING ATTACKED, IT'S THE VULNERABLE AND WITH CINDER BLOCKS IN THE MOST BARBARIC WAY.

THERE WAS AN 89-YEAR-OLD THAI GRANDFATHER, I THINK, WAS JUST SHOVED HIM AND THAT KILLED HIM, HE DIED.

WHAT, THERE'S NO RATIONALE, THERE'S NO JUSTIFICATION TO ABUSE ANYONE.

>>DORA: NOTHING TO BE GAINED.

>>LORENE: ESPECIALLY GRANDPA AND GRANDMA.

>>DORA: SO FIRST OF ALL, I THINK DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES, SCAPEGOATING HAPPENS, WE'VE ALL HAD A REALLY, REALLY TOUGH YEAR, NOT JUST ECONOMICALLY, BUT BY STAYING AT HOME, WE'VE BEEN SOCIALLY DEPRIVED, IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY CHALLENGING AND SO YOU KNOW IN TIMES LIKE THIS SOME PEOPLE LOOK FOR SOMEBODY TO BLAME, SO I THINK THAT'S PARTIALLY WHY IT'S HAPPENING.

BUT THEN ALSO YOU HAVE THIS RHETORIC OUT THERE, YOU HAVE SOME POLITICAL LEADERS FANNING THE FLAMES AND DIRECTING AGGRESSION TOWARDS ASIAN AMERICANS BY CALLING IT THINGS LIKE, THE CHINA VIRUS, THE WUHAN VIRUS, THE KUNG FLU, WHICH SO REMINDS ME OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, NAME-CALLING.

I THINK ABOUT THE AIDS PANDEMIC AND HOW THE GAY POPULATION WAS AT FIRST BLAMED FOR THAT, THAT HAPPENED IN THE 1990S AND IT TOOK MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO TRACE THE AIDS VIRUS.

IT DIDN'T ORIGINATE FROM THE GAY POPULATION IN LOS ANGELES, IT ACTUALLY CAME FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, CAMEROON.

BUT IT WAS TWENTY YEARS BEFORE THEY REALLY KNEW WHERE THE VIRUS CAME FROM.

SO I THINK IT'S TOO EARLY TO KNOW WHERE THIS VIRUS COMES FROM AND IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT TO BLAME ASIAN AMERICANS, IT DOESN'T GET YOU ANYWHERE.

>>LORENE: AS A PSYCHIATRIST YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF THINKING AND WRITING ABOUT THIS AND ONE OF THE PIECES THAT YOU WROTE THAT JUST STRUCK ME WAS THAT RACISM IS REALLY A MENTAL ILLNESS AND WE HAVE TO APPROACH IT AS THAT.

IT'S NOT JUST IGNORANCE AND NOT JUST MEANNESS, THERE'S ACTUAL PSYCHIATRIC, WELL IT'S YOUR BUSINESS.

>>DORA: I THINK RACISM CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS, IT IS TRAUMATIC, DURING THE COURSE OF THIS PANDEMIC WE'VE SEEN THE DISPARITIES IN HEALTH, AMONG PEOPLE OF COLOR.

THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ECONOMICALLY STRUGGLING, THEY'RE FIRST LINE WORKERS, LESS LIKELY TO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE, IN WORSE SHAPE, HEALTH WISE, TO BEGIN WITH.

SO THERE'S BEEN A REALLY HIGHER MORTALITY AMONG PEOPLE OF COLOR, SO THE DISPARITIES IN HEALTH AND IN HEALTHCARE HAVE BEEN LAID BARE BY THIS PANDEMIC AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE HAVE SEEN.

SO RACISM HAS HEALTH EFFECTS, IT HAS MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS, IT CAN BE TRAUMATIC, IT CAN LEAD TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, IT CAN LEAD TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE, IT CAN LEAD TO PEOPLE NOT WANTING TO PARTICIPATE WHEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A LOT TO CONTRIBUTE.

>>LORENE: LET'S LOOK A LITTLE AT NEW MEXICO.

>>DORA: OKAY, WE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT NEW MEXICO, ESPECIALLY ON THIS SHOW.

>>LORENE: YEAH.

SO THERE IS A CERTAIN ASPECT OF RACISM IN NEW MEXICO'S HISTORY AND IN ALBUQUERQUE'S HISTORY AND IT'S HARD NOT TO LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF THE WHOLE NATIONAL ISSUE, BUT WE'VE DISCUSSED THAT THIS IS HAPPENING NATIONALLY AND THEY'RE RECORDING THE INCIDENTS AND IT NEEEDS TO STOP.

HERE, YOU FOUND THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY ENCODED IN DEEDS AND IN LAWS.

SO I DO WANT TO GIVE KUDOS TO MY COLLEAGUE, LARRY BARKER ON KRQE, HE DID A REALLY SHOCKING SHOW ABOUT THE RACIST LANGUAGE IN THE DEEDS OF SO MANY ALBUQUERQUE HOMES.

>>DORA: THOUSANDS OF HOMES IN ALBUQUERQUE AND PROBABLY THE WHOLE STATE.

>>LORENE: SO TELL US ABOUT THE ONE THAT YOU FIRST WENT AFTER, THE ALIEN LAND LAW AND THEN ABOUT THE RACIST WORDS IN MANY PEOPLE'S DEEDS JUST BURIED IN THERE.

>>DORA: YES, IT WAS A REAL SHOCKER, THANKS TO LARRY BARKER FOR HIS MONTHS-LONG, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING THAT FOUND THAT ALBUQUERQUE HAS THOUSANDS OF DEEDS LOCKED AWAY SOME PLACE THAT SAY NOBODY OF ORIENTAL OR AFRICAN DESCENT CAN LIVE IN THIS HOME OR ON THIS PROPERTY EXCEPT AS A SERVANT OR A SLAVE.

AND SO, LARRY BARKER'S SEGMENT IS CALLED "ALBUQUERQUE'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET."

WHAT HE DOESN'T GET INTO IS THAT THIS IS NOT THE PAST, THESE DEEDS ARE IN EXISTENCE RIGHT NOW AND MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS HAVE THESE DEEDS, ONE OF MY DAUGHTER'S TEACHERS MOVED OUT FROM QUEENS, NEW YORK, BOUGHT A HOME AND THIS WAS ON HIS DEED.

SO THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF DEEDS IN NEW MEXICO, RIGHT NOW, I CAN GET INTO A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND HISTORY.

>>LORENE: PLEASE DO.

>>DORA: SO ALL THIS GOES BACK TO, IN 1790, OKAY, SO THIS IS A LONG TIME AGO BUT I'LL PUT NEW MEXICO INTO IT LATER, BUT IN 1790 THE UNITED STATES WAS A NEW NATION.

IT WAS NEW SINCE 1776, SO 1790 THEY STARTED DEFINING WHO CAN BE AN AMERICAN AND THE DEFINITION WAS, AND YOU KNOW IT'S IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IT'S THE FIRST LAW, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION.

AND IT BASICALLY IS DEFINED AS A FREE WHITE PERSON WHO HAS BEEN IN RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR TWO YEARS, BUT IT BASICALLY DEFINES, OPENS UP AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP TO WHITE PERSONS AND THE TERM THAT WAS USED WAS WHITE.

A LOT STEMS FROM THAT AND THAT WAS 1790, IN THE 1920S SOME ASIAN AND THEN AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ACTUALLY, AFRICAN AMERICANS, PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT, WERE ELIGIBLE TO BECOME US CITIZENS.

FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, INCLUDING NATIVE AMERICANS BORN ON RESERVATIONS, THEY WERE STILL NOT ELIGIBLE, SO ASIANS, NATIVE AMERICANS WERE STILL NOT ELIGIBLE.

IN THE 1920S ACTUALLY THERE WAS A JAPANESE MAN WHO SAID, "HEY MY SKIN'S PRETTY WHITE, YOU KNOW, CAN I BECOME A US CITIZEN AND THE COURTS RULED YES, YOU ARE REALLY LIGHT SKINNED BUT YOU'RE NOT CAUCASIAN, SO YOU CANNOT BECOME A US CITIZEN.

>>LORENE: AND WASN'T THERE SOMEONE REALLY FROM THE CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS?

>>DORA: YES, SO BHAGAT SINGH THIND SAID, "YOU KNOW, I'M SOUTH ASIAN, I'M CAUCASIAN, I'M ARYAN, CAN I BECOME A US CITIZEN."

AND THE COURT SAID, NO, BECAUSE YOU'RE CAUCASIAN, BUT YOU'RE NOT WHITE.

THIS WAS IN THE 1920S AND SO IT WAS ACTUALLY NOT UNTIL, IN 1964 WE HAD THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT AND THEN IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1965 THAT THIS KIND OF CAUCASIAN, WHITE CAUCASIAN CENTERED, DEFINITION OF AMERICAN GOT CHANGED.

SO IN 1965 IMMIGRATION BECAME BASED ON FAMILY CONNECTIONS, SKILLS AND BEFORE THAT, BETWEEN 1790 AND 1965, IT'S BASICALLY LIMITED TO WHITE CAUCASIANS AND NOT ALL CAUCASIANS, WHITE CAUCASIANS AND SO RACISM WAS INSTITUTIONALIZED, IT WAS IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, COMPLETELY LEGAL AND UNTIL 1965.

>>LORENE: WELL WE ARE SPEAKING TODAY WITH DOCTOR DORA WANG.

WHAT A WONDERFUL SUMMARY THAT IS TO GET US UP TO WHERE WE ARE NOW, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE HOW INSTITUTIONALIZED THAT RACISM WAS BUT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT NEW MEXICO.

>>DORA: YES.

>>LORENE: AND WE'VE HAD THE 1965 ACT AND WE'RE STILL SUFFERING INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND UNCONSCIOUS RACISM.

>>DORA: I THINK, SO YES SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH NEW MEXICO AS SOMEBODY WHO'S LIVED HERE FOR 23 YEARS, I LOVE NEW MEXICO, I THINK ABOUT THE WELFARE OF NEW MEXICO, BRINGING MY OWN PERSPECTIVE FROM MY BACKGROUND.

SO IN 1918, NEW MEXICO BECAME A STATE, IT WAS A TERRITORY IN 1850 AND IN 1918, IT WAS EAGER TO BECOME AMERICAN.

AND SO THE NEW MEXICO CONSTITUTION ADOPTED AN AMENDMENT THAT BASICALLY SAID" ONLY WHITE PEOPLE CAN OWN LAND IN NEW MEXICO" AND SO THIS WOULD HAVE EXCLUDED, YOU KNOW, HISPANICS, NATIVE AMERICANS, I THINK IT'S MOSTLY AIMED AT ASIANS AND BLACKS, BUT IT WOULD HAVE EXCLUDED EVERYBODY.

IN 2005 I READ ABOUT THIS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES , SO THIS LAW, THIS KIND OF LAW WAS ADOPTED BY HALF OF THE UNITED STATES AT SOME POINT, BUT BY 2005 IT WAS ONLY NEW MEXICO AND FLORIDA THAT STILL HAD THIS LAW.

AND SO I THOUGHT OH MY GOODNESS, I AM RAISING A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO, I MUST GET THIS CHANGED AND SO AND AT SOME POINT I LEARNED THAT ROB SCHWARTZ AND THE SOUTHWEST LAW CAUCUS AT UNM HAD TRIED TO GET IT CHANGED AND DID NOT SUCCEED AND IT'S JUST AMAZING TO THINK THAT NEW MEXICO VOTED TO KEEP THIS LAW.

>>LORENE: WAS THAT THE ALIEN LAND LAW.

>>DORA: SO, THE ALIEN LAND LAW, SO OUT OF THE 1790 DOCTRINE THAT ONLY WHITE PEOPLE COULD BECOME NATURALIZED CITIZENS, OUT OF THAT CAME ANOTHER TERM CALLED, ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS YOU'RE NOT WHITE AND YOU CAN'T BECOME A CITIZEN.

AND SO THE NEW MEXICO CONSTITUTION HAD AN AMENDMENT THAT SAID ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP, MEANING NON-WHITE PEOPLE, CANNOT OWN LAND.

AND SO IN 2006 I SAT DOWN A COUPLE OF GIRLFRIENDS, CAROL SUZUKI OF THE LAW SCHOOL, NATASHA MING, WHO IS A LOBBYIST, WHO WORKS A LOT WITH CISCO MCSORLEY, THE THREE OF US WENT AT THIS, I GIVE CAROL SUZUKI A LOT OF CREDIT FOR WHAT SHE DID AND WE DID GET THIS CHANGED, SO IT'S REMOVED FROM THE NEW MEXICO CONSTITUTION.

BUT WHAT I DIDN'T REALIZE IS THAT IT'S STILL IN THOUSANDS OF DEEDS ON ALBUQUERQUE HOMES.

SOMETIMES ALSO THESE DEEDS ALSO SAY PEOPLE OF JEWISH HERITAGE CANNOT LIVE HERE, I SAW ONE DEED THAT SAID NO FENCES OR NATIVE AMERICANS SHALL BE ON THIS PROPERTY AND THESE ARE ON THE DEEDS TODAY, WE'RE NOT TALKING A LONG TIME AGO.

>>LORENE: RIGHT NOW THEY ARE ON THE DEEDS.

I THINK STATEHOOD WAS 1912.

>>DORA: YES, I'M SORRY, YEAH, 1912.

>>LORENE: SO I THINK IT'S JUST BEEN SO SHOCKING FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY, BECAUSE THESE WERE MOST OF THE MAJOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE 40S AND 50S AS ALBUQUERQUE WAS MUSHROOMING, JUST GROWING AND IF PEOPLE LOOK VERY CAREFULLY, IN THESE PAGES OF BOILERPLATE, THERE IT IS AND, AND I APPRECIATE ANY EFFORTS THAT CAN BE DONE BECAUSE LANGUAGE MATTERS, YOU KNOW, THIS CANNOT STAND.

THERE ARE OTHER, EVEN TO GO BACK INTO THE 40'S WHEN THERE WERE JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS HERE DURING THE WAR AND EVEN IN VERY RECENT HISTORY, CAN YOU GIVE EVERYONE A THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF WHO WAS WEN HO LEE AND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.

>>DORA: SO WEN HO LEE WAS A TAIWANESE AMERICAN SCIENTIST AT LOS ALAMOS LABS AND AT SOME POINT THERE WAS A REALIZATION THAT SECRETS WERE BEING LEAKED TO CHINA.

I HAVE RELATIVES IN TAIWAN, THEY GOT OUT OF CHINA, THEY DID NOT WANT TO BE COMMUNISTS.

YOU ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT TENSIONS BETWEEN TAIWAN AND CHINA, ITS LIKE GERMANS, JEWS, CHINESE, JAPANESE, DURING WORLD WAR 11.

ISRAEL AND ARAB STATE, YOU KNOW, CHINA AND TAIWAN ARE AT ODDS.

YET THEY SCAPEGOATED WEN HO LEE AND PUT HIM IN FEDERAL PRISON ACCUSING HIM OF SELLING SECRETS TO CHINA.

IT'S JUST LIKE SAYING YOU ARAB PERSON, YOU'RE SELLING SECRETS TO ISRAEL OR YOU KNOW, IT WAS A VERY IGNORANT THING THAT WAS DONE ON MANY LEVELS.

AND WHEN HE FINALLY WENT TO TRIAL A YEAR LATER, THE JUDGE APOLOGIZED TO WEN HO LEE, BUT I THINK ITS THINGS LIKE THAT AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT NEW MEXICO IS NOT REALLY VISIBLE TO ASIAN AMERICANS OR TO ASIA.

AND I THINK THERE ARE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES FOR THAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

>>LORENE: WELL, WE WILL GET TO THAT, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MINUTE AND HAVE YOU TALK ABOUT, AS I HAVE BEEN STUDYING AND READING AND TALKING TO YOU, THE DIVERSITY IN NEW MEXICO IS NOT SO DIVERSE.

>>DORA: WELL, AT SOME POINT I STARTED THINKING ABOUT WHY AM I GETTING CALLS FROM THE EAST COAST AND THE WEST COAST ASKING ME TO SPEAK AT CERTAIN EVENTS OR JOB OFFERS, LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND WHY IS THIS NOT HAPPENING IN NEW MEXICO?

AND THEN I STARTED REALIZING YOU KNOW PEOPLE WANT DIVERSITY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK WHEN I GET OFFERS FROM OTHER PLACES THEY KNOW THAT OKAY, OKAY, HERE'S AN ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN OR ASIAN BRAZILIAN WOMAN, SHE'S A PSYCHIATRIST.

BUT WHY IS THAT NOT HAPPENING HERE AND I REALIZED THAT WHEN NEW MEXICO LOOKS FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, IT'S LOOKING TO INCLUDE A NEW MEXICAN, IT'S LOOKING TO INCLUDE PROBABLY SOMEBODY HISPANIC, MIXED RACE, SO HISPANICS, ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS, ARE OVER 60 PERCENT OF THE NEW MEXICO POPULATION.

SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN YOUR MAJORITY POPULATION IS SO MARGINALIZED THAT YOU NEED DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO INCLUDE THE MAJORITY POPULATION.

AND THE MOST AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATION AND THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN HERE THE LONGEST, THE PEOPLE WHO MAY SAY THAT THIS IS OUR LAND, THIS IS OUR HOME, BUT THEY'VE BEEN SO MARGINALIZED THAT NEW MEXICO HAS DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO INCLUDE SOMEBODY WHOSE FAMILY HAS BEEN HERE FOR CENTURIES.

I'LL JUST ANSWER MY OWN QUESTION, ONE, THERE WAS A LOT OF HUMAN MANPOWER AND HUMAN SMARTS THAT'S BEING MARGINALIZED, THAT'S NOT BEING USED, YOU KNOW THEY NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AND THEN ALSO, THERE'S NO ROOM FOR REAL DIVERSITY, THERE'S NO ROOM FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME.

>>LORENE: SO, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE IN NEW MEXICO OF ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS?

>>DORA: IT'S LESS THAN 2%.

>>LORENE: SO IT SEEMS TO ME IF YOU GET SIXTY PERCENT AND 2% THAT THE REAL EFFORT AT DIVERSITY WOULD BE TO THE PEOPLE WITH THE SMALLEST PERCENTAGE TO GET THEM REPRESENTATION, NOT TO THIS MAJORITY-MINORITY OR MINORITY-MAJORITY AND YET IT PLAYS LIKE THAT, DIVERSITY IN NEW MEXICO PLAYS TO PROMOTE HISPANICS AND NATIVE AMERICANS AND NOT THE OTHER THUMBNAILS OF THE VERY FEW AMOUNTS OF PEOPLE THAT REALLY NEED SUPPORT IN DIVERSITY TO HEAR THEIR VOICES.

>>DORA: THE ASIAN AMERICANS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS, YOU KNOW, ONE FRIEND'S INTERPRETATION OF ALL THESE DEEDS AND THE RACIST CONSTITUTION, IS THAT OKAY, THEY'RE NOT LEGAL NOW, BUT, THEY'VE ALREADY DONE THEIR JOB.

THERE WAS AN ASIAN AMERICA, THERE WAS A CHINATOWN ON SECOND AND CENTRAL THAT'S GONE, THERE WAS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ON EUBANK THAT CAME AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THEY'RE GONE.

SO THESE POPULATIONS HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVELY CHASED OUT AND HOW ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY OR GLOBAL ECONOMY UNLESS YOU START WELCOMING THESE PEOPLE BACK IN.

>>LORENE: AND LET'S END ON THAT NOTE OF THE FUTURE BECAUSE THERE ARE ASIAN POWERHOUSE ECONOMIES THAT ARE REALLY INFLUENCING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND LITTLE STATES AND ALL COUNTRIES NEED TO LOOK AT THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE AND DO EMBRACE ALL OF THIS FOR US ALL TO DO WELL.

SO HOW CAN NEW MEXICO, GOSH, WE ONLY HAVE A MINUTE LEFT, TO CHANGE OUR VISION TO INCLUDE MORE ASIAN AMERICAN, PACIFIC ISLANDERS AND OTHER REAL MINORITIES TO EMBRACE OUR GLOBAL ECONOMY AND OUR FUTURE, THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD.

>>DORA: WELL, MAYBE NEW MEXICO NEEDS REPARATIONS FOR WHAT IT'S DONE TO THE ASIAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATIONS HERE.

AND I THINK AS LONG AS YOU HAVE DEI FOR YOUR NATIVE AND MAJORITY POPULATIONS, I MEAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG THERE.

>>LORENE: YES, DEI?

>>DORA: DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION.

>>LORENE: OKAY THANK YOU, I ASK FOR MY AUDIENCE OF COURSE.

WELL IT HAS BEEN A REVELATION.

I'M SO GRATEFUL THAT YOU'VE COME, WE'VE RUN OUT OF TIME, YOU COULD GIVE ONE LAST INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE, I DO LOVE THE WE'LL WALK YOU HOME, YOU KNOW IT STARTED IN AUSTRALIA BUT IF FOR ANYONE WHO IS HAVING PTSD OR THE FEAR OF GOING OUT THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP AND SO TELL US WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO SAY GOODBYE.

>>DORA: OH I JUST ENVISION A NEW MEXICO WITHOUT RACIAL HIERARCHIES.

I ENVISIONED A NEW MEXICO WHERE NEW MEXICANS ARE PROUD OF THEIR MIXED-RACE HERITAGE AND TO STOP LOOKING, NEW MEXICO HAS TO STOP WANTING TO BE AN OUTPOST OF OLD SPAIN AND TO MOVE FORWARD INTO THE 21ST CENTURY AND BEING PROUD OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S MIXED RACE HERITAGE.

SPEAKING ABOUT NEW MEXICANS NOW AND TO NOT HAVE A SYSTEM OF RACIAL HIERARCHY.

WHAT THESE DEEDS THAT WE STARTED OFF WITH, WHAT THEY REALLY ARE THEY ARE A SYSTEM OF WHO CAN OWN PROPERTY AND WHO IS TO BE PROPERTY.

>>LORENE: WELL, OUR GUEST TODAY IS DR. DORA WANG, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, THIS HAS BEEN AN ILLUMINATING CONVERSATION.

I WANT TO COMMEND YOUR BOOKS, THE KITCHEN SHRINK , WHICH I REALLY LOVE, WHICH WE DIDN'T EVEN GET TO BECAUSE OF THESE OTHER ISSUES AND THIS BEAUTIFUL HISTORY OF THE UNM MEDICAL SCHOOL, THE DAILY PRACTICE OF COMPASSION .

PLEASE KEEP ON WRITING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US DR. DORA WANG.

>>DORA: THANK YOU LORENE.

>>LORENE: AND I'M LORRAINE MILLS, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU OUR AUDIENCE FOR BEING WITH US TODAY ON REPORT FROM SANTA FE, WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

>>ANNOUNCER: REPORT FROM SANTA FE IS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY GRANTS FROM THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW MEXICO, AN ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS WHO BELIEVE THAT INVESTING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION IS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STATE'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, FROM THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, A BETTER NEW MEXICO THROUGH BETTER CITIES AND FROM