Kevin is a community-based researcher who in his doctoral studies created Pasifika Strong, a multi-national census of Pacific Islander community organizations in the continental US. There are SO many organizations doing great work. The census data will be anonymized, aggregated, and released back to us in the community next year in December 2023. To facilitate the timely release of this public-facing report, organizations who will be reflected in the census need to respond by January 31st, 2023 for folks in the continental US and July 15th, 2023 for folks in Aotearoa/NZ. You can learn more about contributing to the census here. He draws inspiration for this project in part from the wise words of Saina (elder) Frank Rabon, a master of Chamoru dance in his home island of Guåhan (Guam). He asked: “Are you Chamoru with every breath that you take, or do you ever decide to stop being Chamoru as soon as you step away from our island?” Pasifika Strong is part of how he stands with ALL of our people to celebrate our languages, cultures, and future.
In Kevin’s words:
I’m Chamoru, an Indigenous person of Låguas yan Gåni (the Mariånas archipelago), with ancestral roots in the village of Barigåda, in the island of Guåhan. My maternal grandfather is of the Capili clan, and my maternal grandmother is of the Kueto clan.
My Chamoru grandparents are Jose Margarito Lazaro Lujan and Mary Taitano San Agustin Lujan. My grandfather was from a farming family and became the first Micronesian regional director for the US Small Business Administration, and who passed in 2009; my grandmother was a housewife, caretaker and matriarch, and passed in early 2022. My mother moved from Guåhan to San Francisco for college, where she met my dad (a Chinese man from Malaysia) and had my older brother (in 1989). They moved back to Malaysia in 1990, and had me a couple years after (in 1993).
I was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (where most of my paternal family still lives), did K-12 school in the neighboring country in Singapore. I love running, swimming, cooking, eating. In a past life, I used to be a filmmaker and would make bad short films with my low-quality video camera, and hope that one day I can return to that as well. I came to the US continent for college at UCLA in 2012, and have stayed here ever since. Over the years, I’ve lived in Los Angeles (for college, then for work at various points), in Chicago (for my Master’s degree), in Boston (for my PhD), and am currently living back in Los Angeles until next February––when I leave to conduct research (Pasifika Strong – pasifikastrong.com) in Aotearoa/NZ. I’m hoping to graduate with my PhD degree within the next 2 years.
One of the most powerful conversations I’ve had was with Uncle Frank Rabon, a master of Chamoru dance in my home island of Guåhan. He asked me, “Are you Chamoru with every breath that you take, or do you ever decide to stop being Chamoru as soon as you step away from our island?” That really stuck with me: every day, I choose to be Chamoru, and I choose to be Pacific Islander, which for me means standing with ALL of our people to celebrate our languages, cultures, and to fight for a better future for us all––together.
Every year on my birthday, I always have the same wish: for me and the people around me to be happy. I’m a simple person: I love my family, I love my communities, and I want everyone to be able to live meaningful, joyful lives. I’m optimistic that one day, this will be the reality for all of us.