[It's the Interns] Meet Leonie Barkakati

It is time to meet our AMAZING Interns!

Advancing Justice-Atlanta Internship Program has begun and "It's the Interns" series goes in-depth about who is working behind and in front of the scene to Build Power for Good in the South!

·    Hello! Tell us little about yourself

Hello! My name is Leonie Barkakati and I am a first-year master’s student studying education with a focus in social justice at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Florida (go gators!). In Tampa, I grew up around a community of several South Asian families. My “normal” is being surrounded by people of all ages, eating amazing food all the time, celebrating Hindu holidays, and watching Bollywood movies. These experiences are what I associate with home.

·    What made you decide to apply for this internship?

In the fall of 2013, I attended the Asian Americans Advancing Justice conference in Los Angeles, and I fell in love with the organization. This was a lively community of energetic people talking about the issues I find important, but I had rarely found people I could discuss them with until that point. The people I met represented a variety of Asian ethnicities and nationalities, and were in diverse fields such as law, community organizing, business, journalism, art, theater, public policy, telecommunications, and education. For this summer, I was looking for jobs, and I emailed all of the Advancing Justice affiliates because if any of them had positions available, there was no question of where I would go. I found this internship, so now I’m here!

·    What is your expectation and what would you like to get out of the internship experience?

My expectation is that I will be engaged with a community that I am very invested in. In this organization, I see people for whom uniting Asian Americans is a priority. I also have the opportunity to meet community members and leaders face to face. I don’t believe I can properly address issues in this community effectively unless I have seen what folks on the ground have to deal with on a daily basis. I believe I will gain this experience at Advancing Justice Atlanta.

·    Tell us your personal narrative on being Asian in America

I spent a lot of time as a child feeling alienated from most things mainstream American. It was only three years ago that I was introduced to the concept of systemic racism and how it affected my life. I spent my years in grade school thinking the only value I had was a number on a standardized test. My family always provided me with a lot of support, but it was often difficult for them to relate to me. Their schooling happened in a very different context.

When I reached college, I found the first mentors I had ever had in my life as a student ambassador at Multicultural and Diversity Affairs at the University of Florida. Both my mentors were Asian American. When I talked to them, I felt I had finally found people who could understand my experiences and could give me the vocabulary to describe them. They were the people who opened my eyes to how much potential I really had. I changed my major the year I met them, from Accounting to Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. They also made it possible for me to pursue graduate studies. My mentors are the people that inspired me to want to work with young Asian Americans, especially in colleges.

·    What role would you like to play in Asian American Community in the future?

It’s hard to say. Sometimes, I feel as though it will not be defined by me. I will play the role the community gives me. I know I say some stuff the community doesn’t really want to be represented by. My community probably worries that I’m going to get in trouble for the stuff I say one day, and then it will reflect badly on the community.

But everything I do is for them. Everything is about my community. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I would never have amounted to much if I became a doctor or a lawyer. I wouldn’t be giving my community anything it doesn’t already have if I took those routes, even though I knew I was smart enough to do the jobs. I think I picked this path because I could give my community so much more this way. There was no one else telling the story of Indian Americans living in the Tampa suburbs. No one else was trying to archive the history of those people living in this country, so that future generations would know who came before them. There was no one to speak out about the things I knew: families torn apart by immigration laws, people denied access to healthcare, denied access to jobs, denied access to housing, and some denied access to happiness. No one talks about how the American dream doesn’t do justice to Asian America.

No one talks about their triumphs either. No one knows what this community celebrates, how it comes together for Diwali, for Navratri, for Holi, for so many colorful holidays. Nobody knows how deeply pride runs in this community, how hard our parents worked to teach us the language(s) we know, to teach us our religion, to teach us to dance Indian folk dances, to sing Indian songs, to make Indian food, to wear Indian clothes. America looks at us and labels us as a bunch of clannish, noisy people, but they don’t know how much there is to celebrate. Every day spent with someone you love is a good day. Every day that you can think of at least one person alive who you love is a good day.

All I want is to be able to tell their stories, and my stories. They are one and the same.

·    What is your song of the year?

Pompeii by Bastille. The harmony is beautiful.

·    Any Last words???

I swear I’m not this intense in real life.