In 2022, JAAS published the article “Defamiliarizing Asian American Studies” by Kandice Chuh, calling the institutionalized field of Asian American studies to recalibrate itself in alignment with the history of grassroots intellectual formation that led to the creation of Asian American studies. And in light of resurgent ethno-nationalism and fascism globally, and growing attacks on ethnic studies nationwide, there is a dire need for a shift in Asian American studies education towards deinstitutionalized and grassroots approaches to education that are more broadly accessible and serve the people first, not the academy.

The Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab, AAJIL, is a grassroots, volunteer-run community organization whose work responds to the calls from Dr. Chuh and this year’s conference theme. Founded in 2019, AAJIL builds spaces for deinstitutionalized racial justice community education centered on decolonial exploration of Asian American/diasporic experiences. We offer various formations of educational, mentorship, and creative spaces towards our goals of incubating justice, practicing liberation, and cultivating collective agility for change.

Our proposed roundtable is structured as a moderated Q&A with 4 AAJIL co-directors as panelists and 1 AAJIL community member as the moderator. Through a series of thoughtfully prepared questions, as well as an audience Q&A segment, the panelists will share insights from their experiences building spaces for grassroots education. We hope to encourage new ideas and foster awareness, friendship, solidarity and alignment in our audience towards grassroots and deinstitutionalized Asian American studies educational formations.