Ep. 2 Speaking Out with Manju Kulkarni

Manju Kulkarni co-founded Stop AAPI Hate in March 2020, the nation’s leading aggregator of hate incidents against Asian Americans. 

Manju comes from a family of “accidental activists.” Her parents were doctors, but she became a civil rights lawyer as a different way to help people. Manju shares her personal leadership journey and how her family’s legacy of speaking out  informs her work. [More..button]

Recorded before the Atlanta mass murders, this episode was recorded to lift up attention and unpack, what was at the time, the oft-ignored and dismissed story of Asian American discrimination and racism.  Manju is also the Executive Director of Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), a coalition of over forty community-based organizations that serves and represents the 1.5 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County. 

Her motto: I’m nice, I’m reasonable, but don’t mess with me.