00:00:00WU: All right, this is Dan Wu interviewing Angelica Weaver. Uh, we are recording
this at the library at the University of Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky
for the AAPI oral history project. Okay, uh, Angie, tell us a little bit about yourself.
WEAVER: Okay. My name is Angelica Weaver. I am from Williamsburg, Kentucky. I've
been born and raised here and, um, I'm 48 years old. I work at the Williamsburg
Police Department. I am the victim's advocate there, primarily working with
domestic violence and sexual assault victims. I've spent 25 years in that
career. Um, I created the grant, um, in which the police department holds now,
and we've kept it for this long, um, doing domestic violence work and advocacy
work for--for women here.
WU: Um, tell us a little bit about your family.
WEAVER: My family is--my father is from here. He was born on the South End of
Whitley County, and that is the, um, Siler, Bunker Hill, Mountain
00:01:00Ash, Emlyn area. And my mother is from a small island in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean called "Kiribati." It's spelled Kiribati.
WU: Can you spell that?
WEAVER: K I R I B A T I. And that is, um, could be familiar to some because that
is the first, um, island to really go down, um, because of climate change. So
eventually all the inhabitants of these islands will be environmental refugees.
WU: How many people live there now?
WEAVER: Hundreds--a hundred thousand. My brother, the last interview that we
did, I've--I've misrepresented the number. My brother called me, he was like,
"You know there's more than that?" So, yeah, over a hundred thousand people. Um,
they've already started--it's a group of atolls, and so they've already started
evacuating the outer atolls. They've bought some, um, property in New Zealand,
um, and so they're--they're relocating--
00:02:00
WU: --Wow--
WEAVER: --people there.
WU: That's mind blowing, the idea of, like, moving an entire country.
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah, and some of them, you know, the interesting thing is that
they really want to stay and fight for their--for their land and their--their
heritage, and--
WU: --How do you fight against--
WEAVER: --How do you fight--
WU: --that level--
WEAVER: --against an ocean?
WU: Yeah. Um what do you think--how would you think you maintain your sense of,
like, national or culture identity if you're entirely displaced to New Zealand
or anywhere else?
WEAVER: Yeah, it's a curious thing. So they are trying to capture a lot of their
history through, um, oral history projects and through video history, and, uh,
they've enlisted the help of some people. My brother was part of that, um, some
people that helped, um, record some history for people. Um, but yeah, it's going
to be--it's going to be interesting to see how that--how that happens.
WU: Are there any, sort of, networks either like social media or
00:03:00anything like that with, um, folks from Kiribati who are just diaspora, like all
over the world--are there--do you have connections to any of those folks?
WEAVER: Yes, so some of them--there's a lot of my family that is--uh, that live
in Hawaii, and then some family that live in Arizona. When I was growing up,
like maybe when I was a teenager, they started to form reunions, and so they
would go to different places and they--we've actually hosted a couple of those
reunions in Williamsburg, um, for--for groups of families that are in America
from Kiribati, uh, but they are all over. I think some--some are in Nashville,
Tennessee as well.
WU: Have you been to one of those?
WEAVER: Uh, been to the reunions?
WU: Like, yeah.
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah. When they were hosted in Williamsburg, we-
WU: --Oh, yeah--
WEAVER: We were with those, um, and then I've been, of course, to the island and
to my family in Hawaii.
WU: Yeah. When's the last time you were in Kiribati?
WEAVER: 1999.
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: So it's been a while.
WU: Yeah. Do you have any plans to go anytime soon?
00:04:00
WEAVER: We did. We wanted to go before the pandemic hit and then the pandemic hit.
WU: Yeah.
WEAVER: To go is really expensive, for a whole family to go. The last people
that were there, um, in our immediate family was my brother Ronald and my son
Chaz. So, they went with my mother, um, in 2013.
WU: How long is that trip?
WEAVER: So, if you're coming from the islands or--or coming from the United
States, you have to travel to Hawaii, then you have to take a six-hour flight to
Johnson Island, and then you have to take a couple hour flight to the Marshall
Islands, and then you have to take a flight--an hour flight-
WU: --So it's like a--
WEAVER: --to Kiribati--
WU: --day and a half, two-day journey?
WEAVER: It's a journey, yes.
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: Some of our family live in the Marshall Islands, and so, we stayed--when
we went, we stayed a couple days there and then hopped over. My brothers, who
are technically my first cousins, they, um, their--their mother is from the
Marshall Islands, so they have quite a bit more family than I do there.
00:05:00
WU: Tell us a little bit about your immediate family here in, um, Williamsburg.
WEAVER: So, um, my--my father who is originally from here, he was born--he has a
brother that's from here, but most of the family--I'm sure that I have cousins,
and second, third cousins. I don't know them very well, so, um, I just have one
living uncle that's here. And then, my mother, who passed away in 2014, um, she
has, um, several sisters and brothers. Um, six sisters, four brothers, um, two
of the brothers have passed, some of the sisters have passed, but they are
mostly in Hawaii or the Marshall Islands or the Gilbert Islands. And then, I
have, um, my two sons and my two brothers that live here, and then my niece, and
that's--that's it.
WU: Yeah, um, tell us about some other, I guess, just important
00:06:00people in your life, whether they're in your family or not.
WEAVER: So, when my mother came over from her island, she was very displaced and
she didn't have friends and family members were pretty scarce. They were a lot
older. So, she found the Catholic Church here and she felt like that--that was
a, you know, good place for her to raise in religion, her--her child and her
children, and, so she really instilled in the family that everybody's your
family and you take care of people, especially if they're not from this area or
if they are, um--they don't have a lot of family. And so, we really--me and my
brothers have really stuck to that and adhered to that, and so, um, like you met
Tracy, and Tracy has--she has family but it's--she's in our family group. Um,
and so, we have different people, especially on Thanksgiving. My mother,
it was a important holiday for her because that meant family to her,
00:07:00and for people that didn't have a home, um, that they would come here, and so we
would always house 15 to 20 people, um, to come and eat dinner with us if they
didn't have--if they didn't have a place to go, and we still adhere to that. And
so, we--we think everybody's our family. That's how we, um, go through life, and
so, um, even as I got older and I made the decision to foster for, um, teenage
girls, those children and their families became our family.
WU: To some degree, like I feel like that kind of attitude or that, like, way of
living life is in some ways almost like a survival mechanism.
WAVER: Um-hm.
WU: If you're coming to a place where there aren't a lot of people from the same
background, like, you kind of have to adapt that--otherwise you're just alone.
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah. I would--I would agree with that. I think, when I was
growing up and when, um--and even now with some of the conversations
00:08:00that I have with my brother, we didn't, maybe, perceive it that way, and maybe
our mother didn't perceive it or explain it in that way, but you know, now that
you're looking back and you're older, yeah, I can see a survival aspect to it.
WU: Um, tell me a little bit about your mom's journey to this country, how she
met your dad, how that, um, all came about?
WEAVER: So, my mother, her father was actually the first medical doctor on--
WU: --What's your mother's name?
WEAVER: Um, Rose Tekoneni Lewis, um, and she is from the Tekoneni Clan, and
her--her father was actually the first doctor--medical doctor on her island. And
so, her brothers have usually made--they've made doctors or lawyers or some
types of politicians on that island, and, so, um, she actually--she owns--her
family owns a couple of those atolls, and so they rent their-- they rent their
property for--for the government. Um, so, they're very well off and
00:09:00they're very--as well off as you can be for--
WU: --oh, sure--
WEAVER: --for this, but, um, they're well off, and they're well known in that
community. And so, when she came here, um she--she became a nurse at like 13,
14. She went to Kwajalein to work, and then she spent several years over there,
and, um, she met my husband. She lives a very interesting--she had lived a very
interesting life. Um, when she was just a couple years old, her father decided
that she had leprosy, and so he sent her to a leprosy colony to live with nuns,
and, um--so she was there for a couple years and then come to find out she did
not have leprosy. So, they--her brother--one of her brothers went and got her
and brought her back. But my namesake was a nun that took care of her sister,
Angelica. And so, my mother explained that she would, um, you know, Catholic
nuns being what they are, maybe not too patient with children. And so,
this nun really particularly paid a certain amount of attention to my
00:10:00mother and treated her with kindness and always gave her a lollipop when she had
to have shots and things like that. And so, that's who I'm named after, is the
nun that took after and watched after my mother.
WU: How old was your mom, um, when she met your dad, and how did they meet?
WEAVER: She was in her twenties when they met and she was working as a nurse and
he was on a military base, and so, um, I think she's dating his best friend and
then, kind of, switched over to my father. And so, he brought her, um, over to
the states when they realized that I was pregnant and they wanted to make sure
that I was a citizen and that I lived, um, with--with his family, and so they
brought me here, and that's where I lived. I think maybe two years I lived with
my grandparents until they--my father was trying to settle out where they were
actually going to live. If it was going to be in Williamsburg,
00:11:00Kentucky, or is it was going to be in different states, and so, they finally
settled on, um, Williamsburg, and so, he bought some property on the outskirts
of our town and it was--it's very rural. And so, there was no running water or
no heat source there, um, and so, that's how I grew up until I was like 15 years old.
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: We did eventually get, you know, some running water, but most of the
time I grew up, it was like, um, it was hard living. So, drawing the water out
of the well, and all those things, and no heat, so.
WU: Well, your dad, um, what branch of the service was he in?
WEAVER: He was an Air Force man.
WU: Okay.
WEAVER: And he was involved with the military police.
WU: Okay.
WEAVER: But he fought at Vietnam. And so, when he came back home, obviously
there were some mental health issues, a lot of depression, alcoholism that he
suffered from, and so, um, yeah, he ended up working at-- with the City of
Williamsburg as-- in their Maintenance and Sanitation Department for
00:12:00most of my life. Until he was--he was killed by a drunk driver at the age--at my
age of 17. So, the ironic thing is, as I grew up, um, he had--he struggled with
alcoholism for much of his life and my life, and so, he decided he would've been
sober a year--two weeks to the year before he passed away and was killed by a
drunk driver.
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: So.
WU: When you were younger and growing up, did he ever talk about, um, like his
Vietnam experience?
WEAVER: Very rarely. I mean, he did--it was something that he did not want to
talk about. Um, he--like I said, he did, um, have some mental health issues. He
did, um--he did end up trying to commit suicide when I was really young, like a
baby young--
WU: --Okay--
WEAVER: --and so, we had a brief discussion about that--I can remember when
we're 13--14 years old. But very, I don't really give him a lot of
00:13:00credit for my raising, um, as he was absent, emotionally and mentally, for a lot
of that, but he did instill in me , um, a sense of, like a code of justice of
what's right or wrong in the world, and what justice looks like versus what it
actually is. And so, um, very interesting guy.
WU: Um, how would you describe, as you remember it, when you were younger, like,
how would you describe, um, your parents' relationship with each other?
WEAVER: Oh, it was tumultuous. (laughs) From what I can recall, there was a lot
of fighting and a lot of stressing over bills. As you, you know, get with people
that have alcoholism and in their families, and growing up poor, um, I just
recall a lot of--a lot of fighting. They divorced maybe when I was 15 or 16.
Um, this rural property that we had, there was a bridge, a wooden
00:14:00bridge that went across into our property, and one of the winters, maybe my
13th--14th year, L&N ran a train and it busted the bridge down. So then, we had
no way of getting back and forth to our property. This is the point where I was
homeless for some time because this is--this is also the point where the
fighting--the fighting was at a peak and, um, the alcoholism was at a peak. And
so, we moved. We stayed with my grandparents for maybe a week or two, and then,
um our church, the Catholic Church, um, we stayed at their hall for several
months before my mom was able to get a--get a house on her own to rent.
WU: How old were you when--with all this?
WEAVER: I was about 14, 15.
WU: Okay.
WEAVER: It was--it was a good summer, maybe some--some of some parts of the
school year that we stayed and got ready in school. And so, now, you
00:15:00know, you're having these issues about religion and what it means to be a
Catholic, or--you know, the good and the bad that--that has come out of that
religion. And then, all the things that it meant to our family personally--
WU: --Um-hm--
WEAVER: --so there's always a--a tug--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --of war on our--on our heartstrings because our mother loved this
church so much and we are deeply committed--and it was deeply committed to us.
And now that we're older, doesn't mean something different and we're always
struggling with--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --trying to figure that out.
WU: Do you feel like that relationship is like, kind of, what your relationship
is with the church versus what your mom would want your relationship to be with
the church?
WEAVER: Yeah, so, well, my mother was--I think two or three years before she
died, and we--we were having this conversation, because she loved this church
and she did not want to see her children not go to church, especially me. And
so, she'd had the priest come and talk to me and all the new priests and, "You
got to go see my daughter and you got to talk to her and talk to her about Jesus
and how she needs to go to church." And so, we're talking and it's
00:16:00the--when Pope Francis was in. The last Pope quit, and the new Pope is coming
in, and there were some new rules that came into the church, and so, I remember
her asking me, "Why don't you just go to church?" And I was like, man, I said,
"Who are making all these rules about going to church?" and who says that, "we
have to do it this way," and who says, "and now, I've spent my whole life doing
this--this particular way, and now we're having to change--who's--who's doing
these rules, mom?" And she's like, well, "I understand. (laughs) I understand
your frustration." So, I think, um, she understood it. Um, she did--she was
scared for me, maybe sad for me, that maybe, um, I'm going to hell. I don't know
what, you know, what parents think, but, um, I think she understood where I was
coming from. And, the older I get, the more solidified I get in my thinking
about what's happening here.
00:17:00
WU: Sure.
WEAVER: Um, so, yeah, I had another point. I'll think of it--
WU: --That's okay--
WEAVER: --bring it back around.
WU: Um, when--when you were growing up, um, and in terms of your parents'
relationship with each other, um, were there language barrier issues, were
there, sort of, cultural barrier issues? Were there, like, conflicts or dynamics
that stem directly from that sort of cultural difference?
WEAVER: Yes. Um, I'm trying, it's--it's flooding--all of the memories are flooding--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --back about what--what you're asking.
WU: Yeah. What was your mom's, like, English fluency like?
WEAVER: Um, growing up with her, I thought it was good. I understood what she
was saying--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --but even as she got older, um, you know, a lot of people around her
just didn't understand her and couldn't understand her accent. So, I'm not for
sure. The more culturally, like the very familiar, sometimes, the way
00:18:00that I was--I grew up with no water or heat is very similar to the way she grew
up in her--she lived in a hut, a grass hut, and with no electricity, no running
water. And so, some of those things were very comfortable to her, um, but also,
some of the things are very different. She faced a lot of racism, um, when she
was here. And so, um--
WU: --Do you remember, like, do you remember when you were young, like
witnessing it and like realizing that's what that was?
WEAVER: I would say, no. I think we talked before about the, um, you know, place
in Corbin that she--we were at with my grandparents, and they refused service
because she was there, um, with--with my father, um and so, that--I had my own
personal experiences with racism, and so, it really--they shielded me from a lot
of that stuff. However, my grandmother, um--my father's mother was
00:19:00very, um, she was--they were racist. And so, just trying to imagine, you know,
how they accepted me and taught me things, but also, there were underlying hints
of racism--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --so.
WU: Let's talk about your own, sort of, childhood and upbringing. Um, do you
remember a time or incident that you first felt like, "Oh, I'm not like the
other kids"?
WEAVER: Um-hm, yeah, I think, in grade school, you get that feeling--I was very
cognizant of the fact that I went to a school with people that, um--there were
not people like me that went there. Um, and so, other than--you know the kids
are mean and they say racial--racially charged things and maybe they don't know
what they're saying, um, but there were two instances I do remember.
00:20:00Um, once was with my brother and he was--he came when he was about five, and
he--and of course, he has a totally different experience about this town than
what I had. But we were at the Lane Theater, which was our--which is our,
um--which is our theater, and we had watched the Care Bears, and our mother was
supposed to pick us up after. And so, we were outside waiting and this group of
guys, they came through--
WU: --And you were little--
WEAVER: --And we were--well, he was 5, so I was 10. And so, he--they came
through, and they called us the N-word, and they screamed it out of the truck,
and I was so shocked, and my brother who's five, I mean, he doesn't know what's
going on. He doesn't know what's happening, but I can remember.
WU: And at that point, you knew what that word was?
WEAVER: --Sure--
WU: --And you've heard it--
WEAVER: --sure, sure. And I just, well, that feeling that you get--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --and so then, um, I was--
WU: --was--was there a feeling, also, of just, like, wait, "What's not us"? Or,
was it just like, you kind of interpreted as just like--this is just
00:21:00the derogatory terms towards anybody who's different, like how did you interpret that?
WEAVER: Yeah, and this is the thing about living in a small area in which you're
less than one percent of the population, is that y'all get mixed in together.
And so, at--at that time I was accustomed to hearing, you know, the N-word. I
was accustomed to being called an Injun--a dirty Injun. I was accustomed to
everything that maybe wasn't even me.
WU: Right.
WEAVER: And so, um, so at that time, I think all those things, I just knew them
as hurtful, mean things that you say to people that look different.
WU: Because I--I know it's in every Asian-American's experience to have been
called the wrong derogatory term--
WEAVER: --Oh yeah, yeah--
WU: --you know, of some other, whatever ethnicity, but it sounds like for you,
like, in a town that was 99% white, you literally got every non-white derogatory term.
WEAVER: Sure, yeah.
WU: That wasn't even close.
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: But it didn't matter.
WEAVER: True. I don't think that--I think maybe when I was 15--16, up in the
age, I had a friend--because we went to St. Camillus Academy. My
00:22:00mother switched us out--or switched me out into private school when I was, um, a
teenager. She thought I'd have a better opportunity to learn and not--and not
have to face some racial stuff. But I was in Corbin that--that old, when
somebody called me a "Chink", and I had to ask my friend who was white, I was
like, "What is a Chink?"
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: (Laughs) So, um, so, yeah, and, um, I remember, when I was in grade
school, and I was telling Carl this story the other day about how--because I was
part of a basketball team and then you'd have leagues out of season where
everybody could play basketball. And so, one of these times I had a particular
fellow that--um, in sixth grade--that we'd go back and forth and we'd fight. And
he had--I don't know, he'd like elbowed me or something and, um, really hurt.
And so, I pushed him, and this was at the basketball game. There was
00:23:00a lot of people there, but I remember the next day people coming up to me were
like, "Did his dad say anything to you? Did his dad do anything or say anything
to make you feel uncomfortable?" And he hadn't, but I had heard that what he had
said was, to his son, "You better not let that half-Jap hit you again. And if
she does, you better knock her out."
WU: Wow.
WEAVER: So all--
WU: --But, to his credit, he was getting close to almost what you were. (both laugh)
WEAVER: Right. At least he was--he was in the vicinity. (laughs)
WU:
He was almost there. Wow.
WEAVER: So, those types of things--and I think, um, just the individual racism
that you face, or that I faced, happened that way. I imagine that it happened
that way for my mother, she just didn't talk about it a lot. Um, maybe the way
that--looking back on it now, all those times that she came home from work
stressed out, all those times she came home from work and yelled at me. Um,
maybe all those times were related to something that had happened to her, so.
00:24:00
WU: Um-hm. Growing up, um, going to school, did you--did you have friends that
could relate in any way to sort of your experiences? Did you have other, either
non-white or marginalized friends, um, that you could sort of bond over any of
this stuff?
WEAVER: Um, I'd like to say yes, but I don't think. I don't--when I went to St.
Camillus was the first time because St Camillus kept a lot of--a lot of borders
at that time. And so, they were from different countries there. And--and there
were some instances in which we bonded from that--from those experiences of
racism, um, but that was way up in the age of--of--in my teenage years. Nobody
that I can recall...that's coming to mind, and--as I was younger.
00:25:00
WU: Um, do you ever remember a time where you felt, especially--when was the
first time you visited Kiribati?
WEAVER: That was when I was about 9 or 10 years old.
WU: Okay. Um, so, from that time on to between then and now, did you ever have a
notion or a thought in your head that was just like, "That's my country," or,
"that's where I belong and not America?"
WEAVER: Um-hm. Um, no, I have to say no, that I didn't think I belong there
either. Um, and I think most of the time--of--if you were to ask me today, you
know, "Where is your home located?" I would always say, "In the middle of
Southeastern--or in the--it's Southeastern Kentucky, at the end of the
interstate is where I was those. You know those poems that you do, where I'm
from? Um, and then you put all these adjectives, and which describes
00:26:00where you're from, and I remember, I did that several years ago and it was Route
4, Box 6 7 4 X. That's where I'm from in--in Williamsburg, Kentucky.
WU: Wow. Um, what's the language that's spoken by your, um, people back home?
WEAVER: Kiribati, um, it's got 13--13 letters in their alphabet and it's very
quick. And, um--
WU: --Do you speak it?
WEAVER: No, no. My mother did not teach me how to speak. She left out a lot of
her culture. Um, and, so, that is one of the things that regretfully, um,
happened. I think I understand why she left that out for me to learn, but also
now that I'm looking back, and it's a lost culture, and I've got family members
that I'm not very connected to. I'm in a group email--a Facebook messenger with
all of--of my family members from Kiribati and they speak their own language,
and so they're having literal conversations and I don't know anything
00:27:00about what they're talking about. And so, until somebody takes it upon
themselves to say something to me personally--
WU: --Are you the only one--
WEAVER: --I'm not involved--
WU: --in the group that doesn't speak it?
WEAVER: I'm not--I'm not for sure, um, but it seems like a lot of people are
speaking it and I don't know, I don't know the language, so.
WU: When you were--do you remember that trip when you were 10, that first time
you went--
WEAVER: --I do--
WU: --to visit?
WEAVER: --I do.
WU: Do you remember how you felt in a place where more people looked like you,
but you also didn't speak the language and it probably was very culturally
foreign to you?
WEAVER: Yeah, still very lonely. And still, because my mother had not taught me
customs that you should do--
WU: --Yeah, um-hm--
WEAVER: --when you are in a different country, I wasn't aware, and so I would
get in trouble a lot for not doing the things that I'm supposed to do.
WU: Yeah.
WEAVER: And, so, she was embarrassed because she was there. And I think--I think
this was a point of contention with her family members is that she had not
taught me the things that I needed to know. Um, like when you are a
00:28:00first person--you're--you're just now coming to the island, you need to be
introduced to the ancestors. And so, you have to go and make a pilgrimage to
your ancestors, and you have to bring gifts of tobacco, and different things,
and I wasn't aware that you have to do that. Um, and so, my family really had to
lead me and was really disappointed in her that she did not, um, teach those
things to me.
WU: Yeah, and--and, I mean, this is not exclusive to Asian culture, but we know
how judgey, um, some grandmas and aunties can be--
WEAVER: --Yeah--
WU: --you know what I mean, like, find any excuse to, like, raise their eyebrow
at you.
WEAVER: Yeah, and mostly her brothers. And, so, when I went--so, after that,
let's see, I went back about 10 years later, I was no better--I was no better,
and I was an adult now. So, I had to fend for my--for my own self. My cousins,
thankfully I spent a lot of time with them and they--they took it upon
themselves to teach me.
WU: How many times have you been back?
00:29:00
WEAVER: Twice.
WU: Just those two?
WEAVER: Yes.
WU: Okay. Um, what do you think the next visit would be like, now that you're a
grown ass adult?
WEAVER: Um, I think it would be more reverent. Um, I think I would want to
learn, um, as much as I can about, um, the people that are there and what I can
do to help. Um, I think I would be a lot--a lot more cognizant in the visit.
WU: Let me see. Um, did you--so, I'm--I'm guessing then, from what you've said,
um, you probably didn't celebrate any, like, cultural traditions or cultural
holidays when you were growing up?
WEAVER: No, and my mother--so, the island is pretty split up. Some--some of it
is witch doctoring, um, and then, um--half is like a mix of Catholicism, Mormon,
Christian type of thing. So, she grew up as a-- as a Catholic there,
00:30:00which is probably why she felt akin to the Catholic church here. Um, so, a lot
of those customs and traditions, like, celebrate Christmas, and in those types
of--and Easter, there on that island.
WU: To you, um, here in Williamsburg, what do you consider your community?
WEAVER: I would say that, um, Williamsburg is my community. Um, I'd also say I
get really irritated and pissed off at my community because they don't--they
don't--you know, it's very homogenous here. And so, some of the things that are
very concerning for them, or not concerning for them, are very concerning for me.
WU: Right.
WEAVER: And so, um--and so, I have this big community of people that I feel
akin to and within that, I feel more akin to people that maybe don't
00:31:00feel at home here or feel like--
WU: --Yeah, the other outsiders--
WEAVER: The other outsiders. So transgender, Hispanic community, those types of
people, um, I feel like I'm always searching out, um, for them to bring them
into community. But then, also, this bigger community of--
WU: --Do you feel--um, do you ever feel like you have to code switch? Do you
ever feel like you have to, kind of, speak to different people with different
faces or different demeanors?
WEAVER: Oh, sure, I mean, but I think that's--is that just--is that just
something that us as Asian-Americans or us as minorities have to do, or I see a
lot of people code switching--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --um, so I don't--
WU: --I think--I think that's probably common to everybody because you speak to
your parents differently than you speak to your boss, than you speak
00:32:00to your friends--
WEAVER: --Yeah--
WU: --than you speak to your, you know, kids or subordinates or strangers. You
know what I mean? But, I think it's particularly a thing for people who are
outsiders in one way or another.
WEAVER: Sure.
WU: You know what I mean? Um, do you--in your adult life and in your work, um,
do you get reminded of your otherness? Like, in your professional and then just
out in the larger community of this town? Even though that you're born and
raised, you've been here your entire life, um. Are there instances and times
where you're reminded like, "Oh yeah, as much as I feel like I'm a native,"
right? Those reminders that you're another?
WEAVER: Um-hm. So, give me an example of what you're trying to think about,
because what I'm thinking about when I'm reminded that I'm not particularly, um,
a person, I am an other here is when you're talking about, um, like
00:33:00in politics for example. And we know, in small--in this small community, the way
that you are elected into politics, it doesn't really matter if you are--have
the best intentions for people or you want the community to grow, but it's who
your friends are and who your family, who you're related to---
WU: --What your last name is--
WEAVER: Exactly. And so, in those instances, when I--when I want to do good, I
know that I can't do good on my own, like, I can't just come out and say, I have
to attach--attach myself to something--someone else or something else, and that
person has to be the leader. And then, you feed that idea to the leader for them
to get it done. Um, so, in those instances, yes, I do feel like--
WU: --Do you get strangers asking you where you're from?
WEAVER: Oh, yeah, um--
WU: --Like daily, weekly, all the time, out in public?
WEAVER: Not so much here, but like if I'm out and traveling and, um,
00:34:00you know, I've got this face that does not match this voice, and so everybody's
always curious about where I'm from. And it's usually when I'm out in the rest
of the world, it is not the face that is so problematic as it--
WU: --The voice--
WEAVER: --is the accent. And so, once they hear the accent, then you are
accustomed to a whole new type of, um, of--
WU: --Stereotype--
WEAVER: --hazing, and--and people, you know, wanting to know if you eat fried
chicken, if Kentucky Fried Chicken is your favorite, and you have Mountain Dew
mouth, and, you know, different types of things like that--
WU: --Wow--
WEAVER: --and so it's a whole different--it's a whole different thing that you
have to contend with.
WU: So here's what I'm really curious about, because, um, you know, the----the
whole--our whole podcasts concept is this whole, like where you're from, where
you really from--
WEAVER: --Yeah, yeah--
WU: --an interrogation. Um, and whenever I talk about this to white people, um,
there are often a lot of people who push back, especially Kentuckians who say
like, "Oh, when I'm in a different state and they hear my, you know,
00:35:00Kentucky accent, they'll ask me where I'm from," but, in those instances, when
you say "Kentucky," that's the end of the interrogation. They're like, "Ah,
okay. We figured out this voice." For you, you have, kind of, like both things happening.
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: Right? Um, when somebody--if you're in Pennsylvania or Arizona or somewhere
else, and somebody says, "Where are you from?" because they heard your voice,
and you say, "Kentucky." Does the interrogation end there? Do they say like, ah,
okay, that makes sense, or is there further like, "But your face, but you don't
look..." Right, does it go further?
WEAVER: Sometimes it will. Because certainly that is a thing, when people ask
you where you're from, they do want to know where you're really from. And I have
some white, well-meaning friends that will say, "I just want to, it's just
interesting, you know--"
WU: --I'm interested in everybody.
WEAVER: Yeah. (laughs) Yes, yes, yes, so we had those--those types of
conversations, but yeah, even when, um, they're talking and they're curious, um,
you know, that they want to know where you're from, and, "That
00:36:00accent, I really just can't pinpoint that accent, of where it's from." And then
when you say Kentucky. Yes, but also--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: -- also, where's your origin story? That's the thing now.
WU: Do they say, "Where--where are your parents from"?
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah--
WU: --They go that route?--
WEAVER: --yeah, sometimes they will go that route.
WU: Do you ever answer that question--do you ever use as your first answer
Kiribati, or Micronesia, or whatever?
WEAVER: I never have, no, but I do try to recognize that--that my father is from
Kentucky and then my mother--
WU: --Right--
WEAVER: --is--is from a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
WU: Yeah.
WEAVER: Um, which is good, I think because--that island, you know, nobody knows
the struggles that they're going through and--and in such a climate, in which
people think that, you know, global warming is not a real thing, um, that they
can meet somebody that, "Yes, I can tell you that global warming--
WU: --It exists--
WEAVER: --does exist."
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --And this is what's happening, and so it's a good educational piece to do--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --if you so choose--
WU: --yeah, because you have that extra layer. When I tell people I'm
00:37:00from China, that ends the conversation. They know where China is, they know what
that's about. When you explain, you have to further, further explain, because
people have not heard of this place. For you, too, like, for a lot of folks who
are, um, mixed race or mixed background, um, you know, like, traditionally in
this country we always, kind of, have to choose. The forms that we fill out, up
until really just recently, you've only been able to check one box, right? So,
like growing up, going to school, applying for things, like what box did you check?
WEAVER: Um-hm, so interesting that you said that because this--so, when my
mother passed away, we didn't do a traditional, um--because here in this country
or this area, this is what you do, is you have somebody preach salvation to all
the other--have you been to those types of funerals?
WU: I've heard--I've seen it, yeah--
WEAVER: --So, we're not doing that with my mother's funeral. So, what we wanted
to do was a celebration of life and you come up and you speak about, um--
WU: --Just talk about the person--
WEAVER: --Yeah, talk about the person and what they did. And so, our mayor
00:38:00
who was also a former science teacher, um, and he taught both of my brothers in
Williamsburg school and he was telling the story about the first, um, parent
teacher conference that he met my mother at for my brother, Ronald, that you met
today. And said, that, um, Ronald had previously said, "Why do I have to pick
other, why is there not a box for me?" And he didn't have a great answer for
that. And was like, I don't know. And so then when my mother, Rose, came along
and she asked the same question, "Why is there no other box that they have to
choose? Why do my kids have to be other?" He's like, "I don't know, that's a
great question." And he said the next year, when they were filling out, there
was--there was a box for Pacific Islander, um, on the--on the thing. And he
said, "Now, I don't know if Rose Lewis did that, but I could tell you, you know,
my friend, I wouldn't put it past her because she's had such a tenacious
attitude." So, we put--we put the other on the box. Now I put, I--I
00:39:00check two boxes, Pacific Islander and white. And so--
WU: I was kind of--I'd never somehow thought of it this way, um, until I was
listening to something about it. The fact that, for folks who have multiple
identities, that checking the box "other," you're literally othering yourself.
And I never thought about it in those terms, like, you're literally saying, "I'm
not any of the normal things. I'm this other thing that they don't--didn't even
bother to categorize."
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: And that's kind of mind blowing to me--
WEAVER: --Yeah--
WU: --thinking about it that way.
WEAVER:
Yeah, and we grew up that way. Did you have to check other?
WU: Um, no, I mean, there was usually a, you know, an Asian box for me to check.
Um, so, at least that was something. (both laugh) But, my daughter who's 16, um,
you know, she had some points in her life, me filling out forms for her, her
filling out forms--there have been times where you can't check more than one.
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: And she doesn't want to choose between those two cultures. It's both a part
of her.
00:40:00
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: Um, do you ever feel like when you talk to people about your identity or
when you self-identify, do you always take both those cultures--both those
origins together, or do you ever emphasize one over the other?
WEAVER: Well, I had to tell you Dan, until a couple years ago, nobody really
cared about my (laughs) identity and culture and asking me these questions. And
so, um, but--but in thinking about it and thinking the way that I've been raised
up, until now, I've used Appalachian as my identity, and I've used, um, you
know, Southeastern Kentucky as where I'm from. Um, but now as I get older, and
in the climate that we're in, I feel like, now I'm being made to really draw
some lines about what's proper, and having to relearn, or learn for the first
time some of the things that should be important. Asking these
00:41:00questions to myself, so I can be a better role model to my kids and my--my
niece, who's actually a better role model for me than I am to her, so.
WU: Yeah. So, do your kids and your, like, niece, do they try to ask you
questions about, um, sort of, you know, your mom's side of the culture, um,
anything like that?
WEAVER: No.
WU: Are they interested? Are they doing their own research? What does--what do
you think their relationship is with that side?
WEAVER: Yeah, and this is--this is the part that saddens me the most, is that
they don't seem very interested, and I don't--I'm not for sure if it's because
they don't have children of their own yet--but, Chaz, of course has a child, um,
and one on the way, but I don't know when that will kick in, that--that desire
and curiosity to know. Chaz has been to that island, and he knows--he knows a
lot of people that I know, um, in our--in our family. So, Dylan has yet to--to
go, um, but they identify mostly as individuals from here and--and
00:42:00white. And so now we're trying to, you know, recorrect that.
WU: When they were young, um, do you feel like you encountered situations where
you saw them being othered, and you saw them being, you know, singled out like that?
WEAVER: Yeah, um, so there's a story for--for Chaz, when he was really young,
like maybe 7--8. My brother was home. Both of my brothers served in the
military, um, my brother that you met today, he was in the Navy, and so, he was
on home on leave and he was going to pick up my, um, child from the county
school. And so, he wasn't familiar with the pickup drop off points. And so, he
had cut off a bus driver, and the bus driver had a racial slur for him about
being Mexican. And so, that infuriated my brother, so with my son in the car,
he just stopped, and he went and gave that bus driver what for about
00:43:00calling him Mexican and with his--with his nephew in the car. Um, and so, there
are--you know, there have been instances that they have faced some--some tension
and drama. And then even my son, Dylan--and I really can't tell if these kids
are, you know, they don't look that different to me. Um, they look pretty white,
but even for Dylan, for when he was in high school, I had one of his son's--one
of his friend's mothers saw me in Walmart and she was relaying the story that
she was telling her son. And, he was like, "You know, Chinese Dylan." And, um,
when she said that, she looked at me like that was supposed to be okay. And I
just looked at her like, "Are you serious? If you're just going to say this?"
And there was like nothing there that--
00:44:00
WU: --Just oblivious--
WEAVER: --registered to her that should have--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --been like inappropriate-
WU: --Did she actually think you were Chinese?
WEAVER: No, I don't think. No, because she--
WU: --So just Chinese was just like the default thing for something--something Asian.
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah.
WU: Chinese Dylan.
WEAVER: Chinese Dylan, so.
WU: Wow. Yeah. And, it's--it's so amazing. This is why, I think so much about
impact versus intent. So much of this kind of racism that comes at us is not
intentionally harmful. They're not trying to make us mad or make us sad. It's
just, they're just not thinking about it.
WEAVER: Yeah, I believe that. I believe--I believe in that a hundred percent.
WU: Yeah.
WEAVER: Um, and it's something that, you know, this is 2020. You know,
these--these are in the 2000's--early 2000's. So this is something that should
be less than you think, but--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --Sometimes not.
WU: Um, switching gears a little bit. Um, what are some of your favorite, sort
of, non-work things to do? Like, just activities that you enjoy.
00:45:00
WEAVER: Um, so during the pandemic, I really got into making cards and--
WU: --Making?
WEAVER: Making cards.
WU: Oh, like--like postcards?
WEAVER: Yeah, like postcards. Yeah, and so, and writing people, and, you know,
that has been a pleasure for me because sometimes they write back. A lot of
times they write back and so it's always a good thing to get something other
than a bill out of the mailbox.
WU: And who are you writing?
WEAVER: Um, so I--just anybody. I have some--some people that will send me their
address. Some people that I've talked to out in the world and I will send people
addresses. Some people will, um--I did ask some people on Facebook, you know, if
you've got anybody that's in the nursing home or sick or whatever, let me know,
and I'll send them a card. And so, a couple people have responded and said,
"Hey, my mom, she's kind of a shut in. She enjoys cards, would you send her
one?" And so, I send those--those guys some cards and that's been fun to make
them and to send them. But I'm really after the connectivity part, I
00:46:00think, and that's the--that's the thing that I enjoy the most. Um, I'm doing a
new project, it's called Bridge of the Gap, and it is--we're going to
universities and we're helping individuals create dialogue, um, across their
cultural and experiential differences. So, learning new things about things,
different things, and how things are out in the real world, I've enjoyed that as
well. Um, so that's--that's what I do.
WU: What's your, um--what are your go-to's when you need to recharge? When you
need to, like spiritual, emotional, physical, just like, had enough, and I
need--need to build up the--the batteries again.
WEAVER: Okay, Dan. So, you know that I'm half--I'm American-Asian, and so, we
work a lot. And so, since I've been 14, I have had at least two jobs in my
lifetime. I don't know any other way. And so--so, um to recharge--and
00:47:00I did tell you about that near death experience that I had just simply because
I've overworked myself. But also, um, that experience showed me how strong that
I was. And so, to recharge, it takes me a couple days. I have to really, um, do
nothing for, like, at least four to five days.
WU: So what is your do nothing? Is it, like, binging TV? Is it reading books?
WEAVER: Yes. Watching TikToks, um, doing those types of things for, like, at
least four to five days---
WU: --Mindless, turn your brain--
WEAVER: --Mindless things. And then, after that point, then I'm recharged enough
to recharge. Do you get what I'm saying?
WU: Oh yeah. Okay.
WEAVER: So, I'm getting to the point where I can at least figure out some of the
stuff to do. Carl's been really good about traveling, and so, we've got some
friends in Asheville and we will go there. And I have some friends here--I don't
know how I get involved in some of these things that I get involved in. But like
tomorrow, we're doing a community drumming session. I've never
00:48:00drummed before--
WU: --Oh, okay. Like hand drums?
WEAVER: Yeah, yeah.
WU: Nice.
WEAVER: And so, a group of us are meeting in London to do some drumming and it
was not something that I would pick out on a group of things, but I like
learning new things. I like being connected to people, new people, and so that's
going to--that's going to recharge me.
WU: When you stop to rest and recharge and do nothing, do you feel guilty?
WEAVER: Yeah. Don't you?
WU: Sometimes, yeah.
WEAVER: Oh, yeah.
WU: Like, I could be doing something productive. And there is always something
to be doing.
WEAVER: Yes.
WU: But for me, when I'm--when I'm cognizant of being in like a bad space, I
know if I'm trying to do the productive things, it's going to be garbage. Like,
I'm not going to be productive or efficient and this--the work is going to be bad.
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: So, there's no point in even trying, I might as well reset until I'm in a
better place.
WEAVER: Yeah, and I think intuitively you're looking--people look for these
things or things that happen. The marker for me, that something's
00:49:00going to turn out for shit, is--is that if it's--if I keep--there's barriers
that, you know, whatever the simplest barrier to--like for instance, it's
project that I'm working on with the Bridge of the Gap, and so, COVID has
stopped it. Then, we've got some guidelines that we have to put up. To me
intuitively, that says, "Okay, Angie, you're going to have to--this is for you
to regroup and to--to refocus and look at some pieces here and--and strengthen
up on those.
WU: Yeah.
WEAVER: And so, that's just an example, but that's what I--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --do with everything.
WU: So, I mean, speaking of COVID, we're basically two years into COVID. Um,
tell me a little bit about your work and then tell me about how COVID has
affected your work?
WEAVER: So, my work as a domestic violence advocate. I think when COVID struck,
um, first of all--
WU: --Well, describe--describe to me what that means in terms, like---like, what
would a case be like for you, or what a day be like for you?
00:50:00
WEAVER: So, I'm a law enforcement-based advocate, which is different than a
prosecutor's-based advocate, or even a community-based advocate. However,
because I'm--I'm the only one of my kind here in Williamsburg, um, it's
really--and being involved in 24 years of work, I'm kind of a mixture of all
three of those types of advocates. And so when a person comes to me for, they've
got a domestic violence situation, I can help you navigate the legal system and
the legal aspects of it, but now I can also tell you where to go if you need
transitional housing, I can help you fill out the applications, and do all those
types of things.
WU: So, you're like a one stop--
WEAVER: --I am a one stop. And so, um, when COVID hit, people were very
concerned that domestic violence victims were not going to be serviced. And so,
I watched that very closely throughout the first year of the pandemic, and what
I found was--is, you know, everything, kind of, stayed steady for
00:51:00that first year. And then the second year hit, and everything went crazy. The
last, um, statistics that I did for my grant, because I'm on a Victims of Crime
Grant and we had to report these statistics. I was up, like, 46% in services,
and what I saw a lot of is people were really--they needed assistance, but
the--but the amount of time--I usually will stay maybe two weeks with a victim,
and then they'll be on their way and I won't hear from them again until there is
another situation of crisis. Um, this time they're spending two to three months
with me, and there's seems to be an ongoing crisis all the time, and not just
with the domestic violence thing, but now particularly with mental health and
addiction issues, um, then needing more assistance with that. And so, what I'm
seeing now is the mental health aspect and addiction recovery. I think we've got
that covered here, there's a lot more resources than they were when I first
started out, but now, the mental health thing is really--
00:52:00
WU: --Do you have the resources to handle the extra cases and the extra work?
WEAVER: No, um, no, because Victims of Crime Grant, it's not on a, those are not
from taxes. They're from, um, punitive damages in federal courts and you get a
specific amount of money that goes into the victim's crime fund. Um, since maybe
2016, money was not being put into that fund as it should have been at the
federal level, and so that there's a shortage now. And so, it's hard to navigate
and making sure that you're going to be--you're going to still have your job,
much less ask for--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --you, know, additional assistance, so.
WU: With that kind of work--like, I've known plenty of social workers and, um,
that's a such a high burnout rate kind of job. Do you find yourself like
emotionally taking cases and stories and situations home with you, um, or are
you able to compartmentalize and, kind of, detach from a little bit?
WEAVER: Um-hm, yeah. I mean, I think that is the thing that you learn
00:53:00and navigate when you are in these types of, um, job occupations. And I hope,
and I have really advocated this on a whole lot of different levels, is that we
really need to be doing more with self-care and vicarious trauma and making sure
that the newer people understand, because when I was coming up, there was no
such thing as vicarious trauma. We didn't know how to take care of ourselves.
And so, um, you just had to learn that on the sly, and sometimes it makes you
sick and you nearly die, um, in situations. I've known lots of great advocates
and great social workers that have succumbed to addiction issues, or have, like,
a sex addiction, or whatever kind of addiction thing to offset all these
terrible things that they see. Um, hopefully going into 2021, and beyond mental
health for these areas are going to be just as important. Um, I hope so
anyway--that they care for the mental health of law enforcement
00:54:00officers and social workers alike.
WU: Yeah, to care for the carers.
WEAVER: Yeah, um-hm.
WU: Um, how has COVID, in the last few years, affected your personal life,
family life, friendships, um, good or bad?
WEAVER: Yeah, so it's done a lot for my mental health too. Um, so, I've had to
really address those issues of, you know...good boundary settings and those
types of things. Um, I don't know if it was--if it was COVID or if it was the
2016 elections or the George Floyd--I can't tell what--
WU: --It's all one big thing--
WEAVER: --It's all one big thing. And so, um, those things have affected me
greatly. And so, now, previous--before I would say that I'm all about Whitley
County, and I want Whitley County and the citizens to have the best of
everything, um, and the resources that they need to grow and be
00:55:00great. And now, I think, maybe on a bigger scale. And I--I look at those
different minorities everywhere instead of just here and, um, what we could do
to affect those, so.
WU: Yeah. What did you, um--what was hearing about the Atlanta Spa Shootings
like for you, and did it change the way you thought about either yourself, your
community, the world?
WEAVER: Um-hm. To be honest, um, any of the shootings I've really had to step
away from, and I don't--after--after the George Floyd, that was really too much
for my mental--mental health to take. And so, anything after that, I've heard
very little about, um, just because I--
WU: --You're just consciously keeping away from that kind of news--
WEAVER: It's yeah, it's almost--it's too much in addition to what I have to do
at work and the trauma that I deal with there. I don't know if that
00:56:00would serve--serve me any to--to, um--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --add onto that.
WU: How do you--how do you filter that stuff out? Because that's always a
challenge for me, because I'm a big, you know, news guy. I love listening to
news and politics and events--
WEAVER: --Yeah--
WU: --and I've had chunks of time, too, where I'm just like, literally, I'm not
going to look at anything news for, like, a month. Just to like--because I can't
process it, I can't deal with it. Like, how do you filter that kind of stuff out
while still, hopefully being an informed citizen?
WEAVER: Yeah. I--I started filtering stuff out a while ago and so--so it doesn't
seem like that's been that much of a deal to me. If I feel like I'm--I'm lagging
behind on something that I should be informed with, like the Kentucky
legislative process, then I'll read up on that, and see what I can learn.
Sometimes, some of these TikTockers, I mean, they can change the world--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --I don't know what side of TikTok you're on, but I'm--I'm learning some stuff--
WU: --I'm on no side of TikTok--
WEAVER: --(laughs)--
WU: --I'm on the side of TikTok that occasionally reposts to
00:57:00Instagram, so that's all I see.
WEAVER: (laughs) Yeah, so some of the things that the lawmakers are doing, you
know, they're putting on TikTok some briefs on the legislative succession, just
enough to where you can get more. And so, following those guys, I do that--I do
that a bit. And then, how else do I stay informed? And then, local politics. I
have friends that are in--that are all about the local politics--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --and they're all too happy to share it with me what's going on--
WU: --Have you ever thought about local office?
WEAVER: You know, I did. Um, Carl actually ran for City Council a couple years
ago, and he was, um, badly beaten--well, no, he wasn't badly beaten. For
somebody that's not from here, he's--he did pretty good.
WU: Sure.
WEAVER: Um, but, I think it showed me, at that point, the level of "you've got
to have family connections," because doing good, wanting to do good is not going
to cut it. There's loyalty that runs deep here in communities, and
00:58:00they, you know, they tend to want to vote for their family members and--and who
they know, and that's just, you know, the way it is. And so, after that run,
that's--I think that's when I just really started to think, "Okay, well, if it's
not here, where can I make a bigger impact? What can I do?" And so, I've tried
to step back and let--and let them do their thing in politics here, and I'll go
somewhere else that's needed. And once that happened, I really--I opened up
to--to do this podcast with the Asian-American group and--and try to connect
what you're doing. Um, and then I was invited to go to the Bridge of the Gap
and--and try to help with the university students and trying to help them create
opportunity and space to dialogue with each other across their differences. And
so hopefully, maybe that's--great things will happen out of that.
WU: Yeah, I mean, as a personal aside, I think your story in particular is the
kind of story that we don't hear about in terms of Asian-Americans.
00:59:00You know, we started the whole podcast about just Asian-Americans in Kentucky is
a foreign concept to so many people, because people think about New York, and
California, and, you know, have certain notions of it. And I think, like, the
way I've really kind of gravitated towards your story is because it's--it's not
uncommon. There are plenty of people like yourself all over this country in
smaller communities, you know what I mean? But it's like, these stories aren't told--
WEAVER: --Um-hm--
WU: --so I'm very happy that you're helping us tell these stories.
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: Um, do you feel like, um, you know, the pandemic itself, especially in the
sort of last couple years of Trump, there's been that uptick of like anti-Asian
hate incidents, um, violence and all that stuff. Did you experience a difference
in terms of your own, sort of, reactions or feelings or the way people treated
you in the last two years? Did you ever personally hear somebody say
01:00:00like, "China virus," or "Kung Flu," you know, out of their mouths?
WEAVER: Oh, sure. Of course, but I think that was--there's such a disconnect,
you know, just like the mother saying about Chinese Dylan. I mean, there is a
disconnect in what they're saying and--and saying it to me. I don't feel like
that they are, like, I don't feel attacked personally. I don't feel like--
WU: --because it's not about you, specifically--
WEAVER: --It's not about me, but I do feel differently than I did maybe before
pandemic because I, um--it just hurts my heart. It lands a different way for me
now. And I can't explain--explain the landing other than it's--it's a little
bit--it's a little bit of a stake to the heart, um, but I don't feel like
it--and again, I don't feel like it's a personal attack towards me, that I feel
unsafe here in this community, that I'm going to be attacked, but, um, I do feel
like it just--it just lands different.
WU: Yeah. Um, do you--do you feel like that, sort of, changing in,
01:01:00kind of, the way you react to that or, kind of, the way you feel about it, do
you think it's, kind of, moving along the same line as you wanting to, sort of,
be more connected with your Kiribati heritage, and--and has it--to put it really
simply, like, has it made you want to be more Asian?
WEAVER: Maybe, um, maybe that has part to do with it. Um, I haven't really
thought about it in that light before, but that is--that's something good to
explore. It has made me adhere to, um, individuals more, not just Asians, but
just the others that are here. And what they're experiencing and what they're
going through and how I can--I don't know how we can form together to--to help
be a support of each other. It makes--it makes me desire to do that more. Um,
but like, what can you do when you've only got less than one percent
01:02:00of a population that you live near? How much more Asian are you--are you going
to be here? So--
WU: --Right, right. Because you said Williamsburg's, like what, 5,000 people?
WEAVER: In the city, 5,000. 45,000 in the county altogether, and so--
WU: --Yeah, so that's what, in Williamsburg itself, like 50 non-white people?
WEAVER: Yeah--
WU: --Like you potentially could know them all--
WEAVER: --Yeah--
WU: --If you wanted to--
WEAVER: --Yes, you could potentially know them all. Sometimes you think, "But do
I know them all?" I didn't know Mike Crowley, but, um, technically he's from
Corbin, so--
WU: --Right, right, right--
WEAVER: --I don't--I don't know if he's from Whitley County, is he from Whitley
County? Did he say?
WU: Um, I'm not sure.
WEAVER: Okay.
WU: Yeah, I had a brief conversation with them. Um, what have you--I don't know,
this is kind of a big question, because a lot of these sort of questions that
we're going on are kind of geared towards like first-generation immigrants. So,
it's that whole, like, transition, journey kind of thing, For you, your entire
life has been here, right?
WEAVER: Yeah.
WU: Um, I don't know. Like, what would you want to tell your...kids
01:03:00about, like, growing up in Kentucky and--and Williamsburg, or specifically,
like, what do you want for them when it comes to living here, being a
Kentuckian, and being an American?
WEAVER: Yeah, I think, um, if I had it to do over again, Dan, my children would
be more, um, inclined to see the world. Um, sometimes when you're in a small
area, you get very used and accustomed to seeing people that are the same. And
you get very used to, when you go on vacation, you go to the same place every
year, and then, you know, Pigeon Forge or Gulf Shores, wherever those are going
to be--
WU: --Gatlinburg.
WEAVER: Yes, and then you make the--the loops there, and if I had it to do over
again, I would want them to see that, um, being American is--can be a lot
of different things, and can look a lot differently. Not just the way
01:04:00that you experienced it or that your friends have experienced it, and so, um, I
would--I would make sure that they got out and saw the world--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --a lot more, and understood what it meant to be an American--
WU: --Yeah--
WEAVER: --the difference is in American, what American is.
WU: I think that's a good one to end on.
WEAVER: Great.
WU: Uh, Angie Weaver, thank you so much.
WEAVER: Yeah, thank you.
WU: Okay.
