Due to the pandemic, “working from home” became a norm that drastically altered workplace dynamics. Facilitated by new conferencing technologies like Zoom, the boundary between our private and our professional lives collapsed into one. Lasting Damage was prompted by the systemic and interpersonal racial discrimination and harassment that I experienced. Read in a clinical-fashion, the coldness of my message is a juxtaposition to the effects of racism on individuals at the most personal level. My recount sheds light on the difficulty of exposing and navigating microaggressions in the workplace due to their subtle nature. Because this harassment now occurs inside our homes and at times, through the intimacy of our headphones; there is an immediate sense of invasiveness and violation. However, video conferencing can also be a platform on which we can reclaim our voice through positive connections and where we are empowered to heal.

For more information, visit Yellow Submarine Rising: Currents Within Asian American Art Virtual Gallery, presented by the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA).