My February started with the celebration of Chinese New Year 2014, the year of Horse.

Special Friday Fiesta    Jan.31, 2014    Mango Languages

Every Friday there’s a fiesta at Mango. Once in a while someone will host a special fiesta. The topics are usually some interesting traditions of different cultures around the world. On January 31 I hosted a special fiesta on Chinese New Year traditions.

Association of Chinese American Detroit Chapter, Lunar New Year Banquet,  Feb. 8, 2014

The Plight for Equality – A Luta Continua    Feb. 20, 2014

On Feb. 20, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History hosted a film screening and a panel discussion, highlighting the plight of LGBT rights in Uganda. Internationally renowned Ugandan LGBT rights activist Frank Mugisha, recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award (2011), attended the event, along with other professionals working in different capacities for LGBT rights in Michigan and beyond.

After watching the documentary and listening to the panel discussion, I was appalled by the brutal conditions facing the LGBT community in Uganda. What was worse, twelve hours after the event, Uganda passed another bill imposing life imprisonment on anyone who is engages in same-sex sexual act and same-sex marriage. I was humbled to learn how brave my LGBT sisters and brothers in Uganda are and how hard they’re fighting for equality.

Gleaner’s Service Project  Feb. 22, 2014    United Way for Southeast Michigan

Last Saturday Challenge Detroit fellows organized a volunteer event for Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. United Way generously hosted us in their spacious office.

Feb. 23, 2014    Matrix Theater

Last Sunday we went to Matrix Theater, located in the Mexicantown, for a play called Collected Stories. The venue has an intimate setting, accommodating around thirty audiences at the same time.

(Photo from Matrix Theatre’s FB page)

Collected Stories explores the relationship between two writers, Ruth and Lisa, over the course of six years. When one writes a novel inspired by the life events of the other, their tenuous friendship is threatened. The women are forced to confront ideas of love and success and questions regarding creative freedom. Do we have a right to our own life stories once we share them? Is it ever okay to appropriate someone’s life?  –Matrix Theatre