BRISTOL, Conn. — It was through words and social media that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were able to stand up to the hate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a local West Hartford man, he found another outlet and it was his camera that helped him stay afloat and the temple he often visits in Bristol.
The Cambodia Buddhist Temple was one of the many sacred places for the AAPI community to convene when loud noises of hate and negativity brewed outside the walls during the pandemic.
"I grew up in this temple space," said Mike Keo of West Hartford.
Keo volunteered as the program director at the temple and he has taken many snapshots of community events there, but before he took on this role, he was a wedding photographer for 12 years.
"A photo is worth a thousand words," added Keo.
His photos captured moments of the AAPI community and interracial couples' big day. He said it was his way to send the world a message at the time.
"That’s the power of image that allows us to map out where we were that we have always existed," added Keo.
Keo is the founder of #IAMNOTAVIRUS, a co-op that highlighted Asian American stories and advocates for the 'No Hate' Act.
He was also the co-founder of Make Us Visible, a coalition in Connecticut that began with the pillars of anti-racism, equity, and cross-racial solidarity.
His advocacy though, was for a reason.
Keo's grandfather died from starvation by the Khmer Rouge, which was a radical communist movement that ruled Cambodia in the seventies.
When Keo's grandmother passed away, his aunt discovered a roll of film in her attic and Keo developed it. The photos ended up revealing more than words.
"What photography allowed me to do was to find out and map out these different aspects of our fragmented stories and piece them together like a puzzle so we see the full picture," added Keo.
Keo's two sons, Cole Keo, 7, and Keane Keo, 4 are a generation of new beginnings.
His wife Chengyeng Lor who is Hmong wanted her sons to embrace their backgrounds even through their school lunches.
"We pack him rice, we pack him foods, we tell the teacher hey we’re going to pack him this, just make sure he’s okay, that nobody says anything," said Lor of West Hartford.
Lor said her parents back then did not pack her lunch and instead, had her eat what was made at school with the fear of her being bullied.
"That was how they made us fit in," added Lor.
She said Keo is commonly mistaken as Filipino or of other ethnic backgrounds of his dark skin color, but her lighter skin has created a different connotation.
"They can’t tell if you’re Chinese, Japanese, so you look like you could be East Asian," added Lor.
Those fears will always linger in the back of one's mind, a sign that the AAPI community has done a lot, but more needs to be done.
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