Helen Zia

{{Infobox journalist

| name = Helen Zia

| image = Helen Zia (53758579496).jpg

| alt = Color photograph of Helen Zia in 2024

| caption = Zia in 2024

| native_name = 謝漢蘭

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1952}}

| birth_place = Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

| spouse = Lia Shigemura

| education = Princeton University (BA)
Tufts University

| occupation = Journalist, activist

| website = https://helenzia.com/

}}

{{Chinese

|order=ts

|t=謝漢蘭

|s=谢汉兰

|p=Xiè Hànlán

|w=Hsieh4 Han4-lan2

}}

Helen Zia (born 1952) is a Chinese American journalist and activist for Asian American and LGBTQ rights. After Vincent Chin's murder, Zia helped found American Citizens for Justice, which successfully lobbied for a federal trial. She is considered a key figure in the Asian American movement. The political actions of American Citizens for Justice helped coalesce the growing Asian-American activism in the Midwest. After this incident, Zia remained an outspoken advocate and activist for a wide range of causes, from women's rights to gay rights. Furthermore, she testified at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the racial impact of the news media. Zia is also an accomplished author and has published multiple books about Asian American histories and experiences.

Life and career

=Early childhood and education=

Zia was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1952 to first generation immigrants from Shanghai.{{cite book|last1=Zia|first1=Helen|title=Asian American dreams : the emergence of an American people|date=2001|publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux|location=New York|isbn=978-0374527365|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asianamericandre00hele/page/n16 3]–5|edition=1st pbk.|url=https://archive.org/details/asianamericandre00hele|url-access=registration}} At five years old, she began working in her parents' floral novelty business.{{Cite book|title=Notable Asian Americans|date=1995|publisher=Gale Research|author=Zia, Helen|author2=Gall, Susan B.|isbn=0810396238|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=31170596|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780810396234}} She entered Princeton University in the early 1970s{{cite web|last1=Lei|first1=Judy|title=Hyphen APA Heritage Month Profiles: Helen Zia|url=http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2011/05/hyphen-apa-heritage-month-profiles-helen-zia|website=Hyphen: Asian America Unabridged|date = 13 May 2011|access-date=18 July 2015}} as a student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. She was a member of its first graduating class of women.{{Cite web|url = http://www.womensmediacenter.com/blog/entry/helen-zia-a-disobedient-daughter-and-her-passion-for-justice|title = Helen Zia: A Disobedient Daughter and Her Passion For Justice|date = 9 September 2009|access-date = 18 July 2015|publisher = Women's Media Center|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150721210538/http://www.womensmediacenter.com/blog/entry/helen-zia-a-disobedient-daughter-and-her-passion-for-justice|archive-date = 21 July 2015}} As a student, Zia was among the founders of the Asian American Students Association. She was also a vocal antiwar activist, voicing her opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, a firm believer in feminism, and active in movements creating cross racial unity among low income people of color.

Zia entered medical school at Tufts University in 1974, but quit in 1976. She eventually moved to Detroit, Michigan, working as a construction laborer, an autoworker and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life's work as a journalist and writer.{{Cite web|url = http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/aapi/helen_zia/|title = Helen Zia|access-date = 18 July 2015|publisher = White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150721185437/http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/aapi/helen_zia/|archive-date = 21 July 2015}}{{Cite web |last=Lele |first=Aaditi |title='Our community was so invisible': Activist and journalist Helen Zia speaks at roundtable and panel |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/03/27/our-community-was-so-invisible-activist-and-journalist-helen-zia-speaks-at-roundtable-and-panel/ |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=The Vanderbilt Hustler|date=27 March 2022 }}

=Activism=

Zia's time in Detroit overlapped with the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982. Zia played a crucial role in bringing federal civil rights charges against the perpetrators of Vincent's killing and in igniting an Asian American response to the crime through her journalism and advocacy work.{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Nicole |date=21 August 2020 |title=Helen Zia has seen hostility against Asian Americans before. 'We didn't learn enough or some people have forgotten.' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/life/women-of-the-century/2020/08/21/19th-amendment-helen-zia-speaks-up-asian-americans-against-racism/5535958002/ |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=www.usatoday.com |language=en}} At the time, little existed in terms of a cohesive and organized Asian American movement in Detroit, but Zia's journalism helped to galvanize the Asian American community to demand justice for Vincent Chin.{{cite web|title=History: Who Was Vincent Chin?|url=http://www.americancitizensforjustice.com/history/history.html|website=American Citizens for Justice|access-date=18 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706100619/http://www.americancitizensforjustice.com/history/history.html|archive-date=6 July 2015|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=2021-05-11 |title=Helen Zia talks to Athens community about contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders to American culture |url=https://news.ohio.edu/news/2021/05/helen-zia-talks-athens-community-about-contributions-asians-and-pacific-islanders |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=OHIO News |language=en}} She co-founded the group American Citizens for Justice, a Detroit-based Asian American civil rights group.{{Cite web |last=Witsil |first=Frank |title=Coalition plans 4-day commemoration in June to honor Asian American civil rights legacy |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/05/02/40-year-anniversary-vincent-chin-death-commemoration-planned/9615826002/ |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Heron |first=Kim |date=2022-06-02 |title=Events mark 40th anniversary of killing that sparked Asian American rights movement |url=https://kresge.org/news-views/events-mark-40th-anniversary-of-killing-that-sparked-asian-american-rights-movement/ |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Kresge Foundation |language=en-US}} In 1983, Zia was the president of the American Citizens for Justice.{{Cite news |last=Dolan |first=Matthew |date=17 January 2022 |title=Anti-hate museum honors three metro Detroit leaders for courageousness |work=Detroit Free Press |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/01/17/kym-worthy-kim-trent-helen-zia-museum-courageous/6555243001/ |access-date=29 November 2022}}

She has also been outspoken on issues ranging from civil rights and peace to women's rights and countering hate violence and homophobia. In 1997, she testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the racial impact of the news media.{{Cite web|url=http://www.womensmediacenter.com/shesource/expert/helen-zia|title=Helen Zia - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center|website=www.womensmediacenter.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-11}}

She traveled to Beijing in 1995 to the United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women as part of journalists of color delegation.

She has appeared in numerous news programs and films; her work on the 1980's Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award-nominated film, Who Killed Vincent Chin?,{{Citation |title=Who Killed Vincent Chin (Full PBS POV Documentary) 2022 HD Rebroadcast | date=25 June 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnrxk-KmIq8 |language=en |access-date=2022-11-30}} and she was profiled in Bill Moyers' PBS documentary, "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience."{{cite web|title=The Chinese Experience: Challenging the Stereotype|url=https://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/ce_witness8.html|website=a Bill Moyers special: Becoming American--The Chinese Experience|publisher=PBS|access-date=18 July 2015}}

=Honors and awards=

Zia was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine. Zia has received numerous journalism awards for her ground-breaking stories. Her investigation of date rape at the University of Michigan led to campus demonstrations and an overhaul of its policies. Zia received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the Law School of the City University of New York for bringing important matters of law and civil rights into public view.{{Cite web|url=http://apa.nyu.edu/event/last-boat-out-of-shanghai-helen-zia-laurence-coderre-and-pacharee-sudhinaraset/|title=Last Boat Out of Shanghai: Helen Zia, Laurence Coderre, and Pacharee Sudhinaraset – Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-11}}

In August 2020, Zia was one of three recipients of the NAAAP100 Award from the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). She received it alongside activist Cecilia Chung, businessman Ryan Patel, and youth advocate Symington W. Smith.{{Cite web|title=Awards: NAAAP100, Inspire, Pride {{!}} National Association of Asian American Professionals|url=https://www.naaap.org/programs/naaap100/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=www.naaap.org}}

In 2022, Zia was honored by the Museum of the Courageous along with Kym Worthy and Kim Trent to "celebrate historical and contemporary courageous acts that have stood up to hate and shifted our country towards justice."

=Published work=

Zia's latest work, Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution, was released in January 2019.

In January 2000, Zia authored Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People,{{Cite book|title = Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People|last = Zia|first = Helen|publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year = 2000|isbn = 0374527369|url = https://archive.org/details/asianamericandre00hele}}{{cite web|title=ASIAN AMERICAN DREAMS: The Emergence of an American People|url=http://us.macmillan.com/asianamericandreams/helenzia|website=macmillan publishers|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|access-date=2015-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215084346/http://us.macmillan.com/asianamericandreams/helenzia|archive-date=2014-12-15|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |last=Zhao |first=Xu |date=2022-11-03 |title=White supremacy's deadly game with minorities |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202211/03/WS636302baa310fd2b29e7ff8b.html |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}} a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. Former president of the United States Bill Clinton quoted from Asian American Dreams at two separate speeches in the White House Rose Garden.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/121361-asian-american-dreams-the-emergence-of-an-american-people|title=Asian American Dreams|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=2019-09-11}}

In January 2002, she co-authored with Wen Ho Lee My Country Versus Me, which reveals Lee's experiences as a Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for the People's Republic of China in the "worst case since the Rosenbergs."{{Cite book|title = My Country Versus Me|url = https://archive.org/details/mycountryversusm00wenh|url-access = registration|last = Zia|first = Helen|publisher = Hyperion|year = 2002|isbn = 0786868031}}

She contributed the piece Reclaiming the Past, Redefining the Future: Asian American and Pacific Islander Women to the 2003 anthology Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium, edited by Robin Morgan.{{cite web|url=http://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-dpu/Record/dpu_536804/TOC |title=Library Resource Finder: Table of Contents for: Sisterhood is forever : the women's anth |publisher=Vufind.carli.illinois.edu |access-date=2015-10-15}}

Zia was the executive editor of Ms. Magazine 1989 to 1992 {{cite web |url=http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/aapi/helen_zia/ |title=Helen Zia |access-date=2015-07-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721185437/http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/aapi/helen_zia/ |archive-date=2015-07-21 |website=White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders}}"Helen Zia." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 18, Gale, 2004, pp. 421-423. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Accessed 22 Feb. 2017. Zia also serves on the board of directors for Women's Media Center.{{cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=http://www.womensmediacenter.com/board|website=Women's Media Center|access-date=18 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031030138/http://www.womensmediacenter.com/board|archive-date=31 October 2014}} Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, books and anthologies, including Ms., The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Essence, The Advocate, and OUT.{{cite web|title=WHO WE ARE: Helen Zia (Writer, Journalist)|url=http://www.womensmediacenter.com/board/profile/helen-zia|website=Women's Media Center|access-date=18 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721210757/http://www.womensmediacenter.com/board/profile/helen-zia|archive-date=21 July 2015}}

=Personal life=

In June 2008, Zia married her partner Lia Shigemura in San Francisco, making them one of the first same-sex couples to legally marry in the state of California.{{Cite web|url =http://www.womensmediacenter.com/blog/entry/helen-zia-a-disobedient-daughter-and-her-passion-for-justice|title =Helen Zia: A Disobedient Daughter and Her Passion For Justice|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150721210538/http://www.womensmediacenter.com/blog/entry/helen-zia-a-disobedient-daughter-and-her-passion-for-justice|archive-date =2015-07-21}}{{cite web|title=Helen Zia & Lia Shigemura|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNhh3gibSvU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/hNhh3gibSvU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|publisher=apiequality|date = 19 June 2008|access-date=18 July 2015}}{{cbignore}} She currently resides in Oakland, California and continues to do activism and workshops there.{{cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=How one woman fought bigotry and helped change the way Asian Americans see themselves |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-24/helen-zia-civil-rights-lgbtq-anti-asian-violence |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}