Wong’s indie web series plays on children’s television tropes while teaching Asian- and Pacific Islander-American girls history and tools to resist.

Colorlines
Sep 4, 2018 · 2 min read
A still image from “Radical Cram School” provided to Colorlines on August 14, 2018. Kristina Wong

By Sameer Rao
August 28, 2018

Imagine a children’s TV show in which an effusive host teaches Asian- and Pacific Islander-American girls media literacy, intersectionality and solidarity. Comedian Kristina Wong makes this vision possible with ”Radical Cram School,” the new independent web series she hosts and co-produces. She released all six episodes on YouTube in mid-August and publishes each on Facebook every week.

In a statement, Wong describes the series as “’Sesame Street’ for the Resistance.” Via email, she tells Colorlines that Liberty, the daughter of co-producer and friend Teddy Chao, inspired the show. ”This was almost a year into the Trump Presidency and [Chao] was worried that Liberty would start internalizing the racist and misogynist rhetoric around his campaign,” Wong explains. “He wanted me to sit down and talk to her and I blurted out, ‘We should make an Asian-American girl Town Hall web series!’ From there, Wong says, they began thinking of ways to equip young Asian girls with tools to resist “the ever-present racism and misogyny of our times.”


Read more of comedian Kristina Wong’s new independent television program that’s teaching AAPI girls how to resist racism: http://bit.ly/2MRf8QX.

© 2018 Colorlines. All right reserved.

Colorlines

Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation.

Colorlines

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Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation.

Colorlines

Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning in-depth reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation.

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