Editor’s Note: We originally misidentified P.J. Adams, a staff psychologist with Student Health, as Lee Mun Wah. Adams presented the video featuring Lee, but Lee was not in attendance.
“Perhaps that’s the secret of the world… that we have to take the time to walk each other home.”
That is the message that Lee Mun Wah has for the world in a TEDx video that presented to a group of students by Staff Psychologist P.J. Adams in the Student Health Services building on Tuesday. The video, titled “The Secret to Changing the World,” and follow-up discussion was part of a series put on by the NC State Counseling Center, titled “Tuesday Talks.”
The series allows students to learn about a topic and discuss it in an open forum with students and other members of the Wolfpack community. It is designed to be informal and laid-back, offering a way to extend interactions between the Counseling Center and the student body.
The topics that were discussed dealt with concepts such as diversity and multiculturalism, but also included mental health and masculinity. This is the first semester that this series has been offered. The first discussion was held on September 16.
The latest topic to be presented concerned identity, inclusion, and multiculturalism. Students were shown a 16 minute TEDx discussion by Lee Mun Wah, a psychologist, filmmaker and social justice advocate. Mun Wah gained prominence in the 1990’s for his film “The Color of Fear,” which dealt with the topic of interminority racism and race relations in America.
In the video, Mun Wah discusses his name and how he was embarrassed of his Chinese heritage early in his life. A story about throwing away his food because it smelled strange to the other children made Mun Wah realize something.
“I didn’t throw away just my food- I threw away a part of myself,” Mun Wah told the crowd. “I threw away my beautiful Chinese accent. I didn’t wear any of my Chinese clothing.”
In the video, Mun Wah said how Americans look at other cultures’ practices in the United States without understanding what they mean. Mun Wah, who was born in Oakland, California, said, “We celebrate our differences, but we don’t practice them, we don’t use them.” As a society, Mun Wah believes that we have certain predispositions towards certain areas and people in our country.
Mun Wah spoke about a conversation he had with a student from Hong Kong who was led to believe that Harlem is seen by outsiders as a place where people “rob you and cheat you.” On the contrary, another student from Harlem told Mun Wah and other students with a similar perception as the one from Hong Kong that Harlem has “beautiful smells and foods and beautiful music and art,” and that in the evenings “it comes alive.”
The video prompted an engaging discussion among the students and others in attendance. The people in attendance recalled their own life experiences and thoughts about multiculturalism, diversity and a sense of identity and how they could relate to it.
“As an Asian American, I’m guilty of being submissive,” said Justin Lo, a freshman studying political science. “But coming here to the talk, I feel more willing to express myself and my culture.”
Ruoxin Chen, a graduate student in counselor education, on diversity among cultures.
“We have to break up barriers between other cultures and try your best to do it. You can celebrate Chinese festivals and food, but we relate to it as Americans,” Chen said. “We have to try and do different things more often and realize what a culture is like.”
At the end of the video, Mun Wah challenges the audience to “walk through our fears and see another world.” He also mentioned Tuesday Talks are a wonderful opportunity for students and others to take his advice in a friendly and welcoming environment. Tuesday Talks are held in room 1301 of the Student Health Services Building, Tuesdays from noon to 1p.m.
