My First Experience With Racism

MIXED ASIAN MEDIA - MAY 19, 2021

By Kristen Lau

 
Handwritten text stating: "My first experience with racism"
 
A woman enters a clothing store while holding her child's hand. The two are smiling at each other. Text below alludes to how the author (the child) was out clothing shopping with her mom, which her mom was very excited about
The elderly woman angrily walks away. The mother stands protectively in front of her daughter, who stands in bewilderment. The text below describes the author's confusement over what the elderly woman meant by "their kind"
A mother is crouched down to be at eye level with her child. Text surrounds them representing concerned bystanders checking in on them such as "are you ok?" "pay her no mind." The text below reveals how the mother was raised to repress her emotions
An older woman aggressively leans towards the mother, who stands protectively in front of her child, who looks concerned. The text below alludes to the woman telling "their kind" to return to "their own country"
A mother crouches down to lovingly look her child in the eye. The child looks up concerned. The text below outlines the mom checking in on the author to see if she was ready to go home
A child looks in on her mother privately crying in her room. The text below outlines the author's amazement at her mother's strength until she alone to let out her frustrations of not being deemed American as a 3rd generation immigrant
 

Kristen "Hapa" Lau is a SoCal native currently living and working as a Freelance Character Designer and Storyboard Artist for a variety of clients, including Fandango, Viacom, Kickstart Entertainment, Wildbrain Studios and Google. Eager to constantly learn new techniques, improve her craft and cultivate stories that resonate with different cultures, Kristen uses inspiration from her Chinese Japanese-Hawaiian Mexican heritage, which provides multiple perspectives of coming of age, hardships, love, loss and growth. Passionate about design, character development and storytelling, Kristen is currently working on her first art book–specializing in gestures, design and personal stories. In her spare time, Kristen enjoys nature, coffee shops, snorkeling and scuba diving.

Always with a sketchbook in hand, you can follow Kristen on Insta @hapababie, www.kristenlau.com, or reach out for commissions at kristenhapalau@gmail.com.