Karen Lew Biney-Amissah

Interview Summary: Karen Lew Biney-Amissah was born and raised in New York City. She is interested in issues of identity and reflects on her own identity as an American and a New Yorker and how it has changed throughout her life. She tells the story of how her family immigrated to America in spite of the presence of the Chinese Exclusion Act. She talks about the impact and ongoing legacy of this Act and Chinese immigration quotas on her family name and social relations. She speaks about her Childhood centered upon five blocks in Lower Manhattan. She discusses the transformative experience of moving from her Childhood neighborhood and small parochial elementary school to a diverse 5000-student school in Brooklyn. She reflects on how New York City has changed through the rise of wealth and types of shops in Fort Greene where here school was based. She also discusses the ongoing debate about her school’s entrance exam and how demographics have changed since students have learned to “game the test.” She takes herself to college at the University of Arizona and discusses how this shaped her political awareness. She talks about her Zuni classmates and how they helped her realize her own implicit biases. A foreign Exchange student in early 1990s Beijing, she describes her experiences of witnessing the opening up of China and what it was like to live somewhere where, based on her looks, she looked like she belonged. She talks about her experience with AmeriCorps in Denver, Colorado and how it was a transformative experience that introduced her to non-profit work and service. She discusses how this experience has lead her to a career in working with alternative education for youth. Choosing to attend Bank Street School of Education’s Museum Education program, she talks about the importance of linking education to place and education as part of community development. She closes with a reflection on her mom, who she considers a trail blazer for women of her time.