One Million Neighbors w/ Dr. Melissa Borja

006: Legacies

In this final episode of One Million Neighbors from Axis Mundi Media, the story comes full circle—linking the refugee resettlement efforts of the 1970s and 80s to present-day struggles over immigration, enforcement, and community resistance. Centered on voices like Reverend Ashley Horan in Minneapolis, the episode captures a moment of moral urgency as neighbors organize to protect one another in the face of ICE raids, detention, and violence. Faith communities, once partners with the government in resettlement, now often stand in opposition, forming networks of mutual aid, direct action, and solidarity. The question that has echoed throughout the series returns with new force: in moments of crisis, who do we choose to be? At the same time, Legacies highlights how the children of refugees are carrying forward the values planted decades earlier. Through stories like Don Hua’s activism and Phimmasone Owens’ refugee-led community garden, the episode shows how acts of welcome can ripple across generations, shaping identities and commitments to justice. These are the fruits of earlier choices—evidence that hospitality can grow into leadership, resilience, and care for others. As the series concludes, it leaves listeners with a challenge: the legacy of “one million neighbors” is still being written, and the responsibility to protect, include, and stand with the vulnerable now belongs to all of us. Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor [https://lsa.umich.edu/ac/people/faculty/mborja.html] of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674989788] (Harvard University Press), which won the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative [https://www.rfmi.princeton.edu/] and Bridging Divides Initiative [https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/]. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project [https://virulenthate.org/] and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. She is a co-founder of Hoosier Asian American Power [https://hoosieraap.org/] and has been active in faith-based refugee resettlement efforts in Indianapolis, where she lives with her family. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. One Million Neighbors is brought to you by Apari, the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. It's part of the Under Gods Project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the AAPI Stories of Faith and Life Project funded by the Lilly Endowment Incorporated.  www.aparri.org [http://www.aparri.org/] www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

005: Bridges

Bridges is ultimately about what it takes to move beyond fear into relationship. From cultural education guides to shared meals, from Lutheran congregations hosting Buddhist monks to volunteers participating in Hmong rituals, the episode highlights the messy, human work of building trust across deep differences. The story of Diane Anderson and First Lutheran Church in St. Paul embodies this shift—from uncertainty to friendship—showing how proximity, humility, and sustained contact can transform strangers into neighbors. In a moment when refugees were often treated as outsiders or threats, these communities modeled a different vision: one where pluralism is practiced, not just preached, and where hospitality becomes a force powerful enough to reshape both individuals and the nation. Through the story of the Hiawatha Valley Farm Cooperative in Winona, Minnesota, we hear how fear, misinformation, and racialized anxiety shaped local resistance to Southeast Asian refugees—especially Hmong families who had been U.S. allies during wartime. Yet even amid protests and hostility, churches and faith communities stepped into the breach, not just as service providers but as moral actors, framing resettlement as a theological commitment to “love thy neighbor” in the face of public backlash. Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor [https://lsa.umich.edu/ac/people/faculty/mborja.html] of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674989788] (Harvard University Press), which won the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative [https://www.rfmi.princeton.edu/] and Bridging Divides Initiative [https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/]. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project [https://virulenthate.org/] and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. She is a co-founder of Hoosier Asian American Power [https://hoosieraap.org/] and has been active in faith-based refugee resettlement efforts in Indianapolis, where she lives with her family. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. One Million Neighbors is brought to you by Apari, the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. It's part of the Under Gods Project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the AAPI Stories of Faith and Life Project funded by the Lilly Endowment Incorporated.  www.aparri.org [http://www.aparri.org/] www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

004: Terror

In this episode of One Million Neighbors from Axis Mundi Media, the realities of anti-refugee violence come into sharp focus through the story of Linda Nguyen, who arrived in Oregon as a child after the fall of Saigon. What should have been a new beginning was instead marked by harassment, isolation, and confusion, as she and other Southeast Asian refugees became targets of blame and resentment. From playground bullying to brutal persecution across communities in California and Texas, the episode traces how the aftermath of the Vietnam War, economic anxiety, and long-standing anti-Asian racism fueled a wave of hostility—sometimes erupting into deadly attacks and organized terror, including campaigns led by the Ku Klux Klan. Yet even amid fear and injustice, Terror highlights the resilience of refugee communities and the importance of resistance. Stories like the Vietnamese Fishermen’s Association’s legal victory against the Klan reveal how refugees and their allies fought back using the tools of the American legal system. The episode also draws connections to the present, reminding listeners that anti-immigrant violence and fear continue to shape lives today. Ultimately, it raises urgent questions about responsibility, belonging, and moral courage: in a nation defined by both welcome and exclusion, what does it mean to stand with those who are most vulnerable—and what kind of society will we choose to become? Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor [https://lsa.umich.edu/ac/people/faculty/mborja.html] of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674989788] (Harvard University Press), which won the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative [https://www.rfmi.princeton.edu/] and Bridging Divides Initiative [https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/]. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project [https://virulenthate.org/] and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. She is a co-founder of Hoosier Asian American Power [https://hoosieraap.org/] and has been active in faith-based refugee resettlement efforts in Indianapolis, where she lives with her family. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. One Million Neighbors is brought to you by Apari, the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. It's part of the Under Gods Project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the AAPI Stories of Faith and Life Project funded by the Lilly Endowment Incorporated.  www.aparri.org [http://www.aparri.org/] www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

003: Resettlement

Episode three of One Million Neighbors begins with a moment of arrival—6:30 a.m. at a quiet Minnesota airport—where Kathleen Vellenga finally meets the Hmong family her church has spent months preparing to sponsor. What follows is a deeply human portrait of first encounters: fear masked by nervous laughter, culture shock in subzero temperatures, and the overwhelming reality of starting over in a place that feels utterly unfamiliar. For refugees who journeyed from Laos through years in Thai refugee camps to small-town America, resettlement was disorienting and often heartbreaking—marked by isolation, confusion, and the painful gap between expectation and reality. But this episode also pulls back to reveal the larger system that made these encounters possible: the uniquely American public-private refugee resettlement partnership. Faith-based organizations and local congregations didn’t just welcome refugees—they became the backbone of the entire process, providing housing, jobs, language support, and emotional care. Through stories of both success and strain, the episode shows how resettlement depended not just on policy, but on relationships—messy, imperfect, and deeply personal. At its best, it was powered by ordinary people choosing to show up for strangers, transforming bureaucracy into something far more meaningful: community. Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor [https://lsa.umich.edu/ac/people/faculty/mborja.html] of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674989788] (Harvard University Press), which won the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative [https://www.rfmi.princeton.edu/] and Bridging Divides Initiative [https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/]. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project [https://virulenthate.org/] and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. She is a co-founder of Hoosier Asian American Power [https://hoosieraap.org/] and has been active in faith-based refugee resettlement efforts in Indianapolis, where she lives with her family. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. This podcast is part of AAPI Stories of Faith & Life, an Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI) project funded by Lilly Endowment Incorporated.  www.aparri.org [http://www.aparri.org/] www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

002: War

Episode two of One Million Neighbors brings us to the chaotic final days of Saigon in April 1975, as ten-year-old Simon Hoa-Phan watches his world unravel. From the terror of nighttime bombings to the desperate crush of families fleeing toward evacuation helicopters, Simon’s story captures the fear, uncertainty, and life-altering decisions faced by thousands as South Vietnam fell. His family’s escape—narrow, chaotic, and uncertain—becomes a window into a much larger phenomenon: the mass displacement of millions across Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, where war, political upheaval, and U.S. intervention forced entire populations to flee under harrowing conditions. At the same time, across the world in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kathleen Vellenga witnesses these events from a hospital bed and feels a call to act. Her personal turning point reflects a broader movement among American faith communities, who would go on to play a central role in resettling more than a million Southeast Asian refugees. This episode traces the historical roots of that movement—from Cold War politics and moral responsibility to deeply held religious convictions—and introduces the ordinary people who made extraordinary choices to welcome strangers as neighbors. Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor [https://lsa.umich.edu/ac/people/faculty/mborja.html] of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674989788] (Harvard University Press), which won the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative [https://www.rfmi.princeton.edu/] and Bridging Divides Initiative [https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/]. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project [https://virulenthate.org/] and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. She is a co-founder of Hoosier Asian American Power [https://hoosieraap.org/] and has been active in faith-based refugee resettlement efforts in Indianapolis, where she lives with her family. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. One Million Neighbors is brought to you by Apari, the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative. It's part of the Under Gods Project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and the AAPI Stories of Faith and Life Project funded by the Lilly Endowment Incorporated.   www.aparri.org [http://www.aparri.org/] www.axismundi.us [http://www.axismundi.us] Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi