MLS Seattle Sounders FC

Sounders FC Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Published on April 30, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Seattle Sounders FC News Release


SEATTLE, WASH. ‚¬" Sounders FC today announced special club programming surrounding the celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As part of the club's ongoing commitment to anti-racism and social justice, the Rave Green are using the month of May to promote and support local AAPI-owned businesses, elevate the voices of AAPI historical and cultural experts and encourage physical activity and free play through a soccer training session and ball giveaway in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.

Throughout May, Sounders FC continues its partnership with Intentionalist, an online guide to intentional spending. Intentionalist supports small businesses and diverse local communities by making it easier to find and support businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, families and people with disabilities.

On Sunday, May 2, in celebration of the club's first home match during AAPI Heritage Month, Sounders FC and Intentionalist are highlighting five AAPI-owned restaurants - such as Seattle Best Tea, pictured here - with a special Sounders FC x Intentionalist deal. Sounders FC is providing a $200 tab toward each deal, allowing customers placing takeout orders through the restaurant to receive the featured item for free by mentioning Sounders FC x Intentionalist.

More information about the featured establishments, deals and owner stories can be found here. Deals are available throughout the day on May 2 until each tab is exhausted, so fans should plan an outing and enjoy a matchday treat on Sounders FC, while supporting local AAPI-owned restaurants.

"Intentionalist is proud continue our partnership with Seattle Sounders FC in support of the diverse small businesses at the heart of our communities, ‚¬Â said Intentionalist Founder and CEO Laura Clise. "AAPI Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate AAPI-owned businesses and the people and stories behind them. Throughout May, we invite the community to show their solidarity with AAPI communities and #SpendLikeItMatters!"

Intentionalist is featuring AAPI-owned businesses in the Puget Sound region throughout the month. Fans who visit these restaurants at any point throughout May can post a review of any AAPI-owned small business on the Intentionalist website for a chance to win an Intentionalist gift card and Sounders FC prizes. Winners will be drawn on five Sounders FC matchdays during the month: May 9, May 12, May 16, May 23 and May 29.

Sounders FC is also dedicated to using the month to elevate the voices of local AAPI historical and cultural experts through partnerships with Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and Densho.

Located in Seattle's CID, the Wing Luke Museum is the nation's only museum dedicated to the pan-Asian Pacific American community and works to offer an authentic and unique perspective on the American story with dynamic, community-driven exhibition and programs. Densho is a grassroots organization committed to preserving, educating and sharing the story of the WWII-era incarceration of Japanese Americans to deepen understanding of American history and inspire action for equity.

Throughout May, Sounders FC and Wing Luke Museum, pictured here, are partnering to provide free admission to anyone wearing a Sounders FC jersey. Fans can show their support of the Rave Green while receiving no-cost access to Wing Luke Museum's extensive collection of exhibits that educate and celebrate the AAPI experience. Opening May 7, the museum is set to showcase a new exhibit, Community Spread: How We Faced a Pandemic, that examines the early days of the pandemic to show how uncertainty, fear, anti-Asian racism and existing inequalities shaped the way COVID-19 has affected different AAPI communities.

"The Wing Luke Museum is excited to partner with Sounders FC on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and highlight these communities on a national level, ‚¬Â said Wing Luke Museum Deputy Executive Director Cassie Chinn. "With our upcoming exhibits, virtual programs and tours, and #OurStoriesAreYourStories campaign, we hope to elevate the conversations and stories around AAPI history, culture, and experiences and continue to push the narrative of what it means to be American. ‚¬Â

Additionally, the Rave Green are curating content this month to participate in the #OurStoriesAreYourStories campaign, which benefits the Wing Luke Museum with contributions to its permanent oral history archive. Launching in the coming days, the media campaign highlights the unique voices and stories of members of the AAPI community to create understanding, empathy and connection. Stories shared through the campaign will be preserved as part of Wing Luke Museum's archives. More information will be shared with the public and promoted via Sounders FC's social channels, and fans can follow @OurStoriesAreYourStories and @OSAYS_AAPI on Twitter.

Sounders FC, Wing Luke Museum experts and Intentionalist CEO Laura Clise are also partnering to tell the stories of featured AAPI-owned restaurants in Chinatown-International District. Fans have the chance to learn the history of the neighborhood and stories of the businesses that make it unique by signing up for Wing Luke Museum's "Dinner Date with History ‚¬Â series.

Together with Densho and Wing Luke Museum, Sounders FC is further elevating voices of local experts and sharing learning and growth opportunities with its fans through curating a variety of virtual events through both cultural organizations. Available via a dedicated section of the team website, fans can read more about these special online events and register to attend.

Densho presents a virtual book launch for Facing the Mountain, a book about WWII Japanese American incarceration and the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Written by New York Times bestselling author Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys on the Boat, the virtual event features a conversation between Brown and Densho Executive Director Tom Ikeda, who has conducted oral histories with many of the men highlighted in Brown's work. Fans can register via Sounders FC or by visiting Densho.org/Mountain.

Wing Luke Museum is hosting a variety of virtual programming, including Book-O-Rama virtual book talks; Food for Thought: Dinner Date with History, a virtual food and history event with a local chef; and Asian American Women Rising: Not Your Model Minority Talk, an event with inspiring women from the Pacific Northwest and the history and current issues of women activists.

Additional information on Wing Luke Museum events can be found at WingLuke.org.

In furtherance of Sounders FC and RAVE Foundation's belief in removing barriers to participation in soccer and sport for all children and that the right to play ‚¬" regardless of race, income, ability or where you live ‚¬" is a human right, RAVE Foundation is also organizing a free soccer play day for kids, including a clinic and ball giveaway in the Chinatown-International District.

Scheduled for Saturday, May 15 at Hing Hay Park, the event features pop-up 2v2 soccer on five mini-fields for free play, a skills clinic and ball giveaway for 100 youth living in the CID, all of whom are additionally receiving a pass for free admission to Wing Luke Museum.

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 30, 2021


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