Norwich Connecticut Appellate Court Judge Nina F. Elgo recalled a day in elementary school when a boy cornered her and said: “what are you? Are you a Jap? Are you a Chink?”
The stunned girl went home and asked her Filipino immigrant parents what the boy meant. Dissatisfied at the answer, Elgo said it took her years to understand her feelings and response to the experience.
Elgo recalled the incident during a forum Tuesday at Norwich Free Academy that featured several prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders discussing their heritage and the importance of mentoring young students as future leaders. In the program, NFA students in the Asian Cultures Club organized the event as part of the school’s marking of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.