It’s adversity, being in the heat of the struggle, that moves us forward
As we celebrate National Poetry Month, we highlight the words of poet and activist Nellie Wong. In last week's Scholar Spotlight, Alice Bai, a Laidlaw Scholar at Barnard College, shared her research on Settlement Orientations and Ethnic Identifications of the Chinese Cuban Diaspora. In her spotlight, Alice expressed her admiration for Nellie Wong, applauding her work amplifying the voices of immigrant communities, and ensuring their histories and experiences are heard and valued through her poetry and activism.
This week, we reflect on Wong's perspective on the importance of adversity and struggling to create an impact:
Overcoming Hurdles Through Poetry and Activism
Nellie Wong is a poet and activist, born in California to Chinese immigrants. Her poetry and activism revolve around racism, sexism, and labour matters. She is known for several poetry collections including Dreams in Harrison Railroad Park (1977), The Death of Long Steam Lady (1986), and Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (2012). Along with others, she founded the poetry and performance collective Unbound Feet, which paved the way for alternate directions for Asian American feminists, navigating topics such as racial and gender discrimination, immigration, and family problems.
In addition to her poetry, Wong belongs to different creative and political groups, such as Radical Women, and the Freedom Socialist Party.
Leadership Driven by Overcoming Adversity
Wong's quote underlines her own experiences and poetic work, which were often born out of adversity, as she states "A lot of my poems come from the workplace; that's where I've experienced a great deal of sexism and racism". As Alice notes in her Scholar Spotlight, despite the struggles Wong lived through, rather than letting these experiences defeat her, she instead focused on preserving the cultural heritage of Chinese immigrants. Through her poetry and activism, she advocated for the rights of marginalised communities, especially Asian Americans. Wong's story shows how art can empower communities and alter society's norms.
Wong's approach aligns with the Laidlaw value of being #Brave and the Oxford Character Project Leadership Virtue of #Integrity. To be brave means standing by our beliefs and values, and creating a space for diverse perspectives. Integrity means to stay principled.
A Call to Reflect
We invite you to reflect on Nellie Wong's powerful leadership insights. Share your thoughts in the comments: How has adversity shaped your leadership journey?
Hi! Having previously been a Laidlaw Undergraduate Scholar studying English Literature at UCL, I’ve recently joined the Laidlaw Foundation as a Community Ambassador and Team Support Executive.
My research looked at collaborative and innovative practices in academic publishing, and community building is something I built a passion for during my Leadership in Action. I’m looking forward to continuing my journey at the Laidlaw Foundation in this new role! Feel free to reach out or connect with me!
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I have always learnt the most from the hard stuff: the roles that I applied for that I didn't get; the roles that I did get where I then found myself in an environment that felt completely alien; recessions; buy-outs; new geographies with very different office expectations; new sectors with their own norms that I didn't understand; dealing with personal loss in the midst of massive corporate activity. It is the difference between driving to the view point on a mountain top vs hiking there. The more arduous the journey, ultimately the more rewarding it is.