Location: Sesnon Faculty Gallery at Porter College
A graphic memoir of uncommon power, Eddie Ahn's remarkable debut Advocate (Ten Speed Graphic intertwines family history with the unvarnished realities of fighting for environmental justice. The child of immigrants, Ahn's family was fractured by the Korean War-a history he tries to understand through memories of his grandfather and the writing he left behind. Growing up, Ahn's parents run a liquor store and dream of a different future for their son-though not the nonprofit work he finds himself pulled towards before and after law school. Becoming the director of Brightline Defense, an environmental justice organization, An learns the complexity of working within communities and navigating political spaces, all while dealing with the demands of financial hardship and racial profiling, the orange skies of the climate crises and the urgency of the pandemic. Essential reading for anyone drawn to environmental and immigration issues, as well as nonprofit work and community organizing.