Annie Tan is an educator, storyteller, writer, speaker, and activist based in New York City. Annie’s work as an educator and advocate has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Republic, PBS’ Asian Americans, and twice on The Moth Radio Hour. Annie is currently working on her first book, a memoir.
You can find Annie on Twitter and Instagram at annietangent. Annie is available for speaking engagements and storytelling events: you can see more about Annie’s speaking here. To contact Annie, email at annietangent@gmail.com or fill out this contact form.
Selected Media
Video
Watch Interviews:
- The Try Guys and Eugene Lee Yang: “We Need to Talk About Anti-Asian Hate” (Mar. 24, 2021, 1:10:08)
- Reel Asian Film Fest: “Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987) Documentary Discussion Panel” (May 2021)
- CNN: “NYC Teachers Fear Schools Are Not Ready to Safely Reopen” (Sept. 14, 2020, 05:38)
- CNN: “NYC teachers protest school reopenings with mock caskets and skeletons” (Aug. 26, 2020, 03:25)
- AJ+: “Teachers Fear For Their Safety As The Fall Term Looms” (Aug. 14, 2020, 02:03)
- PBS’ “Asian Americans“: “It Reminds Me I Have a Legacy To Live Up To” (YouTube link) (May 12, 2020, 4:10)
- The China Current: “My Cousin Vincent” (Aug. 14, 2020, 07:02)
- Novus Club: “Annie Tan – Teacher, Activist, Storyteller” (Jan. 25, 2021, 43:06)
- PIX 11 NY: “Teachers union surveying members on state of NYC schools” (Dec. 15, 2020, 02:21)
- Fox 5 NY: “Teachers in NYC asking for donations to buy PPE, cleaning supplies” (Aug. 19, 2020, 02:39)
- NBC Nightly News: “Parties At Reopened Colleges Increase Fears Of Coronavirus Outbreaks” (August 16, 2020, interview with Annie starting 0:32)
- NYCAASC 2020 New York City Asian American Students Conference Keynote Speaker (April 25, 2020, starts 15:10, ends 40:10)
- The China Current: “A lot of people left New York’s Chinatown after 9/11” (Oct 2019, 05:16)
- Sunset Park Stories with Betty Yu: “Annie Tan” (Sep 2018, 03:14)
- NYC Opt Out: Advocating for Fair Admissions Policy Post-COVID (Jun 12, 2020)
Watch Annie’s Stories:
- Stories From The Stage: “The Children-of-Immigrants Hustle” (March 20, 2023, 7:27)
- The Artichoke: “The Smelliest Block in NYC” (July 10, 2021, 07:49)
- Abrons Art Center: “What It’s Like Growing Up on the Smelliest Block in NYC” (Mar. 26th, 2021, 05:32)
- Unreeling Storytelling Show: “Putting Myself First” (Oct. 24, 2020, 11:59)
- Crushing The Myth: “Bringing Solidarity Back Home” (Sept. 3, 2020, 12:18)
- Speech at Rally Opposing Unsafe NYC School Reopening (Aug 20, 2020, 6:33)
- Crushing The Myth: “How I Got My Asian American Groove Back” (Aug 2019, 10:55)
- 80 Minutes Around the World Immigration Stories: “Bringing Corey to Dinner” (Dec 2019, 9:29)
- 80 Minutes Around the World Immigration Stories: “Coming and Going Home” (Sep 2018, 15:27)
- The WOW Project: “The Smelliest Block in NYC” (May 2017, 8:49)
Podcasts and Audio:
Listen to Annie’s Stories:
- The Moth Radio Hour: “Remembering Vincent” (11:05) as featured on the episode “Squeaky Wheels” (October 2018, 50:58)
- RISK! “Allegiance” (16:50) as featured on the episode “Bringing To Light” (Feb. 2021, 52:58)
- The Moth Radio Hour: “Drumstick, Please” (7:30) as featured on the episode “Play it Again, SLAM” (July 2020, 50:54)
- Immigration Stories Podcast: “Annie Tan on living fully in her two worlds” (Oct 2019, 41:37)
- Love Hurts Podcast: “Jook-sing” (Oct 2018, 36:05)
Listen to Interviews with Annie:
- NPR’s 1A: “The Teacher Shortage Is Testing America’s Schools” (September 13, 2022)
- Rumble with Michael Moore: “Ep. 175: Michael’s Afternoon with the Killer of Vincent Chin + #STOPASIANHATE with Annie Tan” (Mar. 23, 2021, 1:08:59)
- Reply Guys: “Solidarity September with Annie Tan” (Sept. 2, 2020, 1:22:07)
- The Reluctant Phoenix: “Episode 5: Annie Tan” (Nov. 23, 2020, 42:39)
- Plum Radio Podcast: “Ep. 22: Back to School With No Nurses, Ventilation, or Wi-Fi, ft. Annie Tan” (Sept. 23, 2020, 1:16:32)
- Belabored: “Is It Safe to Go Back To School?” (Sept. 18, 2020, starting 1:00:00)
- The EaTing Cast: “Creating Your Own Legacy w/ Annie Tan” (Sept. 14, 2020, 1:22:18)
- Talk Out Of Schools, WBAI 99.5FM: “NYC K-20 Faculty Organizing for Health Justice & Against Racism, Austerity & Job Cuts” (Aug. 2020, starting at 29:25, ending 37:20)
- The Banh Mi Chronicles Podcast: “Surviving to Educate w/ Annie Tan” (Aug. 2020, 1:31:23)
- Warriors of Education Podcast: “Conversations with Annie Tan: Activist, Teacher, and Storyteller” (May 2020, 35:33)
- Activist NYC Podcast: “Annie Tan” (Apr 2020, 55:05)
- Plum Radio Podcast: “Different Skin, Same Blood ft. Annie Tan” (Apr 2020, 42:48)
- Class Time with Kenzo Shibata Podcast: “That Goddamn Racist Biden Ad with Annie Tan, Jaya Sundaresh, and Samuel Kao” (Apr 2020, 1:16:44)
- Class Time with Kenzo Shibata Podcast: “Model Minority Race Traitors w Annie Tan and Samuel Kao” (Dec 2019, 48:16)
- Immigrantly Podcast: “It’s Up to Us to Tell Our Stories” (Feb 2020, 50:52)
- Fish Out of Agua with Michele Carlo Podcast: “feat. Annie Tan” (Jan 2019, 59:31)
The New York Times
Articles and Writing
Articles Written by Annie:
- Jacobin: “A Year After Teachers Closed Them, NYC Schools Are Still Unsafe” by Peter Allen-Lamphere, Andrew Worthington, and Annie Tan (March 20, 2021)
- Huffington Post: “Peter Liang Was Justly Convicted. He’s Not A Victim” by Annie Tan (February 23, 2016)
- Black Lives Matter At Schools NYC: “Practicing the Intergenerational Work” by Annie Tan for (January 23, 2018)
- Edutopia: “Why I’ll Keep Teaching, Despite the Hardships” by Annie Tan (October 31, 2016)
- NYC Opt Out: Testimonials Advocating for Fair Admissions Policy Post-COVID (June 17, 2020)
- Fred Klonsky’s Blog: “I Don’t Want To Be Pushed Out” by Annie Tan (February 6, 2016)
- Wanderlustingk: “Your insider guide to New York’s Chinatown by a native New Yorker” (December 18, 2019)
Articles featuring Annie:
- The New Republic: “I’m a Teacher in New York. I’m Doing My Job by Fighting an Unsafe Reopening.” (August 5, 2020)
- The New Republic: “I’m Teaching From Home and Don’t Know How Long We Can Keep This Up” (May 5, 2020)
- City and State NY: “New York City teachers: Why we stayed and why we left” (September 8, 2022)
- Jezebel: “‘Real Disregard of Our Safety’: Teachers Across the Country Scramble Amid Chaotic School Reopenings” (January 5, 2022)
- NBC News: “Vincent Chin podcast pulled after complaints from family” (June 7, 2021)
- CBS News: “”An unsaid truth”: Why some Asian families are hesitant to discuss racism” (May 5, 2021)
- Bloomberg CityLab: “How to Protect the Asian American Community” (April 20, 2021)
- New York Times: “Racist? Fair? Biased? Asian-American Alumni Debate Elite High School Admissions” (February 6, 2019)
- Columbia College Today: “Activist Annie Tan ’11 Is Speaking Up for Asian Americans” (Summer 2020)
- Nichi Bei: “Teachers, students feel impact of the coronavirus pandemic” (August 27, 2020)
- deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider’s Blog: “Annie Tan: My First-Year Disaster with Teach for America” (May 27, 2020)
- Labor Notes: “Interview: Coronavirus Pandemic Inflames Anti-Asian Racism” (April 6, 2020)
- Truthout: “School Shutdown in Chicago Underscores Attacks on Public Education Nationwide” (April 1, 2016)
- Diversity in Ed Magazine: “Julian Vasquez Heilig and Annie Tan: Uncloaking Inequity” (Fall 2015)
Annie Tan 