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  • Hello, everyone.
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  • Thank you so much for joining us.
  • My name's Athena.
  • I'm with Outreach and Continuing Education at Western C.A.R.E.S.
  • here at Western Washington University.
  • And I'll be acting as your host today
  • for this session of Stories to Tell.
  • Just a note-- the interview today is being recording,
  • and we will be archiving these for the Center for Pacific
  • Northwest Studies and the South Asian-American
  • Digital Archives.
  • And they will be made available to the public for research
  • and teaching and education.
  • And a little bit quickly about Western C.A.R.E.S.
  • We started this as a resource for us
  • to connect and share and maintain
  • our sense of community and engagement during these days
  • where we're trying to stay home, and stay healthy, and take
  • care of each other.
  • These are online, interactive sessions
  • put on by your colleagues and peers who
  • are volunteering their time to share these interests
  • and experiences with you.
  • As your host, I'm going to introduce your session.
  • And then I'm here to provide any tech support you may need.
  • Know that you entered the call today
  • with your sound muted and your video
  • off because we are recording today,
  • and that helps us keep the video focused on our speakers.
  • There will be time at the end where, if you'd like,
  • we'll turn on your sound for questions.
  • If you're not comfortable with that,
  • there's also a chat option in Zoom, often on the side,
  • where you can type in your question.
  • And we'll be watching that as well.
  • So thank you so much for joining us.
  • And now I'm going to hand it over.
  • Thanks, Dharitri.
  • Welcome, everyone.
  • This is Stories to Tell.
  • I'm Dharitri Bhattacharjee.
  • I teach in the history department
  • at Western Washington University.
  • In this oral history series, our goal
  • is to explore a diversity of South Asian perspectives
  • on COVID-19.
  • The region of South Asia comprises India, Bangladesh,
  • Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives
  • and Afghanistan.
  • This is the penultimate week, actually.
  • We have one more week to go.
  • And on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,
  • we have been bringing forth, and we will be bringing forth,
  • a new voice for you.
  • I will ask questions for 30 minutes.
  • And after that, we highly encourage
  • you to ask questions to our guest, who
  • today is Kajori Chaudhuri.
  • Minorities and immigrants are routinely
  • absent and underrepresented in archival collections.
  • Hence, I could not be more proud to be convening this series.
  • I will be conducting the interview,
  • but there are a lot of people who
  • have enabled this to happen.
  • I have to acknowledge the contribution of Western C.A.R.E.S.'
  • program specialist, Athena Roth, and Center
  • for Pacific and Northwest Studies archivist, Ruth Steele.
  • And thank you, Kajori Chaudhuri, our guest today.
  • She's Assistant Commissioner at New York City
  • Commission on Human Rights.
  • And we will start off by asking Kajori, I think,
  • tell us a little bit about growing up in--
  • is-- oh yeah, sorry.
  • I was like, where's my interview?
  • So tell us a little bit about growing up
  • in India and what community meant for you when
  • you were growing up.
  • What meaning did it have for you?
  • Thank you so much for having me on the Stories to Tell,
  • Dharitri.
  • So yeah, I mean, I grew up in a very different India.
  • I grew up in a very middle class old neighborhood, what
  • is often, in Bangla, called para, in Central Kolkata.
  • And I was exposed to what a close knit community means.
  • People kind of knew each other by name.
  • Everyone-- as a young person growing up,
  • I would call others who were older than me
  • as so and so aunt or so and so uncle
  • or so and so brother or so-and-so sister.
  • People looked out for each other, stood by each other
  • in difficult times.
  • And I deeply cherish those moments
  • of what it means to belong and what it means
  • to be part of a community.
  • Now, when I'm here, and community outreach is
  • a big part of what I do, I often look back
  • and critically think about, who was missing
  • from this community, right?
  • Like who was not there?
  • Who did I not see?
  • And needless to say, it's sometimes--
  • like I think about Muslim neighbors,
  • caste oppressed neighbors.
  • I don't remember any of them in that little community of mine.
  • I also recall that visibly young boys or older adult men
  • would occupy a lot of the public spaces.
  • Like, you know, they would congregate every day
  • to socialize in public spaces.
  • And women were missing from those spaces, right?
  • So like taking a step back in my life now,
  • I am very cognizant of that.
  • Because as I do the work now, I always
  • think about who are we missing in this community dialogue?
  • Thank you so much.
  • And also quickly, you are from Kolkata, which
  • is an eastern city in India.
  • It's almost close to Bangladesh.
  • And so community was my first question, very nuanced answer
  • to that.
  • And you know how it sort of keeps
  • changing as you think about it.
  • What about social work?
  • You are a professional social worker now.
  • But what did social work mean to you
  • sort of when you were in India as a kid?
  • I have a story to share here.
  • So when I was contemplating getting my graduate degree
  • in social work, I visited a very famous poet in Kolkata
  • with a friend of mine.
  • And, you know, he was just asking what our plans
  • were, what we wanted to do.
  • And I told him that I was going to study to be a social worker.
  • And he mocked my choice and rebuked me and said, why do you
  • need a degree in social work?
  • Anyone can do it, right?
  • And that I think was the essence of what often social work meant
  • when I was kind of growing up or when people looked at it.
  • So people often looked at social work from a very charity model,
  • like you do--
  • because as human beings, we all want to do good.
  • So, you know, it was all about like helping others,
  • doing charity.
  • And that unfortunately does not create space for social change.
  • So since we have the same background-- you know,
  • we're both from India, Kolkata, it's
  • interesting that you mentioned the charity model.
  • Because that is how I think of social work, as well.
  • Right?
  • My mother giving away food, my mother
  • giving away her ornaments, her sari, and this and that.
  • But that's also the kind of social work
  • that comes from certain culture.
  • I think every culture has its own way of
  • sort of doing social work, right?
  • The kind of work I do, like I'm writing
  • a check to this company, that organization.
  • That's the kind of social work I do,
  • very different from what I've seen being done in my family.
  • So as a professionally trained social worker
  • now, what do you think is the place of the charity model
  • kind of social work?
  • Because many cultures thrive on that model even now.
  • Yes, and that has its own space, and that
  • is a really important thing.
  • Because as human beings, again, like
  • for us to be able to help someone
  • who is less fortunate than us, it's
  • kind of part of like our self-actualization process.
  • The issue that I often think about in the charity model,
  • and that is--
  • sometimes that model completely lacks
  • an analysis of things that plague a society.
  • So for instance, if you're talking about India,
  • like thinking about issues of caste, class, gender.
  • Like all these different lenses are missing from the charity
  • model, because you are dependent on someone's goodwill
  • and generosity for the work to happen.
  • And what if that person is unable or does not
  • feel generous one day?
  • So it creates this system where we're not-- we're
  • kind of maintaining the status quo,
  • and it's not creating social change.
  • So to me, there is a place for that,
  • because we do need people to help with that check.
  • But there has to be a system in place,
  • or there has to be a professional delivery
  • of those services.
  • So you went to the poet, and you were going to tell him
  • that you were coming to the US.
  • You ... a slightly discouraging
  • conversation maybe.
  • But at the time, you did come to the US.
  • So tell us about your move to the US.
  • When did it happen?
  • How?
  • And what followed?
  • Sure.
  • So I came to the US in 2005, and I--
  • there was like, you know, I was--
  • I had recently gotten married to the person I deeply loved,
  • and I was going to join him in his journey here.
  • At the same time, I had applied to graduate school
  • and was going to start school in a few months after coming here.
  • And so what-- and you pursued your master's in social work?
  • Tell us a little bit about that.
  • What did that degree mean for you?
  • Sure.
  • So that was, you know, an incredible experience,
  • going to school, going to graduate school here
  • in New York City.
  • One of the first things that happened to me--
  • and I think this is often the immigrant experience--
  • is I became racialized.
  • Like I became a person who had to think about their race.
  • I mean, growing up, I didn't have a much nuanced
  • understanding of race.
  • And in my early years here, I sometimes
  • think it was often like an existential crisis
  • trying to check a box.
  • Because, you know, the boxes would be like Asian-American,
  • and African-American.
  • And I knew I was from Asia.
  • So I kind of fit into that box.
  • But I wasn't American, so that was--
  • every time, that form like threw me off
  • into an existential crisis.
  • And I often ended up checking the "other" box.
  • So this whole concept of race and racialization
  • and coming to terms with identity
  • was a big part of graduate school here in New York City.
  • And you also received excellent training,
  • because you won these very, very prestigious awards
  • as a social worker and fellowships for the work
  • that you have done.
  • So looking back-- and I want to ask,
  • you know, like a set of questions
  • to you about your role now.
  • But just looking back at the incredible arc of work
  • that you've done, can you think about specific sort
  • of cases that impacted you, that changed you,
  • that were challenging, that had a lot of meaning to you?
  • Before you joined here as assistant commissioner.
  • Sure.
  • I mean, as I mentioned, there was this--
  • you know, I came to this country on the heels of 9/11.
  • And in some ways, being a brown person in New York City
  • led me to find my South Asian communities.
  • And I knew, because of my ability
  • to be full fluency bilingual, and the recent skills that I
  • have developed through going to grad school,
  • that I would be someone who would contribute
  • to the community as much.
  • And this was like a mutual relationship.
  • I needed the community as much as the community needed me.
  • So my trajectory has more than often
  • been working with different South Asian organizations
  • here in New York City.
  • I worked at Sakhi, and then later I
  • worked in another organization called [? Sapna ?] NYC.
  • And there's one particular project that--
  • you know, there are quite a few.
  • But there's just one that kind of stands out
  • for me all the time is, I worked in an NIH funded community
  • based participatory research program that helped address
  • the issue of diabetes in South Asian women using a very
  • culturally competent framework.
  • And you know, it was a research project,
  • and it made a difference.
  • Like we collected data.
  • And this was very meaningful personally to me.
  • Because around the same time, back in India,
  • I lost a very dear childhood friend
  • to diabetes related complications.
  • So to me, this project, and being
  • able to assist women who were exactly like my friend
  • was very, very meaningful.
  • And it felt like, you know, that I was making
  • a meaningful contribution.
  • I'm sorry to hear about your friend.
  • And yes, I found out myself that India
  • is sort of a diabetic capital of the world.
  • You know, it's become-- as Bengalis,
  • we can blame it on the love of rice that we have.
  • So coming to your current role right now--
  • and because I have a set of questions on that,
  • if you could start off by telling us,
  • what is your role as assistant commissioner in New York City's
  • Commission on Human Rights?
  • What do you do?
  • What's your job profile?
  • Mhm.
  • Absolutely.
  • And even before I do that, I'm just going to take a moment
  • and talk about the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
  • Because I do understand not all municipalities have
  • similar rights and protections.
  • So we are a city agency that, on one hand,
  • educates communities about their rights and obligations,
  • and on the other hand enforces the law.
  • And the law itself is called the New York City Human Rights Law.
  • It's a civil rights law, and it protects people in all the five
  • boroughs of the city from discrimination
  • in areas of housing, employment, public accommodations,
  • across like 26 protected categories.
  • So the protections that the law offers
  • are often beyond core civil rights protections,
  • like race, religion, or disability.
  • In many cases, New York City was the first, or one of the first,
  • jurisdictions to have or offer such protections.
  • So my part of the agency is responsible for community
  • outreach, education, and fostering intergroup relations
  • between diverse communities that call New York City home.
  • I oversee personnel, the different-- the borough
  • operations, and work with our specialized aid advisors.
  • We use various outreach methods to do so.
  • As we know, communities are unique.
  • And cookie cutter solutions don't work.
  • Informing New Yorkers, that's no matter who you are,
  • where you come from, who you love,
  • how you worship or don't, you are protected under the law.
  • And I also oversee our bias response work.
  • So whenever there is an incident of hate or bias
  • that takes place, because the person
  • is targeted due to one of their protected classes,
  • my team response to it from a very community solutions
  • perspective.
  • So I'm just thinking, you work with the community.
  • And of course, you know, sort of a no-brainer question
  • that will sort of pop up in everyone's mind
  • is like, how do you work right now
  • in the middle of a pandemic?
  • Where, you know, social distancing is the norm.
  • The community cannot get together.
  • Just the definition of community is changing.
  • So what has been the most,
  • ... the obstacles?
  • And how have you been responding to that?
  • And how has the work continued despite the pandemic,
  • or in the middle of the pandemic?
  • Yeah.
  • Great questions, Dharitri.
  • Because as human beings, in general, we crave
  • and we thrive on personal connections to each other,
  • right?
  • So the pandemic definitely has posed a unique challenge.
  • So we've pivoted to a more wider online format of our programs.
  • Like we've organized panels, in language--
  • within our agency, we speak over 30 different languages.
  • You know, language town halls, another way to reach audience.
  • To be honest, I think, you know, in some ways, in one day,
  • we're able to organize multiple of such events.
  • And people may be watching us at that time.
  • Or if we go back and see people--
  • more people have watched later.
  • So all this to say, it is unique.
  • And we are moving with the flow.
  • At the same time, we are cognizant of the fact
  • that we are missing out on several communities, right?
  • Like going back to what I talked about in the first place,
  • like our constant question that we try to grapple
  • with is, who is missing?
  • Who are we missing?
  • So that is definitely a challenge that is there.
  • So you mentioned that one of the work that you do
  • is related to bias response.
  • So can you talk a little bit more in depth about that?
  • Because I think, again, with the pandemic,
  • one of the-- sort of the headline grabbing news
  • has been the biases that have come forth
  • in terms of if you're Asian, if you're Chinese, right?
  • The kind of-- and I mean, that's just what comes to my mind.
  • But how do you deal with bias response?
  • How are you educating?
  • And how are you evaluating the success
  • of the work you're doing?
  • Yeah.
  • So as early as February, we--
  • so one of the ways that we work with different communities
  • is we make sure we have staff members who
  • are from the community.
  • So people who look like the people they serve,
  • who speak the same language as the people they serve.
  • So we-- as early as February, we were
  • seeing instances of like anti-Asian bias
  • and discrimination cases in New York City in public spaces.
  • So we got together with advocates and other community
  • organizations to, you know, on one hand
  • to make sure that people knew what their rights
  • and responsibilities were.
  • On the other hand, made sure that people knew how to report.
  • Because that's the other thing.
  • We often see that communities, particularly
  • immigrant communities, often under report
  • for various reasons.
  • And we also made sure that we were
  • talking very boldly and very clearly
  • that scapegoating entire communities
  • and blaming them for a virus is completely not
  • acceptable in New York City.
  • Like that's not OK.
  • And so we listened to the community.
  • We created a feedback loop.
  • We made sure we were working closely to--
  • so the city was responding to these incidents.
  • We also did another thing in collaboration
  • with another organization, and we
  • created these bystander intervention trainings.
  • Where we often felt like, you know, human beings wanted
  • to like-- you know, if there was a bias incident happening,
  • a lot of times people felt that they could intervene
  • but didn't have the right tools to do so.
  • And of course, making sure that they were safe first in order
  • to do it.
  • So one of the things that we did were,
  • working with the Center for Anti-Violence Education,
  • created these bystander intervention trainings
  • and do them and spread them out in different languages.
  • So different kind of community related response to bias
  • along with making sure people were
  • aware through different community and ethnic media
  • outreach and other such tools that we
  • responded to many of these incidents that happened.
  • And we continue to do so.
  • So another sort of kind of work you do
  • is also reaching out to underserved populations, right?
  • And including your outreach services.
  • So again, how has that changed?
  • And how have you continued to do that?
  • One of the ways--
  • you know, I mean, communities in New York City,
  • or anywhere, as a matter of fact,
  • could be underserved because it's across different lines.
  • It's across racial lines, religious lines, immigration
  • status, gender identity.
  • And we often see that, for communities-- particularly
  • recent immigrant communities-- there
  • is a historic distrust in government for various reasons,
  • including the fact that some people have migrated
  • to another country because to leave
  • the experience in their home country,
  • to kind of get away from the experience with government back
  • in their home country.
  • So that has always been a unique challenge.
  • And again, making sure that we are hiring
  • and working with staff who represent the community is
  • a big part of it, working with different community based
  • organizations that serve different communities so
  • that we have a partner who is bringing us in and is
  • like a more trusted source than we are as part of government.
  • And making sure that, you know, when issues come to us,
  • that we are immediately responsive.
  • Like that those are some ways that we
  • make sure that the communities that are identified as
  • underserved, that we continue to be able to serve them,
  • even during this pandemic.
  • Thank you.
  • So my next question for you is directed to you
  • as a New Yorker.
  • OK, so if you look at March.
  • In March, I'm-- what do I think of New York as sort of one
  • of the worst examples coming from the West.
  • But just in the last two, three weeks,
  • it looks like the narrative has changed.
  • It's being compared to Europe, which at this point
  • is a huge compliment.
  • So as a New Yorker, how do you feel?
  • Like how your city has done, and how
  • do you feel right now looking ahead?
  • I have to say, as a New Yorker, I'm
  • extremely proud of my fellow New Yorkers.
  • We were resilient.
  • We-- in the face of great adversity, we came together,
  • followed public health guidance, followed the science
  • and collectively helped flatten the curve.
  • When it was time to stay at home at the beginning
  • of the pandemic, we stayed at home.
  • When things started opening up in phases,
  • we practiced and continued to practice both social distancing
  • roles as well as wearing masks in public spaces.
  • We understand that this is a public health crisis
  • and politicizing it is not going to help anyone.
  • So I am-- as a New Yorker, I'm really appreciative and proud
  • of all of us, how we came together essentially
  • to deal with this pandemic.
  • So the social work sector, right?
  • How has that sector done?
  • And my question is coming from the fact that, of course,
  • I mean, for all of us living through this, you know?
  • All our professions are undergoing changes.
  • I am from academia.
  • Right now, the most important discussion
  • is like, how important is it to be in class and teaching?
  • Or can you just teach on Zoom for the next two years, right?
  • So what are some of the critical conversations that
  • are happening in your sector?
  • And it doesn't have to be from New York.
  • Have you been following the work that your sector
  • has been doing in other parts of the world, in US, wherever?
  • Yeah.
  • So a couple of things.
  • One, I think, is the role of social workers,
  • particularly those engaging in mental health profession,
  • has become--
  • excuse me-- has become very critical.
  • I mean, you know, we all have seen it.
  • Like the pandemic has affected everyone
  • with like coping with loss, isolation, trauma.
  • And social workers, along with other mental health providers,
  • have kind of stepped up to that role.
  • Because that's where the need is.
  • Similarly, in terms of other sectors,
  • the nonprofit sector is also taking
  • a hit in terms of unemployment, loss of funding,
  • and other related issues.
  • So those are the new realities of the sector.
  • As I mentioned earlier, a lot of this work is in person, right?
  • Like we-- as human beings, we crave that in-person connection
  • to another human being.
  • And now moving this entire thing virtually is a transition.
  • So that's another part of the sector is also dealing with,
  • how do you continue to provide the same quality of service
  • but to do it in a virtual way?
  • So there's a question that we've been
  • asking everyone in this series.
  • And the question is if there was a certain moment when
  • you realized you're living through a global pandemic,
  • which is historic.
  • So if there was a moment, can you describe the moment?
  • Sure.
  • So I think it has been a series of moments.
  • It's kind of difficult to pinpoint one.
  • But I do have a life mimicking art realization moment.
  • So during the pandemic, I actually
  • have been watching old episodes of Downton Abbey.
  • In Session 2, you know, they celebrate the new year
  • and welcome 1920 with hope and resiliency
  • after having suffered loss and grieved
  • through the war and the Spanish flu.
  • While watching that episode, I
  • feel I have one of those moments when I realize,
  • you know, it is, end of day, still art.
  • But that 100 years later, we are in the midst
  • of another global pandemic.
  • And it also made me realize, in a very weird way,
  • this too shall pass, and we will come out of it
  • in a different way.
  • Is there anything you would
  • like, you know, again from your perspective,
  • like a word of advice or anything
  • else that you'd like to share with our audience?
  • Sure, I do.
  • I hope everyone who's listening in or will listen in later,
  • for us to realize that there is no stigma,
  • there is no shame in seeking help
  • when we are having difficulties, processing things, making
  • sense of things.
  • The pandemic has made precarious and deeply
  • affected everybody's well-being, from young kids to older
  • adults.
  • And we all feel a range of emotions,
  • or even feel nothing at all, be numb.
  • And it is OK for all of us to experience that--
  • those feelings.
  • And it is OK to seek help.
  • Because, you know, if something was physically wrong
  • with our body, we would have sought help.
  • And it is OK to do that for our mental health, as well.
  • So the social worker in me cannot stress this enough.
  • Thank you so much.
  • And though we hear this, in a lot of venues and all that.
  • But I just think--
  • I've always felt that it bears repeating, only because someone
  • might be--
  • who should be listening to this right
  • now is hopefully listening.
  • So thank you so much.
  • And at this point, I will ask our audience
  • to-- if they want to ask questions to Kajori,
  • this would be the time.
  • So you can turn on your microphone.
  • You can also turn on your video so that we can see you.
  • And you can ask questions to Kajori.
  • And if you do not feel like asking the question,
  • some people have in the past us also typed questions.
  • So that will also be completely acceptable.
  • So yes, we have some time.
  • Please raise your hand or say something
  • if you want to ask the question to Kajori.
  • Hi, Kajori.
  • My name is Amber.
  • Thank you so much for telling your story.
  • Hi, Athena.
  • Hi, Dharitri.
  • Hi, Ruth.
  • It's so inspiring to hear about the ways
  • that New York has embraced really multicultural
  • leadership.
  • And I think I have two questions.
  • One, you know, the South Asian-American communities
  • were particularly hard hit kind of at both ends of the spectrum
  • during COVID, both being frontline workers in hospitals
  • and in places like taxi drivers and food delivery
  • and restaurant workers and things.
  • So I guess my question is, as a South Asian-American woman,
  • were there any tools that you kind of--
  • I mean, obviously, your professional training
  • as a social worker.
  • But are there any ways in which you felt you were particularly
  • well equipped to serve the Sikh communities, South
  • Asian American communities?
  • And then my second question is maybe more personal,
  • which is what is it that you are most proud of, that you feel
  • like you have been able to do in your work
  • during this time for the communities writ large--
  • the communities that you serve?
  • It's nice meeting you too, Amber.
  • So I think for essential workers,
  • and the way we've seen it here in New York City, our goal--
  • and we have-- so I was talking about the war, right,
  • a little while ago.
  • So some of the things are covered.
  • So like for instance, in housing,
  • someone cannot be discriminated because of, A,
  • their country of origin, B, because of their lawful
  • occupation.
  • So we've had inquiries--
  • and we've made sure, on the outreach part, where
  • my part of the agency works, is making sure
  • that the communities were aware of this.
  • And then, on our law enforcement side, they took these inquiries
  • and did pre-complaint interventions on cases
  • where, let's say someone is a South Asian essential worker,
  • and their landlord decides that, you know, you are probably
  • bringing COVID into the building,
  • so I'm going to charge you extra to do the cleaning.
  • And that's discrimination under the law.
  • So being able to make sure that the information under the law
  • is available.
  • So we worked very closely with like organizations
  • like, you know, the--
  • I personally did the town hall with the American Pakistani
  • Advocacy Group, like some of my colleagues
  • did with [? Triple-A ?] NY and other places,
  • just making sure that communities were aware.
  • That's one.
  • And the other part to it is, you know,
  • I think there are moments.
  • But honestly, no matter what we do,
  • it always feels there's more we can do.
  • So, I mean, I think a lot of our bias response work--
  • particularly, one thing that I personally felt was like
  • a beautiful moment of community solidarity was--
  • as I'd said, you know, we work through different lead advisor
  • and liaisons who work with different communities
  • in New York City and making sure that communities have
  • direct access to government.
  • And that's exactly what the role of government should be, right?
  • So our lead advisor for our African communities
  • came to us saying that the community has been talking
  • about their experience during Ebola,
  • like facing the similar discrimination
  • and bias that had occurred a few years ago, right?
  • Ebola was a few years ago.
  • Right.
  • So then we brainstormed and we then were like, would it help--
  • and we created this with, again, our partners, the Center
  • for Anti-Violence Education, a bystander intervention training
  • that focused on those experience--
  • was able to draw upon those experiences
  • for the African community and connect them with the reality
  • now.
  • So building community solidarity and being able to do that,
  • I think that was like one of my highlights.
  • But again, you know, there's more--
  • we've done so and so, and we have more to do.
  • That gives me chills.
  • I think that was--
  • it's such important work.
  • Thank you for doing it.
  • Any other questions?
  • OK.
  • I'll hand it over to Athena.
  • But I really find it very exciting
  • that every week, apart from the usual suspects
  • I often see, like someone new like Janna, Matt, Mary,
  • [INAUDIBLE].
  • Thank you for coming.
  • So we have one more this week on Thursday,
  • and we have two more interviews, and next week is the last week.
  • So please keep coming if you're interested, and all of these
  • will be available for decades and decades to come.
  • Because they're all being recorded
  • and it's going to be part of a Western's archival collections.
  • So thank you again for taking the time to join.
  • And Kajori, thank you so much.
  • And I'll hand it over to Athena now if there's
  • anything she wants to add.
  • Great.
  • No, thank you so much for another wonderful interview.
  • And again, just to echo what you said,
  • thank you to everyone for being here.
  • I also appreciate looking across and seeing some new names
  • and old names joining us week after week.
  • It's so wonderful our audience is such an important part
  • of this project.
  • And the questions you bring are always wonderful.
  • So thank you so much for joining us.
  • And we hope to see you again on Thursday
  • or next week for another session of Stories to Tell.
  • Have a wonderful afternoon and thank you so much.
  • Thank you to you both for today.
  • Thank you.
  • Bye, everyone.
  • Thank you.
  • Thank you, everyone.
  • Bye.
  • Bye.