Steppin Out – Memphis Flyer

In 1992, May was officially designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) by the George H. W. Bush administration, but more than 30 years later, this May marks the first time Memphis celebrates AAPI Heritage Month in an official capacity, thanks to the work of SunAh M. Laybourn, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis.

“I just didn’t want another AAPI Heritage Month to go by and for there to be nothing [in Memphis],” she says, especially after last year. “I was feeling sensitive with the rise of and attention to anti-Asian hate, and with it being the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shooting and then what happened with Tommy [Kha’s portrait being removed and reinstated] at the airport, it really just made me so upset. … Last year, I remember googling ‘AAPI Heritage Month list’ just to see if maybe I missed a news story, or maybe I missed some sort of celebration, but I couldn’t find anything. I’m seeing national celebrations where my Asian-American friends in other cities are having this great month of events, and there’s nothing here in the city that I love, in the city that is my home. And so I said, ‘I’ll do it.’”

For this first AAPI Heritage Month in May, Laybourn and community partners have planned a number of activities, including happy hours, screenings, book displays, and the upcoming “Asian American in the South” art exhibition, presented by Google. The exhibition will include artists Tommy Kha, Erin Kim Siao, Anna Cai, Shameka Carter, LiLi Nacht, Yidan Zeng, Sharon Havelka, Vivian Havelka, and Neena Wang.

The exhibition, throughout the planning of AAPI Heritage Month, was a priority for Laybourn, stemming from a conversation last year with Tommy Kha following the airport saga. “I was like, ‘We have to have an art show if nothing else.’ I felt like we needed more visibility of Asian-American artists — because it gives the opportunity for people to understand who Asian Americans are in the South.” After all, the art featured in this exhibition reflects a gamut of experiences, offering unique insights into the Asian-American community in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, photography, and graphic illustrations. “Oftentimes we can have a limited view of other cultures and ethnicities,” Laybourn continues, “and, for me, when talking to the different artists, I said, ‘The theme of the show is Asian Americans in the South, and you can interpret that in any way you want.’”

In addition to perusing art, the first 100 guests will also enjoy a limited-edition, custom AAPI Heritage Month Phillip Ashley chocolate collection, and Inkwell will have themed cocktails available. Admission to the exhibition is free, but make sure to RSVP at aapiheritagemonthmemphis.com/events, where you can also find more information on other upcoming events.

“This is definitely just the start of creating community, not just in May, but throughout the year,” Laybourn says. “And Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month — that’s not just for Asian Americans — it’s for everyone.”

“Asian American in the South,” Museum of Science & History, Thursday, May 18, 6-9 p.m., free with rsvp.

When Emily Guenther, also known as Reverend Omma to her Wiccan congregation, opened The Broom Closet over 10 years ago, she thought of it as a fantasy coming true. “I had spent six or seven years working in advertising,” she says. “It felt very inconsequential, like anybody could do it. It wasn’t feeding my soul, but it paid the bills. … I had this fantasy that like one day I might actually get to retire. And once I did, I would then spend my retirement working at a little store selling herbs to people — that was just this weird kind of daydream that kind of helped me get through the day sometimes.”

But after a rough year with her mother’s passing and losing that advertising job, her husband Stephen urged her to bring her metaphysical store to fruition, and now 10 years later, that store is going strong, offering solace to its customers and selling spiritual supplies from sage for cleansing to gemstones for manifesting. “We strive to serve the spiritual needs of the community,” Guenther says. “We try to cater to everyone regardless of their beliefs or practices, and just help people, talk to them, answer questions, help them find the thing that they need if they don’t know what they’re looking for.”

As such, one of the services The Broom Closet offers is tarot reading — fortune-telling that uses a deck of 78 pictorial cards. Anyone can read tarot, Guenther says, as long as they understand the meanings of the cards and can embrace their intuition, but having someone else read your tarot can offer insights that you might not have to come otherwise. “The thing about tarot,” she says, “is that because we’re all different … we filter through our life experiences and the way that we live our lives. And so if I needed a reading and let’s say I came to you and I know what the cards mean, you’re going to say it or explain it or filter it through your experience in a way that I needed to hear it.”

In a way, it’s like therapy, with someone guiding you through confronting and coping with the uncontrollable — like love or money, two things Guenther says she gets asked about the most.

To kick off the new year, the Broom Closet is hosting a special night of tarot reading for those looking to check in on specific situations in their life and find guidance. Participants will be able to choose from 15-minute tarot readings for $20, 30-minute readings for $40, and 60-minute readings for $70. Readings will be done on a first-come-first-served basis, with no appointments necessary.

To keep up with other event offerings, like workshops and sound baths, at The Broom Closet, follow them on Facebook (@The Broom Closet – Memphis) or Instagram (@ the_broom_closet).

Twilight Tarot: A Night of Tarot Reading, The Broom Closet, Friday, January 6, 6-8 p.m., $20-$70.