The Linda Lindas - AAPI Heritage Month Kick-off

Los Angeles Public Library reflects in its programming and projects the many diverse communities encompassed by the City of Angels. During the COVID pandemic when library buildings were still closed to the public, the Library hosted a virtual concert by a teen punk band during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2021. On one of the Library’s TeenTastic Tuesdays, The Linda Lindas gave a high energy performance among the bookshelves at the Cypress Park Branch Library. The Asian and Latinx band members, who ranged in age then from 10 to 15, streamed several numbers for the library’s younger patrons.
To showcase that dynamic concert with a larger audience, LAPL’s social media department shared a clip of a song entitled “Racist, Sexist Boy,” and the Internet exploded. The clip went viral: the energy of the young women, their angry protest against discrimination—particularly against Asian hate that had ratcheted higher during the pandemic—touched a collective nerve and drew widespread media coverage. The Library had selected that song from the many performed to draw attention to the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans. The clip of “Racist, Sexist Boy” received more than 10 million views across the Library’s social media channels. Followers increased by several thousand on Instagram, and media coverage, which included the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, lauded the young band. Every story highlighted the fact that the performance was staged inside one of Los Angeles Public Library’s locations, and nearly two years later, as the band profile increases, media continue to mention their breakout performance inside a library when stories run about The Linda Lindas.
At the end of 2021, Rolling Stone included The Linda Lindas performance in their article, “10 Moments That Made Us Smile in 2021.” Being linked in perpetuity with a diverse band that took a stand against racism and appeals to a young audience, establishes Los Angeles Public Library as a vibrant and relevant institution capable of influencing not only the local community, but the national and international stage as well.