Angela Zhou

2020 Miss Los Angeles Chinatown - 1st princess

Heading into the year, my platform was primarily focused on mental health. In the Chinese American community, mental health often comes in the form of pressure and anxiety to look a certain way or to be high achieving in school. It is so important for us to tackle and breakdown the stigma and discrimination of mental health, which has caused so many in our community to suffer in silence. I hope to normalize discussions on mental health in our community so that those who are struggling are met with empathy and understanding.

2020 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in Chinese American history and US history. Over the next year, I want to use my platform to promote not only mental health, but also to focus on the most pressing issues facing our society. Which is why I plan to partner with multiple organizations that are moving forward the Black Lives Matter movement, pushing for institutional changes to end racism, and addressing mental health. This is the year in which we can really make drastic changes not only in our community but the community of others that are facing injustices.

I want to encourage us all to educate ourselves, work for change, and be an active part of the change because 2020 is proving to be the most important year of all.