Roger Viet Chung

Originally from Oakland, CA, Roger Viet Chung is the lead instructor and curriculum developer of the ROOTS (Restoring our Original True Selves) Program in San Quentin and Solano state prisons, core member of Asian Prisoner Support Committee, and tenure-track faculty in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Laney College in the Peralta Community College District.

The ROOTS program engages a yearlong Ethnic Studies curriculum through weekly and monthly classes with Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) and “Other” incarcerated members of San Quentin and Solano state prisons, respectively. The ROOTS program seeks to increase knowledge about AAPI culture, immigration, refugee histories, health, and racial justice. Through guest speakers, group discussions, and leadership/empowerment activities, ROOTS offers a unique opportunity to address the impact of intergenerational trauma on immigrant and refugee communities and work towards racial justice. The program also builds networks of community support and increases opportunities for social transformation and reentry. Through ROOTS, Roger also currently co-designs the Forbidden Trauma Project with juvenile life-term prisoners in San Quentin State Prison.

At Laney College, Roger is the founding faculty member and current Director of Restoring our Communities, a reentry program that aims to address the unique and nuanced material and academic needs of formally incarcerated community college students.