Rumy Mohta is a prominent figure around Richmond who has been tirelessly working to engage with members of the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community. While Mohta wasn’t a former player or coach, he shares a philosophy that resembles that of the Kicker’s motto: “Joyful. Authentic. United.”
Mohta is from Mumbai, India, and came to the states in 1986 to finish his Master’s degree at VCU in chemistry. Mohta has a very pragmatic view of how to go about life, how to connect people, communities and cultures, and, better yet, how to handle bigotry and ignorance. Mohta has met with important political figures around Richmond and Virginia. Names such as Northam, McAuliffe, and Herring have become acquaintances for Mohta as he’s paved the way for the AAPI community in the Richmond metro area.
Mohta attributes much of his influences to his religion, Zoroastrianism, which is one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions. Zoroastrianism predates even Judaism and praises a deity called Ahura Mazda, or wise lord. The celebrated wisdom of this deity is a trait that Mohta certainly touts. According to Mohta, much of his influence also came from the Jesuit priests at the Catholic school he attended as a child.
“Even though it was a public school, we were compelled to wear uniforms. And that made everybody equal regardless of your social status,” Mohta said.
Mohta met his wife here in Richmond, who is also part of the AAPI community, being from the Philippines. Mohta describes Richmond in the late 80s and 90s as a totally different cultural landscape. What is now a town full of VCU students and transplants from around the country and even the world, used to be a fairly uniform-looking city.
Less of the hustle and bustle, certain neighborhoods and areas weren’t quite as prominent and blooming as they are now. There was no Scott’s Addition like today, a hot seat for breweries. Jackson Ward is now a lively and diverse spot full of restaurants ranging from authentic Southern-Black food and Latin American cuisine to the pinnacle of Jewish cuisine at Perly’s.
“The diversity has just expanded in the last 10 to 15 years in Richmond,” Mohta said, “Slowly, the Richmond region has become very diverse. The diversity you’ll find probably closer to the VCU campus”.
Mohta appreciates Richmond for what it is, still being part of the South, and said that he understands that anywhere in the world there will always be some, “knuckleheads.”
Mohta said he recently assisted in an effort across the city to get elderly folks vaccinated, and not just AAPI’s but members of the Latinx community as well as the Arab-American community from Chesterfield to Henrico. Mohta believes he helped approximately 1200-1400 people get vaccinated.
According to Mohta, there are a few reasons why some individuals had to step up and lead vaccine efforts to the elderly. This highlights why these efforts to think of inclusion are so impactful during this pandemic and with vaccination efforts in full throttle.
“Some seniors were not able to get online, or receive the phone call, as well as language barrier-problems also,” Mohta said, “The more people that get vaccinated the faster we can recover as a county, as a state, as a country.”
Mohta above all else praised the importance of education when it comes to diversity, culture, race and religion. He believes that through proper forms of education, people can learn from their ignorance and learn to love one another instead of spreading hatred.
“People do not realize that the Middle East is a part of Asia too,” Mohta said. “You’re looking at Saudi Arabia, you’re looking at Dubai, or the [United Arab Emirates] all of those countries; Iran, Tajikistan, north of that, Russia is also Asia.
“When you say Asian they always talk about the Chinese or probably the Japanese or Korean, but they never think of the Iranians, or the Iraqis and even the Jewish people.”
Dealing with bigotry or snarky, objectifying jokes is something that Mohta is well versed in, and handles with grace and a bit of his own humor. Mohta described an instance of a work superior attempting to joke with him about national holidays, but Mohta is a man that demands respect and fair treatment.
“My manager came by as a joke,” Mohta said. “He said, ‘Hey tomorrow is July 4th, I need you to be working here since you’re not a US citizen.’ I said, ‘absolutely, but August 15 is the Independence Day of India, so I’ll take that day off.’ And he said, ‘you cannot.’ ‘Sure I can, I’m an Indian citizen and you can’t stop me.’”
Mohta describes his tactics for dealing with bigotry as a sort of reversal.
“When people make a joke I take them up on it and flip it back on them,” Mohta said, “I personally don’t take things lying down, I’m very blunt and I will say things the way I am.”
Mohta has been working on a petition to change the curriculum in textbooks as well as working to have different religious holidays observed, which has been an issue he has seen firsthand in certain homeowner associations that have rules restricting how long a celebration flag can be out for a holiday.
“My HOA says after two weeks of the holiday you take them down. Those rules cannot be applied and today, if I had to put it up and somebody came and gave me notice, I would challenge them. How can you say it’s only a Christian holiday that you can put it up for,” Mohta said.
This would conflict with the celebration of Ramadan, a month-long religious holiday known for periods of fasting, reflection and prayer. And these are the types of ignorance that Mohta likes to challenge. To help others who are underrepresented in the community feel seen or heard.
“I mean, that’s something you take with a grain of salt, and people are people. I always believe that the change comes from within. I cannot influence other people to change. I think people are slowly changing for the better. So that’s one good way of looking at it,” Mohta said.
Mohta dabbles in various ways around the Richmond area connecting with many different minorities and groups just like the AAPI community. From trade and commerce to global marketing and communications, Mohta seems to be a jack of all trades around Richmond. The kind of leader who will work tirelessly to make sure others are treated fairly, that different cultures can come together and learn from each other, and find peace and love amongst one another. A true ambassador for equality and diversity.
