Evolution of a race riot 1997–2002

In August 1995, Mimi Thi Nguyen started her "multisubcultural revolution" by posting the first flyer for submissions to her punk rock zine Evolution of a race riot. By 1997, she published the inaugural issue, a substantial 100-page "compilation zine written exclusively by people of color in and around punk and grrrl" aimed at fostering "dialogues with each other" and providing a nuanced critique of racism in punk rock while moving away from tokenism and exceptionalism. The first issue of Evolution of a race riot featured around 50 contributors, primarily Asian American and biracial from the U.S. and Canada who were active in punk scenes, the riot grrrl movement, and zine creation. Some articles had been previously published in other fanzines such as Bamboo girl, Exedra, and Hey Mexican!, and subsequently collected in the Evolution of a race riot. It was not until 2002 that Nguyen released two equally significant follow-up issues, one of which was the Race riot project directory, containing a complete list of zines and contact information to help connect zinesters and fans.