fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Desus says race wars are coming. So who’s starting them?
By: Alison Roh Park
Tags: Racism, Race, Asian American, Black Asian Relations, Desus And Mero

This dude is cool, but Desus says Asians have already sided with Whites in impending race wars

Second generation Jamaican kid from the Bronx Daniel Baker, known as Desus of Desus and Mero, said on a recent episode that a race war is starting, painting a picture of a war in which Asians — except for “pen Asians” — have already sided with Whites. This is incredibly good news for early and contemporary U.S. white supremacists who would totally agree with Desus, and in fact engineered the very anti-Asian, racist ideologies this kid is promoting. In a city where Asians are now poorer that Latinx New Yorkers and largely underreported hate crimes are on the rise, whose side is Desus on?

Why is Desus spewing hate?

On another recent episode, Desus and Mero made sexist and racist (YAAAAAAAWWW-WWWWWWNNNNNNN) massage parlor jokes. These jokes, at least for people who pass as “woke” these days, are a product of a series of wars where White imperialism (as implemented by Black, Latinx, and Asian American military personnel) resulted in the most recent example of mass slavery by race — the so-called comfort women enslaved by Japan and then inherited by the U.S.

“Me so horny” comes from a movie where White and Black men share the bodies of Asian women whose countries are being bombed in a war of racist aggression, and where 80 million unexploded U.S. bombs — again, planted by U.S. soldiers of all races and allies — continue to terrorize Asians. So, other than the neck-tattoo bid-serving “pen Asians” that Desus deems down enough — who are facing deportations btw — what Asians exactly are we talking about?

Interestingly, VICE was cofounded by a white supremacist, and seems to be the main narrator on non-Crazy Rich Asian America right now, through the perspective of White and now Black dude-bros celebrated as racially woke. Meanwhile, there is not a single show or spokespeople in the United States about/for/by Asian America comparable to Desus and Mero.

If Desus got in touch with his own roots, maybe he would learn about the over 100,000 Chinese and Indian Asian coolies trafficked around the West Indies — Asian Jamaicans included — enslaved Asian people replacing enslaved Black people. Hence, the popular “chinee’ cake” I’ve been offered by West Indian folks at various points throughout my life.
A Message from APEN’s Executive Director, Miya Yoshitani
By: Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Apen
Tags: Community Organizing, Environmental Justice, Anniversary, Asian American, Social Justice

Last month, half a dozen of APEN’s founders — leaders who made our early beginnings in 1993 possible — had a reunion at my house for a Sunday lunch. We ate, laughed, shared space, and told stories about what it was like in those early years when we set out to create the country’s first network of Asian Americans fighting for environmental justice in immigrant and refugee communities.

Those conversations brought memories flooding back to all of us of why we set out to found APEN in the first place and how we were going to start by embracing and learning from the incredible wisdom and resilience that our communities, and communities of color across the country, already have.

APEN Members in Richmond (2000)

Our vision was clear: To be accountable to the working-class communities of color leading the fight for our families, our neighborhoods and our environment where we live, work and play. To embrace solutions that come directly from the frontlines.

A generation later, we are still carrying that vision forward. In these chaotic times, APEN’s vision today is more relevant — and critical — than ever. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce APEN’s 25th anniversary celebration: “Local Roots, Statewide Impact.”

On September 26 at the Oakland Museum of California, we will come together to celebrate our victories, share stories, and grow our movement for a healthy, just future where all of our communities can thrive, all while generating vital financial support and momentum for the vision APEN has embodied since the day we were founded.

On September 26, APEN will celebrate our 25th anniversary

From the climate crisis and local pollution to anti-immigrant policies and displacement, the threats our communities face now have been around for a long, long time. But lately I’ve been feeling that in our current moment there is a need, a hunger, for solutions that come directly from the real lived experiences of the frontlines.

From shaping a Green New Deal to articulating a bold new vision for housing for all in California, there is an opening and an excitement for the wisdom of APEN members and the real solutions our communities are contributing. By returning to the vision at our roots and multiplying our movement across the state, we are growing our power while taking leadership from the frontline communities that are our heart, our home and our base.

But we need to come together, and stand behind our vision, if we’re going to take this next step. With our community behind us, we can keep growing. We have to.

Register today for our 25th anniversary celebration on September 26th to save your spot!
Yellow is for banana
By: Eden Wen
Tags: Eden Wen, Stopasianhate, Racism, Race, Asian American

I have never been explicitly called yellow, but I have been called a banana: yellow on the outside, white on the inside. I am an American-born Chinese, but I’m supposedly too American, to the point where I don’t fit in with my Chinese community.

Growing up in a predominantly white, Protestant town on the east coast of the United States, I knew I was the token Asian. To my white friends, I was “very” Asian. I looked different than them, with my thick black hair, high cheekbones and, as my third grade classmate pointed out, my “flat face”. I was quiet, obedient, and, as the stereotypes presumed, super smart.

But I wasn’t. I never got straight A’s. Kids would try to cheat off my maths papers. I sucked at maths. At the second grade talent show, I played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the piano. Jon Shih played Beethoven.

I had two identities without even knowing it. I would go to school, gossip about celebrities with friends, scarf down slices of pizza and get another D in maths. Then I’d go home, wear slippers around the house, listen to Hong Kong ballads and hand wash all of my dishes — even though we had a dishwasher. These two sides are what make me Eden, though, an Asian American, an American-born Chinese.

Yet to everyone else, I had to be one or the other.

I didn’t find out that I was a “banana” until university, when I started hanging out with, as they referred to themselves, “actual Asians”. My new Indonesian, Singaporean and Japanese friends immediately pointed out my Americanisms, like small sores that kept me from being fully initiated into their exclusive club. According to them, I was an “other” in a multitude of ways, through my fluent English and my choppy Chinese, my taste in films and music, in my humour and even my personality.

I’m used to people saying fake Chinese words around me, as they pull their eyes back to mimic stereotypes that aren’t even relevant to me with my slightly bigger eyes. I never asked for it. That is the problem with being other.

Now, I actively try to avoid any stereotypes to make sure those around me know my heritage is not something to make fun of. I won’t be the first one to tell jokes about Asians anymore because I am the floodgate. And if that floodgate opens, the racist jokes and insensitive comments start rushing out.

Even still, with careful banter and calling out racist comments, I face microaggressions when people ask me where I’m from. A simple question, but to me it’s one that suggests they think I don’t quite belong. “Where are you from?” implies that I am not one of them, that I am not American.

I was optimistic a few years ago. I’d think, “Maybe this time they really are just wondering where I’m from.” But then I see their faces fall when I name my east coast town. It’s not what they expect when they see yellow, but get white. They don’t expect me, a banana.
A System’s Map of my childhood meal
By: Frances Castillo
Tags: Asian Food, Systems Thinking, Asian American, Design, Filipino

A Filipina-American’s perspective

Whenever I come home to see my parents, I can always count on eating authentic Filipino food for dinner. Once I smell the scent of fresh ulam (hot filipino entree) and steamed rice, it brings back memories of being a kid again and watching my grandmother prepare dinner. I grew up in a culture that celebrated food and have always appreciated the way it brought my family together. Lately, I’ve become more curious about the origin of Filipino food, and how it evolved to be what it is today.

In one of my graduate design courses on Systems, we’ve been exploring how to organize and relate concepts to each other in a way that clarifies our own understanding of things. I thought it would be cool to map out the origin of a Filipino dish called Kare-Kare, or peanut broth stew, since I hoped it would answer my own questions about how Filipino food came to be. (But also, I thought it would be fun to be a food-historian for the day.)

Where did Kare-Kare come from?

I began with a simple question and did some research on the ingredients involved in Kare-Kare. (It’s a peanut-broth stew with oxtail and vegetables, usually served over rice.) I searched for historical events that may have been related to peanut cultivation in the Philippines, for example. Then I mapped out the historical events with the ingredients to see if I could identify any patterns.
Realizations About My Chinese-American Experience
By: Genevieve Wang
Tags: Asian American, Anti Racism, Chinese American

I am Chinese-American (my parents are from Taiwan), and my earliest — and perhaps most vivid — memory of being a victim of racism is from the second grade.

I went to a public elementary school in a mostly-white suburb in Massachusetts. We were in P.E. class, in the square dancing unit, and the teacher asked a boy to hold my hand. He wouldn’t do it. The teacher asked him again. He refused. Everyone watched. The teacher asked him to hold another (white) girl’s hand, and this time he complied.

I didn’t feel hurt at the time, just confused. Then i felt ashamed that there was something so wrong with me that someone wouldn’t want to hold my hand.

It was the first time it occurred to me that I was different somehow.

It is not good to be different.

I never told anyone about it. I was afraid that my parents would feel ashamed of me, or bad about themselves.

Over time, I figured out how to be more like everyone else. Things felt easier that way. And so it seemed, I had solved the problem myself.

Over the years, I have periodically reflected back on what had happened, and this is what i think today.

I believe that there are small, teachable moments early on in children’s lives, where parents and teachers have the opportunity to nudge subtle, racist behavior in the right direction.

I believe that not acknowledging that racism exists is damaging to children on all sides, because racism is everywhere. And unfortunately, they will encounter it.

I believe that I likely escaped more racist encounters by “blending in”. I recognize now that not everyone has the choice to be able to do this, due to appearance, socioeconomic background, etc.

I believe that I was lucky, because I was never physically hurt as a victim of racism. I realize now that not all people are so lucky.

I realize why I have avoided engaging with racial issues for much of my life. What started as a coping mechanism from my childhood had turned into blinders in my adult life.

And I will now call myself out — my avoidance strategy has fundamentally gone against my deeper values and belief that we are all humans who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Me solving the problem through suppression and assimilation has been a part of perpetuating the broader problem for society. I have to be better than this.

I learned in my research this week that Ibram X. Kendi says that there is no such thing as being “not racist”.

And so, 30+ years after a boy was mean to mean to me in gym class, I will finally say something and take a stand.

I will choose to be an anti-racist.
How To Survive As A Light-Skinned Asian American Woman During Racially Divisive Times
By: Jee Young Park
Tags: Asian Culture, Asian American, Asian Women Dating, Asian

This is not the time to clog social media outlets with our anti-racist awakening story or another performative hashtag to prove to our Black co-workers we’re not racists. Please journal and save those stories for when the protests end and non-Black people stop talking about Black lives, that is when we will need to have those conversations the most.

Here’s what you can do to help in four steps:

Research and find one Black-led organization in support of Black lives. Donate. Encourage a non-Black person who is close to you, your friend, your mom, your sister, your neighbor to donate. DO NOT get into a fight about anti-Blackness and racism. Take their money first. If they don’t budge, show them the video of George Floyd’s murder, tell them about your research on this one specific organization. If possible, make sure they complete the donation in front of you. Repeat.

If you want to survive in America, prioritize Black lives and listen to Black people. They are not the enemy, injustice is.
Trying to be an ally.
By: Sean Chin
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, Asian American, Racism

My mother grew up very wealthy, and was very aware of this fact from an early age. As a 7th grader, she recalls being driven to her private school by her father in a nice sedan while noticing her classmates exit old school buses. She would ask him to drop her off a block away so as to not draw attention to herself. This privilege would stick with her forever, and is something she would remind me of my whole life. As she grew up, she would distance herself from her family’s wealth entirely, and build her own life from scratch.

With each passing year of her adult life, her awareness of privilege grew and grew.

As an adult, she learned about financial literacy. Inequitable access to resources. Predatory loan practice. Civil planning. Red lining. Subprime mortgages. Lending discrimination. School zoning. Graduation rates. Racial profiling. Incarceration rates. Access to legal help.

This was a woman who attended AA meetings for 2 months to understand what her loved ones in recovery were going through. After reading about blood shortages due to New Years Eve drunk driving incidents, she would make our whole family donate blood on December 31st (a strange family tradition that still continues). She would help post bail for petty crimes, after reading about the vicious cycle of innocent kids spiraling into assault crime while being held in custody. As a fashion designer, she would volunteer her time to hem donated suits for women looking to interview for a job.
How Asian American Women are using George Floyd’s Death to Virtue Signal
By: Contrarian Rebel
Tags: Asian, Asian American, Racism, George Floyd

In modern-day America, Asian men do not have the same rights as Asian women.

Asian men die of suicide at more than twice the rate of Asian women. Asian men are actively discriminated against in the job market and in the dating market. Asian men have worse representation in mainstream media, worse health outcomes than Asian women, and while every other race + gender combination is now less acceptable to make fun of, it’s still ok to make fun of Asian men.

Asian women date white supremacists at rates that are far higher than any other race (besides white). Just think about that for a moment. Asian women are choosing to date people that actively deny their equality in the system, just so they themselves can break out of that system by claiming they are no longer “Asian”.

So for women like Celeste Ng, consider this: Asian men see the injustice in the system that actively considers them unworthy and unequal to their fellow person. They see Asian women abandoning them en masse by marrying white men and, instead of helping fight institutional racism against them, they see Asian women attempting to get out of the system that actively devalues Asians but especially Asian men.

They see you writing articles about your wokeness, and your defense of other races, and your recognition of inherent racial biases in our system and they wonder, where is your defense of them?

Where is your article that condemns systemic racism against Asian men?

Asian men are not fundamentally broken individuals that see the need to harass Asian women for their choices in dating white men because of their own disenfranchisement.

But wait, is that false?
Asians For Black Lives
By: Eric Feng
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, Black Panther, Representation, Crazy Rich Asians, Asian American

“This is a perfect example of what Hollywood should be like, what it needs to do” Harry Shum Jr., actor in Crazy Rich Asians

In the fall of 2018, I wrote a blog post about going to dinner with the creators of the movie Crazy Rich Asians, to discuss what Asian Americans around the country could do to help rally support for the film. It was such an important cultural moment for our community as there had not been a Hollywood studio film featuring an all Asian American cast in 25 years.

Our inspiration for that meeting was watching how African Americans have been so vocal and committed in coming together to support black filmmakers over the years. Just a few months earlier, the amazing movie Black Panther premiered as the biggest budgeted comic genre blockbuster by a black director, screenwriter and cast. It would go on to be the highest grossing film of the entire year, not only because it was a great movie deserving of its huge success, but also because African Americans chipped in with their own superpower: a love for their community that’s beautiful, energizing, and infectious and drew people of all ethnicities, genders, and ages to their art. As Vanessa Kelly, spokeswoman for the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Guild, would say: “Everyone is claiming Wakanda”.

A month later, Crazy Rich Asians would become the highest grossing romantic comedy of the past decade, aided by a grassroots effort called GoldOpen that galvanized the Asian American community to buy out theaters on opening weekend. It was a brilliant tactic taken straight from the pages of cultural unity that African Americans set, and Asian Americans followed.

And then at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards the following January, this happened:

The casts of Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards

That photo was the perfect celebration of two of the biggest cultural moments of 2018. When diverse people told diverse stories and generated not only critical success, but commercial success. When that success was then celebrated at the highest levels for the entire world to see. Crazy Rich Asians actor Harry Shum Jr. would say of the picture: “It’s just a celebration of being there at this award show when so many faces have been erased or have been invisible.”

African Americans and Asians Americans were not invisible that night.
ACA 5 Passes Appropriations Committee, Next Vote in Full Assembly
By: Opportunity For All Coalition
Tags: Civil Rights, African American, Asian American, Latinos, Affirmative Action

Today the Opportunity for All Coalition celebrated the Assembly Appropriations Committee passage of ACA 5, historic legislation that would allow California voters their first opportunity in a generation to voice their opinion on equal opportunity programs like affirmative action. ACA 5 is authored by Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber (D — San Diego).

The Appropriations Committee victory marks the second major win for ACA 5, coming after a successful 6–1 bipartisan vote on the bill in the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee on May 5.

“We believe that restoring equal opportunity programs in California is the only way we can build a stronger California as we recover from this health and economic crisis. By passing ACA 5, we will ensure that as we rebuild, the state will be able to focus on addressing the needs of California’s women, people of color, and other communities who were the most impacted,” said Opportunity For All Coalition Co-Chairs Eva Paterson and Vincent Pan.

“It’s incredibly exciting that so many California legislators from across the state believe that, too. We all must work together to not just recover from COVID-19, but envision a stronger, more united California that finally delivers equal opportunity in hiring, education, and contracting — all critical pieces of a better future for everyone who calls the Golden State home.”

They continued, “We look forward to ACA 5’s vote on the Assembly Floor later this month. We’re confident that Assemblymembers from across California understand the critical nature of equal opportunity programs — and understand that voters deserve their chance to have their say on the issue, for the first time in a generation.”

ACA 5 has been endorsed by over 250 organizations and leaders, including U.S. Representatives Karen Bass (CA-37) and Ro Khanna (CA-17), San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee, California State Board of Equalization Member Malia Cohen, and Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It is also endorsed by ACLU of California, AFSCME Local 3299, California Black Chamber of Commerce, California Federation of Teachers, California National Organization for Women, California/Hawaii State Conference NAACP, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Equal Justice Society, The Education Trust — West, and the University of California Student Association.

ACA 5 is co-authored by Assemblymembers Burke, Cooper, Gonzalez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Kamlager, McCarty, and Mark Stone, and Senators Bradford and Mitchell. ACA 5 is supported by the leading civil rights organizations, labor groups and business leaders across California including Equal Justice Society, the California Black Chamber of Commerce, Chinese for Affirmative Action, ACLU of California and scores of other community advocates.

For more information about the Opportunity for All Coalition behind ACA5, visit https://opportunity4all.org.
Stop Being the Model Minority
Tags: BlackLivesMatter, America, George Floyd, Asian American, Immigration

If you are South Asian American and perpetuate anti-blackness, you have fallen prey to an oppressive tactic of the United States government, the concept of “model minorities.”

​To combat anti-blackness, we need to understand the history behind the term “model minority.” In 1965, President Johnson enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act, prioritizing “individuals with specialized skills” in the immigration processes. Consequently, the only South Asians allowed to immigrate to America were exceedingly intelligent and/or talented in a specific discipline. By only allowing the “best” South Asians to enter the country, the United States government predetermined the South Asian immigrant population to be successful. On the other hand, people from the African diaspora were forcibly brought to America through the transatlantic slave trade. They had no choice to come to America, let alone indulge in the opportunity to learn and develop special skills to “prove their worth.” Therefore, South Asian Americans were systematically supported to be more successful, making the US government consider them a model minority. However, this detrimental approach to immigration policy allowed our government to rest their laurels and believe that their work in supporting South Asian Americans was advancing the mission of all inclusivity and diversity in America.

Meanwhile, African Americans, who were forced into immigrating and were not given the right resources to become successful, continued to be oppressed and struggled to survive. The African American community fought through chattel slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and now police brutality, while the media painted South Asian Americans as good, law-abiding citizens. When African Americans engaged in protests to merely exist as equals in American society, South Asian Americans benefited from their “model minority” status, playing into the government’s hands, even if it meant turning a blind eye to the continued oppression of their fellow peoples of color.

You might be thinking, “Just because I’m not Black doesn’t mean I don’t experience racism.” The difference here is that the racism that we, as South Asian Americans, have faced and continue to face are not institutionalized and not as rampantly widespread and maintained across American government policies as racism that Black Americans face.

Now, more than ever, the South Asian American community has the opportunity to reject the model minority messaging. One of the officers abetting the murder of George Floyd was Asian American, and we, as a minority population and a part of the larger Asian community, have a responsibility to strongly condemn this anti-blackness and racism. The Asian American population has long played a major role in the United States’ systematic racism: now is the time to fight back.
The gaps
By: Sara Yang
Tags: Korea, Race, Asian American, Mental Health, Aging

There’s a jumble of interactions for the rest of our time in the hallway. Haba and I peek into the main auditorium. There’s music and people talking on a microphone. I guess this is where they’re having the birthday party. A woman sees us looking inside, and starts speaking to me in Chinese. She waives over Kim again. Everyone is friendly, jumping to help when they see us, the new “members.”

This time, I have the conversation with Kim. At the end, I ask if he can just stay for an hour to see the place. She shakes her head no. Apologetically, she departs down the hallway again.

Haba and I start walking back toward the entrance. This time, we encounter two older Korean women sitting in chairs, their walkers parked in front of them. They greet us, and mom explains that her Korean is bad. (I think.) She introduces them to Haba instead, and they all strike a conversation. It’s nice to hear him talking in Korean.

The women start speaking to me now. “Office! Office!” They point to the office across from us and motion to go inside. I try to explain that we’ve already spoken to Kim. I’m not sure if they understand me. The woman on the right — she hasn’t talked as much — eases up from her chair and starts pushing her walker toward the office, herself. The first woman joins her. The office is locked, so they bang on the door. “Office!”

Someone comes to open the door, slightly bewildered. I realize the women — being very earnest and nice — probably won’t leave until we’ve entered the office. I go inside with Haba. We have the same conversation again, and he explains to me a bit more how the adult day health care works. Again, only for people under a certain income level. I ask if he knows of any other places we could look.

“There’s New Life … and Spring Mountain. But I think their programs are the same as ours — privately run, but with Medicaid. I think there are some centers that accept private pay … but they’re not quite Oriental. You know, they like to stay together.”

I ask a few more questions, until Haba interrupts.

“Okay Sara. Let’s go. This man is very busy. Thank you very much.”

He shakes his hand, and we go.
Donating to Support Asian-American Communities
By: Martin Urban Dds
Tags: Helping Hand, Martin Urban Dds, Donation, Asian American, Charity

Due to recent attacks and increased racism towards Asian-Americans in the wake of COVID-19, this minority group is suffering greatly. However, contrary to some other topics being discussed in the media at the moment, Asian-Americans are not receiving the support and attention they need during this time.

If you wish to help support Asian-American communities in this time of increased racially motivated attacks and slurs, one way in which you can get involved is by donating to organizations dedicated to supporting those that have been affected.

Asian Pacific Fund

The Asian Pacific Fund is a foundation committed to strengthening the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. This organization has a few different core areas of focus, ranging from philanthropy to community to leadership to awareness. Their resources are used to provide grants and services that improve the lives of Asian and Pacific Islanders, financial support for those wanting to pursue education and cultivating leadership skills.

Contributions made to this fund will go towards impacting these individuals’ access to education, poverty alleviation, seniors in need of basic necessities and those struggling with mental health. You can donate through this link.

Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate

In response to the resentment and attacks Asian-Americans have been victims of as of late, Stop Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Hate was designed to take action against this racist behavior. This was a unified effort by the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. Together, these organizations set up a center where racist incidents could be reported.

The organization strives to offer multilingual resources for communities being affected, provide technical assistance, support community-based safety measures, restore justice and advocate for human rights and civil rights policies. You can donate here.

Asian Mental Health Project

The Asian Mental Health Project is working towards the common goal of alleviating some of the devastating effects the Asian community has had to face due to increased racism. One of the areas in which Asian-Americans have been affected is their mental health.

Originally published on MartinUrbanDDS.org
My Name is My Identity
By: Siyi Zhang
Tags: Aapi, Asian American, Stopasianhate, Racial Justice

Ask any millennial in China, and you will find that, for most of us, we get our English names from our first English teacher — not our parents. So, thanks to Ms. Ye, I gladly became “Angela” at 7.

Ten years passed, and I came to the United States as an exchange student. On Matriculation Day, the school principal asked me to confirm my preferred name. Given I was the only Asian in this public high school in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, Angela seemed to be a no-brainer.

“Nobody could pronounce my name here,” I thought.

To my surprise, I heard myself utter my actual name softly yet firmly. “Siyi, like letters C and E.” Well, there went my identity as Angela.

Looking back, this impulsive decision to revert to my real Chinese name was the beginning of my decade-long journey as an Asian in America. My name is a piece of me, a gift from my parents, and a story of my ancestors. It is something that deserves to be spoken — and to be heard — loud and clear.

When someone tells me they are afraid to “butcher” my name, I never shy away from giving them the authentic pronunciation of each syllable and having them repeat after me. It got even more fun during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone’s Siri suddenly lit up and started speaking during Zoom meetings! (Try saying my name, and you will know what I mean.)

Many Asian cultures promote conformity. Since childhood, people have been telling us that we should be amiable and agreeable; we should work hard and never question leadership decisions; we shouldn’t inconvenience others; we should use easy-to-pronounce whitewashed names to blend in.

Sadly, by doing so, we fall into the dangerous trap of dismissing our very existence as a core part of American society. Let us affirm our strong, diverse, collective identity by speaking up, standing up, and grouping up.

To start, let’s consider having people call us by our real names.
Giving back: Aakash Kambuj shares what it means to remember where you come from
Tags: Asian American, Engineering, Dropbox, India, Diversity

Giving back: Aakash Kambuj shares what it means to remember where you come from Dropbox Follow May 17, 2019 · 4 min read

Aakash Kambuj

For Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM), we celebrate all of the rich culture, traditions, and history of Asians and Pacific Islanders. This year, our employee resource group Asians@ chose the theme Roots: Growing Your Story. This month’s theme is about “origins” — the idea that where we came from is part of what makes us who we are now. We spoke with Dropboxers about what this theme means to them.

Q: What is your name, what office do you work out of, and how long have you been at Dropbox?

A: My name is Aakash Kambuj. I work out of the Seattle office, and I’ve been at Dropbox since October 2013.

Q: What’s your current role in helping make the world work better?

A:I lead engineering for the teams building features that enable users to access their data in Dropbox easily. That includes the ability to upload files, browse folders, and search for files on Dropbox.com and in the mobile/desktop apps. At a high level, our goal is to get you to the right content as fast as possible, and then get out of the way so you can get your work done.

At the 2018 summer picnic

Q: In your time at Dropbox, what’s something you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of?

A: In 2017, I led an effort to make files and folders available on the Dropbox mobile apps even when the phone was offline and not connected to the internet. It solved a real problem for users who had a bad experience due to spotty network connectivity. It also helped drive revenue for Dropbox as it’s a feature only available on paid plans.

Q: What does this year’s theme, Roots: Growing Your Story, mean to you?

A: It means remembering where I came from — India, specifically Pune. It means keeping in touch with family who lives there and getting face time with them as much as I can. It means trying to keep up with traditions and culture from my formative years that are meaningful to me, despite it being harder to do so living here. It means combining the best of America and the best of India to achieve my full potential.
heard words in an intimate timeline
By: Yun Corey Chan
Tags: Yun Life, Poetry, LGBTQ, Asian American, Poem

learn enough pretty words

and unfurled cocoons reveal roses with

petals drizzling in milky way firmament

:speak of lilac

learn enough pretty words

and make stale steel sensational

or battered brick bombastic/beautiful

:speak of pyrite

learn enough pretty words

and secure with palpable letters

a proper place/among manicured lawns

:speak of fanciful/gliding fabrics that

learn enough pretty words

and maybe she’ll swoon rosy cheeked

engulfed/in a lana del rey aura

:pirouette under the guise of moonlight

learn enough pretty words

and maybe he’ll pluck from a tree

the best philly cheese steak in the city

:and embrace the b u s t of your tenacious body

learn all the pretty words and have them coat your tongue

for if you speak the right ones loud enough

you may start a revolution

a sublime

and sequin

evolution

…

…

…

bar side interlude

their faces were puzzled and their brows furrowed in alien angles

— /\/\/No, but where are you originally from?\/\/\ —

i answered with one of the prettiest words i know

here

…

…

…

heard words in an intimate timeline ii

learn enough pretty words

and perhaps the mundane ceases

to hold onto crystal rain drops

learn enough pretty words

like strawberry leather/and salsa with a

tinge of valvarian salt

talk about pedestrian pb&j’s/instead of avocado toast

talk about beers in the backyard/instead of artisan craft breweries

talk about a living wage and working class livelihood

learn enough pretty words

and one is able to articulate to them

that they are wrong/incorrect/mistaken

they don’t see the beauty in the word/black

they don’t see the beauty in the word/immigrant

they don’t see the beauty in the word/queer

or agender/trans/indigenous/two spirit/mexican/woman/sensitive/

misfit/color/bisexual/fat/gay/lesbian/loud/chinese/hmong/japanese/latinx/culture/community/heritage/proud/human/pride

they do not see our pretty words

they cannot articulate our pretty words

learn all the pretty words and have them coat your tongue

for if you speak the right ones loud enough

you may start a revolution

a sublime

and sequin

evolution
09/16/2019: Andrew Yang under fire
By: The Yappie
Tags: Andrew Yang, Politics, Asian American, 2020 Presidential Race, Issues

On the Agenda

SEN. PAN’S VACCINE BILLS SPRINT TO THE FINISH LINE: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a pair of measures authored by State Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) into law. The ugly debate over the bills, which tighten medical exemptions for children’s vaccines and ignited raucous protests in the state capitol, was marked by racist tweets by anti-vaxxers and a physical assault on Pan in August. Read more.

CENSUS UNDERCOUNT THREATENS FUNDING, PA AAPI COMMISSION SAYS: Roughly 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s AAPI community is at risk of going uncounted in the 2020 Census, according to the state’s advisory commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs — putting funding for hospitals, schools and community organizations in jeopardy. Read more.

ORANGE COUNTY VIET-AMERICAN COUNCIL MAJORITY IN TURMOIL: Westminster’s City Council, which became the nation’s first with a Vietnamese American majority, has been paralyzed for months by verbal brawls and infighting, the Los Angeles Times reports — spurring recall campaigns against all five council members. Read more.

LEANA WEN, PLANNED PARENTHOOD SPAR OVER EXIT PACKAGE: Leana Wen, who was ousted as Planned Parenthood president in July, accuses the group of withholding her health benefits and departure payout as “ransom” to pressure her to sign a confidentiality agreement, the New York Times reports. Planned Parenthood denies the claims. Read more.

MAKING MOVES: Kimberly Yam, the editor of HuffPost’s Asian Voices vertical, says she will join NBC News next month. Read more.

VANDERBILT STUDENT JOURNAL DELETES OP-ED QUESTIONING CHINESE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: An op-ed in the student-run Vanderbilt Political Review titled “What Do We Gain from Allowing Chinese Espionage” has been removed following a firestorm of criticism from the university’s Asian American community. The piece, which called for a halt in the “wholesale import” of Chinese nationals into U.S. educational institutions, was “undoubtedly discriminatory and derogatory,” the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Chinese Association’s Viola Zhou tells the Vanderbilt Hustler. Read more.

NURSING HOME CLOSURE HITS SEATTLE’S JAPANESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY: The decision to shutter Seattle’s oldest and largest Asian American senior-care facility last May has set off discussions on how to care for the city’s rapidly aging Japanese population, the Seattle Times reports. Read more.

THE LONG READ — HOW A NATIVE HAWAIIAN FAMILY IS STANDING UP FOR ITS ANCESTRAL LANDS: HuffPost’s Megan Kaleipumehana Cabral and Marie Eriel Hobro document the housing and land rights struggle underway in Hawaii. Read more.
07/01/2019: SCOTUS blocks citizenship question for now
By: The Yappie
Tags: Trump, Politics, Asian American, Immigration, Issues

On the Agenda

ICE RAIDS EXPECTED AFTER JULY 4: President Trump said Saturday that raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in as many as ten major U.S. cities are still planned to take place after the July Fourth holiday. The Washington Post previously reported that ICE would target up to 2,000 families with final orders of deportation. Read more.

Meanwhile… The Department of Homeland Security is preparing a regulatory notice to expand “expedited removal” orders, BuzzFeed News reports — a long-rumored move that would allow ICE officers to arrest and deport more undocumented immigrants without a hearing in front of an immigration judge. Read more.

SCOTUS TO WEIGH IN ON DACA NEXT TERM: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over the legality of the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shields an estimated 700,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Read more.

ICYMI — U.S. WON’T CAP H-1B WORK VISAS OVER DATA RULES: The State Department says it has no plans to impose a cap on issuing H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, Reuters reports. Recent data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that the chance of getting approved for an H-1B is declining. Read more.

HOW QUEER AND TRANS AAPI GROUPS ARE RESHAPING PRIDE: Huiying Chan highlights the work of eight queer and trans Asian American-led organizations and how you can help support them beyond Pride month. Read more.

NO NEW ACTION ON NY’S SHSAT BILL: A controversial bill pushed by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to scrap the entrance exam for New York’s elite high schools went nowhere in the state legislature’s latest session, EdWeek reports. The Mayor’s effort faced blistering criticism from some AAPI groups, including the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Read more.
09/09/2019: Dems talk affirmative action, climate change at AAPI forum
By: The Yappie
Tags: Climate Change, Politics, Asian American, Hong Kong, Issues

On the Agenda

INCREASING AAPI OVERDOSE DEATHS WERE IGNORED BY NYC REPORT: The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene “suppressed” data showing a sharp increase in AAPI overdose deaths in a brief released last month, FILTER Magazine reports — with AAPI New Yorkers experiencing the largest spike in ODs of any racial demographic between 2017 and 2018. Read more.

Related: Asian Americans are less likely to seek help for substance use disorders than other communities, the Huffington Post’s Anna Lucente Sterling writes, amounting to what advocates call an “invisible crisis” of addiction. Read more.

AAAJ-LA STAFF SEEK STAY ON LAYOFFS: Staff members at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles — one of the largest AAPI legal and civil rights organizations in the nation — remain locked in an unusually public labor dispute with the organization’s board of directors, alleging that management and the board engaged in unlawful retaliatory conduct earlier this year.

A website and matching Twitter account called “Advancing Injustice-LA” circulated a petition calling for an end to “union-busting tactics” and a moratorium on layoffs that garnered more than 1,000 signatures in late August. The AAAJ-LA board said last week that it would continue with dialogue for now. Read more.

NCAPA UNVEILS FRAMEWORK FOR 2020 POLICY PLATFORM: Language access, immigration, affirmative action, and securing the upcoming census are likely to remain top policy priorities for major AAPI advocacy groups heading into 2020, according to a new document published by the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans. Read more.

LAOTIAN HISTORY BILL CLEARS FINAL HURDLE: California lawmakers have given final approval on a bill to “include Laotian history and the experience of Laotian American refugees in the state school curriculum,” LAist’s Josie Huang reports. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has about one month to sign the bill into law, which would serve as the culmination of hard-won activism among Laotian American communities. Read more.

VICTIM IN BROCK TURNER CASE REVEALS HER NAME: Emily Doe has revealed her identity, and her name is Chanel Miller. The woman assaulted by a former Stanford University swimmer in 2015 reclaims her story in her forthcoming memoir, “Know My Name.” Read more.

RACIAL PROFILING LED TO MASS PANIC AT NEWARK AIRPORT: Chaos at the Newark Liberty Airport on Labor Day began with the racial profiling of two Chinese-born men by an Alaska Airlines employee, BuzzFeed News reports. Read more.

THE LONG READ — WHERE DOES AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LEAVE ASIAN AMERICANS? The New York Times Magazine’s Jay Caspian Kang follows the complications of the Students for Fair Admissions’ lawsuit against Harvard — and how it’s dividing Asian-American students and their families. Read more.
Asian-American man assaulted in New York: “Another incident of hate crimes against Asians”.
By: The Free State
Tags: Asian American, USA, Hate Crimes

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

A Chinese-American man in New York was recently knocked to the ground and kicked on the head, repeadetly, following a series of hate crimes and assault attacks against Asian-Americans, USA Today reported on Sunday.

The man, who was 61 years old, was in a critical, but stable condition Sunday, in a New York hospital.

Police reports that he was collecting cans in East Harlem on Friday night when he was hit from behind and knocked down and kicked, repeatedly, several times in the head.

This is the latest instance of a series of hate crimes committed against Asian-Americans, with several cases of anti-Asian hate crimes committed this year. Authorities link hate crimes to anger and frustration linked to the Coronavirus pandemic, which originated from Wuhan, P.R. China.

NYC Mayor de Blasio called the latest attack “outrageous” and promised to take action against the assailant, who has not yet been found.

Governor Cuomo, the New York Governor, said Sunday that he would ask the State Hate Crime Task Force to help in the NYPD’s investigation of the incident.
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