One of my personal favorite organizations, APA’s for Progress, is hosting an activist training workshop. I really love what these guys stand for and what they do for us. The organizers of this workshop are also heavily involved in the production of Vincent Who?, a documentary about the historic case of Vincent Chin. The workshop will teach basic activist skills including volunteer recruitment, networking, planning events, targeting, phonebanking and other useful campaign skills. Want to make a difference in empowering Asian Americans? Well, here’s your chance. Sign up today.
The primary reason why Asian Americans are not considered active players in the affirmative action arena is because most Americans have accepted the idea of the “model minority myth.” The model minority myth has created a stereotype of Asian Americans as one monolithic ethnic group that has achieved success though education and hard work without the assistance of governmental benefits.
My take on affirmative action: we need a whole lot more of it. Why? Think about one aspect of the private sector for a minute– 1.) who’s in charge of the management structures of the VAST majority of Fortune 500 companies? (i.e., what color is their skin?) Ok, now that we’ve go that out of the way, 2.) who makes the hiring decisions? (I’m pretty sure you can figure this one out by reviewing the answer to question 1). And the kicker: 3.) What is the skin color of the people they’re most likely to hire?
I’ve heard some really silly people saying things like “if Asian Americans were good at leading people, they would have been in those spots,” and “Asian Americans just don’t have those skills.” My response is as follows: I would be saying the exact same thing about white people if the majority of the people in charge were Asian American. It would be the perfect self-proving truth that would allow me to stay in power. Am I wrong?
This article talks about the “scarce” data on the psychological ramifications of Anti-Asian racism. Well duh. In any case, I’d like to give major props to Dr. Tiffany Yip of Fordham University, Gilbert C. Gee, PhD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and David T. Takeuchi, PhD, of the University of Washington, for attempting to take a crack at spelling it out for people with their recent study on the subject.
Surprisingly, more analysis showed that U.S.-born participants in their 30s and those above the age of 50 who described themselves as having a strong ethnic identity had more mental distress from discrimination than those participants with a weaker ethnic attachment.
Does that mean that if you reject your Asian-ness and, say, adjust your dating preferences accordingly, that you’ll be less stressed?
The good people over at the Asian American Justice center have just revamped their website. Here’s a blurb from their mission statement:
The Asian American Justice Center is one of the nation’s leading experts on issues of importance to the Asian American community including: affirmative action, anti-Asian violence prevention/race relations, census, immigrant rights, immigration, language access, television diversity and voting rights. Our expertise is widely acknowledged: in the media, by the public and lawmakers at the very highest tiers of government.
Here’s an interesting take on the way media representations affect Asian Americans’ daily lives. Basically, Dr. Chu views libraries as an extension of mainstream media, and by turning them around and allowing kids to see themselves (and people who look like them) in library materials, that they would feel less alienated.
I want to make sure that the voices and the history of all those that contributed are actually being told. Libraries can help to make sure that those materials are out there.
Name: Lee Fang
Occupation: Student, U. of Maryland
Place of Birth: Laurel, Maryland; U.S.A
Hobbies: Reading
Favorite Travel Destination: San Fancisco, CA
In April 2008 Fang took the initiative to move forward with his plan to secure a future for the Asian American studies program at the University of Maryland. To understand why the Asian American studies program was in jeopardy, we must first go back to 1996. In April of that year, the University of Maryland formally adopted a plan, “Charting a Path to Excellence: The Strategic Plan for the University of Maryland at College Park.” The Strategic Plan’s purpose was to “boldly [reaffirm] the University’s commitment to a vision of academic excellence and set forth strategic initiatives and guidelines for action to achieve that vision.” Funding decisions for various departments are made based on the verbiage contained in this critically important document.
Fast-forward to April 2008 where Lee Fang learned, in one of his Asian American studies classes, about the relationship between the Strategic Plan, and how the absence of certain keywords could cause the demise of the Asian American studies program at the University of Maryland.
“I wasn’t able to find anyone who would take the charge in securing the future of the Asian American studies program at U. of Maryland, so I had to take things into my own hands.” — Lee Fang
Fang actively sought out other individuals on campus that would rally behind him, and then took things a step further to reach out to other supporters through various internet resources, including AngryAsianMan.com and FalloutCentral.com. Fang’s one request of his fellow Asian Americans was to contact Provost Nariman Farvardin “to ask him to change the Strategic Plan and ensure diversity is included in the language as more than simply rhetoric.”
Fang was born in Laurel, Maryland, and was raised in Prince George’s county, Maryland (a suburb of Washington D.C.). In the 1990’s, his county had an excessively high incidence of police brutality. Driven by a desire to drive change in his community, he volunteered for a campaign for a County Executive (the highest office in the county) who sought to add more transparency into the police review process, and thus reduce the potential for further police brutality cases. Since then, Fang has worked on just shy of a dozen political campaigns– he is no stranger to reaching out to the community to gather support for causes that he believes in, particularly when it’s a matter that directly impacts the Asian American community.
“I fight for social and economic justice because the privileges I enjoy were fought for by generations of activists. The future depends on the contributions I make today.” — Lee Fang
Fang’s request for help was heard, and shortly thereafter fulfilled. “Provost Farvardin said that his email inbox was filled with email messages from not only concerned U. of Maryland students, but also from Asian Americans throughout the U.S.,” Fang said.
A provost is essentially a Vice President of the University. The Provost for academic affairs heads up the committee of administrators and faculty senators who are in charge of the planning process. They set the policies that all departments have to adhere to. That’s why Fang chose Provost Nariman Farvardin as the focus of his campaign, and that’s why this campaign, under Fang’s leadership, has prompted what all Asian American activists strive for: change.
“This will be an ongoing battle,” says Fang. There is still much work to be done, but the path has been forged thanks to Lee’s efforts in getting the ball rolling. If you’d like to assist, contact Lee Fang at lhfang@gmail.com
The Bush administration has accused China, and eight other nations of not protecting American producers of movies, computer software and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy.
In addition to China, eight other nations have all been placed on a “Priority Watch List” for piracy: Russia, Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela. The placement of these countries on this list subjects them to increased scrutiny and could lead to economic sanctions.
When it comes to American producers of movies, no one should be under any obligation to protect Hollywood’s copyrighted material until racist and discriminatory casting policies against Asians are put to an end. To mercilessly subject Asian audiences to Hollywood’s poisonous, diversity-negligent images and then force them to pay for such filth evokes memories of the Opium Wars of the mid-19th Century.
Last week I had a phone and email interview with the members of the Far East Movement (FM), whose songs have gotten radio play on the West Coast, and in movies like ‘Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’, and ‘Finishing the Game’. They have a great sound and are starting to get some mainstream attention from TV channels like MTV.
Below is Part I of our interview.
Please introduce yourselves (names, ages, roles)?
The FAR EAST MOVEMENT.. FM ON YOUR DIAL.
Kev Nish, MC
Prohgress, MC
J-Splif, MC
DJ Virman, DJ
We’re all mid twenties.
How did you all meet, how did you come up with your initial name?
We were friends in highschool, freestyling in parking lots and recording on home computers with downloaded instrumentals. Back in 2001 we had the name ‘Emcee’s Anonymous’ because during those times we were unaware of Asian Americans in hip-hop and we had the thought in our mind that maybe people wouldn’t like our music because we’re not the ‘norm’ in hip-hop. One of the first songs we recorded was called “The Far-east Movement”, talking about what we want in music and mainstream media - a FAR EAST MOVEMENT. As we were recording the song, the name Far East Movement felt so strong it kicked us in the head and made us realize we can’t and shouldn’t hide the fact we’re Asian, especially during a time when there were few to no Asian American hip-hop artists… we had to make a statement with our name and change the way people view Asian American music by allowing ourselves freedom to sound however we feel - as fun as we want, as sexy as we want or as hip-hop as we want our music to sound. We met our manager Carl Choi in 2003 while putting at charity show called “Movementality” raising money for a drug rehab house in Koreatown and through workin with him in this event we felt we found someone who shared the same vision and goals, someone who had faith in us and someone we could build with. We’ve been riding this crazy ride as a team ever since… which lead us to find Dj Virman from LA radio station Power106 who has helped to take this team even further.
Who or what are your major influences, and what are you trying to be?
Our major musical influences are as scattered as an ipod playlist. We grew up listening to Tupac, the Dogg Pound, Gun’s n Roses, Nirvana, Biggie, Smashing Pumpkins, the Cure, Outkast and even the artists we hear on the radio today to keep our tastes relevant. Outside of music, the LA lifestyle and our journeys on the road from the cities we visit, the cultures we experience, and the people that bless us along the way are huge influences and inspirations to us. A motto we have is “We moving east, one city at a time until the whole world is folks and family to us”, and thats exactly what we’re tryin to be through our music.
How do you come up with your songs or make your music? Are there any main themes or messages you want to express?
When creating a song.. our goal is to make music that people in every city we visit can relate to while staying true to our character as Asian American dudes growing up in Los Angeles, and as rappers, song writers, producers, and fans of music, our main theme and message is to bring out an emotion from the listener through our beats and experiences… creating music that every listener no matter the race can relate to personally. When we get in the studio, our goals are the same as a platinum recording artist or a young rapper at home recording for the first time, to make a song that people want to listen to more than once! hahaha
As a youth I was a wild free gun slinging cowboy, a Firemen, a Police officer, FBI Agent, James Bond, I was who I wanted to be and I knew nothing could stop me from all these dreams. As I grew older the pieces from the puzzle started to connect and I realized that being Asian held me back. I guess being a young adolescent finding your own identity can be as hard as finding a pin in a hay stack. I felt like I didn’t belong to the American community because they thought of me as a foreigner and to the Chinese community they stereotyped me as a person who lost his culture and traditions. I just wanted to be accepted as a person and not because of how I looked. Not being able to fit in caused me to be very conscious of my race during my early teenage years. It affected me so dramatically that I would hide from uncomfortable social situations. I was lost within myself and I did not understand what I was. Was I Chinese? Was I American?
As I grew older I realized my race, culture and environment affected me and made me who I was today. I knew that I should be proud of who I was. It was really important for me to understand everything about my race and my own living environment.
With charismatic enthusiasm Johnny raised up his glass high into the air, “Too…..ME!!!” Our laughter practically covers the whole bar. Glares peer our way while heads turn from their dish to see the commotion. It was a special day for my Johnny. Johnny has become a man. He has turned the BIG two, one. He shivers for a few seconds, “hey birthday boy whats wrong?” asked our petite home girl Kaitlin, all of a sudden he holds out his finger and says “wait its coming…..BURRRPP”. Kaitlin screams “ewww your a disgusting pig”, and as always Johnny replies back with “uh oh that’s the signal for more lickety lickety liquor hahaha”. He tries to get up but all of a sudden collapses onto the table. The table flips over. The looks of the others in the bar turn from shocked to disgust. The look which told us we didn’t belong. Johnny didn’t care, he was use to it. Growing up as the only Asian in his neighborhood, Johnny knew how these social schemes played out. But all the rest of us were from the apple, and although every one of us has once in their life battled face to face with the two headed dragon that is racism, it wasn’t on par with the stuff he had to face every day.
As bottles broke into shards and hysterical laughter came out of Johnny’s mouth for no reason, we decided that it was time to go. I pick up his belongings or what was left of it and put Johnny’s arms around my shoulder. As all 12 of us left the bar whispering can be heard coming from the hip sports bar. “F*cking slants need to learn how to control their liquor.” “F*cking Chinamen need to stick to math and leave the partying to us” “Did you see the slut? I would make that b*tch love me long time” “hahah yeah she can sucky sucky me.” Wow I thought to myself these assholes are so blunt and obvious. I tried to pay no mind; after all we are not in the right territory. As we got in the car the racist cries and comments became more evident and got louder. It was at that point we knew we were in danger. My buddy Tommy hands started to tingle and he just couldn’t get a hold of the keys. He was scared, we all were. Finally he got the keys into the ignition…
Tommy screams “YES!” As the car starts, we heard banging noises from the car like hail was falling from the sky. All of a sudden as we are zooming off glass shatters at the back and it flies everywhere. I turn around from the passenger seat to see what was happening. Tiffany is unconscious with blood dripping from her head down to her baby blue blouse. Her eyes closed. On her lap was a rock the size of a baseball with tiny red blood stains. Kaitlin screams “AHHHH TIFFANY!!! DRIVE!! DRIVE TOMMY F*CKING DRIVE!!!!” As we are leaving this warzone the screams are as loud as they ever are. “HAHA YOU F*CKING CH*NKS THAT WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON.” “NICE SHOT BRO!” “haha GO BACK TO CHINA YOU JAPS!!” I was stunned just staring at Tiffany. I was unable to think and realize what was happening. All of that night was still a blur, not because of the liquor or how I was left stunned. That night made me question my identity…
I believe powerfully in pursuing a cause to the very end and making a change in society. Whether it’s breaking stereotypes or changing an age old perception that consistently causes hatred. In joining your group I would be able to give my experience and everything I’ve learnt in life to the younger generation and give them a heads up about the path of life. Like myself I believe many young Asian Americans around this time are still confused about their identity and they need some guidance. Although I can’t define anybody identity I hope to guide many of them to the right path and not to crash into some of the same mistakes that I had.
My name is William Huang, I am 19 years old and I am currently a student at the New York City College of Technology. This is my first year and I am a Liberal Arts Student but I have dreams of going into the medical field and making a difference by saving lives. I am a person who finds happiness in the helping of others and the joyfulness of others. I also love giving advice to anyone who needs it. I like hearing about the struggles of many people, giving them some solutions and watching them grow. Although I am not a psychiatrist I find joy in helping others and finding a way to erase the ills of society. I believe the experiences I have under my belt allow me to connect with the younger Asian American and find in that a passion for life. Growing up as an adolescent is tough for everyone. At times many feel like nobody understand what they are growing through and many times I felt as if I needed guidance. I believe others going through the stages that I went through are in need of guidance as well and I would like to share with them my knowledge as well as receive some experiences from them.
Everyday I woke up for those four years and I dreaded walking down the long yellow and green hallways. Split up into different areas of the hallways was the different cliques. I felt so out of place. I didn’t know what group I belonged to. It was as if I was a book getting placed in the miscellaneous section of the Library.
One of my personal favorite organizations, APA’s for Progress, is hosting an activist training workshop. I really love what these guys stand for and what they do for us. The organizers of this workshop are also heavily involved in the production of Vincent Who?, a documentary about the historic case of Vincent Chin. The workshop will teach basic activist skills including volunteer recruitment, networking, planning events, targeting, phonebanking and other useful campaign skills. Want to make a difference in empowering Asian Americans? Well, here’s your chance. Sign up today.
The good people over at the Asian American Justice center have just 
Fang actively sought out other individuals on campus that would rally behind him, and then took things a step further to reach out to other supporters through various internet resources, including AngryAsianMan.com and FalloutCentral.com. Fang’s one request of his fellow Asian Americans was to contact Provost Nariman Farvardin “