All
featured
Entertainment
Inclusion
Business
LGBTQ
Events
woman-owned
Government
Stories
Careers
Lifestyle
Advocacy
Finance
Activists
Education
Women in STEM
Technology
Health
Science
UConnect
Latinx
Uncategorized
In Memoriam
Mentoring
Sports
Arts and Design
Disability
music
Authors
#stopasianhate

There’s been a rise in anti-Asian attacks. Here’s how to be an ally to the community.

#stopasianhate

three people stand together holding signs that read stop the hate and Asian lives matter

You may be wondering what you can do to help the Asian and Asian-American communities, amid a recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the U.S.

Eight people – most of them women of Asian descent – were killed Tuesday night in three shootings at Atlanta-area spas before police arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of being the gunman.

Stop AAPI Hate, a group that tracks acts of discrimination and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, found nearly 3,800 incidents of hate, discrimination or attacks on Asian Americans from March 2020 through February 2021. Photo: Damian Dovarganes, AP

New anti-hate crime legislation is set to be introduced in both chambers of Congress, following executive orders from President Joe Biden addressing the attacks.

Here are some key ways you can aid the communities, from donating to organizing:

Where to donate to help Asian communities, and how to organize

A host of organizations could use your donations, including but not limited to:

New York Magazine has a list of over 50 ways you can support the Asian communities.
https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-to-help-asian-communities-2021.html

Read before you share resources. As is typical with social media, many people share social posts on platforms like Instagram and Twitter offering statistics, resources and places to donate. Make sure the posts you’re sharing are rooted in facts, because even the most well-intentioned person could spread misinformation.

Learn how to organize

Actor Daniel Dae Kim told USA TODAY this month that a lot can happen on a local level: “We need to be able to contact our local (district attorneys) and the Department of Justice to discuss how we can deter (these crimes) and how we can prosecute them properly. There’s a lot we can do to foster understanding among communities. There are many community groups that have been created out of the ashes of this, like Compassion in Oakland, where they’re escorting Asian-American elders from place to place so that they feel safe.”

Reach out to your Asian friends and colleagues – but don’t ask them to educate you

Anti-Asian racism, like any form of racism, isn’t new.

Read up on the history of and present day anti-Asian racism in the U.S. This can be done through news articles. Consider documentaries and news programs that feature information on the subject. Netflix’s “Amend” touches on anti-Asian history in its sixth episode. Consider reading books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors, too.

“The Real” host Jeannie Mai told USA TODAY last month she doesn’t think white Americans are educated enough about Asian history or culture.

“I don’t think our school system is catered around educating us what we really need to know,” she said.

Read the full article on USA Today.

Oscars: Female Directors Break Record for Most Nominations in One Year

‘Sesame Street’ debuts Ji-Young, first Asian American muppet

#stopasianhateEntertainment

Ernie, a muppet from the popular children's series

By Terry Tang, AP News

What’s in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of “Sesame Street,” her name is a sign she was meant to live there.

“So, in Korean traditionally the two syllables they each mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong,” Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. “But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame.”

At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the “Sesame Street” canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children’s TV program, which first aired 52 years ago this month, gave The Associated Press a first look at its adorable new occupant.

Ji-Young will formally be introduced in “See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special.” Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi and Naomi Osaka are among the celebrities appearing in the special, which will drop Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, “Sesame Street” social media platforms and on local PBS stations.

Some of Ji-Young’s personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen Kim, 41 and Korean American, got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a “Sesame Street” workshop. That evolved into a mentorship and becoming part of the team the following year. Being a puppeteer on a show Kim watched growing up was a dream come true. But helping shape an original muppet is a whole other feat.

“I feel like I have a lot of weight that maybe I’m putting on myself to teach these lessons and to be this representative that I did not have as a kid,” Kim said. But fellow puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph — who performs Abby Cadabby — reminded her, “It’s not about us … It’s about this message.”

Ji-Young’s existence is the culmination of a lot of discussions after the events of 2020 — George Floyd’s death and anti-Asian hate incidents. Like a lot of companies, “Sesame Street” reflected on how it could “meet the moment,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, executive vice-president of Creative and Production for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street.”

Sesame Workshop established two task forces — one to look at its content and another to look at its own diversity. What developed was Coming Together, a multi-year initiative addressing how to talk to children about race, ethnicity and culture.

One result was 8-year-old Tamir. While not the show’s first Black muppet, he was one of the first used to talk about subjects like racism.

“When we knew we were going to be doing this work that was going to focus on the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience, we of course knew we needed to create an Asian muppet as well,” Stallings said.

These newer muppets — their personalities and their looks — were remarkably constructed in a matter of a months. The process normally takes at least a couple of years. There are outside experts and a cross-section of employees known as the “culture trust” who weigh in on every aspect of a new muppet, Stallings said.

For Kim, it was crucial that Ji-Young not be “generically pan-Asian.”

“Because that’s something that all Asian Americans have experienced. They kind of want to lump us into this monolithic ‘Asian,’” Kim said. “So it was very important that she was specifically Korean American, not just like, generically Korean, but she was born here.”

Click here to read the full article on AP News.

Asia-Latinos, More Than Allies – Breaking Intersectionality by Activating the Word Inclusion

#stopasianhateEducation

Woman in black jacket and pants smiling sitting on stairs

This article originally appeared in the Journal of the Prospanica Center for Social Justice

Has anyone ever given you “the look,” laughed at your accent, or criticized you for the way you mix your adjectives and adverbs?

If so, welcome to the club! Have you been asked if your father catches flies with chopsticks, if you know karate, or to lay low and wait for your turn—also known as “The Asian Ricepaper-ceiling” (referring to the term “Glass-ceiling”)? If so, then welcome to the other club! These examples are just is a small sample of the intersectionality some of us live daily.

The labels we typically use—background, age, gender, religion, interests, and preferences—are helpful when viewed as assets or positive differentiators. However, some people use them as discrimination flags, another excuse to show bias, intolerance, and sometimes even hatred. We can control part of this usage, and there is a part out of our control. To stop the negative impact, we must change our mindset and direct our actions towards real inclusion.

Inclusion is a verb. And the opposite of inclusion is disadvantage.

We’ve all heard in the news and social media that our Asian communities across the country continue to be attacked by intolerant and disrespectful individuals (to name them respectfully). As we know, this is not new! This has been happening for years. We hear about it now because the aggression has become harsher and the lack of action from authorities is more evident. The most recent case I watched was a woman attacked outside a hotel, and the most devastating part was not the action itself but the fact that two guards watched and didn’t do anything. It’s outrageous.

Any attack—verbal or worse—happening to anyone in front of us, regardless of who they are, becomes our issue. When a crime occurs in front of you, and you do nothing, you are an accomplice. The only way to change the current situation is to stand strong, side by side, with our Asian brothers, sisters, friends, and acquaintances. Let’s activate the word inclusion through these three actions:

• Educate – Research, read, ask, learn about history. Study topics from immigration to culture and traditions to understand who Asian Americans are, which countries they represent, and their contributions to our amazing country. As St. Augustin said in the year 399, “You can only defend what you love, and only love what you know.”

• Unite – Become an ally of other communities, introduce them to others, embrace their cultures, and defend their right to their traditions and beliefs. You can’t achieve this goal from afar; it has to be from within. Participate, hold hands, wear their T-shirt (Note: I am still looking for some Asia-Latinos to help me create a MeetUp or Club in ClubHouse).

• Represent – Get involved in the conversation. Defend someone when you witness injustice. Help develop future leaders and participate in Asian-rights marches. Invite them to your meetings. Be heard by writing articles, speaking on podcasts, raising your hand. In short, activate your good intentions.

I am a proud Asia-Latina! I’m proud of my roots! I’m proud of my ancestry! I resolutely refuse to walk the streets in fear. We need you, Latina, Latino, Hispanic, LatinX, Latin@, to help our Asian communities fight for their rights, their rights for freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. This is not the time to be just an observer or a cheerleader. We need you to step up and lend a hand, speak up and protect each other, take action.

We have done it under the motto, “Si se puede.” We know how to do it. Now it’s our turn to become true allies of the Asian community, and together, stand up, get on, and stay strong.

About Minué Yoshida

Minué Yoshida is a multicultural speaking coach. She is a half Mexican- half Japanese multilingual entrepreneur and author, whose mission is to help people discover who they are, what they are capable of, embrace their powers with bravery, and leave an impact in the world. Through her coaching and consulting services, both in Fortune 100 Companies and her International Consulting Business, she enables those who are ready to get to the next level, whether this is breaking the glass ceiling at the top or launching their own businesses. Minué is the Co-Founder of Yoshida Academy for Leadership Skills, Excellence and Personal Transformation, expanding their services to a wide audience in the USA and Worldwide. www.yoshidaconsulting.com

Lucy Liu in WashPost Opinions: My success has helped move the needle. But it’ll take more to end 200 years of Asian stereotypes.

#stopasianhateEntertainment

Lucy Liu in white dress smiling with a purple background drop

Lucy Liu, award-winning actress, director and visual artist, writes in Washington Post Opinions: When I was growing up, no one on television, in movies, or on magazine covers looked like me or my family. The closest I got was Jack Soo from “Barney Miller,” George Takei of “Star Trek” fame, and most especially the actress Anne Miyamoto from the Calgon fabric softener commercial.

Here was a woman who had a sense of humor, seemed strong and real, and had no discernible accent. She was my kid hero, even if she only popped up on TV for 30 seconds at random times.

As a child, my playground consisted of an alleyway and a demolition site, but even still, my friends and I jumped rope, played handball and, of course, reenacted our own version of “Charlie’s Angels”; never dreaming that some day I would actually become one of those Angels.

I feel fortunate to have “moved the needle” a little with some mainstream success, but it is circumscribed, and there is still much further to go. Progress in advancing perceptions on race in this country is not linear; it’s not easy to shake off nearly 200 years of reductive images and condescension.

Read the full article on the Washington Post.

Excerpts:

Recently, a Teen Vogue op-ed examining how Hollywood cinema perpetuates Asian stereotypes highlighted O-Ren Ishii, a character I portrayed in “Kill Bill,” as an example of a dragon lady: an Asian woman who is “cunning and deceitful … [who] uses her sexuality as a powerful tool of manipulation, but often is emotionally and sexually cold and threatens masculinity.” “Kill Bill” features three other female professional killers in addition to Ishii. Why not call Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox or Daryl Hannah a dragon lady? I can only conclude that it’s because they are not Asian. I could have been wearing a tuxedo and a blond wig, but I still would have been labeled a dragon lady because of my ethnicity. If I can’t play certain roles because mainstream Americans still see me as Other, and I don’t want to be cast only in “typically Asian” roles because they reinforce stereotypes, I start to feel the walls of the metaphorical box we AAPI women stand in.

Hollywood frequently imagines a more progressive world than our reality; it’s one of the reasons “Charlie’s Angels” was so important to me. As part of something so iconic, my character Alex Munday normalized Asian identity for a mainstream audience and made a piece of Americana a little more inclusive. Asians in America have made incredible contributions, yet we’re still thought of as Other. We are still categorized and viewed as dragon ladies or new iterations of delicate, domestic geishas — modern toile. These stereotypes can be not only constricting but also deadly.

The man who killed eight spa workers in Atlanta, six of them Asian, claimed he is not racist. Yet he targeted venues staffed predominantly by Asian workers and said he wanted to eliminate a source of sexual temptation he felt he could not control. This warped justification both relies on and perpetuates tropes of Asian women as sexual objects. This doesn’t speak well for AAPIs’ chances to break through the filters of preconceived stereotypes, much less the possibility of overcoming the insidious and systemic racism we face daily. How can we grow as a society unless we take a brutal and honest look at our collective history of discrimination in America? It’s time to Exit the Dragon.

The Doors’ Robby Krieger and Maki Mae Headline Multi-City Stop Asian Hate Concerts

#stopasianhateEntertainment

Maki Mae and Robby Krieger in promo poster smiling and all the information is listed for the concerts

Iconic guitarist Robby Krieger of The Doors and 13-language soprano Maki Mae join forces to accelerate mental health and medical care for hate crime survivors, and expand social justice programming to end anti-Asian violence. The free livestream on Mother’s Day Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. PST is hosted on the Asian Hall of Fame website.

Guests may purchase event merchandise and participate in the Asian Hall of Fame GoFundMe. Donations are matched up to $250,000 by the Robert Chinn Foundation. Limited supply of VIP tickets include autographed gifts and signed event memorabilia.

“Seasonal Songbook: Tokyo Mother’s Day Concert” is part of a multi-city virtual tour presented by the Asian Hall of Fame 2021 Season. Its Stop Asian Hate Campaign supports hate crime survivors and educates the public through exhibits, forums, concerts, and other equity initiatives. Events are virtual, free and offer a VIP tier on the Asian Hall of Fame website.

Established in 2004, Asian Hall of Fame is the world’s leading organization of Asian recognition. It advocates for more than 4 billion Asians, Asian American Pacific Islanders, and indigenous tribes. Asian Hall of Fame fosters year-round support to advance digital equity, gender equality, and Asian inclusion in national narratives. Inductees include martial arts icon Bruce Lee, Olympic skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi, and many other significant leaders.

2021 Founders Season Details:

Sunday, May 9 @ 2pm PST

Seasonal Songbook: Tokyo Mother’s Day Concert

Free livestream | Limited $100 VIP packages

America’s Got Talent 13-language soprano Maki Mae and Robby Krieger of The Doors feature selections from Seasonal Songbook with a sneak peak from their second album including a bossa nova take on “Sakura”. VIP package includes signed limited edition concert artwork, signed Iron Chef Morimoto cookbook, and signed event memorabilia.

Tuesday, May 18 @ 11am PST

Hate Crimes Policy Forum

Free livestream

Policy experts will delve into issues surrounding hate crime laws with the aim to put forth recommendations that help deter hate crimes. Panelists including Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary I. Yu, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office David Bannick, Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), CEO Connie Chung Joe of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, and more. Moderated by Chris Anderson of KBTC-TV (affiliate of PBS) with Q&A from media and guests.

Saturday, May 22 @ 11am PST

Asian Veterans Roundtable

Free livestream

Asian Hall of Fame inductee and former Major General Antonio Mario Taguba will lead a roundtable with leaders from the Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy. Taguba is known for the groundbreaking “Taguba Report” on the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

Wednesday, May 26 @ 11am PST

Hate Crimes Legislative Forum

Free livestream

Legislative leaders across state lines will explore solutions and challenges that exist when navigating hate crimes with the aim to put forth recommendations that help reduce anti-Asian violence

Thursday, June 3 @ 5pm PST

Kevin Kwan Happy Hour