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☆ How ballroom dance become a refuge for Asian immigrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Three days a week, Edward Wan, of Bethesda, Maryland, steals away to a ballroom dance studio so he can glide across the floor in the company of older Chinese immigrants like him. Wan, 78, is one of the countless Asian immigrants who’ve regarded ballroom dance as a sort of creative sanctuary, but are now shaken by the two shootings incidents, one of them deadly, that shook California dance halls on Saturday. “It’s an injustice to ballroom dance. Ballroom dance itself is almost like going to learn poetry or sitting down to meditate,” Wan said. Ballroom dance helped him move forward, he said.

☆ Back-to-back California shootings reflect an American tragedy, not an ‘Asian issue,’ experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Gun violence isn’t innate in Asian culturesGun violence, experts note, is not inherent in the Asian diaspora's culture. So Ho condemned those attempting to paint the Asian American community with a broad brush due to the pair of tragedies. Gun control organizations haven’t invested enough time and resources in the Asian American community, Ramakrishnan said. And campaigns and parties have often targeted Asian American voters with a focus on education and affirmative action, he said. And Dhingra said he fears that, as more attacks occur in Asian American spaces, it could lead to more Asian Americans purchasing weapons for self-defense, leading to more firearms to be used and misused.

☆ Here's what the Year of the Rabbit could symbolize
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

It’s the Year of the Rabbit and we should all be focusing on rest, introspection and working smarter not harder. Though it was a weak swimmer, the rabbit used its brain, opting to cross the river portion of the course on a raft. … If you did just jump in because of FOMO, you’re going to have a whole slew of issues.”The rabbit in the Chinese zodiac also speaks to the power of empathy. What does my community need? How can I make myself of service to my community?” Lee said.

☆ After Indiana Univ. stabbing, Asian American students say they haven’t received enough support from school
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Since the incident, a sense of shock has rippled through the school’s Asian community. The students say that conversations around the incident have been active among the Asian Americans on campus. Karen Cheng, a senior at the university and the president of the school’s Asian American Association, noted a similar sense of fear. As an Asian American woman, she said, public safety concerns predate the tragedy. But the community is also flanked by some areas with white supremacist activity, something many Asian American students are aware of, Cheng said.

☆ Biden admin releases first plan to support Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian communities
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Tuesday released its first national agenda aimed at addressing the range of disparities that Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities face. More than two dozen officials and community leaders gathered to formally unveil a strategy that was spearheaded by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Among the administration’s priorities are combating anti-Asian hate and discrimination, the disaggregation of data across the communities and better language access, according to the report. In the strategy, the agencies laid out some of their previous work pertaining to the communities, in addition to new goals. And I’ve been so heartened by the support of this administration that has gone beyond the usual political rhetoric."

☆ Why Michelle Yeoh's 'shut up' at the Golden Globes was profound for Asian women
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Yeoh's moment was refreshing for Jeon, a self-proclaimed assertive Asian American woman. And for Asian women, who contend with historical pressures from within the community and beyond to make themselves small, Yeoh’s quip had a deeper meaning. She simultaneously represented other Asian women who are more compelled to speak their minds. Jeon, for example, said that she has often been reminded by loved ones to tone down her personality in spaces within the Asian American community. While many women are taught to downplay their strengths, particularly in front of men, Yeoh flexed her might in those five words.

☆ Purdue’s 1st Asian American president takes office weeks after school official mocks Asian languages onstage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Chiang’s tenure comes shortly after Thomas L. Keon, chancellor of PNW mocked Asian languages during a winter commencement. A post published by nonprofit Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, written by writer Emil Guillermo, said that action from Chiang could send a strong message. The first Asian American president fires the racist chancellor who told a bad Asian joke.”Keon did not respond to a request for comment. “The Board has therefore issued a formal reprimand to Dr. Keon.”Thomas L. Keon, chancellor of Purdue University Northwest in Indiana. Instead, he said, it’s reflective of larger problems that Asian and Asian American students often faced.

☆ Michelle Yeoh gives emotional acceptance speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Michelle Yeoh won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture comedy or musical. Yeoh took home the award Tuesday for her starring role in the psychedelic comedy drama “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”“Whew! In her acceptance speech, Yeoh recounted how she wasn’t always accepted in the industry. “Someone said to me ‘You speak English?’ I mean, forget about them not knowing Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Asia, India. For Yeoh, the film is also significant because of the familiarity of its depiction, albeit a bit unconventional, of the immigrant experience, she said.

☆ 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' actor Ke Huy Quan wins Golden Globe for best supporting actor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Ke Huy Quan has won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a motion picture. The “Everything Everywhere All At Once” actor took home the award Tuesday for his portrayal of doting husband and laundromat owner Waymond Wang. “I was raised to never forget where I came from and always remember who gave me my first opportunity,” he said. The role is also significant for the actor personally, as it marks his return to acting after more than two decades working behind the camera. It wasn’t until the 2018 rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians,” which featured an all-Asian cast, that Quan began to reconsider his options, he said in the Roundtable.

☆ With new China travel restriction in place, Asian Americans urge nuanced caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Following the Biden administration’s implementation of a new Covid-19-related travel requirement for passengers flying in from China, Asian American advocates and experts are urging caution and nuance amid years of heightened anti-Asian violence. Several Asian American organizations and leaders have expressed concern over the requirement of a pre-departure negative Covid test from those flying in from the country. “What I would ask everyone to do is, again, be careful not to conflate the virus with an ethnicity or a group of people,” said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. But some groups like Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit that tracks incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, strongly opposed the policy. The group pointed to previous travel restrictions under the Trump administration in January 2020 that coincided with a rise in hate incidents against the racial group.

☆ Biden signs law to help preserve Japanese American WWII incarceration camps
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A new law signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday will help memorialize the history of the U.S. government's incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, would reauthorize funds that help preserve the sites in which tens of thousands of Japanese Americans were detained, including Manzanar in California and Rohwer in Arkansas. “The internment of Japanese American citizens remains one of the darkest and most shameful periods in our history,” Schatz said in a statement about the law. More than 75 years ago, the U.S. government incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans in response to xenophobia and the wartime hysteria that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The findings served as the basis for the Civil Liberties Act, signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, offering a formal apology for the mass incarceration, following a large-scale movement by the Japanese American community.

☆ Native Hawaiian women and girls experience sex trafficking and violence at alarming rates, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Native Hawaiian women and girls experience disproportionate levels of violence, and those inequities have long been insufficiently addressed, new research shows. “It’s the collision of hatred of Native Hawaiians and hatred of women that just makes it harder for women’s pain and specifically Native Hawaiian women’s pain to register,” Jabola-Carolus said. Military occupation remains an enduring structure of the U.S. colonization of Hawaii, which researchers point to as the basis for the inequities Native Hawaiian women and girls experience today. Inequities for Native women and girls are also intertwined with the failures of those with legislative power to recognize these Native Hawaiian issues, the report said. But services allocated to specifically help Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence were inadvertently excluded from that funding.

☆ History-making Asian American soccer player describes his journey to self-acceptance
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The moment Team USA midfielder Kellyn Acosta’s feet touched the turf at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he said he felt awash with gratitude. The label “Asian American” has been hard won. David S Bustamante / Getty Images“When you think about sports, and you think about my makeup, you think that’s the African American side of me that makes me excel. And he enjoyed the ride with the Asian American community on his mind. Kellyn Acosta during the World Cup Group match between the United States and Wales in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 21.

☆ Why 'KPOP,' the first Broadway show to tell a Korean story, closed in just two weeks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

The production was the first on Broadway to tell a Korean story, written by Korean creatives, centered on one of the most popular forms of music in the world. Cast members of KPOP perform during a press preview at Circle in the Square in New York on Oct. 11. And Covid-19 illnesses among some cast members canceled some previews, which were almost sold out, Kim said. Kim said the “built-in” Broadway audience also wasn’t reached by the show’s marketing. “We were going to try and save the show.”The show closed on Sunday and currently, the future of “KPOP” is still uncertain.

☆ Purdue Northwest chancellor apologizes after racist Asian language impression on stage at commencement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Thomas L. Keon, chancellor of Purdue University Northwest in Indiana, has apologized after a racist display on stage at the school’s winter commencement ceremony. Thomas L. Keon, chancellor of Purdue University Northwest in Indiana. Purdue University NorthwestKeon received the Giving Back Award in 2016 for his “commitment to diversity and inclusion,” according to the magazine Insight Into Diversity, which gave him the accolade. Purdue University Northwest was ranked in the top 20 Midwest regional universities for campus ethnic diversity by U.S. News & World Report for the 2022-2023 school year. “I will learn from this and assure you that Purdue Northwest and I will take action to prevent such missteps from occurring in the future,” he wrote.

☆ Asian Americans heavily favored Warnock in Georgia runoff, exit poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Asian American voters in Georgia showed strong Democratic lean in the recent Senate runoff election, according to one exit poll. “I think there is a risk of losing folks if they take voters for granted.”For the exit poll, the organization surveyed 337 Asian American voters across DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties at five key, high-Asian American precincts. Nguyen emphasized that political opinions across the electorate are far from monolithic, pointing to the poll’s breakdown of Asian American voters by age. Polling occurred in areas with a higher-density Asian American voters, which tend to skew Democrat. Nguyen similarly noted that in the Atlanta area, voters heavily favored Warnock.

☆ Rep. Ted Lieu reflects on becoming the highest-ranking Asian American ever in House Democratic leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who recently became the first Asian American to be elected vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, took a moment to reflect with NBC News on how he got there. “It’s actually more of a recognition by my colleagues of the growing importance of the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities,” he said. In two decades the Asian American electorate surged 139%, according to Pew Research. The congressman added that beyond Asian Americans, his win also showcases the power of a broad collective. “If you look at what the House Democratic Caucus did, it was, I feel, remarkable.

☆ The political and spiritual symbolism of Mauna Loa’s historic eruption
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

For many in the Native Hawaiian community, it carried a larger cultural and political symbolism and a message to respect Indigenous communities and land. Many Native Hawaiians are drawing from their mythology around Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and creator of the islands, to help assign meaning to the historic eruption. “You don’t have authority to shape our sacred lands.”The eruption, Ing said, “is Pelehonuamea saying, ‘They’re right. And Pele’s lava flow, ho’omanawanui said, is associated with a cleansing that the Native Hawaiian community receives with gratitude rather than fear. So now Pele is coming in.”The symbolism around the eruption can also be applied to another lasting colonial force on the island: the tourism industry, Ing said.

☆ Nevada is 1 of 5 states with over 10% Asian Americans. Both parties courted vote, but Dems won out.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

In the highly competitive swing state of Nevada, both parties aggressively courted Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders ahead of last week's midterm elections, but Democrats managed to clinch the group's vote. Koo said both parties made significant efforts to appeal to Asian Americans, particularly in comparison to elections past. “The main industry there is service and hospitality, and there’s a lot of Asian Americans that are employed by that industry,” Wong said. Democratic candidates in Nevada, who are often more moderate than those on the coasts, may naturally align more with the Asian American community. “We’re starting to see with younger Asian American voters, climate is a huge conversation that everyone is having.

☆ Senate passes bill to include Native Hawaiian sexual violence survivors in funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

While services allocated to specifically help Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence were previously inadvertently excluded from that funding, the legislation would rectify that. As it stood, the legislation allocated money for native women but not, specifically, Native Hawaiian women due to language and drafting errors. “The people who suffer the worst of that are Native Hawaiian women," she added. Barriers to addressing violence against Native Hawaiian women can also be traced back to American colonization, Kanaʻiaupuni said. “And of course the majority of trafficked people are Native Hawaiian women and children.

☆ After being falsely accused of spying for China, Sherry Chen wins significant settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

An Asian American scientist who was wrongfully accused of spying for China is speaking out after reaching a lucrative settlement with the U.S. government last week. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which backed Chen, the hydrologist will receive $550,000 from the Commerce Department and an annuity over 10 years valued at $1.25 million. Neither the Commerce Department nor the DOJ commented further on Chen’s ordeal. However, the Commerce Department appealed the decision and placed her on administrative leave. As part of the settlement, Chen is retiring from the NWS, her lawyers said.

☆ GOP Rep. Michelle Steel wins re-election in contentious House race between 2 Asian Americans
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

After a contentious race in Orange County, California, Republican incumbent Michelle Steel will represent the redrawn 45th Congressional District. Steel defeated Democrat Jay Chen in a rare matchup between two Asian American candidates. Prior to serving in Congress, Steel was a supervisor and chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. The political shift has been driven by the growth of the Asian American and Pacific Islander population in the area. On Monday, dozens of Asian American organizations, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC and the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, condemned candidates “using sinophobia, a fear or dislike of China” in a letter.

☆ Asian Americans favored Democratic candidates in midterms, exit polls say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

She’s among the many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who showed up at the ballot box on Tuesday. Surveys show that Asian Americans favored Democrats during the midterm elections, according to election night exit polls. According to that poll, 64% of Asian Americans voted Democrat in House races, while 32% voted Republican. Roughly three-quarters of Asian American voters in Pennsylvania, for example, favored Democratic candidates for governor, Senate and House. Roughly two-thirds of Asian Americans also favored the Democratic candidate in the House and Senate races.

☆ 'Blockbuster' star Randall Park reflects on what video rental stores meant to his immigrant family
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Randall Park’s new show, which centers around the last remaining video rental Blockbuster store, is — in many ways — a perfect project for the actor. There are also small nods to the way in which certain demographics would see the rental stores. / NetflixPark said the moment harkens back to memories of his own immigrant parents frequenting small video rental stores in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. The cultural safe space that the rental stores provided were significant, he said. “I do feel like video rental was definitely a part of our lives well after it stopped being mainstream,” he remembered.

☆ Behind the vocal Asian American minority railing against affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

As the Supreme Court weighs two high-profile cases challenging affirmative action, a vocal minority of Asian Americans continues to impact public debate. Among Chinese Americans, support for affirmative action is at 59%, the lowest within the Asian American community. This also means that they themselves haven’t experienced the benefits of affirmative action or education equity policies, Niu said. Top American universities, however, use a “holistic” admissions process in which affirmative action policies allow them to take race into account. Asian Americans do face discrimination in our society, in our education systems, but they’re not the result of race-conscious policies like affirmative action,” Chen said.

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