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☆ 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.

☆ In California, two Asian Americans fight for a seat in the House — and with each other
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

As the midterms loom, one key House race in California is drawing significant attention both to Asian Americans in the district, and from them. The race features a rare matchup between two Asian Americans, and the result hinges on Asian Americans, who make up about a third of the district’s voters. “I think here, we’re seeing a wake-up call,” Connie Chung Joe, chief executive of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, told NBC News. Within the electorate, almost half are of Vietnamese descent, one of the few Asian American groups that tends to lean right. It’s something, Joe said, that white candidates, for example, can “take for granted.”But Wong added that accusing another Asian American candidate of being disloyal “hurts the whole Asian American community.”As fiery as the race has been, it’s also reflective of a political maturation within the Asian American community, experts say.

☆ 'Rings of Power' series reveals another underdiscussed aspect of representation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Polynesian scholars are pointing out “Lord of the Rings” productions have traditionally been filmed on their land, but with Pacific Islander actors relegated to the background. The new prequel on Amazon Prime did slightly better with representation, but experts stopped short of declaring it true progress. Na'puti pointed out that the Māori community experienced significant land loss, now holding just roughly 5% of all land there. McCartney also said that indigenous, Polynesian representation means incorporating the culture into the writing, given the Māori displacement in the country. And so if you’re on it, you have a responsibility.”Ultimately, Young questioned the necessity to continuously adapt the work of Tolkien, who wrote the “Lord of The Rings” series in the early 1900s.

☆ Why Celeste Ng's new book places an Asian American mom in the eye of a social justice movement
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

For the author, it was critical to place Miu, an Asian American mother and fugitive poet, at the forefront of a protest movement in her book. It was, in a way, a nod to the awareness that Asian American women more generally have long had around violence, preceding the rise in anti-Asian hate during the pandemic. Research previously showed that 21% to 55% of Asian women in the U.S. report having experienced intimate physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetimes, according to the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. “As an Asian American woman, I feel like I’ve been aware of the possibility of violence for most of my life. “In the case of PACT, it’s the idea that there’s a right way to be American,” Ng said.

☆ Majority of Asian Americans in Texas want to vote but haven’t been reached out to
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Sixty-four percent of the state’s Asian American and Pacific Islander electorate is “highly motivated” to vote in the midterm elections, the civil rights nonprofit group Asian Texans for Justice said in a new poll. … We need to be listened to.”Researchers surveyed 2,700 likely voters in Texas, including 660 Asian Americans, in July. The research also finds a large gender divide, with 49% of Asian American and Pacific Islander women identifying as Democrats, nearly twice the proportion of men. Asian American and Pacific Islander men are more likely to identify as Republicans, at 38%, or independents, at 35%. The report found that Asian American voters in Texas are more likely to be immigrants compared to all other races.

☆ Constance Wu’s harassment claims reveal a painful trade-off women of color face
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

But the fact that she did not speak out points to an added layer of hesitation many women of color face when confronted with such harassment, experts say. She had been hoping for a “fresh start.”Advocates and scholars say Wu’s comments reflect a familiar issue that women of color regularly contend with: the pressure to uphold racial solidarity, regardless of the harm they face. In her upcoming book “Making a Scene,” which will be released on Oct. 4, Wu detailed the alleged harassment. The expectation women face to place race before any gender-based misconduct or abuse means that they often do not get to define what being Asian American means, she said. Bringing issues of harassment into the public domain oftentimes forces people to contend with long-ignored problems, she said.

Officials escort Adnan Syed from the courthouse following the completion of the first day of hearings for a retrial in Baltimore on Feb. 3, 2016. “It was a strategy to inflame racial and religious prejudice against a brown Muslim man,” Raju said. “This is something that has been used to justify colonialism going way back … This notion that men of color, men coming from Asian, South Asian cultures, are inherently misogynistic towards their women, which justifies the intervention that needs to occur,” Selod said. California passed the Racial Justice Act in 2020, empowering defenders to challenge racial disparities in arrests, charging and sentences. If mirrored around the country, this law has the potential to protect other young people of color who might have been in the same position as Syed, Raju said.

☆ Lawmakers introduce bill to end deportation of Southeast Asian refugees
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill on Tuesday that aims to keep more Southeast Asian refugee families together, advocates say. The Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act would place limitations on the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to deport refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. The bill could have a significant impact for an estimated 15,000 Southeast Asian refugees, roughly 80% of whom were convicted of a crime and have completed their sentences but have final orders of removal and face deportation. “It is profoundly wrong for us to send refugees where their human rights are not protected and guaranteed.”The legislation would prevent DHS from detaining or deporting Southeast Asian refugees who arrived in the U.S. prior to 2008. And that still threatens their lives every single day through these deportation orders to countries that they fled as refugees,” Dinh said.

☆ A professor falsely accused of spying for China describes the toll it's taken on his family
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

The Department of Justice had accused Xi of sharing schematics for a pocket heater with peers in his research community in China. “It’s also important for the community in general, because of all the Chinese scientists and scientists of Chinese descent — many of them are being falsely charged. His arrest, Xi claimed, was discriminatory. The arrest, Joyce added, altered the family’s lives in unmeasurable ways. Several other scholars who have been falsely accused of spying struggle to recount the emotional toll the incidents took on their families.

☆ Asian American women fall off by 80% at corporate leadership levels, a new report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

“It’s not the responsibility of Asian women to fix all of the issues that affect Asian women,” said Michael Chui, a partner at McKinsey who co-authored the study. Asian American women meet uniquely strong resistance to advancement by being “penalized” for being both people of color and women. According to the research, the share of promotions for Asian women is 1 for every 2 Asian men at the senior manager level, dropping to 1 for every 6 Asian men at the C-suite executive level. Some Asian American women she has spoken to have reported that the “tiger mom” stereotype, which assumes Asian women are strict, demanding and unfeeling caregivers, can harm their advancement in the workplace. … It just works against Asian American women.”Another major issue that affects Asian American women, and the racial group more generally, is the failure to be properly networked in organizations, Chin said.

☆ MIT professor wrongfully accused of spying for China helps make a major discovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-25 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Months after an MIT professor was cleared of spying for China, he helped make a major scientific discovery. But for me, I’m stopping that research,” Chen, a Chinese immigrant, said. The research, Chen emphasized, is still in its early stages and the material likely years away from commercial use. The failure to report specific work history, for example, had been interpreted by officials as attempts to conceal affiliations with China. “And I decided to stay and actually I’d say I’m very grateful that I got all the opportunities that occurred.

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