Organizing Asian America
People in my internet circles have been talking a lot lately about what white people think. Whether it’s the Whiteness Project, the new video interview series from Whitney Dow, or Bill O’Reilly, who adamantly refuses to acknowledge that white privilege is even a thing, it seems like we’re constantly critiquing,…
Just over a week ago, I slid into my car and drove away from #FergusonOctober. Buckled in and gearing up for the 4-hour drive back to Kansas City, all I wanted to do was sing. I sing a lot – the most when I’m alone – and singing is often…
Today, I’m getting into the car and driving 4 hours across the state of Missouri to participate in #FergusonOctober. I’m anxious, nervous, hopeful, and scared. To tell the truth, I’m intensely scared after Wednesday’s police-related shooting that ended in the death of Vonderrit Myers Jr., and which contributed to last…
Net neutrality is a crucial protection for the economic, civic, and creative lives of Asian American communities. There are few racial demographics so well-connected, for everything from commerce and the arts to political expression to keeping up with family. For these reasons, we believe Title II reclassification is in the…
Yesterday while we were driving home from her BMX practice, my 6-year old led me into a very important conversation about who she is in the world: what it means to be Hmong, Asian, Other. Her willingness to talk with me about her experiences with race and identity is a…
I have to be honest: it’s taken me two days and four drafts to write this post about what’s happening in Ferguson, Missouri. For the past 11 days, I’ve been gripped by grief and rage about the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year old Black teen gunned down by…
The highlight for India’s citizens and fans at the Asia Cup this year has been India’s leading scorers, Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh, who are both turban-wearing Sikhs. They led their team in a win over China at the Asia Cup, a true upset, as China was ranked 12th…
Detroit, MI. June 26, 2014. Vincent Chin has been on my mind a lot lately. It’s not just because he passed away 32 years ago Monday, or that I’m the same age now that he was when he was murdered. It’s not just that we both have deep ties to…
What is “community organizing”? When a solid team of passionate people come together and identify a problem, and then plan and organize a way to solve it by using their own power, influence, and resources in their own community, across generations, families, and neighborhoods. “We needed to support the elders,…
Three days ago (May 20, 2014) during Gap Inc’s annual shareholder meeting, the AAPI online activist group 18MillionRising.org successfully launched a hoax campaign targeting Gap Inc. for failing to take responsibility for Bangladeshi factory worker safety. Utilizing a website (www.gapdoesmore.com) and Twitter account (@GapDoesMore, now defunct), 18MR posed as the…
