Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
Compiled by Mary Tablante
Raymond Chen Confirmed to U.S. Court of Appeals
Washington, D.C—On Aug. 1, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Raymond T. Chen to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is the first Asian American to serve on the court in more than 25 years and the fifth Asian American that President Obama nominated to the Appellate courts. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Chen serves as the deputy general counsel for intellectual property law and solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.
Massacre at Oak Creek Remembered
Oak Creek, Wis.—In memory of the six Sikh men and women who died after the Aug. 5, 2012 shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, the temple held a series of events, including a candlelight vigil. Families and supporters honored the lives of the victims and called for an end to hate crimes. The victims of the tragedy were Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, who was the president of the congregation; Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; Prakash Singh, 39; Paramjit Kaur, 41; and Suveg Singh, 84. The gunman, who also killed himself that day, was a U.S. veteran who had been involved in white supremacist groups.
Standing Up to Bullies
Philadelphia—Wei Chen, 21, is a finalist in a competition called the Peace First Prize, which awards $50,000 to young leaders who seek to improve their communities. Chen is working to stop school violence and bullying at his Philadelphia school. He was inspired to help because of his own experiences with bullying after he moved from China to Pennsylvania when he was 16 years old. One of the things Chen did to improve his school was organizing a boycott with more than 100 students and filing a civil rights complaint to the Department of Justice to protest racial violence. Chen is one of 50 finalists for the prize.
Schools Face Complaint Against LEP Families
New Orleans—Two Asian American civil rights organizations filed a complaint against New Orleans charter schools on the city’s east side for allegedly discriminating against LEP or Limited English Proficiency parents of Vietnamese and Latino students, reported Education Week. The complaints say the schools did not provide translated documents to non-English-speaking families regarding report cards, enrollment, suspensions, parent-teacher conferences and more.
Band Takes Heat for Racist Music Video
A band called Days Above Ground received major backlash for releasing their song, “Asian Girlz,” which was depicted racist stereotypes about Asian women. The lyrics involve the band singing about slanted eyes and fried rice. The Angry Asian Man blog called the song “pretty much the worst thing ever made.” Actress Levy Tran, who appeared in the video, apologized via Twitter writing, “I sincerely apologize to all who feels that I set Asian women back 50 yrs. I know I lost respect from a lot of people. It wasn’t my intention.” Although the band claimed their music was not meant to be racist, they apologized for the song and cancelled a show at LA’s House of Blues. Days Above Ground has since removed the video from YouTube.
March on Washington Anniversary
Washington, D.C—The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans participated in the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington on Aug. 24. The group joined thousands of people and marched for issues such as housing and economic equality, civil rights, women’s rights and immigration reform. The rally began at the Lincoln Memorial and participants then marched to the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial. The event was organized by the National Action Network and included speakers such as Rev. Al Sharpton.
Sandra Oh Departs Grey’s Anatomy
After 10 seasons, five-time Emmy-nominated actress Sandra Oh announced her departure from the television show Grey’s Anatomy. Oh played surgeon Cristina Yang on the show and told Hollywood Reporter, “Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go.” However, producers have said the show is not planning to wrap up just yet.
Dream Riders Road Trip
A group of young AAPIs who have qualified for deferred action embarked on a road trip from July 29 to Aug. 6 and visited eight different cities from D.C. to Los Angeles. In each city, the Dream Riders met with local representatives and community members to talk about their experiences as undocumented immigrants as well as push for immigration reform that would help keep families together. The road trip was held in partnership with the Korean Resource Center and The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium.
Medical Marijuana
Neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta announced he has changed his opinion on medical marijuana and said he supports it because of the scientific data he found. Gupta apologized for his original opposition to medical marijuana. He also wrote that after listening to people’s personal stories, he believes medical marijuana is the only thing that works for some patients. The topic of medical marijuana has continued to be a divisive and heavily publicized debate.
Eat at Joe’s Renamed
Philadelphia—Joe’s Steaks & Soda Shop in Philadelphia was renamed in April because it was formerly known as Chink’s Steaks. The original owner was nicknamed Chink by grade school classmates because of his almond-shaped eyes. However, the new owner, Joe Groh, renamed the restaurant because he understood how offensive the name was. In August, Groh reported that he has actually lost business since the name change and had to endure protests about the change. To fight racism, supporters organized an Eat-In on Aug. 10. Similar events are planned for the future.
South Asian Museum Planned in Texas
Dallas, TX—A 4.7-acre site in Downtown Dallas has been sold to a planned South Asian museum. The museum will focus on India and has the possibility of bringing economic development through Indian investors, according to the Dallas Business Journal. Real estate estimates say the land sale exceeded $10 million.
Crazy Rich Asians: The Movie?
The summer bestseller by first-time novelist Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians, is now in the works to become a major motion picture. The producer of the Hunger Games, Nina Robinson, acquired rights to make a movie based on the novel. The premise of the book follows extremely rich Chinese families and what happens when the heir of one of the wealthiest families in Asia brings home his American-born girlfriend to Singapore.
