Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
Compiled by Mary Tablante
1. No Asian Americans in President’s Cabinet
WASHINGTON, D.C.—After the resignation of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki on May 30, there are no Asian Americans in the president’s Cabinet for the first time since the year 2000. Shinseki’s departure means that Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) is now the highest-ranking Asian American in public office. Shinseki resigned after scandals related to the falsification of VA hospital records.
2. National Park Service to Give $2.9 Million in Grants to Preserve Japanese American History
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Park Service will give 21 grants totaling more than $2.9 million for projects that interpret and preserve World War II Japanese confinement sites. The projects will include an educational training for California teachers about the stories of Japanese American incarceration and an exhibition about the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Japanese American World War II veterans, according to KCSG Television.
3. Study Blasts Myths about Sex-Selective Abortions
A study released in early June combats the reasoning anti-abortion activists use to ban sex-selective abortions. Some lawmakers who oppose abortion have argued that one reason sex-selective abortion bans are needed is because of the influx of Asian immigrants, and Asian culture supposedly favoring males over females. However, the study argues that these bans are just being used as a way to restrict abortion rights. The study notes that foreign-born Chinese, Koreans and Indians are actually having more daughters than white Americans. The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and the University of Chicago Law School released the report, which is entitled “Replacing Myths with Facts: Sex-Selective Abortion Laws in the United States.”
4. Pennsylvania Asian Restaurants Targeted by ICE
State College, Penn.—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other local, state and federal law enforcement raided several Asian restaurants in State College, Penn., on June 12 to target undocumented restaurant workers. Just before lunchtime that day, authorities questioned employees and in the end, law enforcement detained at least 13 people. Authorities did not provide comment to news organizations reporting on the raids.
5. Indian American Student Graduates High School at Age 10
Sacramento, Calif.—Tanishq Abraham, 10, became one of the youngest people ever to graduate high school in the U.S. Abraham, who is of Indian descent, will continue taking community college classes and then plans to transfer to the University of California-Davis to study medicine, reported ABC. Abraham had been homeschooled since age 7 and has a younger sister who is also a child prodigy.
6. Linda Cho Wins Tony Award for Best Costume Design
NEW YORK—During the Tony Awards June 8, Linda Cho was honored with the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for the play “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” This was Cho’s first Tony nomination and first Broadway show. Her work has been seen internationally at Royal Shakespeare Co. UK, the Hong Kong Performing Arts Center and Stratford Shakespeare in Canada. “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” also won the Tony for Best Musical.
7. Asian and Black Customers Targeted at Texas Bar
Dallas, Texas—Employees at a bar in Texas confirmed claims that the business denied entrance to Asian and Black customers. Employees at Kung Fu Saloon in uptown Dallas say management would tell them to deny entrance to minority customers on the basis of violating the dress code, but would never turn away white customers. Additionally, one employee said managers told them to listen to a person’s accent on the phone to determine whether or not to accept their reservation. The Dallas city government has been investigating the issue.
8. Documentary about Asian American Rappers in the Works
Director Salima Koroma and producer Jaeki Cho are looking to find out why there are so few mainstream Asian American rappers. Their documentary, “Bad Rap,” will feature Dumbfoundead from Los Angeles, Awkwafina and Rekstizzy from Queens, N.Y., and Lyricks, from Fairfax, Va. It will take a look at the challenges and successes of these rappers and examine the history of Asian Americans and hip-hop. The documentary has a fundraising campaign set up on Indiegogo that has already surpassed its goal of raising $25,000.
9. Poet Starts Project about Laotian America
PHILADELPHIA— Spoken word artist Catzie Vilayphonh started a multimedia project, “Laos in the House,” to spotlight the Laotian community. The project will collect digital stories about the Lao diaspora in the U.S., showcase performances by Laotian American artists and an exhibit will be created, according to philly.com. A refugee from Laos when she was an infant, Vilayphonh said she knew little about her family’s history and was inspired to find out about it herself. She is part of the Asian American female spoken word poet duo “Yellow Rage.” To learn more or share stories, visit laosinthehouse.com.
10. Opera about Pvt. Danny Chen Premieres
WASHINGTON, D.C.—”An American Soldier” premiered at the Kennedy Center on June 13 about Army Pvt. Danny Chen, who was found dead in 2011 in Afghanistan after experiencing racial harassment and hazing. The hour-long opera explores the court-martial of one of Chen’s superiors and also looks at the relationship between Chen and his mother, according to NPR. Huang Ruo composed the hour-long opera with a libretto by David Henry Hwang. Ruo told NPR that although it is a very sad story, “as a society, we need to come together to learn from it.”
