By Jewel Edwards Q’s face morphs into a glare as she points her finger at the audience. Affecting a thick Indian accent, she scolds us. Her mother’s words, replete with her mother’s cadence, and her mothers stance, ring out into the theater.  A second ago, she was a sassy teenage version of herself wearing gold hoops, and before that, a …

Several Asian American and Pacific Islander undocumented youths, members of Congress, and National AAPI leaders convened on July 31 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building to raise awareness for immigration reform. The youths, recently approved under DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, demonstrated at the House Triangle today as part of their nine-city tour, “DREAM Riders: Road …

By Jewel Edwards In the wake of the Boston Bombings and a rash of destructive tornadoes in the Midwest, emergency preparedness is arguably more important in the U.S. than ever. Resilient DC is working to construct a framework by which communities in the Metropolitan area can map their assets, organize, and respond to disasters before they strike. The program is …

By Jewel Edwards Felix Liao, D.D.S, is not a dentist. He is a whole mouth doctor. The holistic practitioner sees thousands of patients in his pristine office in Falls Church, Va. and performs various treatments, some of which push the borders of traditional dentistry, such as mercury filling removal and jaw expansion. All procedures focus on the health of the …

By Jewel Edwards Washington, DC – On Sunday, June 23, Eastern Law gave a talk titled Place, Identitiy, and the Makings of Culture at Chinatown’s Chinese Community Church. Law is working with residents to dispel the stereotype that D.C.’s Chinatown is an inauthentic, over-commercialized space. The talk, part of a larger series of Talk Story events hosted by Organization of …

  The  stereotype that casts Asian Americans as a “model minority group” fails to account for the fact that, like other ethnic and minority groups in the United States, AAPIs suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases such as hepatitis B, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. AAPIs are also the least likely among all racial groups to receive routine mammograms and pap …

More than 100 naturalization ceremonies have welcomed over 7,800 new citizens during Independence Day celebrations this week, and many ceremonies are underway.   Citizenship candidates have and are continuing to take the Oath of Allegiance during ceremonies all around the country, including the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago; Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.; Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Ariz.; …

Asian American leaders convened today via teleconference to discuss the passage of the upcoming immigration senate bill, expected to come up for a final vote by Friday, June 28. AAPI Leaders Deepa Iyer, Kathy Ko Chin, Mari Quenemoen, Jacinta Ma and Jenny Seon addressed all aspects of the Border, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 with callers. Leaders …

President Obama met with business leaders on June 25 to discuss plans for immigration reform. The President stated that the current immigration system in place now is “broken,” and called for systems to be put in place so that immigrants can be a part of the above board economy, as opposed to the low-board economy. He cited the bipartisan bill …

Though President Obama stated last year that DACA recipients — youth who have grown up in the United States and given permission to live and work in the country for two-year renewable periods– were not eligible to receive federal benefits, some may qualify for state-funded only Medi-Cal. California is one of a few states with large immigrant populations that use …