Community News

SAVE THE DATE! - Aloha Pumehana 'O Polynesia (APOP) Hawaiian Cultural Center presents the second annual 2005 Bay Area Hawaiian Film Festival, Oct. 7-8. For more information, please visit: www.apop.net or www.keikialii.com.

July, 2005

Chinese Government Commemorates Iris Chang

Iris Chang will be commemorated with two statues commissioned by the Chinese government. The late Chinese-American writer was best known for her book, "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II", which helped shed light on the massacres in Nanjing by Japanese militants during World War II.

ADC Condemns Bombings in London

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has condemned the bombings which took place in London early this morning. The ADC has urged the public and media to proceed cautiously as investigations into the identity of the perpetrators continue.

June, 2005

Multicultural Marketing Resources Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Multicultural Marketing Resources (MMR) announces the first recipients of its donations totaling $10,000 awarded in celebration of its 10th anniversary. To acknowledge this important business milestone, Multicultural Marketing Resources decided to recognize organizations representative of various ethnic markets and noteworthy causes as well as key organizations and groups whose support throughout the years has helped MMR grow and thrive.

Is Racist Humor Typical in Locker Rooms?

Members of the AAPI community are outraged by a 49ers' diversity training video produced for the team by public relations director Kirk Reynolds.

May, 2005

First National Expo of Ethnic Media

New California Media, the Independent Press Association-NY and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism present "The First National EXPO of Ethnic Media," Thursday, June 9, 2005 at Lerner Hall, Columbia University, 2920 Broadway and 115th Street in New York City.

Network and exchange ideas on building inclusive communications with the New America. Join ethnic and mainstream media practitioners and educators, communications strategists, social marketing planners, distinguished authors, public policy researchers, pollsters and political consultants, community liaison representatives, community activists, students, youth communicators and more.
For more information, visit http://expo.ncmonline.com/news/.

Report Shows Not All AAPI Students Are Succeeding

Discussions of closing the achievement gaps often overlook AAPI students because most people believe AAPI students always do well in school. This month, the National Education Association released a report on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, debunking the stereotype that all AAPI students are succeeding in schools. The report offers disturbing data on the widespread underachievement of some groups, especially Southeast Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

"A Report on the Status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Education: Beyond the "Model Minority" Stereotype" describes the diversity among AAPI students and their academic achievement, the racism experienced by AAPI students in our nation's schools, the challenges of creating policies and classroom practices that address AAPI students, and recommendations and resources for action.

For more information, visit http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/api05.html

A Conversation About Civil Rights and Journalism

A distinguished panel discussed media coverage of civil rights issues, revisiting the Vincent Chin murder case and other events, including those following the September 11 attacks.

First Annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The First Annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be held on Thursday, May 19th and commemorated with events across the U.S. Join us in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from 5:00-6:00 pm for a free, open-to-the-public Awareness Day Program featuring celebrities Greg Louganis, Amy Hill, Alec Mapa, Helen Zia, and The Hon. Cecilia Chung. To sign our pledge against discrimination and for more information about the event, please visit www.banyantreeproject.org.

To commemorate this event and to raise awareness about the impact HIV/AIDS is having in the API communities, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will hold a conference call for the media on Friday, May 13, 2005 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Dr. Garth Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, Dr. Lisa M. Lee, Epidemiologist, the Centers for Disease Control, and other HHS officials will be on call.

To obtain the toll free dial-in number for the telebriefing, please call 202-329-1167.

For more information about the API HIV/AIDS Awareness Day please visit their Web site at www.omhrc.gov/hivaidsobservances/api.

Apr., 2005

AAPIs Protest Racist Remarks by 'Jersey Guys'

A pair of disc jockeys at a New Jersey radio station (101.5 FM) angered many listeners with their riff about an Asian American candidate for a township office. The two mocked both the candidate and Asian Americans, speaking at times in heavy accent meant to ridicule Asian immigrants and inferring Asian Americans aren't bonafide Americans.

AAJA's MediaWatch Committee was asked to weigh in on the matter. Committee members debated the issue but chose to not respond because the material fell outside of news coverage or news commentary. AAJA has been sharing details of the controversy with community groups and with its own membership so individuals can choose to cover the incident for their respective communities and media organizations.

Read the story in the April 28 issue of The Star-Ledger by Asian American journalist Suleman Din at www.nj.com.

APA Heritage Month

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Find more information on celebrations near you.

GLAAD Unveils New "People of Color Media Program Resource Center"

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today unveiled a dramatic expansion of GLAAD.org that will serve and focus attention on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities of color and people of color media professionals. The latest component of GLAAD's Digital Initiative, GLAAD.org's new People of Color (POC) Media Program Resource Center -- located at http://www.glaad.org/poc -- contains timely, relevant information about African-American/Afro-Caribbean, Asian Pacific Islander (API), Latina/o, Muslim and Native American communities.

Committee of 100 Releases National Survey Report

The Committee of 100, a national, non-partisan organization composed of prominent American citizens of Chinese descent, has announced the preliminary results of the first of a two-phase study on American Attitudes toward China, conducted by Zogby International. For more information on the survey, visit www.committee100.org.

Mar., 2005

Civil Rights Activist, Fred Korematsu, Dies

Civil rights activist, Fred Korematsu, who unsuccessfully fought Japanese American internment camps during World War II before finally winning in court nearly four decades later, has died. He was 86. Read Lisa Chung and Jessie Mangaliman's article. Read Lia Chang's article.

Journalism and the Arab World Conference

Friday through Sunday, April 22-24 at the University of Texas join the National Arab American Journalists Association and Society of Professional Journalists for the Journalism & The Arab World Conference. Events will include a keynote speech by the Washington Post's 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner, Anthony Shadid and Al-Jazeera's senior producer, Samir Khader. Panels will discuss and analyze media coverage of the Arab World from American, Arab, and international news sources. For more information visit www.journalismandthearabworld.com.

New Census Publication on Arab Americans

Recently Released: "We the People of Arab Ancestry in the United States (CENSR-21)" - Part of a series of Census 2000 special reports, presenting data on demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Arab population as a whole, as well as of the largest groups within this population at the national level. Click Here for full report.

Feb., 2005

AAJA Co-Presents Asian American Film

NAATA

The Asian American Journalists Association co-presents "The Motel," the closing night feature of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, on March 17 at 7 p.m. at the Kabuki Theatre.

A/P/A Studies at NYU Presents a Panel on Hmong Hunter Incident

On February 18, the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program & Institute at NYU will host a panel with Minnesota State Senator Mee Moua; Ms. Ka Vang, Twin Cities writer and youth worker; Prof. Frank Wu, lawyer, scholar, and Dean of Wayne State University Law School; and a representative from the NYU Trauma Studies Center. They will be commenting on the case and framing the incident within larger Asian American and profiling contexts and issues. Prof. Lok Siu of the A/P/A Studies faculty will be chairing the session. For more information on the event, visit the A/P/A Studies at NYU website at www.apa.nyu.edu.

Jan., 2005

WQHT/Hot 97 Radio Show Enrages AAPI Community

A popular hip-hop radio show uses racially derogatory epithets in a parody that mocked victims of the South Asian tsunami catastrophe. Visit Asian MediaWatch for more information.

Philadelphia Radio Skit Controversy

A call, made by radio jockeys Star and Buc Wild from radio station Power 99 in Philadelphia as part of their on-air routine, to a call centre in India continues to outrage listeners and the local community.

Robert T. Matsui Dies at Age 63

The Honorable Robert T. Matsui (D-CA-05) died at 10:10 pm Saturday, January 1, 2005 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Family surrounded the beloved Congressman from Sacramento for his final days as he battled a recent illness.

Dec., 2004

NAPALC Works With Hmong American Community To Ease Racial Tensions And Bridge Cultural Divide

The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium met with members of the Hmong American community from Wisconsin and Minnesota on December 10, 2004 in Minneapolis/St. Paul to discuss the backlash from the tragic deaths of six hunters in Meteor, WI and to assist in the process of healing by opening a dialogue with other ethnic and racial groups.

Aug., 2004

Asians in Rock tour aims to bust 'model minority'

Chicago Tribune
When Jenny Choi was assembling the first Asians in Rock tour last year, a booking agent told her that the concept didn't have enough appeal to fill her San Francisco Bay area club -- despite the region's large Asian-American population.

Ryan James Kim: Gay or Asian?

The Advocate
For a writer who is both, watching Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is both empowering and disheartening.

Japanese-Americans Convene

Honolulu Advertiser
About 600 people attending the Japanese American Citizens League convention in Honolulu plunged yesterday into a weeklong exploration of civil-rights issues.

Hawaii-based TV Shows Lack True Diversity

Tennessean
How far is Hollywood willing to go in representing Hawaii's racially diverse population to a mainland audience accustomed to monochrome casting? Do producers view Hawaii as a distinct community of people or just a pretty backdrop of blue skies and empty beaches?

July, 2004

New Kid For a Bloc

Alternet
Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP), works to give the Asian American community the political voice that it still lacks.

Asian American International Film Festival Kicks off 27th Year

Indie Wire
In collaboration with the Asian American Filmmakers Collaborative, the festival will present 15 films from the first "64 Hour Shoot-Out," a New York competition that gives Asian filmmakers 64 hours to fully produce a short film.

Asian-American Trendsetting on a Shoestring

New York Times
As Giant Robot magazine celebrates its 10th anniversary this month it exerts a powerful influence that belies its tiny budget. It is one of the chief arbiters of what is cool (and by extension what is not) in Asian-American pop culture, a tricky job that other, better-financed magazines like Yolk tried and did not survive.

Vietnamese American Girl Selected to Carry Olympic Torch

Voice of Viet Nam
A Vietnamese-American student Vo Mai, has been selected to carry the Olympic torch along a street in Orange County, California.

Asian American Media Seeking Candidates' Ads

San Jose Mercury News
As Democrats and Republicans court blacks and Latinos, Asian-American media are accusing both parties of ignoring Asians in their efforts to attract minority voters.