San Jose Was Once Home to Five Chinatowns. But Then Racism.

San Jose officially apologizes to Chinese immigrants and their descendants.



Did you know that San Jose, California was once home to five Chinatowns? And then it was home to zero Chinatowns. Because racists burned them down and/or displaced and drove out the city's Chinese residents.

If you know anything about Asian American history -- and honestly, it wouldn't be a surprise if your textbooks conveniently left it out -- this kind of racist violence was a fair.ly common occurrence up and down the west coast during the mid-to-late 1800s. Anti-Chinese sentiment became institutionalized

This week, the city of San Jose unanimously approved a resolution officially apologizing to Chinese immigrants and their descendants, acknowledging its role in nearly a century of violence and discrimination, including the dismantling and destruction of the city's Chinatowns. Yeah, file this one under Too Little Too Late.

More here: San Jose Apologizes for Decades of Discrimination Against Chinese

They Call Us Bruce 135: They Call Us Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome actress Peyton Elizabeth Lee, star of the Disney+ series Doogie Kameāloha, M.D., series creator and showrunner Kourtney Kang, and executive producer Melvin Mar. They talk about crafting a unique contemporary Hawaiian take on the beloved 90s teen doctor series.

All The Asians On Star Trek - 14: Krista Jang

The Podcast In Which We Interview All The Asians On Star Trek.



All The Asians On Star Trek is the podcast in which we interview all the Asians on Star Trek. In Episode 14, we welcome actress and filmmaker Krista Jang. She played the part of "Rob" in the Star Trek: Short Treks episode "The Trouble with Edward." The role is perhaps most notable because she gets buried alive by Tribbles. Krista talks about the "movie magic" that went into creating that hilarious and horrifying moment.

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How It Feels to Be Asian in Today's America
The idea of a shared Asian American identity has been fraught for about as long as it has existed. In this New York Times piece, more than two dozen reflections reveal a range of views and complicated emotions being felt in Asian American communities today.

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Adoptees Call For Boycott of "Blue Bayou"
Upon the release of Blue Bayou, members of the adoptee community have taken to social media to express frustration about the film and the ways in which they feel it fails to properly represent the adoptee experience.

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Who is Lauren Cho? Missing Woman's Media Coverage Compared to Gabby Petito Sparks Debate
In the wake of the heavily publicized disappearance of Gabby Petito, many have drawn similarities to missing 30-year-old woman Lauren Cho, noting the discrepancy in media coverage between the two women.

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Self-defense classes help Asian senior citizens fight racist attacks
Seniors Fight Back is a workshop to teach self-defense to senior citizens.

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LA's Asian American Businesses Have Been Struggling To Recover From Pandemic Setbacks
A recent survey offers glimpse into the stresses and difficulties that L.A's Asian American businesses have faced during the pandemic.

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Fala Chen Came to America to Find Herself -- And Got Cast in a Groundbreaking Marvel Movie
A TV star in Hong Kong, Fala Chen moved to New York to attend Juilliard with no idea where she would land.

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Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner on Her Soundtrack for Sable, Indie Games, and Yoko Shimomura
Michelle Zauner talks about the inspiration behind the soundtrack and what it was like collaborating with the developers at Shedworks on the emotional and expressive world of Sable.

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"Protect Your Talent": Manny Jacinto in Conversation with Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman interviews her Nine Perfect Strangers co-star Manny Jacinto.

All The Asians On Star Trek - 13: Lily Mariye

The Podcast In Which We Interview All The Asians On Star Trek.



All The Asians On Star Trek is the podcast in which we interview all the Asians on Star Trek. In Episode 13, we welcome Lily Mariye. She played the role of "Ops Officer" in "Emissary," the premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As an actress, she is perhaps best known for playing Nurse Lily Jarvik on fifteen seasons of ER. These days, she's been racking up credits as a director on shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, How to Get a Away with Murder, The Terror: Infamy and The Walking Dead. She may have died on Deep Space Nine, but she had a blast doing it.

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"Men's Rights Asians" Think This Is Their Moment
They became notorious for trying to harass Asian women off the internet. The racial trauma of the past year has only emboldened them.

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Hate attacks are up in Orange County, with a huge increase against Asian Americans
Hate crimes increased by 35% in Orange County in 2020, the largest annual jump in at least a decade.

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Looking for a Gold-Rush Town Named Chinese Camp
A writer went searching for Asian American history in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where thousands of Chinese immigrants labored during the Gold Rush but where traces of their presence are few.

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My Career in Restaurants Taught Me What Local Government Really Needs
Freshman politician Francesca Hong shares how her understanding of service has evolved as she went from chef and restaurant owner to Wisconsin state assembly representative.

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Linda Sivrican Is Uniting LA's Elderly Asian Community With Food
Her neighborhood business will serve food made in-house daily by Asian elders, including her own mother.

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Why Everyone Should Read the Great Karen Tei Yamashita
Karen Tei Yamashita, winner of the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters, is not necessarily a household name in the world of books -- but the diversity of her work is what makes her such an important writer and uniquely deserving of the award.

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Jon M. Chu Reflects on In the Heights and What "Makes Everything Worth It"
He's been looking back at the pandemic-era release, continuing the conversation about colorism in film, and rooting for his stars as they work on conquering Hollywood.

They Call Us Bruce 134: They Call Us Justin Chon

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Justin Chon, the writer, director and star of the dramatic feature Blue Bayou. He talks about putting the spotlight on the plight of undocumented adoptees, setting an Asian American story in the South, and crafting films that create empathy -- and change.

All The Asians On Star Trek - 12: Eugene Cordero

The Podcast In Which We Interview All The Asians On Star Trek.



All The Asians On Star Trek is the podcast in which we interview all the Asians on Star Trek. In Episode 12, we welcome Eugene Cordero. He is the voice of the cybernetically-enhanced engineer Ensign Sam Rutherford on the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. With a lengthy list of credits, he holds a rare distinction of playing characters in the Star Trek, Star Wars and Marvel universes. But he is probably best known for playing "Pillboi" on The Good Place. He knows this because that's what everybody yells at him on the street.

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Brother of 1st hate crime murder victim post-9/11 reflects on progress, setbacks
Balbir Singh Sodhi became the first documented hate crime victim in the days after 9/11. Now, as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan, his brother and other community members once again feel their fears around racism and discrimination intensifying.

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How did South Asian Americans respond to 9/11?
Before the archives were to be deleted, Anirvan Chatterjee got a hold of over eight hundred public South Asian American mailing lists. Here, Anirvan collected a snapshot of conversations in the days and weeks after September 11, 2001.

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Anti-Sikh bigotry didn't start with 9/11. That fact got me through it.
"When people ask me how I'm able to endure the specter of bigotry as a visible Sikh in modern America, the answer now feels simple and honest: perspective."

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Pain never ebbs for family of Betty Ong, flight attendant who made first 9/11 alert
American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ong was the first person to alert authorities of the plane being hijacked on 9/11. 20 years later, Ong's family still feels the pain of their loss.

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New York City's Chinatown Looks Ahead to the Future
After a year of hardship for Chinatown, a younger generation is writing the neighborhood's next chapter.

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How a single mom went from dancing in San Francisco nightclubs to owning one
Coby Yee's electrifying stage presence enchanted crowds of hundreds at the peak of the Chinese American nightclub scene in San Francisco, which lasted from the mid-1930s to 1970.

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The Simple Perfection of Fried Eggs and White Rice
The great thing about egg rice is that it's hardly cooking. According to Eric Kim, if you can fry an egg, then you can make egg rice.

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'Shang-Chi': How a Group Chat Led to Meng'er Zhang's Life-Changing Role
Meng'er Zhang broke out as Xialing in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings -- her first screen credit -- and ended up meeting her husband on set as well.

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Surrounding Shang-Chi With Powerful Women Was Vital to the Story
Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen... Marvel's latest introduced a lot of new badass women -- and more than one of them helped shape the film.

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How 'Shang-Chi' Screenwriter Dave Callaham Became Hollywood's Go-To Writer for Blockbusters
A former CAA assistant, Shang-Chi screenwriter Dave Callaham has now penned the scripts for films such as Wonder Woman 1984 and Mortal Kombat, with the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Disney's live-action Hercules up next.

They Call Us Bruce 133: They Call Us Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome our old pals Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of Diaspora for a spoiler-filled debrief and discussion of Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. There are many, many mispronunciations.

They Call Us Bruce 132: They Call Us Dave Callaham

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Dave Callaham, the screenwriter behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He talks about the journey of fully embracing his own Asian American identity, getting the call to work with Marvel, and the challenges of adapting the MCU's first Asian American superhero.

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Asian Americans Are Finally Getting the Heroes We Deserve
Shang-Chi isn't the first Asian protagonist we've seen on a screen, but his character and storyline pave the way for more more in Asian American media representation.

* * *
The Reclamation of Shang-Chi
The arrival of Shang-Chi is not just a triumphant moment of representation -- it's one that aims to reverse decades of comic book stereotyping.

* * *
Shang-Chi: Why Marvel's most influential comic disappeared.
In this Inverse series about Shang-Chi's origins, rise, fall, and rebirth, part two examines the history behind the character, and why the Master of Kung Fu eventually faded into relative obscurity.

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How Asian American internet trailblazers gave new life to Shang-Chi
Part three looks at how Asian American internet influencers set the stage for Shang-Chi's big screen debut.

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Does 'Shang-Chi' pass the 'rep sweats' test? We debate why the Marvel movie matters
Shang-Chi shouldn't have to carry the weight of Asian representation within the MCU, but three Los Angeles Times writers discuss what it means that it does.

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Made Me Feel Seen Like No Other Hollywood Blockbuster
Kat Moon talks about Marvel's latest movie and its distinctly Chinese details.

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In 'Shang-Chi,' a Muni Line Made Possible by Chinatown Community Advocacy
A Muni bus plays a key role in Shang-Chi -- and in San Francisco's Chinatown community history.

* * *
Hong Kong Legend Tony Leung Tries His Hand at Hollywood
The icon of global cinema stars in an American film -- and comes to the Marvel universe -- for the first time.

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Watching Tony Leung Gets Us All in the Mood
American audiences will soon learn why it's hard not to fall in love with the Hong Kong superstar.

* * *
Forgetting My First Language
For many children of immigrants, to "succeed" in America, we must adopt a new language in place of our first -- the one our parents speak best -- without fully considering the strain it places on our relationships for the rest of our lives.

* * *
Roger Shimomura Is 81 Years Old. His Takedown Of Anti-Asian Stereotypes Is Timelier Than Ever
Artist Roger Shimomura mploys playful-looking imagery to examine dangerous stereotypes. He's been saying in pictures what mainstream American discourse is just now starting to find the language to talk about in words.

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Calbee Shrimp Chips have a cult following. Here's how it happened
The story behind one of Asia's most ubiquitious and beloved snacks.

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Padma Lakshmi offers food for thought with her new children's book
In her new children's book Tomatoes for Neela, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi teaches kids about the legacy we leave them, inside the kitchen and out.

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How "Grandma" Became the "Subversive" Style Star of 'Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens'
Lori Tan Chinn speaks volumes wearing tops printed with phrases like "Chinese Badass."

They Call Us Bruce 131: They Call Us Simu Liu

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome back Simu Liu, star of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He talks about suiting up as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first Asian leading man, tweeting the role into existence, and seizing his superhero moment.