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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
