Don't Use Asians to Maintain White Privilege

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Don't Use Asians to Maintain White Privilege
The Justice Department's latest accusation that Yale University discriminated against Asian American and white students is an attempt to pit marginalized students against each other, using Asian Americans as the conduit, experts say. Several Asian American activists and scholars criticized the DOJ's letter sent to the Ivy League institution on Thursday. In lumping white students with those of Asian descent, the administration is using Asian Americans as a pawn to dismantle affirmative action.

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Love and Dignity at the End of Life
In 1997, Vu was wrongfully incarcerated and sentenced to 60 years in prison -- for a crime that would normally get a 10-year sentence. His friend later confessed that he was at fault for the crime. Still serving his sentence, Vu was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with less than a year to live. Due to COVID-19, he is not allowed visits and is dealing with medical treatment that leaves him susceptible to infection. Vu's family and friends are mounting a case to appeal to the state to allow him to live out his days around his loved ones instead of dying in prison alone. The've launched a GoFundMe campaign asking for assistance for their legal case. Read more about Vu's situation here.

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How Does a Restaurant Like This Happen in 2020?
"How do you mess up this badly? White people making Asian food isn't anything new, but this specific concept is especially inappropriate and confusing because this place doesn't seem to honor tradition or innovation. You usually open a restaurant like this and pick a lane: authentic or innovative. But they’re playing it straight down the middle. It's not authentic at all; it’s not executed to amplify well-made traditional or modern Korean food close to its authentic form. But it's not very creative or innovative, either -- just watered-down Korean food for white comfort and white taste buds."

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Open Casting Call: Korean Male Proficient in Korean, Japanese and English
This casting call for an unspecified series on a "major streaming service" is seeking "a Korean male actor in his 20s-30s that is very proficient or fluent in Korean, English, and Japanese. The language requirement is important because the character grew up in Japan and Korea, and came to the United States as a young adult." The series will shoot in Korea, Japan and Canada, and talent must be available September 2020 to March 2021. It doesn't mention the name of the series, but I'd put my money on the adaptation of Min Jin Lee's novel Pachinko, which is being produced as a series for AppleTV.

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Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Charles Melton To Star In Rom Come 'Love Hard’
Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Charles Melton are set to star in the Netflix romantic comedy Love Hard. Written by Danny Mackey and Rebecca Ewing, the film is described as When Harry Met Sally meets Roxanne, and "follows an LA girl, unlucky in love, who falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for Christmas, only to discover that she's been catfished. But the object of her affection actually lives in the same town, and the guy who duped her offers to set them up IF she pretends to be his own girlfriend for the holidays." Hm. I feel like I already know where this is all going.

White Chef Can't Handle Getting Corrected About a Typo

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



White Chef Who Cooks Vietnamese Food Accused of Harassing Asian Americans
Imagine whiteness so fragile, you lose your shit over being corrected about a typo. Peja Krstic, the (white) chef-owner of Dallas Vietnamese restaurant Mot Hai Ba, wrote an Instagram post in which he misspelled "bánh mì." But then three Vietnamese American women replied to correct the typo and Krstic lashed out, sending the women a series of angry messages in public and private, accusing them of "racial profiling," threatening legal action and calling one woman's boyfriend. And then it all came tumbling out..

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California voters will be asked to restore affirmative action in November
In November, California voters will decide whether governments and public colleges and universities can consider race in their hiring, contracting and admissions decisions. The state has banned affirmative action policies since 1996, when 55% of voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned "preferential treatment”=: based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The state Senate voted 30-10 on Wednesday to repeal that amendment. But voters must approve it in November before it can become law.

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COVID-19 Multilingual Resource Hub
The UCLA Asian American Studies Center and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health have teamed up for the COVID-19 Multilingual Resource Hub, available at translatecovid.org. The site is a growing collection of resources, including videos, about COVID-19 and health and safety practices in different languages. The site aims to equip our diverse communities with helpful information as we continue to navigate living in a world with COVID-19, and as we examine its current and long-term impact. Visitors can use the site to share information with everyone, from their elders to their neighbors, or even with social service clients, who could use resources in languages other than English.

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Sharon Choi Interviews Sandra Oh
This is delightful. Sharon Choi, who became one of the unexpected emergent stars of this past awards season as Bong Joon Ho's interpreter -- remember when Parasite won all those Oscars? -- chats with Sandra Oh about season three of Killing Eve, Korean culture, and Asian representation in Hollywood.

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Joy Luck Club Reunion
Joy Luck Club reunion! For the first time in decades, author Amy Tan and the "daughters" of film adaptation -- Lauren Tom, Ming-Na Wen, Rosalind Chao, and Tamlyn Tomita -- reunited for a conversation with executive producer Janet Yang and super-investor Aileen Lee on the iconic novel, groundbreaking movie, personal passage reading, personal stories, and the progress of Asian women over the last three decades.

Judge rules in favor of Harvard in admissions lawsuit

Federal judge rules Harvard can consider race in its admissions process in pursuit of a diverse class.



From NPR: A judge has ruled in favor of Harvard University in a high-profile court case centered on whether the school's admissions process forces Asian Americans to clear a higher bar to get in.

Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued her decision Tuesday, saying "the Court finds no persuasive documentary evidence of any racial animus or conscious prejudice against Asian Americans."

In the decision, Burroughs said that while Harvard's admissions program is "not perfect," "ensuring diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race conscious admissions."

More here: Federal Judge Upholds Harvard's Race-Conscious Admissions Process

The American Dream isn’t Colorblind. College Admissions Shouldn’t Be, Either.

Guest Post by Jang Lee



Edward Blum, the mastermind behind the Harvard lawsuit, appeals to the myth of American meritocracy to claim that race should not be used in the college admissions process; but he fails to acknowledge that the American Dream -- predicated on such meritocracy -- is not colorblind. In this nation, the color of our skin still shapes how we access opportunity and whether we profit from our labor.

Have we made it to the top?

Guest Post by Jessica Jinn, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles


The author at her college graduation with her very pleased parents.
My parents cried when I did not get into UC Berkeley. My dad literally held the denial letter in his hands and cried. I cried, too. All my life I had been told to go to Berkeley and suddenly, I wasn't allowed. What was worse was that one of my best friends, a Latina, had gotten accepted. Despite the fact that California banned its universities to consider race in admissions at that time due to Proposition 209, life as an 18-year-old was horrible and we didn't know what else to do but blame affirmative action.

As affirmative action comes into the national spotlight again, one thought comes to mind: not this again. I knew Asian Americans would be pulled into this debate and depicted as affirmative action haters. With a story like mine, I would have been a prime suspect to oppose affirmative action. I am the Asian American that Edward Blum is hoping to take advantage of.

Why I Support Affirmative Action at Harvard

Guest Post by Jason Fong



This month, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a national affiliation of civil rights organizations focused on serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, and several prospective AAPI Harvard students joined a diverse group of black, Latino, and Native American students to support Harvard's race conscious admissions program against attacks that the program intentionally discriminates against Asian American applicants. I am one of those students.

I joined this effort because like the majority of Asian Americans, I support affirmative action, but I also did so because I think our community needs to reflect upon our shared identity as Asian Americans, especially in light of recent lawsuits by a few disappointed Chinese Americans who blame race-conscious admissions programs for their failure to gain admission to their dream schools. With the composition of the United States Supreme Court skewing even more sharply to the right under a Trump administration, the narrow majority that upheld affirmative action in Fisher II could reverse by the time the lawsuit against Harvard reaches the highest court, putting race-conscious admissions policies throughout the country in serious jeopardy.

For me, this fight isn't about my Harvard application. In fact, I know that, like 95% of almost 40,000 applicants, I'm likely to be rejected. But I won't take it personally. I don't depend on Harvard to provide me with self-worth in an admissions letter. Like other institutions, it's looking out for itself -- and trying to build a class that it feels best serves its goals.

Asian American Students File to Join Harvard Lawsuit and Defend Affirmative Action

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate.



Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (AAAJ-LA) held a press conference moments ago to announce that lawyers with the group will represent two Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) high school students who wish to present their support of race-conscious affirmative action admission before the Supreme Court if and when the justices hear arguments next year about an anti-affirmative action lawsuit filed against the school by Edward Blum, the architect behind Abigail Fisher’s earlier failed attempts to dismantle affirmative action before the Court.

The two AAPI high school students represented by AAAJ-LA are current applicants to Harvard University, and both believe that race-conscious affirmative action is beneficial; AAAJ-LA filed paperwork yesterday to help the students join an existing group of diverse students who will have "amicus plus" status to present their support for affirmative action in a pending anti-affirmative action case, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

In the Students for Fair Admissions case, lobbyist Edward Blum specifically recruited disgruntled Asian American students to serve as the next Abigail Fisher, in hopes of weaponizing a stereotyped, Model Minority Myth narrative of Asian Americans against other students of colour. Blum’s lawsuit alleging bias at Harvard was ultimately consolidated around the case of a still-unnamed Chinese American woman.

Asian American Group Files Anti-Affirmative Action Complaint Against Yale, Dartmouth, Brown: What You Need To Know

By Jenn Fang. Cross-posted from Reappropriate.


Yale Law School (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I can't believe we're dealing with this again.

Less than a year after the Department of Education dismissed a frivolous administrative complaint filed by the Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) against Harvard University, the AACE has now announced it will file a nearly identical administrative complaint against Yale University, Brown University and Dartmouth College. In their complaint against Harvard, AACE alleged -- absent any significant evidence -- that race-conscious affirmative action discriminates against Asian American applicants.

This work bolsters efforts by conservative partisan and lobbyist Edward Blum, who has made a career out of opposing civil rights measures for people of colour. Blum is best known as the architect of the Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court cases, which is the Right's latest campaign to invalidate affirmative action in higher education. Outside of his interest in ending race-conscious affirmative action, Blum has backed numerous Supreme Court cases to reverse portions of the Voting Rights Act and to silence voters of colour. In the recently defeated Evenwel v. Abbott Supreme Court case, Blum and his fellow litigators argued that districts should be drawn so as to disenfranchise thousands of non-voting citizens, who are predominantly young people and people of colour. (AAAJ-AAJC talks about how Evenwel v. Abbott would have resulted in the disenfranchisement of numerous AAPIs).

Edward Blum is clearly no ally of the AAPI community. So, one must wonder why some Asian Americans would support his causes.

Top Five Reasons Why Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Should Support Affirmative Action

Guest Post by Nicole Ochi, Supervising Attorney, Advancing Justice - LA


I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from Nicole Ochi, Supervising Attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles.

Last week, in partnership with more than 160 Asian American and and Pacific Islander organizations, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) and Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of University of Texas Austin’s ("UT-Austin") race conscious admissions policy. So, why did more than 160 AAPI-serving organizations, from large, pan-Asian national organizations and professional associations, to student and grassroots groups serving Arab, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities stand together to tell the nation’s highest court that it should uphold UT-Austin’s race conscious admissions policy for a second time?

Here are the top 5 reasons:

AAPIs stand up for equal opportunity in higher education

Over 120 AAPI organizations and individuals sign on to national open letter in support of affirmative action.



More than 120 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community organizations and individuals across the country have signed on to a national open letter, released Thursday, strongly supporting affirmative action, racial justice and equal opportunity for all in higher education.

The letter dispels myths about race-sensitive admissions policies and calls out recent "misguided, misleading tactics" attacking equal opportunity. "Our universities should reflect our diverse democracy and expand opportunities for those students who have overcome significant barriers," the letter reads. "Rather than letting ourselves be divided, we must come together to ensure increased opportunities and success for all students."

Here's the full text of the letter:

Most Asian Americans Oppose Affirmative Action? That is incorrect.

Guest Post by Karthick Ramakrishnan



Two weeks ago, my survey group released a report on affirmative action that analyzed whether Asian Americans (and others in California) were opposed to affirmative action. Turns out that, contrary to all the noise we heard in March 2014, there are more Asian Americans who support affirmative action than those who oppose them. Many more, like 69% for and 13% against, with the rest expressing no opinion.

Hate, Fear and Lies: How Anti-Affirmative Action Haters Are Shoveling Bullsh*t about SCA5

Guest Post by OiYan Poon


Photo: AALDEF

For the last few weeks 80-20 and other conservative organizations have spread lies, fears, and hate about what California Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 (SCA 5) is. Their mobilization against SCA 5 is showing that Asian Americans can successfully fight for their interests. But in the process, they're pushing misconceptions that poison this important policy debate over affirmative action, racial equity and justice in public higher education.

There are two key ways the anti-affirmative action haters are shoveling a lot of bullsh*t about SCA 5. First, they claim SCA 5 is "anti-Asian." Second, they hold an assumption that tests and grades are race neutral, reliable, and the only valid considerations in selective admissions practices. In the meantime while they're too busy in a fear mongering campaign, they're missing a great opportunity to really fight to expand college opportunity for all of the highly qualified students in the state.