She Was Taking Out the Trash. A Man Threw Acid On Her.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Asian Woman Suffers Burns in Acid Attack
In Brooklyn, an Asian woman suffered severe burns across her body when someone sneaked up on her outside her home and splashed her with a caustic substance. The attack took place on Sunday night in the Sunset Park neighborhood. Surveillance video shows the 39-year-old victim taking out the trash when the man, who is sitting on the stoop, stands up and approaches her from behind with a bottle in his hand. The woman suffered chemical burns to her face, neck, and back. The NYPD is asking for the public's help to identify the man, whose ethnicity is unknown. He was wearing a face mask, gloves, and a black hoodie.

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"When I go out, I'm afraid of people attacking me."
Anna Ng, a 51-year-old Chinese American woman who was the victim of a coronavirus-related hate crime last month, speaks out. A group of teenage girls attacked her on a Bronx bus, calling her "coronavirus" and hitting her over the head with an umbrella. Three of the attackers were arrested and charged hate crime assaults, menacing and harassment. A fourth attacker remains at large.

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Fort Smith Buddhist Temple Vandalized
In Fort Smith, Texas, a man was caught vandalizing several statues inside a Buddhist temple. Police found 21-year-old Shawn Michael Israel holding a hammer, smashing a statue. When asked if he was on something, Israel reportedly replied, "Nothing, I'm sober. Look sir, I'm not trying to be disrespectful, thou shall not lie. It's a false idol, it's a false monument." Three statues of Buddha were destroyed, with damage estimates in the thousands of dollars. Israel was charged with felony criminal mischief.

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Chinese-Americans, Facing Abuse, Unite to Aid Hospitals
"Throughout New York and New Jersey, small groups from the Chinese-American community are uniting to fight the pandemic in this country even as they face racist remarks and some physical attacks. Using mostly WeChat, they are creating vast networks and rallying their contacts here and in China to procure supplies for doctors and nurses in need."

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Andrew Yang Sets Launch of Issues-Oriented Podcast 'Yang Speaks'
Former U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang plans to launch a new podcast, "Yang Speaks." Slated for May 2020, the weekly show will broadly cover the future of the U.S. economy and society. It will feature in-depth discussions with "thought-leaders" on a range of topics including tech, public policy, sports, entertainment and pop culture.

Andrew Yang Wants You to Show Your "American-ness"

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Andrew Yang Says Asians Need To Show 'American-ness' To Avoid Racism
In a Washington Post op-ed published Wednesday, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang attempted to address the increasing incidents of harassment and racism against Asians amid the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging Asian Americans to "embrace and show our American-ness in ways we never have before." Yang called on Asian Americans to combat coronavirus-related racism by helping to end the public health crisis, urging them to "help our neighbors, donate gear, vote, wear red white and blue, volunteer, fund aid organizations" and "demonstrate that we are part of the solution." It was not well-received.

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Self-Care Tips For Asian Americans Dealing With Racism Amid Coronavirus
"Whether you've been subjected to discrimination or not, simply hearing about the widespread xenophobia can affect your mental health. We asked therapists who work within Asian American communities to share their best self-care advice for these stressful times."

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Liyna Anwar, L.A. Times Podcast Producer, Dies at 30
Liyna Anwar, a rising journalist who helped the Los Angeles Times expand its digital footprint and waged a public fight to save her own life, has died of complications from acute myeloid leukemia. Surrounded by family, Anwar died March 26 at the City of Hope in Duarte, just weeks after the launch of Asian Enough, an Asian American-focused podcast she produced. She was 30.

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Doctor's Log
In the new podcast Doctor's Log, Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency room physician in Portland, Oregon, delivers a twice weekly report from the front lines of the coronavirus crisis: her own ER. She takes listeners into the real world doctors and nurses are facing now, as they grapple with the most significant health threat in modern history, and helps us all understand what to do to stay safe.

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The Linda Linda Lindas - "Claudia Kishi"
And just for fun, here are The Linda Linda Lindas -- Bela, Lucia, Eloise and Mila -- performing their song "Claudia Kishi," as heard in the closing credits of the documentary short The Claudia Kishi Club.

If You Didn't See This Coming, You're a Sucker

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Justice Dept. Establishes Office to Denaturalize Immigrants
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it had created an official section in its immigration office to strip citizenship rights from naturalized immigrants, a move that gives more heft to the Trump administration’s broad efforts to remove from the country immigrants who have committed crimes.

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Arrest made in assault, robbery of elderly Chinese man
In San Francisco, police announced an arrest in connection to the attack and robbery of an elderly Chinese man collecting recyclables in the Bayview that was captured on viral video. The suspect, 20-year-old Dewayne Grayson, was charged with suspicion of robbery, hate crime, and elder abuse.

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Mike Bloomberg Reportedly Asked Andrew Yang to Be His Running Mate
Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign has apparently reached out to Andrew Yang, courting the former candidate's endorsement and floating the possibility of Yang becoming his running mate, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

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Jean Yoon's Receives ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence
Actress and playwright Jean Yoon, who plays Umma on the hit Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience, was recently honored with ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence at the 2020 ACTRA Awards. Here's her speech.

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Straight Up
The charming indie rom-com Straight Up opens in limited release on Friday, February 28. Writer/director/star James Sweeney plays Todd, a hyper-articulate, obsessive compulsive gay twentysomething whose fear of dying alone leads him to a baffling conclusion: he might not be gay after all. When he meets Rory, a whip-smart struggling actress with her own set of insecurities, the two forge a relationship that's all talk and no sex. Also starring Katie Findlay and Randall Park.

Andrew Yang Does The Math, Drops Out of Presidential Race

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



"It's Clear From the Numbers We're Not Going to Win This Campaign"
Andrew Yang is dropping out of the presidential race. The first Asian American man to run for president as a Democrat, Yang is an entrepreneur who promoted a universal basic income and warned of the perils of automation. After running a long-shot campaign that built unprecedented support and persisted longer than anyone expected, he ended his long-shot bid for president on Tuesday night. "I am the math guy, and it's clear from the numbers we're not going to win this campaign," he announced to supporters in New Hampshire. "So tonight I'm announcing that I am suspending my campaign." You gotta hand it to him for hanging in there as long as he did, and getting so many Asian Americans excited about a candidate like never before.

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Parasite Cookies
Because we're still quite excited Parasite's historic Best Picture win at the Oscars... Cookies! By Judy Kim.

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'Parasite' Won, but Asian-Americans Are Still Losing
Parasite's extraordinary Oscar victory is a triumph for South Korean cinema and a huge boost for the Academy's abysmal track record with diversity, but in the long view, Walter Chaw points out that this historic moment still isn't much of a win for Asian American representation.

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Late Night Writer Karen Chee on Parasite's Oscar Wins
Then again, let us Koreans bask in the collective glory and pride of this moment. Check out Late Night writer Karen Chee -- rocking a Bong Joon Ho t-shirt! -- celebrating Parasite's Oscar sweep, her Korean heritage, and her hot Korean grandpa.

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Fresh Off The Boat Series Finale: February 21
It's the end of an era. Time to say goodbye to the Huang family. Mark your calendars, set your DVRs. Fresh Off the Boat will air its special one-hour series finale February 21 on ABC.

'Minari' Takes Double Top Honors at Sundance Film Festival

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Minari Scores Double Top Honors at the Sundance Film Festival Awards
Writer/director Lee Isaac Chung's Minari took double top honors at the Sundance Film Festival's annual awards ceremony on Saturday night, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Based on Chung’s real life, the drama follows a Korean American family that moves from Los Angeles to Arkansas to chase the American Dream. This is definitely one to watch, folks.




The Outbreak Narrative and How Fear Fuels Our Xenophobia and Racism
"Let’s be clear about this: Your fear does not justify your racism and xenophobia. Your jokes and performative panic about the coronavirus are not funny. They are deeply pointless and trivialize something that should be taken seriously. And they are creating an environment of fear, panic and disinformation that’s more dangerous than the disease itself."

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How Andrew Yang Quieted the Asian American Right
"The Chinese social-media platform WeChat, once a hub for anti-affirmative-action organizers, is now reverberating with blue-hat emojis and cries for universal basic income. The flip can largely be linked to excitement surrounding one particular presidential candidate: Andrew Yang, the 45-year-old entrepreneur and political newbie who is also among the most successful Asian Americans to ever run for president. With the high level of support that Yang is getting from Asian voters, he has quieted the vocal conservative Asian American contingent that had been pulling the community to the right."



Call upon Indiana University to rectify for its ban on Japanese Americans
In May 1942, in the wake of Franklin D. Roosvelt's Executive Order 9066, Indiana University's Board of Trustees ruled that "no Jap. be admitted to Indiana University." About a dozen Japanese Americans were denied admission, including those which lived in Indiana. The Nisei College Redress Project is currently working with faculty, alumni, and community members at Indiana University to secure an apology for the Japanese Americans who were denied admission. If you are a member of the IU community, sign on to the letter here.

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HBO Max Wins 5-Bidder Auction For YA Novel 'I'll Be The One'
HBO Max will adapt Lyla Lee's upcoming young adult novel I'll Be The One into a feature film, with Fresh Off The Boat's Nahnatchka Khan attached to produce and possibly direct, from a script by Colleen McGuinness. The story centers on 16-year-old Skye Shin -- a bi-sexual, Korean-American girl -- as she pursues her dreams as a participant on reality TV singing and dancing competition "K-Pop Shining Star." With the help of her new friends and her crush, world famous model Henry Cho, Skye faces the industry"s old-fashioned beauty standards head on, setting her sights on becoming a K-pop star -- one the world has never seen before.

Han Lives! Sung Kang Returns in 'Fast & Furious 9'

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



'Fast & Furious 9' Trailer: Sung Kang on Justice For Han
Justice for Han! The new trailer has dropped for Fast & Furious 9, the latest installment in what is now officially being referred to as "The Fast Saga," and holy shit, it is on. Not only has Justin Lin returned to the director's chair, F9 gives us the shocking return of Sung Kang as fan-favorite character Han. To everyone's apparent surprise, Han did not die in a fiery wreck on the streets of Tokyo, but was apparently just chilling and sitting out the franchise for two movies. He is alive and in good health. And let's be honest: Han's resurrection is nowhere close to the craziest thing to happen in this franchise, or even in this trailer. Watch it here.

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Could this be the chink in Trump’s armour?
This is an actual headline regarding Andrew Yang's run for president. There's a disclaimer at the end of the piece explaining that author, columnist June H.L. Wong, is well aware of the term "chink" and its derogatory associations, even in the context of this specific idiom. Basically, she knows that the headline can and will offend, and is okay with it, in an attempt to "own" the word. Its placement is deliberate. And I am tired.

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Census 2020 & Beyond: New AAPI Mapping Tool
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing racial group in the country, yet apparently are the least familiar with the U.S. Census, and are the most reluctant to participate. Ensuring a complete count among AAPIs is crucial, which is why AAPI Data has launched a new research tool showing census-tract level maps for the 20 largest AAPI metro areas. The hope is to help journalists, decision-makers, and community organizations better understand the diversity and geographic settlement patterns of AAPIs.

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'Kung Fu' Reboot Gets Pilot Pickup from CW
The CW has ordered a pilot for Kung Fu, a reboot of the cult 1970s martial arts western. You may remember that show starred David Carradine, who is very much not Asian at all. This time around, the show is a contemporary take that centers on a Chinese American woman, with Christina M. Kim attached to write and executive produce. According to Variety, "a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice, all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her." Let us hope for the best.

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Constance Wu Stars in the Sci-Fi Short Nine Minutes
Constance Wu stars as an marooned space explorer in the sci-fi short Nine Minutes, written and directed by Ernie Gilbert. In the near future, an experienced astronaut, Lilian, and her A.I. explore a newly discovered planet. After weeks of research, a malfunction during the return launch forces Lilian to choose between survival and completing the mission. Watch the 12-minute film here.

'Little America' is a Love Letter to Immigrants

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Little America
Inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine, and produced by the likes of Kumail Nanjiani and Alan Yang, Little America is a new anthology scripted series that tells funny, romantic, heartfelt and surprising stories about immigrants who come to the United States from all over the world. It's a marvelous series that premieres today on Apple TV+. I particularly enjoyed "The Grand Prize Expo Winners," written and directed by Tze Chun, and "The Manager," directed by Deepa Mehta and written by Rajiv Joseph.

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Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN
Evelyn Yang, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, revealed for the first time she was sexually assaulted by her gynecologist when she was pregnant with her first child in 2012. In an interview with CNN, Yang said she kept the assault a secret, and only told her husband many months after their son was born. She said she decided to go public now after being moved by stories from voters she met on the campaign trail.

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Andrew Yang Explains Why the Democratic Debate Was So White
Andrew Yang didn't hit the required thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee to participate in Tuesday night’s presidential debate, which left only white candidates onstage in Iowa. On Wednesday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Yang offered his explanation for the whiteness of the debate: "What I said at the debate before this one [is that] fewer than 5% of Americans donate to political campaigns. You need disposable income to contribute to campaigns, and you need some form of security in order to run for office. So what happened on the stage last night reflects the inequities and realities in our economy."

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Apu Will No Longer Be Voiced By Hank Azaria
Hari Kondabolu's documentary The Problem with Apu examined the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and the character's impact on stereotypes of South Asians. Hank Azaria, who has performed the voice for over 30 years, says he will no longer be doing the voice of the Kwik-E Mart proprietor. "All we know there is I won't be doing the voice anymore, unless there's someway to transition it or something," Azaria tells Slash Film. Here's hoping the show doesn't get rid of Apu altogether. This is an opportunity to re-cast the voice, revamp Apu and do something interesting with the character.

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WTF Episode 1089: Randall Park
Randall Park is on the latest episode of WTF with Marc Maron, talking about his Hollywood career, the approval of his Korean immigrant parents, his friendship with Ali Wong, and the magic of a root canal.

Oscars Still Pretty Damn White

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Oscars: Full List of Nominations
Nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this morning, and considering some of the amazing work of the past year, the overall lack of diversity among the nominees is pretty appalling... but more or less business as usual. I'm particularly bummed that The Farewell was completely shut out without a single nomination. On the other hand, Bong Joon Ho's Parasite made history as South Korea's first Oscar nominee, receiving six nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

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Andrew Yang won the internet, but can he win a 2020 primary?
"After months of running on unconventional campaign strategies, cool branding and novel ideas, Yang has arrived at a pivotal, new point in the 2020 campaign — one governed by the conventional rules of election and where the idea that matters most is your strategy for winning. The candidate powered by the online buzz is now trying to make it on the real, and often uncool, campaign trail through Iowa and New Hampshire."

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My Child Is An Honors Student at Iltiong-Vera Cruz Middle School
On Friday, Alvarado Middle School in Union City, California was renamed the Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School in honor of Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, honoring two of history's most important (and too often overlooked) Filipino American leaders in the state's civil rights and labor movements.

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Meet the 13 astronauts who could be the first humans on Mars">
NASA welcomed 11 new astronauts to its ranks Friday -- the first class to graduate under the Artemis program that will send humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The new graduates may be assigned to missions destined for the International Space Station, the Moon, and ultimately, Mars.

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'Young Rock': Dwayne Johnson Teams With Nahnatchka Khan For NBC Comedy Series Inspired By Him
NBC has given an 11-episode straight-to-series order to Young Rock, a single-camera comedy inspired by the formative years of Dwayne Johnson, written by part of the Fresh Off The Boat team, creator/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Jeff Chiang. I think we can all agree that this show will only be legit if it is the broadcast television embodiment of the above photo.