Honmoon Sealed. Kpop Demon Hunters Wins Big at the Oscars.

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

'KPop Demon Hunters' makes Oscars history after dominating awards season

Kpop Demon Hunters took home two trophies at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night, capping off a triumphant awards season run for Netflix's most watched movie of all time. "To all the fans who got us here and for all of those who look like me, sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here, and that means that the next generations don't have to go longing," said co-director Maggie Kang said while accepting the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. "This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere."

The team behind the movie's record-breaking hit anthem "Golden" won Best Original Song, becoming the first K-pop song to win an Oscar. "Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics," said EJAE, who co-wrote the song with Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park. "I’m so proud. And I realized, the song, this award is not about success; it’s about resilience."

It was a moving moment, but cut short. The team was abruptly played off as soon as Lee took the microphone, and the show cut to a commercial. The disrespect! Later, backstage, EJAE elaborated on what the team wasn’t able to finish in their televised speech: "Golden" Songwriting Team Speaks Out Backstage After Oscars Acceptance Speech Was Cut Off

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'Golden' From KPOP DEMON HUNTERS Live at the 98th Oscars

Speaking of "Golden," here's that dazzling performance of the Oscar-winning song by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami -- the ladies of HUNTR/X -- on the Academy Awards stage, which included pansori performers, hanbok-clad dancers, traditional drummers, and an army of audience members wielding light sticks. Honestly, until I saw it, I didn't realize I had been waiting to see this moment since I was kid.

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'Sinners'' Autumn Durald Arkapaw becomes first woman to win cinematography Oscar

Autumn Durald Arkapaw won the Oscar for Best Cinematography for Sinners, making history as the first woman ever to win in the category. Arkapaw, who is of Filipino and Creole descent, is only the fourth woman nominated for the award, and the first woman of color. During her speech, Arkapaw asked for all the women in the audience to stand, saying, "I don’t get here without you guys."

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Congress marks 5 years since 8 killed in Atlanta spa shootings

Today, several members of Congress introduced a resolution commemorating the five-year remembrance of the Atlanta spa shootings. U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath of Georgia, Grace Meng of New York, Judy Chu of California and Nikema Williams of Georgia announced the measure, marking the anniversary of the 2021 attack, in which a gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, and injured another person during shootings at two spas and a massage parlor in the Atlanta area. The violence occurred during a nationwide surge in anti-Asian hate crimes linked to rhetoric blaming Asian Americans for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Five years after the Atlanta spa shootings, our city still carries the grief of the eight lives stolen in an act of anti-Asian hate," McBath said. "That tragedy shook our community and left lasting pain for the families, loved ones, and neighbors who continue to mourn."

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Understanding the Complex History of Anti-Asian Racism

"While individuals may harbor unconscious bias, this calculated form of erasure stems from the willful amnesia at the core of the U.S. empire. The ideology of American exceptionalism set in place the myth that the United States was born free and uniquely destined to spread liberty and democracy, acting solely out of virtue. Under Donald Trump, the U.S. government is brutishly acting to rewrite history to promote white nationalism. Overcoming this willful amnesia is a crucial first step in addressing the problem. We cannot expect better policies or leadership to stop anti-Asian violence until we develop a better understanding of its historical and contemporary causes and manifestations. But power emanates from historical consciousness. It can reshape collective identity and foster the shared awareness necessary to build multiracial coalitions linking our struggles to transformative movements for social justice."

'Soldiers of Christ' Cult Killing Shakes Korean Community

33-year-old Sehee Cho was tortured and killed during the group's "initiation" process."

In Georgia, members of a Korean religious cult were charged in the murder of a 33-year-old woman who was killed during the initiation process into a group that called itself Soldiers of Christ. Police say Sehee Cho was held captive for weeks, tortured and starved her until she died.

Officers discovered Cho's decaying body in the trunk of a car, left in the parking lot in metro Atlanta's busy Korean business district. Video evidence shows the group beating Cho with a belt and putting her in ice baths. Seven individuals, including the group's leader Joonho Lee, face charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another.

Suspect Pleads Guilty in Atlanta Spa Shootings

Robert Aaron Long faces four other murder charges in a neighboring county.



The man accused of killing eight people at a string of Atlanta-area spas pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four counts of murder in suburban Cherokee County and will serve four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 35 years in prison. Robert Aaron Long, who already admitted to investigators that he was responsible for the March 16 shooting spree, still faces four other murder charges in nearby Fulton County, where the prosecutor is seeking the death penalty.

More here: Suspect in Atlanta-Area Spa Shootings Pleads Guilty to 4 Counts of Murder

Vandal Targets Asian-Owned Businesses in San Jose

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



"Every Single Window Was Smashed"
Multiple Asian-owned businesses in San Jose were vandalized by a man driving a dark pick-up truck early Wednesday morning. According to San Jose police, the suspect smashed the glass door and windows of at least five businesses in the city's Berryessa neighborhood, including Tastea, Lee's Sandwiches and Seven Leaves Cafe.

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'Wuhan Plague' Plaques Found on Atlanta Businesses, Streets
Who has been posting these weird signs around East Atlanta? The round signs have been made to look like a plaque depicting Winnie the Pooh eating a bat with chopsticks below the words "Wuhan Plague." They've been popping up around the area on a variety of buildings and fixtures. The Atlanta Police Department's Homeland Security Unit, which investigates bias-motivated crimes, has been notified about the signs but so far no arrests have been made.

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Republican Strategy Memo Urges Anti-China Assault Over Coronavirus
Turns out, there really is a playbook. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has sent campaigns a detailed, 57-page memo advising GOP candidates to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China. The memo, authored by a top Republican strategist, includes advice on everything from how to tie Democratic candidates to the Chinese government to how to deal with accusations of racism. It stresses three main lines of assault: That China caused the virus "by covering it up," that Democrats are "soft on China," and that Republicans will "push for sanctions on China for its role in spreading this pandemic."

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Meals for Elmhurst Hospital Staff!
Elmhurst Hospital has been one of the hardest-hit hospitals in the state of New York, and it is currently at the epicenter of NYC's COVID-19 pandemic -- NYC Health + Hospitals, the city's public hospital system, has deemed Elmhurst Hospital its #1 priority because of the unprecedented surge in new cases. This campaign, started Queens resident Cynthia Kuang, has been raising funds to feed the hardworking staff of Elmhurst Hospital and supporting local businesses.

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Jhene Aiko & H.E.R. Perform for Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort
Some of music's biggest names came together for BET's Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort, a virtual concert to help raise money for African American communities impacted by COVID-19. Jhené Aiko and H.E.R. joined forces -- while quarantined separately -- to perform their duet "B.S." for the first time.

When Angry Asian America showed up to march

Reader-submitted photos from the Women's March on Washington and beyond.



You may have heard that some people got together and marched on Saturday. In Washington DC and cities across the nation, an estimated 3.7 million took the streets -- the biggest one-day protest in U.S. history -- in widespread, vocal defiance of Donald Trump's presidency. This is the first day of the next four years.

I knew a lot of friends and readers of this blog would be participating, and I thought it might be fun to create a photo gallery of faces and sights from the Women's March. So I put a call out on social media asking for folks to send photos of themselves and their signs in action...

... And I got flooded with photos. People showed up. I received hundreds of amazing photos from people who participated in marches in cities all around the country. I received so many, I couldn't keep track, and there was no way I could process all of the photos into a gallery in any reasonable amount of time.

But here is a small sampling of the reader-submitted photos from the march. Thank you to everyone who sent one in. I apologize; not every photo I received made it into the gallery. People are still sending them as I write this, and I just had to cut it off. But I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. Stay Angry!

Influential activist killed in Atlanta crime spree

Community leader Catherine Han Montoya fought for immigrant and LGBTQ rights in the South



In Atlanta, police have arrested a suspect in connection with bloody cross-county crime spree that killed a beloved activist and organizer who fought for immigrant and LGBTQ rights in the South.

Prominent Queer Korean, Chicana Leader Killed in Her Atlanta Home

Donte Lamar Wyatt has been charged with murdering Catherine Han Montoya inside her East Atlanta home on Monday. Authorities have not yet identified a motive in the killing, but Wyatt is also charged with stabbing his estranged wife in Waffle House, twenty miles away, earlier that same day. Wyatt also stole Montoya's car, crashed it, and broke into another woman's house, where he was eventually apprehended by police.

'A-Town Boyz' examines Asian American gang life in Atlanta

Feature documentary raising post-production funds.



Here's an interesting film project that could use your crowdfunding help... A-Town Boyz, directed by Eunice Lau, is a feature documentary about the lure of gang life for Asian American men in Atlanta. Capturing a diversity of immigrant experiences, the film challenges the model minority myth, revealing the problems they face as first and second-generation immigrants, such as poverty, discrimination and invisibility.

Four years in the making, A-Town Boyz counts none other than executive producer Spike Lee as one of its supporters. The project is making its crawl towards the finish line, and is raising funds to lock down a final cut, enter the film festival circuit and eventually get the documentary out there for people to see.

Watch this video for more information about the film:

Atlanta restaurant employee fired for using racial slur

Hostess at Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q was overheard chanting "ching chong" before seating Asian American diners.


Would you care for some racial slurs with your meal? In Atlanta, a hostess at a popular barbecue restaurant has been fired for singing "ching chong ching chong" just before seating a group of Asian American diners.

Atlanta's Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q Fires Employee for Using Racial Slurs

During a recent visit to Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, one of the most popular restaurants in Atlanta, writer Steph Cha says she overheard the hostess walking behind her table while chanting "ching chong ching chong" with a sing-song voice, in the manner that one might chant "ding dong dong dong." Cha took to Yelp to air her complaint about the incident.

Just another "Asian Guy" getting coffee

Joseph is the latest recipient of a racial receipt


Got this passed along to me from a reader named Joseph, who became the most recent recipient of a racial receipt. What the heck is that? Oh, it's more common than you might realize.

You know when you go to a fast food or coffee joint like Starbucks, and they take your name to identify your order? Sometimes, your servers get lazy with the name-taking, and take it upon themselves to rename you with terms like "Ching" and "Chong." Or maybe they get creative, and bestow a title like "Lady Chinky Eyes." We've seen it happen enough that we can give it a name. The Racial Receipt.

In this case, the cashier working in the early morning hours at Goldberg's Bagel & Deli Company at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport couldn't be bothered with taking Joseph's name, instead going for a much simpler identifier: "Asian Guy." Joseph explains:

Hero dog dies while protecting child from oncoming car

An Atlanta family mourns the loss of a loyal seeing-eye dog.



Oh man. Getting a little choked up reading this story out of Atlanta about a guide dog that was struck by a car and fatally injured, but saved the life of his owner's child: Guide dog dies after saving owner's child.

On Monday, David Furukawa, who is legally blind, was walking his 4-year-old son William to school with the help of his seeing-eye dog Simon. They were crossing the street when a car ran a stop sign and plowed into them, striking Furukawa and the 80-pound boxer.

But according to witnesses, Simon jumped up and pushed William out of the path of the car.