Rest in Peace, Grant Imahara

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Grant Imahara, Host of 'MythBusters' and 'White Rabbit Project,' Dies at 49
Grant Imahara, an electrical engineer and roboticist who co-hosted the popular TV science show MythBusters and Netflix's White Rabbit Project, has died following a brain aneurysm. He was 49. On MythBusters, Imahara used his technical expertise to design and build robots for the show and also operated the computers and electronics needed to test myths. As one of the few Asian American faces on television, he was a bright light for a lot of viewers who were inspired to pursue their interests science and technology. Rest in peace.

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N.J. Police Chief Accused of Making Bigoted, Sexist Comments Steps Down
A New Jersey police chief accused of making derogatory comments about the nation's first Sikh attorney general and the state's first Asian American county prosecutor is stepping down. On July 4, an audio recording was posted to YouTube in which Trigo allegedly says former acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park -- the first Asian American county prosecutor in New Jersey -- "is pretty hot" and "she got wide ones." Trigo also allegedly refers to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, the nation's first Sikh state attorney general, as "that fucking guy with the turban" and says, "I wanna pull him like a top." Yeah, get this guy the fuck out.

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Business owner targeted with death threats after buying Black Lives Matter billboard
A Houston business owner is facing backlash after purchasing a Black Lives Matter billboard in Houston. Le Hoang Nguyen, who is Vietnamese American, says he stands in solidarity of Black people and those who face racism in America. So he used his personal funds to purchase a bilingual billboard, located in southwest Houston, declaring public support of Black Lives Matter. But now he's facing backlash from people calling for a boycott of his business, and even calls for his lynching -- from his own Vietnamese community.

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'Dungeons & Dragons' Book 'Oriental Adventures' Gets a Disclaimer
"We... recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the 'Dungeons & Dragons' franchise today." Yeah, no shit. The company behind the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has added a disclaimer to old titles on its online marketplaces -- most notably "Oriental Adventures," a book originally published in 1985 that has long been criticized by Asian fans. I'm not into role playing games, but I've been hearing about "Oriental Adventures" for years. It took this long to include a friggin' disclaimer... but how about just discontinuing the damn thing? I think the gamers will be okay.

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Daniel Dae Kim Attached to Produce, Star in Rom-Com 'A Sweet Mess'
Daniel Dae Kim will produce and star in the film adaptation of the new novel A Sweet Mess a romantic comedy from writer Jayci Lee. The novel follows a pampered socialite turned small-town baker, who loves her secluded life, but a cake mix-up and a jaded celebrity food critic threatens her hard-won freedom. The fix? Go to California's wine country and guest star on the critic's cooking show. Kim's 3AD banner will produce. Somehow, this will be the first time in DDK's three-decade career where he'll be playing the romantic lead in a feature film.

She Called the Cops on a Guy Stenciling "Black Lives Matter" on His Own Home

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



She 'Rode That Bias Off a Cliff'
A San Francisco couple got their asses dragggggged for calling the cops on a man who was stenciling "Black Lives Matter" with chalk on the retaining wall outside his own home. Jaime Juanillo, who is Filipino American, pulled out his phone to record Lisa Alexander and all her fake politeness, as she questioned his presence there and falsely claimed she knew the property's owner. Lies. The video has since inevitably gone viral, and Lisa Alexander's ignorance has been costly to her personal and professional reputation. Shrug.

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Man Faces Hate Crime Charges for Pepper Spraying Two Men
In Sonoma County, California, a man faces hate crime charges after pepper spraying two men. 43-year-old Anthony Pelfrey reportedly sprayed two men -- one Asian and one Latino -- with a "bear deterrant" after attending an outdoor yoga class. Witnesses took photos of him and his white Honda Civic, and identified him as having been part of their yoga class. Pelfrey, who was investigated in connection with two similar incidents earlier in the week, was arrested and charged on suspicion of a hate crime, a felon in possession of pepper spray, and illegal use of pepper spray. I blame the yoga.

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East of La Brea
Taking place in Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, and South LA in the dead heat of summer, East of La Brea chronicles the lives of two Muslim woman and highlights the vibrant stories of different communities where folks are broke, rent is high, and it’s less of a melting pot than people just melting. Created by Sameer Gardezi, the mini-series started as an out-of-the-box idea: to create a writers room that was POC-centered, broke the hierarchy of creative development, and used a community-based methodology to ideate true, authentic characters and stories. East of La Brea is the result, premiering this week from Powderkeg, with new episodes dropping every day.

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NASA Explains How They'll Return to the Moon
In this animated short, narrated by Kelly Marie Tran, NASA explains all of the things that they need to do to make it possible to return to the moon -- and this next time they go up, they are planning to stay.

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2020 APAICS Virtual-National Leadership Academy
The APAICS National Leadership Academy is a leadership training event for current AAPI elected officials, individuals seeking to run for public office, and community stakeholders. The program consists of interactive political training with topics ranging from developing your campaign plan, communications, digital organizing, power mapping, and fundraising. This year, the training will be conducted virtually Apply by June 19 to reserve your slot. Visit the APAICS website for full dates, details, and how to apply.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



I'm Just Saying, Think About It
To all the Robert E. Lee High Schools of America: if you're reconsidering the racist history behind your school's name, may I suggest a much worthier alternative namesake for Lee High School? I'm just saying, think about it.

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An Interview With the Man Who Told the LAPD, 'Suck My Dick and Choke On it'
In half a minute, he became a folk hero. An interview with Jeremy Frisch, the guy who used his allotted 30 seconds during the Los Angeles Police Commission's virtual community call to tell Chief Michel Moore, among other things, "You are a disgrace. Suck my dick and choke on it." And the punctuation that elevated his moment to legendary status: "I yield my time! Fuck you!"

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Minneapolis Officer Shot by Colleague Commits Suicide
A Minneapolis police officer who received a $4.5 million settlement after being shot by a fellow officer has committed suicide, police reported Monday. Duy Dinh Ngo, 38, was found dead at his home on Monday. Ngo received $4.5 million from the city of Minneapolis in 2007 -- four years after he was shot multiple times by a fellow police officer while working undercover in south Minneapolis.

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How Bruce Lee Became a Global Protest Icon
Be Water director Bao Nguyen talks to GQ about uncovering Bruce Lee's untold past, his unlikely legacy as a protest figure, and the next step for the Asian American filmmaking movement.

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2020 Virtual Youth Leadership Summit
Are you a student leader who wants to elevate Asian American and Pacific Islander issues at the national level? Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is now accepting applications for the 2020 Youth Leadership Summit, a multi-day leadership development program for high achieving college students dedicated to addressing issues impacting AAPI communities. The 7th annual Youth Leadership Summit will take place virtually from September 14-18.

An Open Letter Project on Anti-Blackness

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Letters for Black Lives
Letters for Black Lives is a set of crowdsourced, multilingual, and culturally-aware resources aimed at creating a space for open and honest conversations about racial justice, police violence, and anti-Blackness in our families and communities. It started as a group of Asian Americans and Canadians writing an intergenerational letter to voice their concerns and support for the Black community. They've since grown to include other immigrant groups and communities of color. The goal is to listen, support, and amplify the message of Black Lives Matter within our communities.

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CHINESE ARE DESTROYING BAY RIDGE
This racist flyer, proclaiming "CHINESE ARE DESTROYING BAY RIDGE," was spotted in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights neighborhoods this week. The flyers claim, among other things, that Chinese locals are driving away white homeowners, blame Chinese residents for spreading COVID-19, and describe Chinese-owned restaurants as "dirty." By the way, this is a hate crime. Imagine being the hateful, bored asshole designing this bullshit, printing it out on your little inkjet, and taping it up around your neighborhood -- thinking someone's actually going to listen to you. You are sad.

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Omaha Mayor Calls Korean Woman a 'Troll Who Hides Behind symbols'
The mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, has apologized for calling a Korean American woman "a Facebook troll" and "a coward" because she displayed her name in Korean on social media. The woman, Soyeon Sohn, commented on Facebook this week after the city imposed a curfew in response to protests over the death of George Floyd. She used the symbols of the Korean alphabet for her name, prompting the racially insensitive response from Mayor Jean Stothert, who said, "A Facebook troll who hides behind symbols and doesn’t list their name, is a coward." She later apologized, saying she did not recognize the Korean alphabet.

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The Dragon Kids · "Masked Kids" NPR Student Podcast Challenge

The Winners Of The NPR Student Podcast Challenge
Meet the grand prize winners of the 2020 NPR Student Podcast Challenge! In the Grades 5-8 category: "Masked Kids" by sixth-graders Leo Yu, Angelo Chen, Becky Liu, Si Chen Xu, Joyce Jiang, Zoe Jiang, Nicole Zheng and Amanda Chen of PS 126/Manhattan Academy of Technology in New York City. In their podcast, the students interviewed high schoolers about the harassment they felt as the coronavirus hit New York City. Along the way, the students taught listeners relevant words such as mask, sneeze and face in Mandarin.

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Wish Dragon
Check out the trailer for Wish Dragon, the upcoming animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation. Described as "a genie-in-a-bottle retelling set in contemporary China," the film is a modern-day fairy tale about "the moral challenges that emerge from the encounter between a boy and a dragon who is able to make wishes come true." Directed by Chris Appelhans, Wish Dragon features the voices of Jackie Chan, Constance Wu, John Cho, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Will Yun Lee, Jimmy Wong, and Bobby Lee.

All Four Cops Now Charged in George Floyd's Killing

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



All Four Cops Involved in George Floyd's Killing Now Face Charges
Minnesota officials charged three more former police officers on Wednesday in the death of George Floyd, and added an upgraded charge against the former officer who pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Derek Chauvin, who was previously charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, now faces a more serious count of second-degree murder. Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, who helped restrain Floyd, and Tou Thao, who stood near the others, were not initially charged, but now face counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

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We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd
"I'm not saying we were the ones who killed George Floyd. But we have to be the ones who pull that cop off his neck!" In this Patriot Act digital exclusive, Hasan Minhaj responds to the wave of protests over police brutality.

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Sikh Liquor Store Owner Attacked in Hate Crime
Last month in Colorado, a Sikh liquor store owner was brutally attacked by a man who told him to "go back to your country." Lakhwant Singh and his wife were working in their store when the attacker, Eric Breemen, entered and began harassing the couple, damaging numerous items and shouting profanity. When Breemen finally left the store, Singh went outside take a photo of Breemen's license plate in order to report the harassment. Breemen then used his vehicle to ram Singh, who suffered serious injuries. Breemen, who was out on bond for another case, was apprehended and charged with six felonies, including attempted murder, first-degree assault for extreme indifference, first-degree assault for causing serious bodily injury, leaving a scene involving serious bodily injury, vehicular assault and violating bail bond conditions. But what about hate crime charges"?

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K-Pop Fans Take Over #WhiteLivesMatter to Drown Out Racist Posts
On Wednesday, sad little racists apparently tried to get #whitelivesmatter trending, only to be resoundingly thwarted by K-pop fans. Yes, K-pop fans. In an anti-racist move that demonstrates their formidable, highly organized social-media power, K-Pop fans hijacked the hashtag, drowning out white-supremacist messages with nonsensical or anti-racist posts. Moral of the story: don't fuck with K-pop fans.

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Bruce Lee: Art of the Warrior
Ahead of Be Water, the new 30 for 30 documentary on the life of Bruce Lee, ESPN asked eight Asian and Asian American illustrators to reimagine the icon who redefined what an Asian man could be in America.

Meet the Guy Who Sheltered Protestors From Police

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Meet Rahul Dubey, the Hero Sheltering D.C. BLM Protesters
On Monday night, when protesters were driven into a D.C. neighborhood after curfew, one local hero opened his home to 75 strangers for a night-long standoff with DC police. Meet Rahul Dubey, the "legend" who provided a home -- and pizza -- to those who needed it.

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Hmong Family Whose Son Was Shot by Police Speaking Out in Solidarity
"Youa Vang doesn't know George Floyd's family, but she does know their pain. Both lost loved ones at the hands of Minneapolis police: Vang in 2006 when an officer fatally shot her 19-year-old son, Fong Lee; the Floyds, just last week when a white officer used his knee to pin George Floyd down for almost nine minutes after taking him into custody. That shared grief has pushed Vang, a refugee from Laos who immigrated to America in 1988, to stand in solidarity with the black community to fight for justice for Floyd -- and to encourage Asian Americans, who have been divided in support of movements like Black Lives Matter, to do the same."

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Armed Man Arrested for Posing as National Guard in Downtown LA
Asians behaving badly... fake National Guard edition. Police say a 31-year-old man dressed in a uniform, carried an assault rifle and tried to fall in line with National Guard troops on Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles. Gregory Wong, who apparently took an Uber downtown while carrying a rifle, was arrested when actual National Guard troops noticed him getting into formation. Wong -- reportedly a former member of the National Guard -- was arrested for manufacturing or distribution of an assault weapon. Yeah, don't be this guy.

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​'Tell Me Who My Mother Is': A Korean Adoptee Seeks Her Roots
Armed with DNA test results, Korean American adoptee Kara Bos is asking a South Korean court to rule that an 85-year-old man in Seoul is her biological father as part of her quest to meet him and ask why she was abandoned and who her mother was. Her paternity lawsuit could set a precedent for overseas adoptees.

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Warner Bros. Offers Free Rentals of 'Just Mercy'
In response to current events, Just Mercy, the 2019 film about the work of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, has been made available for free rental on digital platforms during the month of June from Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Destin Daniel Crettin, the film stars Michael B. Jordan as Stevenson, who defends Walter McMillian in order to fight a wrongful murder conviction. Check out the film, and to learn more about Bryan Stevenson and his work at the Equal Justice Initiative please visit EJI.org.

Do Not F*ck With K-pop Fans

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Police Asked People To Call Out Protesters. They Got Flooded With K-Pop Instead.
On Sunday, the Dallas Police Department asked people to send in "video of illegal activity" from the Black Lives Matter protests in the city through the iWatch Dallas app, where people can submit photo, video, or text tips about possible crimes. Instead, it received a flood of pictures and videos of K-pop artists. In response to the tweeted request from Dallas Police, hundreds of K-pop fans replied with photos and videos of their favorite artists. Many people also claimed to have submitted videos of the police harming protesters, as well as fan edits of K-pop artists, to the iWatch Dallas app. Lesson: do not fuck with K-pop fans.

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Officer Who Stood by as George Floyd Died Highlights Complex Asian American, Black Relations
The image of then-Minneapolis police Officer Tou Thao, a Hmong American, standing with his back turned as a white officer knelt on George Floyd's neck has ignited a discussion about how to approach the topic of anti-blackness in the Asian American community. Thao, who has a history of being involved in use-of-force incidents, is being described by activists as a symbol of Asian American complicity in anti-blackness following the death of Floyd, a black man who begged for his life while then-Officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into his neck for more than eight minutes.

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San Jose Officer Benched After Viral Protest Comments
The San Jose Police Department was doing damage control after one of its officers trended nationally on social media for aggressive comments toward demonstrators protesting the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis, shouting "Let's get this motherf—er" and "Shut up, bitch as he manned downtown skirmish lines. The officer, confirmed to be six-year SJPD veteran Jared Yuen, was recorded in multiple instances late Friday afternoon and drew immediate and wide rebukes from thousands of people who watched the video and called for Yuen's firing. As of Monday, authorities confirmed that Yuen has been temporarily taken off street duty and will not be staffing any more demonstrations.

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Fresh Off the Boat & Kim's Convenience Live Table Read
If you missed it, here's video of the casts of Fresh Off the Boat and Kim's Convenience doing a live table read of their respective shows' pilot episodes. Presented by Seed & Spark, the event was a fundraiser benefiting East West Players, Visual Communications, the Reel Asian International Film Festival.

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Casting Call: Growing Up Asian
An Emmy Award winning production company is looking for Asian American families to cast in a new reality series for a premium streaming network. Based on the casting call, it looks like they're looking for super driven Asian American parents who push their kids hard to achieve. Sounds like Tiger Mom: The Series! I don't know... could be a trap. I'll let you decide. Apply here.

[UPDATE] The guy who yelled "white power" at Black Lives Matter protestors is also cruel to dogs

Hey, man. You're a piece of shit.



Oh, hell no.

This video, circulating on social media, shows an Asian man -- reportedly an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department [EDIT: or, more likely, just a regular idiot asshole civilian in a police t-shirt] -- repeatedly saying "white power" and throwing up white power signs to antagonize a group of Black Lives Matter protestors demonstrating outside of a 24-Hour Fitness in Hollywood on Thursday morning.

Asian American family receives hate mail for posting Black Lives Matter sign

San Francisco home targeted with racist, threatening hate letters.



An Asian American family in San Francisco has been the target of racist, threatening hate mail since putting up a sign in support of "Black Lives Matter" in their window. But they're not backing down.

San Francisco Couple Threatened Over 'Black Lives Matter' Sign Display

Debbie Lee says she has had the sign up in the front window of her Forest Knolls/Twin Peaks home since 2015. But over the summer, she started receiving threatening letters about the sign.

The first letter showed up in her mailbox in July. Postmarked with no return address, it declared "BLUE LIVES MATTER! Get rid of your sign or WE will!" By the way, that's a threat.

The second letter said, "It's time to replace your BLM sign. How about CHINK LIVES MATTER."