RISE: Help Us Celebrate the Release of Our Book

Friday, March 4 at the Japanese American National Museum


If you're in Los Angeles, I invite you to help us celebrate the publication of RISE: A Pop History of Asian America From the Nineties to Now, the book I wrote with Jeff Yang and Philip Wang. It's been a long road getting this book to the finish line, but at long last, you can hold it in your grubby hands and read the dang thing.

RISE Is a love letter to our community, chronicling the ups and downs, struggles and triumphs, personalitis and ideas that have shaped who we our today. Through intimiate recollections, exclusive interviews, graphic essays, annotated illustrations and more -- thanks, in part, to an amazing squad of contributors -- we assembled a chronicle of the last three decades of Asian America that we hope will inspire delight, nostalgia and exploration.

Please join us Friday, March 4 at the Japanese American National Museum for a book talk, signing and reception with me, Jeff, Philip and a bunch of a amazing folks who made this book possible.

COVID-19 CONVOS #2: Rising Above Bullying and Hate

Presented by Act To Change, Streaming Friday, April 17 at 1:00pm ET



With more than 100 cases of Coronavirus-related discrimination being reported on a daily basis, the need for the Asian American community to fight back against anti-Asian racism is now stronger than ever. The lack of Asian American inclusion in mainstream media and school curriculum, in addition to the misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, perpetuates xenophobia and racism against our community.

Act To Change brings you COVID-19 CONVOS, a series of virtual conversations to share ways in which parents, educators, students, and community members can come together to protect the Asian American and Pacific Islander community from discrimination.

COVID-19 CONVOS #2: Rising Above Bullying and Hate, streaming live on Friday, April 17 at 1:00pm ET, will feature panelists Maulik Pancholy (Actor, Author & Co-Founder of Act To Change), Sarah Ha (Vice President, National Community Alliances at Teach For America) and Randall Park (Writer, Producer and Actor, Always Be My Maybe and Fresh Off The Boat).

Register here.

Building the Asian American Movement: Then and Now

Friday, July 12 at the Japanese American National Museum.



If you're in Los Angeles, check out this cool panel discussion, Building the Asian American Movement: Then and Now happening next week in Little Tokyo, co-presented by Visual Communications and the Japanese American National Museum...

Take a cross-generational look at the challenges and opportunities Asian American communities face as they continue to grow and engage in political action. Hear from a panel of Asian American activists who span the 1970s to the present. Learn about what motivated them to become politically charged and find what out what they believe it means to be an activist in today’s world and what issues continue to spur activism. The panelists have deep experience in student organizing, anti-gentrification campaigns, immigrant worker organizing, and other political campaigns.

Speakers include Sophia Cheng, immigrant workers organizer and lecturer at UCLA Asian American Studies Program; Tiffany Do, education and housing advocate; Frances Hyunh, tenant organizer with Chinatown Community for Equitable Development; Florante Ibanez, veteran organizer in the Filipino American community and lecturer in Asian American Studies at Pasadena City College; Miya Iwataki, veteran organizer in the Japanese American community around health care and redress/reparations and women’s issues; Sandy Maeshiro, veteran organizer with The Storefront in Seinan/Crenshaw and educational advocate; Jonathan Paik, Executive Director of the Korean Resource Center in Orange County and political empowerment organizer.

It's happening Friday, July 12 at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum. For further information, and to RSVP, go here.

#NeverAgainIsNow: Fort Sill

A Little Tokyo protest to end all family separation and detention centers.


If you're in Los Angeles, join concerned community members in Little Tokyo this Thursday evening to protest the White House's plans to use Fort Sill in Oklahoma as a detention center for immigrant children and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention practices in general.

Organizers are demanding an end to the inhumane conditions at ICE facilities, an end to family separation policies, and for compassion and humanitarianism toward all people. All who share concern about these issues are invited to participate.

It's happening June 27 at 7:00pm on the plaza of the Japanese American National Museum.

Atsuko's Birthday Album Recording

Sunday, May 26 at Dynasty Typewriter



If you're in Los Angeles and looking for something laughs, we have just the thing for you.

Our friend, acclaimed comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, is celebrating her birthday and recording her new comedy album, and needs some bodies in the audience. The evening will feature Daniel Franzese and Baron Vaughn, and proceeds will go to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Best of all, her grandma will be serving up dumplings before the show. I mean, how can you say no to that? You can't.

It's happening this Sunday, May 26 at Dynasty Typewriter. For more info, and to purchase tickets, go here.

At First Light: The Dawning of Asian Pacific America

May 25 - October 20, 2019 at the Japanese American National Museum.



If you're in Los Angeles, check out this exhibit opening this weekend at the Japanese American National Museum. At First Light: The Dawning of Asian Pacific America is a multi-media exhibition that explores and celebrates the emergence of a politically defined Asian Pacific American consciousness and identity.

The exhibition chronicles the transformation of the un-American categorization of “Oriental” to the political identity of "Asian Pacific American" that rejected racist stereotypes, stood up for human rights, recovered lost histories, and created new cultural expressions. The exhibition draws from hundreds of thousands of photographs and more than 100 videos in the collections of VC, the first Asian Pacific American media organization in the country, which formed in Los Angeles in 1970 to capture and cultivate the newfound unity that was Asian Pacific America. In the present-day climate of xenophobia and racial profiling, At First Light seeks to strengthen current resistance and resolve by evoking the legacy of Asian Pacific American activism.

At First Light: The Dawning of Asian Pacific America opens on Saturday, May 25 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. For further information about the exhibition, go here.

They Call Us Bruce: Live Podcast & AAPI Creatives Mixer

Monday, March 11. Presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival



Hey Austin! Our podcast They Call Us Bruce is teaming up with the Austin Asian American Film Festival for a free live podcast taping event/trivia competition/creatives mixer. Think NPR's Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me with an Asian American twist. Jeff Yang and I will be joined by panelists Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Simu Liu (Kim's Convenience), PJ Raval (SXSW Keynote Speaker/Documentary Director), Nancy Wang Yuen, Ph.D. (Author & Pop Culture Geek), Chloe Dao (Project Runway Winner), and Jonny Sun (writer on Bojack Horseman, Lin Manuel-Miranda collaborator). It's happening Monday, March 11 at Indeed.

For further information and to RSVP, go here: AAPI Creatives Mixer w/ They Call Us Bruce Live Podcast

Don't miss the World Premiere of 'Tales of Clamor'

February 1- March 3 at Aratani Theatre Black Box



If you're in Los Angeles, you don't want to miss the world premiere of Tales of Clamor presented by the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, in association with Nikkei Civil Rights and Redress.

Tales of Clamor by PULLproject Ensemble is a 7-person play centering around two artists debating cultural versus institutionalized silence. Utilizing ensemble storytelling, circus arts and archival footage from the 1981 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians hearings, this piece explores what it means to show up for each other, speak out, and generate the collective clamor necessary for social change.

The show runs February 1 - March 3 at the Aratani Theatre Black Box in Little Tokyo.

They Call Us Bruce presents Asian American Culture Con

Sunday, October 28 at Pacific Media Expo



Heads up, podcast listeners and pop culture fanatics! They Call Us Bruce, the podcast I co-host with Jeff Yang, is doing an entire day of live recordings highlighting Asian American creators and content in pop culture, for an event we're calling Asian American Culture Con (AACC), happening as part of PMX: Pacific Media Expo, America's first major trade show dedicated to Asian-Pacific popular culture and entertainment media.

AACC sessions will include panels focusing on Asian American talent from television, film, animation, comedy, science fiction and more, moderated by me and Jeff, to be recorded and released for the podcast.

It's happening Sunday, October 28 at the Glendale Hilton. [UPDATE] Here's the final schedule/lineup:

SESSION ONE, 10:15-11:30 am — THEY CALL US PRIMETIME ASIANS: A talk with Asian American stars of the new fall TV season—featuring Jake Choi of ABC's Single Parents, Keiko Agena of The First on Hulu & Ryan Potter of DC Universe's Titans!

SESSION TWO, 11:30 am-12:45 pm — THEY CALL US CARTOON CREATORS: A talk with standout creators from the world of animation, with Daniel Chong of We Bare Bears, Victor Cook of Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Dan Santat of The Replacements and Fawn Veerasunthorn of Ralph Breaks the Internet!

LUNCH BREAK

SESSION THREE, 2-3:15 pm — THEY CALL US NEXT-GEN TALENT: Looking for the next-generation of Asian American stars, with Will Choi of Asian AF, Snehal Desai of East West Players, Linda Lamontagne of BoJack Horseman, and Kaitlyn Yang of Alpha Studios!

SESSION FOUR, 3:15-4:30 pm — THEY CALL US THE ASIAN AMERICAN CANON: Looking back at three of the movies that have defined our Asian American pop culture experience—talking to Tamlyn Tomita of The Joy Luck Club, PARRY SHEN of Better Luck Tomorrow and Lynn Chen of Saving Face!

SESSION FIVE, 4:30-5:45 pm — THEY CALL US THE ASIAN FUTURE: Taking a leap into the (Asian) Future with science fiction standouts Wesley Chu, author of The Lives of Tao, S Qiouyi Lu (Uncanny Magazine & Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) and Peter Tieryas, author of United States of Japan!

and finally....

SESSION SIX, 5:45-7 pm — THEY CALL US STEVEN UNIVERSE: We close out the #AsianAmericanCultureCon by talking with Shelby Rabara, Michaela Dietz, Jennifer Paz and Grace Rolek, the stars of the epic animated series Steven Universe - the most Asian American show on TV!

All panels are free with with a PMX registration (full weekend or Sunday only). The event is still coming together, with more special guests being added as we speak. For further updates, follow the AACC Facebook event or They Call Us Bruce on Facebook and Twitter.

The Comedy Comedy Festival: A Comedy Festival

October 12-14 at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center



Hey, comedy fans! If you are in Los Angeles, and looking for some laughs this weekend, look no further than The Comedy Comedy Festival: A Comedy Festival. Co-produced by Disoriented Comedy and JACCC, in partnership with Asian AF, the 2018 edition of this epic 3-day event brings together the best of young, Asian American comedic talent from Hollywood, digital media, and live performance.

"America is not ready for us! We have hilarious and exciting voices," says writer, comedian, and Festival co-organizer Jenny Yang. "No one is waiting for Hollywood to catch up anymore. We have been building our community, strengthening our craft and creating our own platforms. This comedy festival is not just a festival. It's a movement."

This year's festival performers include Manila Luzon (VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race), Jenny Yang (E!'s Busy Tonight), Jake Choi (ABC's Single Parents), Sherry Cola (TNT's Claws), Aparna Nancherla (Comedy Central's Corporate, Late Night with Seth Meyers), Lilan Bowden (Disney's Andi Mack), singer-songwriter Megan Lee, and more. Events include stand up, sketch and improvised comedy, storytelling, and musical comedy.

It's happening October 12-14 at the Aratani Theatre and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Here's a rundown of Comedy Comedy Festival highlights:

Representation Matters: A Discussion with Simu Liu

Thursday, September 20 at UCLA Geffen Hall



Kim's Convenience fans! Heads up. If you're in Los Angeles, come join us for a conversation with actor, writer and producer Simu Liu, who plays Jung on the hit Canadian sitcom (now available internationally on Netflix). He'll be talking about his breakthrough role, the insights he's learned on his unique journey to Hollywood, and the future of Asian Americans in film and television. I'll be serving as moderator for the evening.

It's happening Thursday, September 20 at UCLA Geffen Hall. Here are some more details:

API Forward Movement presents Farm to Chopsticks

Thursday, August 23 at Japanese American Cultural & Community Center



Hey Los Angeles! Here's a fun food event for a great cause. API Forward Movement is hosting their annual Farm to Chopsticks fundraiser benefiting their grassroots education and organizing for food, health, and social justice in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

The evening will feature Korean drumming, dinner by Organic Pan-Asian restaurant Green Zone and a food demonstration by Chef Pablo Kim, Korean-Argentinian "master griller" and a Master Chef Latino 2017 finalist. Bonus: Our friend DanAKADan will be the emcee for the evening.

It's going to be a great event. Farm to Chopsticks is happening on Thursday August 23rd at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Little Tokyo. Tickets are going quickly, get yours here.

For more information, visit the API Forward Movement website.

2018 Plate by Plate Presented by Project by Project

Saturday, August 4 at City Market Social House in Los Angeles.



Los Angeles! See you this Saturday for a whole lot of food, drink and community. Plate By Plate, presented by Project by Project, is an awesome annual tasting benefit featuring star chefs, top rated restaurants, and beverages from across the nation. Best of all, 100% of the net proceeds raised from Plate by Plate are remitted to a nonprofit partner organization serving the Asian American community.

This year, Plate by Plate has joined forces with OCA-GLA and to raise funds for their Mentored Path to Citizenship grant program, which provides legal assistance and helps alleviate the financial burden for those who cannot afford the naturalization application fee to apply for American citizenship.

Plate by Plate LA is happening Saturday, August 3 at City Market Social House in Downtown Los Angeles. Your evening's celebrity co-chairs are Leonardo Nam and Michelle Krusiec. Before I forget: be sure to use the discount code PBPAAM25 to get $25 off your ticket.

Here's some more information:

Asian AF Presents: The Stars of Crazy Rich Asians

Monday, August 6 at UCB Inner Sanctum Cafe & Stage in Los Angeles.



Comedy fans in Los Angeles, you do not want to miss this one. In celebration of the upcoming theatrical release of Crazy Rich Asians, our friends at Asian AF have put together the Crazy Rich Asians Comedy Show, featuring standup from the stars of the Warner Bros. romantic comedy. The lineup includes Ken Jeong, Ronny Chieng, Nico Santos and Jimmy O. Yang, who are all part of the movie's cast.

This is going to be a blast. It's happening Monday, August 6 at the UCB Inner Sanctum Cafe & Stage in Los Angeles. Admission is free! But seating is first come, first served. So get there, and there early!

[UPDATE: Response to the show has apparently been pretty crazy, so in order to ensure a safe and orderly evening, they're instituting a RSVP list. Reserve yourself here.]

[UPDATE:] Okay, the show sold out in like five minutes.

Here are some more details about the show:

Rally for Rose Tico at San Diego Comic-Con

By Keith Chow. Cross-Posted from The Nerds of Color



It goes without saying that we are huge fans of Rose Tico and Kelly Marie Tran here at The Nerds of Color. Unfortunately, there’s a significant portion of Star Wars fandom that doesn't agree. Even worse, they’ve taken their disdain for a fictional character and used it to harass the actress so much that she had to delete her Instagram.

Online harassment in the Star Wars community -- and fandom, writ large -- is nothing new. Recently, Phantom Menace actor Ahmed Best revealed he contemplated suicide as a result of the fan backlash to his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks. Just the other day, a cadre of angry fanboys cried foul and singled out StarWars.com personality Andi Gutierrez over a mug she owns. But as Rose Tico famously said at the end of The Last Jedi:

Let's Go, Atsuko! A Woke Japanese Game Show

Monday, May 28 at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles.



Atsuko Okatsuka was born to be on a Japanese game show. Her parents apparently met on one. Now she hosts one, sort of. If you're in Los Angeles, join Atusko and friends for Let's Go, Atsuko!, a night of interactive games, videos, discussions and talent from notable comedians, political thinkers and public figures in the style of, yes, a Japanese game show. The lineup includes standup by Aparna Nancherla, music by Dynasty Handbag, and panelists Guy Branum, Nik Dodani, Parvesh Cheena and Jibz Cameron.

It's happening Monday, May 28 at Dynasty Typewriter at The Hayworth. Here are more details:

CAAMFest Presents White Rabbit

Starring and co-written by Vivian Bang. Friday, May 11 at AMC Kabuki 8.



San Francisco film fans, this one's for you... Fresh from its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, the wonderfully weird and delightful indie comedy White Rabbit is screening at CAAMFest. Co-written and starring Vivian Bang, and directed by Daryl Wein, the film follows Sophia, a Korean American performance artist trying find her voice amidst heartbreak and professional road bumps in modern Los Angeles.

It's screening Friday, May 11 at the AMC Kabuki 8 in Japantown. Here are some more details:

CAAMFest Presents Disoriented Comedy

Saturday, May 12 at New People Cinema



San Franciscooooooo. Are you ready for some laughs? The funny folks of Disoriented Comedy -- "the first-ever (mostly) female Asian American standup comedy tour" -- has joined forces with CAAMFest. Join our pals Jenny Yang, D'Lo, and Atsuko Okatsuka for an evening of kickass comedy. It's happening Saturday, May 12 at New People Cinema in Japantown.

Here are some more details about the show:

Explore Bruce Lee's Seattle legacy in 'A Dragon Lives Here'

Now open at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle



Bruce fans, get yourself to Seattle. The multi-year Do You Know Bruce? exhibition series at the Wing Luke Museum provides fresh and untold perspectives on Bruce Lee's life and his connection to Seattle. Part 4, A Dragon Lives Here, focuses on the martial arts icon's close local ties.

Bruce Lee spent some of his most formative years in Seattle -- learning English, attending university, meeting his future wife, and establishing his first martial arts studio. In this all-new exhibit, retrace Seattle locales special to Bruce Lee and get an up-close look at how this city also shaped his trailblazing approach.

"Bruce Lee is part of Seattle's legacy of entrepreneurship and innovation," says comedian and host of CNN's United Shades of America (and professed Bruce Lee superfan) W. Kamau Bell, who is featured in the museum's intro video for A Dragon Lives Here. "They may not know it yet, but they will: a dragon lives here."

See George Takei in the Los Angeles premiere of Allegiance

February 21 - April 1 at JACCC's Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo.



Los Angeles! Don't miss your chance to see the Broadway musical Allegiance, now on stage in Little Tokyo.

Inspired by true events, and starring George Takei, Allegiance is the story of the Kimura family, whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events of Pearl Harbor. An uplifting testament to the human spirit, Allegiance follows the Kimuras as they fight between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves.

Presented by East West Players and the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the Los Angeles premiere of Allegiance is running now through April 1 at JACCC's Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo, with the Opening Night performance and reception on February 28.