Three White Women Made a Mahjong Line Nobody Asked For

Dallas company apologizes after criticism for redesigning mahjong tiles
It seems that white people, not content with bottling bad kimchee and crappy pad thai, are exploring new dimensions in cultural appropriation. The latest Asian shit stolen and made "new": mahjong, courtesy of three white ladies, who have given the game a "respectful refresh" that absolutely nobody was asking for.

The Mahjong Line, based in Dallas, was the brainchild of Kate LaGere after she "discovered" that traditional mahjong tiles had the same designs and "did not reflect the fun" she had while playing the game, according to the company’s website. Perhaps worst of all: the damn thing costs $425. I had no idea that mahjong could be gentrified. But they've done it. And the internet of Asian America has let them know accordingly. Do not mess with our shit, because we will let you know.

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Brooklyn Democratic Party Leader Resigns Over Racist Tweet
A Brooklyn Democratic District Leader has resigned her post after triggering a firestorm of criticism over a racist rant she posted against Chinese people over the weekend, including the bizarre slight: "I can't even look at Chinese food." Lori Maslow posted the comments on Twitter with a link to a news item on Chinese tariffs. It has since been deleted. On Monday, Maslow issued a statement apologizing and resigning from her position in the party: "I hereby resign from my position as 6th vice chair of the Kings County Democratic County Committee effective immediately. I sincerely apologize for the poor choice of words I used in a social media posts over the weekend, which were hurtful to members of the Chinese American Community."

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Rose Ochi, Japanese American trailblazer for civil rights, dies at 81
Rose Matsui Ochi, a trailblazing Los Angeles attorney who tapped far-flung political networks from City Hall to Congress in her fierce advocacy of civil rights, criminal justice reform and Japanese American causes, has died at 81. Ochi broke barriers as the first Asian American woman to serve as a Los Angeles Police Commission member and as an assistant U.S. attorney general. She advised L.A. Mayors Tom Bradley and James Hahn on criminal justice, served on President Carter’s Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy and worked with President Clinton on drug policy and race relations. Ochi died December 13 after being diagnosed with a second bout of COVID-19, which exacerbated existing health problems.

San Francisco family loses eviction fight

Another household falls prey to the city's housing boom.



This is heartbreaking. The fight is lost. In San Francisco, the elderly Chinese American couple who were fighting to stay in their low-rent apartment near Nob Hill, were forced out this week. The Lees moved out belongings and went to a motel. Evicted: S.F. family loses fight, evicted after 34 years.

The plight of Poon Heung Lee and Gum Gee Lee, who had lived in the apartment with their mentally disabled daughter for 34 years, drew a great deal of support from community advocates, the mayor's office and several city supervisors -- to no avail. Another household falls prey to the San Francisco housing boom.

The evictions were legal under California's Ellis Act, which allows landowners to evict tenants to renovate apartments and sell them as tenant-in-common units. With San Francisco housing showing no signs of stopping the rent-sanity, Ellis Act evictions have shot up 81 percent in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Lees are trying to find a permanent place to live, with help from the community, but they haven't been able to find anything close to the $778 rent they paid for their apartment on Jackson Street, and it's evident that suitable options in the city are shrinking.

More here: Lee family bids heartfelt good-bye to longtime home.

Are Chinatowns disappearing?

Join AALDEF for a briefing on gentrification in Philadelphia, Boston and New York Chinatowns.



For more than a century, Chinatowns have been home to immigrant families, and an essential part of our Asian American heritage and history. But Chinatowns on the East Coast are on the verge of disappearing.

In the first-ever study of its kind, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund embarked on a three-city land-use study of Chinatowns in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and found that in each city, city governments accelerated gentrification in these neighborhoods. Government policies were directly tied to the fact that White populations are growing faster in Chinatowns than they are overall in all three cities.

On Wednesday, October 9, join AALDEF for a webinar presenting its findings with the report authors, community organizers, and affected citizens. Here are some more details: