They Call Us Bruce 122: They Call Us Rep. Grace Meng

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Rep. Grace Meng, who represents New York's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The congresswoman talks about taking leadership amidst tragedy in the Asian American community, seizing this moment of hypervisibility, and accepting our stories as American stories.

"Honoring the sacrifices they made for our nation is long overdue."

Rep. Grace Meng introduces resolution in Congress to recognize Chinese railroad workers.



New York congresswoman Grace Meng has introduced a resolution in Congress to recognize the almost 12,000 Chinese workers who helped build America's transcontinental railroad during the 19th century.

"In May, we will commemorate 150 years since the end of the railroad's completion, and providing these laborers with the national recognition they deserve would be an outstanding way to commemorate this milestone," Rep. Grace Meng said in a statement. "Honoring the sacrifices they made for our nation is long overdue."

The resolution acknowledges the risks Chinese laborers faced between 1865 and 1869 as they toiled in dangerous conditions on the monumental engineering project, all while dealing with discrimination and unequal pay and treatment.

More here: N.Y. congresswoman introduces resolution honoring Chinese railroad workers

Watch Judy Chu and a squad of AAPIs reppin' at the DNC

Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus take the stage in support of Hillary Clinton.



On Wednesday, if you were watching the proceedings at the Democratic National Convention, you may have seen a squad of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders take the stage, repping the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and talking about their support for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Judy Chu, Chair of CAPAC, recalled that there was a time, not too long ago, that seeing an Asian face in the U.S. Capitol was a rare sight. But there are now a record number of API members of Congress.

"We have gone from being marginalized to becoming the margin of victory in key swing states and districts all across our nation," Chu said. "America needs a president who will fight for us. Someone who rejects the hateful rhetoric too often used to divide us and believes that America's diversity is our greatest strength. That is why we've got to elect Hillary Clinton as our next President of the United States."

Chu highlighted how CAPAC's membership includes Rep. Doris Matsui and Rep. Mike Honda, who both spent part of their childhoods incarcerated in internment camps as Japanese Americans -- a dark chapter of our country's history that Donald Trump doesn't seem to have any problem with. The congresswoman also paid tribute to the late congressman Mark Takai, who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Obama signs bill removing "Oriental" from federal laws

Rep. Grace Meng's bill eliminating outdated term for Asian Americans from U.S. code.



As of last week, the words "Oriental" and "Negro" will no longer be part of federal law.

On Friday, President Obama signed a bill eliminating the outdated racial descriptors after the legislation passed unanimously in the House and Senate. Yes, they were still on the books. Yes, this was a long time coming.

Obama Signs Bill Removing 'Oriental' and 'Negro' From Federal Laws

H.R.4238, sponsored by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), aimed to "modernize" two references to "Orientals" and "Negros" in the U.S. Code governing public health, social welfare and civil rights, dating back to the 1970s. The words will be replaced with "Asian Americans" and "African Americans," respectively.

Rep. Meng introduced the bill in December, and it passed the House easily in February. It reached the president's desk last week after the Senate unanimously approved it on Monday.

Is the government racially profiling Chinese American scientists?

Sherry Chen and Xiaoxing Xi were both falsely accused of espionage.



This week, congressional leaders held a press conference calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the recent cases against Chinese American scientists who were wrongfully suspected of economic espionage.

Backed by California Democrats, Chinese American scientists arrested on espionage charges demand answers

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), and Rep. Michael Honda (CA-17) were joined by Sherry Chen, a U.S. citizen and employee of the National Weather Service in Ohio, as well as Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, a U.S. citizen and Interim Chair of the Physics Department at Temple University.

Rep. Grace Meng mugged in Washington

Queens congresswoman was attacked from behind and robbed

Holy crap. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) was assaulted and robbed in Washington DC on Tuesday night: Rep. Grace Meng Attacked, Robbed In Washington.

The congresswoman, who represents the 6th congressional district in Queens, was walking home from dinner when she was hit over the head at Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near Capitol Hill. As she fell to the ground, the assailant grabbed her handbag and fled on foot.

Thankfully, Rep. Meng wasn't seriously injured. She had bruises from the blow to her head and on her chin, which slammed into the ground, as well as a skinned knee:

historic election night for asian americans

Good morning, America. Recovering from Election Night 2012? Of course, voters re-elected President Barack Obama, giving us another confetti-obscured glimpse of Konrad Ng (aka "that Asian guy with Obama's family") in the First Family victory huddle. That's always fun.

Early national exit polls data suggests that Asian American overwhelmingly voted for President Obama, with 73 percent pulling for a second term, while only 26 percent supported Mitt Romney: Exit Polls Show Asian Americans Backed Obama by Wide Margin .

Elsewhere, around the country, it was a historic night...