Tad Nakamura's Third Act Premieres May 25 on PBS

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Third Act - Independent Lens

Generations call Robert A. Nakamura the godfather of Asian American film. Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. In his documentary Third Act, Tad turns the camera on his father as they confront art, activism, and aging. From World War II incarceration to cultural awakening and a Parkinson's diagnosis, the film is a tender portrait of legacy, inherited trauma, and the final chapter of a shared creative life. Third Act premieres May 25 on PBS' Independent Lens (check local listings) and will be available to stream on pbs.org.

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Jonnie Park - Finding a Rap Voice As Dumbfoundead in "SPIT: A Life in Battles"

Rapper, actor, and writer Jonnie Park, aka Dumbfoundead, joins Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show to discuss his new memoir SPIT: A Life in Battles. They talk about getting his start in battle rapping at 14 years old in Los Angeles, evolving from freestyle battles to prepared matchups, developing a thick skin as the only Asian in the rap battle arena, dabbling in other mediums like acting in Nemesis and writing for season 2 of Beef, and chronicling his story through the different family, immigration, and career battles he’s faced.

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Deli Boys Season 2 | Official Trailer

Deli Boys returns! In season two of the acclaimed crime comedy series, the Dars are drowning in dirty cash and Philly's sketchiest crooks are circling. Enter Max Sugar: casino king, money launderer, and Lucky's new crush who turns laundering into a chaotic situationship. Raj plots revenge on Ahmad, Mir tries to expand DarCo without blowing it up, and Philly D.A. Andrew Chadwater hopes one big bust will make him mayor. Season two, starring Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, and Poorna Jagannathan, premieres May 28 on Hulu.

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US university's commencement speaker reveals he will pay off students' final-year loans

Anil Kochhar, a North Carolina State University donor, gave graduates of the school's Wilson College of Textiles a lot more than just words of wisdom when he delivered their keynote commencement address earlier this month. The entrepreneur also announced that he would pay off any student loans taken out by the college's graduates during their senior year. "I hope that all of you leave... today not only with a degree but with greater freedom to pursue your goals, take risks and build the lives that you've worked so hard to achieve," Kochhar said, prompting loud cheers, applause and a standing ovation from the class of 2026.

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How 'A Grain of Sand' amplified Asian American identity

A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle of Asians in America was one of the first recognized musical albums expressing Asian American identity. The 1973 work -- preserved at the Smithsonian Institution -- combines elements of folk, jazz and blues. It's often considered a blend of political statements within a collective art project. Sojin Kim, curator of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, details the album's legacy and place in American history for WBUR.

92-year-old former internee receives high school diploma

72 years after internment, Mary Matsuda Gruenewald finally graduates from Vashon High School.


(Photo Credit: Aileen Imperial/KCTS 9)
Over the weekend in Washington, a 92-year-old Japanese American woman received her high school diploma -- with honors -- alongside the graduating class of Vashon High School -- 74 years after her education at the school was interrupted when her family was forced into an internment camp during World War II.

92-year-old woman receives high school diploma 74 years after internment

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald was 17, in the middle of her junior year in 1942, when her family was forcibly removed from Vashon Island and incarcerated in a dusty California concentration camp, like thousands of other innocent Japanese Americans on the west coast. She was a good student, a member of the honor society and served on the student council. But she missed the opportunity to graduate with her classmates.

On Saturday, she finally graduated from Vashon High School. Receiving a standing ovation, she was presented with her diploma, along with a copy of the 1943 yearbook and the 2017 yearbook signed by students and staff. The ceremony was streamed live on YouTube (Gruenewald is first acknowledged in the principal's remarks at the 51:46 mark, and receives her diploma at 1:48:02):

His train broke down on the way to his graduation. So subway strangers threw him an impromptu ceremony.

"Thank you guys for coming out today to see my graduation. I appreciate it."



Sometimes, people are great. This week in New York, subway strangers held an impromptu graduation ceremony for a nursing school student who missed his actual grad ceremony due to massive train delays.

Nursing School Student Misses Graduation Due to Train Delay, Has Impromptu Ceremony with Commuters Instead

On Tuesday morning, 22-year-old Jerich Marco Alcantara boarded the packed E train from Queens to Manhattan to attend his graduation at Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing. Unfortunately, the train was stalled by an emergency brake malfunction that kept Jerich and his fellow passengers stuck underground for close to three hours. He wasn't going to make it to his graduation. He was going to miss the whole thing.

Of course, this was a bummer. Standing there on the train, in his full cap and gown, Jerich attempted to alleviate the mood and cracked a joke. He turned to the other passengers in his subway car and said, "Thank you guys for coming out today to see my graduation. I appreciate it."

The people in the car erupted in cheers, and it was on.

"It just kind of snowballed after that." Alcantara told The Washington Post.

Interned couple finally receives high school diplomas

Congratulations to George and Miko Kaihara, Tustin Union High School, Class of 1943.



As teenagers, George and Miko Kaihara were among the thousands of Japanese Americans on the West Coast who were forced into internment camps during World War II. Uprooted from their lives, they never got to graduate from high school with their classmates. But this week, over seven decades later, they received their long overdue diplomas from Tustin Union High School.

Tustin couple sent to WWII internment camp receive high school diplomas

George and Miko, who should have graduated from Tustin Union in 1943, received their diplomas at the Poston internment camp in the Arizona desert. On Thursday, at 90 years old -- a week before their 65th wedding anniversary -- the Kaiharas donned caps and gowns and walked with the 550 students of the Class of 2015 to graduate from their original alma mater, now called Tustin High School.

89-year-old finally walks at his high school graduation

Don Miyada was sent to an interment camp one month before his high school graduation



It took over 70 years, but Don Miyada finally got to graduate from high school.

In 1942, at age 17, he was pulled out of class at Newport Harbor High School and sent to an internment camp in Arizona, along with his family and thousands of other Japanese Americans, just a month shy of graduation. A teacher later mailed him his diploma. But you know, it's never too late to party like a senior.

Former student interned in World War II gets high school honors

This month, Miyada was invited to participate in the rite of passage he was unjustly denied 72 years ago. The 89-year-old retired university professor donned a cap and gown alongside 560 high school seniors and accepted his diploma with Newport Harbor High's class of 2014.

See Mindy Kaling's hilarious Harvard commencement speech

"Most of you will go on to the noblest pursuits, like helping a cable company acquire a telecom company."



On Wednesday at Harvard Law School's commencement ceremony, graduates were given an inspirational address from one of our nation's top legal minds: Mindy Kaling. Okay, so not quite a lawyer. She doesn't even play one on television! But Kaling, writer/producer/star of The Mindy Project, took to the podium anyway. While she was short on wise words ("Celebrities give too much advice...") she made it up with humor and charm.

Mindy Kaling Plugs AMC Antiheroes, Candy Crush and Her Book in Hilarious Harvard Law Speech

As she started her address, Kaling was faced with the disappointing truth she would not be receiving an honorary legal degree ("So apparently, there's a little miscommunication...") but she powered through. Her remarks included shout outs to everyone from Harvard Law alumni Barack Obama and Elle Woods to her own Indian immigrants parents and fellow speaker -- and fellow Desi -- U.S. attorney Preet Bharara.

Check out the video (her speech begins at the three-minute mark):