They Call Us Wong Kim Ark's Descendants

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 Annie Lee, Managing Director of Policy for Chinese for Affirmative Action, and Sandra Wong, great-granddaughter of Wong Kim Ark, whose landmark 1898 Supreme Court victory established birthright citizenship in the United States. They discuss the history of United States v. Wong Kim Ark and its profound impact on American citizenship and civil rights; the contemporary political challenges to birthright citizenship and the erosion of constitutional rights; and the importance of educating the next generation about Wong Kim Ark's legacy.

They Call Us Strangers in the Land

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 Michael Luo, executive editor at The New Yorker and author of the book Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America, an epic narrative history of the Chinese in America, and their more than century-long struggle to belong in the face of bigotry, persecution, exclusion and racial terror. Michael talks about the real-life racist incident that partially inspired the project; the complexities and quirks of Chinese American immigration history; some of the fascinating stories and characters he uncovered during his extensive research for Strangers in the Land; and the alarming parallel connections between past and current debates on immigration, citizenship, and our multiracial democracy.

This Spring, Baseball Returns to Manzanar

The Manzanar Baseball Project will stage two games at the Manzanar National Historic Site.

Here's an incredible project that could use your eyes and dollars -- a unique community event that combines sports, history, memory and social justice. This spring, The Manzanar Baseball Project will stage two baseball games on a newly restored field at the Manzanar National Historic Site in the Mojave Desert.

Manzanar was the first of ten detention camps where Americans of Japanese ancestry were unjustly imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Overall, it was the largest mass incarceration in American history with 120,000 people being imprisoned between 1942 and 1945.

For many incarcerated Japanese Americans during this time, resilience meant creating a sense of "home" in any way possible, including playing sports. And in the 1940s, baseball was the most popular sport in the country -- including and especially in the camps, where dozens of leagues were formed with hundreds of players.

San Jose Was Once Home to Five Chinatowns. But Then Racism.

San Jose officially apologizes to Chinese immigrants and their descendants.



Did you know that San Jose, California was once home to five Chinatowns? And then it was home to zero Chinatowns. Because racists burned them down and/or displaced and drove out the city's Chinese residents.

If you know anything about Asian American history -- and honestly, it wouldn't be a surprise if your textbooks conveniently left it out -- this kind of racist violence was a fair.ly common occurrence up and down the west coast during the mid-to-late 1800s. Anti-Chinese sentiment became institutionalized

This week, the city of San Jose unanimously approved a resolution officially apologizing to Chinese immigrants and their descendants, acknowledging its role in nearly a century of violence and discrimination, including the dismantling and destruction of the city's Chinatowns. Yeah, file this one under Too Little Too Late.

More here: San Jose Apologizes for Decades of Discrimination Against Chinese

"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

The Not-So-Ancient Chinese Secrets of the Fortune Cookie

Comic explores the "surprising history" of the Chinese restaurant staple.



Today, the fortune cookie is a ubiquitous, commonplace element of the American Chinese restaurant experience, from your local mom-and-pop takeout joints to Panda Express. A little slip of wisdom tucked inside a crispy folded cookie. But did you know that fortune cookies didn't even originate from China? Not quite. The fortune cookie's close association with Chinese cuisine is actually an American phenomenon.

This great comic by Soleil Ho and Blue Delliquanti delves into The Surprising History of the Fortune Cookie, examining its true origins as a Japanese confection dating back to the 19th century, the cookie's trajectory to California, and its eventual post-war dissemination into an essential part of Chinese American dining.

Read it here: The Surprising History of the Fortune Cookie

Searching for Queer Asian Pacific America

Guest Post by Patrick G. Lee



I grew up thinking that you could be queer or Asian, but never both. That definitely had to do with the TV shows I watched (Will & Grace; Sex and the City) and the people I met at my Korean church (all straight or super super super closeted).

So when I started coming out as a queer Asian person in my twenties, I just assumed that I was on my own. Almost all of my gay friends from college were white, they all spoke the same language as their parents, and they had long ago dealt with the coming out process.

But a few years later, I moved to New York and made my first gay Asian friends in the city. We all met at a family acceptance workshop for Asian Pacific Islanders at the LGBT Center in Manhattan. That summer, we danced together, sang karaoke together, and ate Korean BBQ together -- and our chosen family just kept growing.

Many of us shared anxieties over communicating with our immigrant parents and coming out to our families. Visiting relatives abroad meant re-entering the closet. But we had each other to commiserate and confide in.

At the same time, I felt lost and unmoored in my personal history as a queer Asian American: I had found my chosen family, but who were our parents and our grandparents, our aunties and our ancestors?

New podcast chronicles Japanese American incarceration

'Order 9066' from American Public Media and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.



Hear the voices and stories of Japanese American Incarceration from the real people who endured it.

Order 9066 is a landmark new podcast series that chronicles the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II. Through vivid, first-person accounts from those who lived through it, the series explores how this shocking violation of American democracy came to pass, and its legacy in the present.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 just months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Roughly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced from their homes and sent to one of ten "relocation centers," imprisoned behind barbed wire during the war. Two-thirds of them were American citizens.

Produced by American Public Media in collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, the series launched on February 19 -- the anniversary of the executive order's signing.

Listen to the trailer:

Stop the Fence at Tule Lake

Proposed airport fence threatens historic site of Japanese American resistance.



The Tule Lake Segregation Center is recognized as the World War II concentration camp where thousands who protested the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans were punished for speaking out. The maximum security camp housed the largest number of detainees (housing over 18,000 prisoners at its peak), stayed opened the longest and was the place where "troublemakers" from other camps were sent.

Now considered the crucible for Japanese American resistance to incarceration during World War II, the infamous site is today preserved as a monument to one of our nation's darkest chapters. In 2006, Tule Lake was officially designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark, the highest level of recognition for a historically significant property. In 2008, the site was dedicated as a National Monument.

But now the physical and historical integrity of Tule Lake, located in Modoc County, California, is threatened by the potential construction of a massive fence, and community members are asking for your support.

Community activist gets law license 63 years after his death

California Supreme Court grants posthumous bar admission to Sei Fujii, who was denied because of his race.



Law school is no joke. Imagine busting your ass, making it through and graduating from law school, only to learn that you are ineligible to practice law because you're not white.

That's what happened to Sei Fujii, a Japanese immigrant who was denied a license to practice law in California in 1911 because of his race. He received his license this week from the California Supreme Court -- over sixty years after his death.

Fujii immigrated to the United States in 1903 and received a law degree from the University of Southern California. At the time, California law barred legal licenses for immigrants who were ineligible for citizenship, and naturalization, according to federal law, was limited to "free white person" and those of African descent.

Roots: Asian American Movements in Los Angeles 1968-80s

Exhibit runs January 19 - June 11 at the Chinese American Museum



If you're in Los Angeles, check out this cool new exhibit opening this month at the Chinese American Museum. Roots: Asian American Movements in Los Angeles 1968-80s collects and presents the history and work of young Los Angeles activists that shaped Asian America through a long decade of fighting displacement, serving their communities, agitating for revolution, and analyzing the intersections of gender, race, and class.

The exhibit opens on January 19, with an opening reception at Pico House. Here are some more details:

The Worst Lynching in American History

Chinese American Museum commemorates the anniversary of the Chinese Massacre of 1871.



Monday marks the 145th anniversary of the Chinese massacre of 1871, one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history. On October 24, 1871, racially motivated riots resulted in the massacre of 19 Chinese men and boys in the streets of downtown Los Angeles -- one of the darkest chapters in the city's history.

On the evening of October 24, 1871, several white policemen entered Chinatown to break up an argument between members of rival Chinese tongs. Whether by anger or accident, a white man was shot to death. Shortly thereafter, a mob of 500 entered Chinatown and assaulted every Chinese person they saw.

Eleven white men, including Sheriff James Burns and prominent Los Angeleno Robert Widney, attempted to protect the Chinese and stop the violence, but they were also attacked. After five hours, the vigilantes had tortured and hanged 19 Chinese men and boys, and looted Chinese homes and businesses.

The incident drew national attention and provoked a grand jury investigation. Seven men were held responsible and convicted for the riots, but only one actually served any jail time.

On Monday in Los Angeles, the Chinese American Museum will join with other community organizations and local leaders for a vigil observing the anniversary of the Chinese Massacre of 1871.

Help preserve the stories of Manhattan's Chinatown

Eveline Chao's project will document stories of Manhattan Chinatown from the 1940s, '50s and '60s.



What was it like to live in Manhattan Chinatown in the 1940s and 50s? What are the untold stories from this unique era of American immigration? Brooklyn-based freelance writer and editor Eveline Chao, whose stories have appeared on RollingStone.com, The Daily Beast, Fast Company and Foreign Policy, is working on a project to document and preserve the Disappearing Stories From Manhattan's Chinatown.

Through a series of print stories and recorded oral histories, Eveline will document stories about Manhattan Chinatown from Chinese-American immigrants who grew up or socialized there during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. From record hops to the World's Fair, stickball games to the Miss Chinatown pageant, their memories fill in the gaps from an era when Asian America was largely invisible.

Casting Call: Broken Blossoms Case of 1935

Seeking actors for one-time performance at the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco.



Bay Area actors! The Chinese Historical Society of America is looking to cast actors for a unique live lecture/performance project with artist and photographer Eddie Wong, based on 1935's "Broken Blossoms" case. The one-time only performance, to be held on Saturday, March 5 in San Francisco, will tell the true story of four Chinese women forced into prostitution in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Here are some more details about the project:

Seattle City Council expresses regret for anti-Chinese laws

And sorry for that time a mob forced all the Chinese to get the hell out of town.



On Monday, the Seattle City Council approved a resolution expressing regret for legislation passed by the Washington Territory and previous City Councils in 1800s that discriminated against Chinese immigrants.

Seattle issues gesture of regret over 1800s anti-Chinese laws

The resolution is an acknowledgement of the city's racist past. As a result of discriminatory laws adopted by the Washington Territory, which became Washington state in 1889, Chinese people were denied the right to vote, prohibited from giving evidence in the courts in cases involving Caucasians, and denied the right to own land.

Fund This: 'Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America'

New book from SAADA tells the stories of South Asians in the United States.



South Asian Americans have been a presence in the United States for more than 130 years, and today, over 3.4 million individuals in the U.S. trace their heritage to South Asia. But their stories are not taught in classrooms, or found in textbooks, or reflected in popular media. Here's a project that aims to change that.

For the past seven years, the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) has digitally collected, preserved, and shared stories of South Asian Americans. They recently launched a book project, Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America, which will be available to schools, libraries and homes around the country to bring important South Asian American stories to life for a younger and broader audience.

This first-of-its-kind 150-page full-color print book and digital edition of Our Stories will be available in May 2016. To help make it happen, you can pre-order your copy through SAADA's Kickstarter campaign.

Here's a video with more information:

Stompin' at the Pauley Ballroom

Online gallery collects dance bids from the Bay Area's era of 1970s Asian American soul bands.


"Together We Have Strength"
Got this passed along to me from Elmer Jan, one of our longtime readers, and it's really cool.

In the 1970s, UC Berkeley's Pauley Ballroom (as well as other venues in the San Francisco Bay Area) hosted dances that attracted largely Asian American audiences and featured dozens of Asian American garage bands playing covers of soul hits of the time. This San Francisco Chronicle article by Annie Nakao, written in 2004, looked back at this fun era of the Bay Area's musical history.

Elmer, who was apparently a regular attendee of these gatherings, has put together an online gallery, entitled Stompin' at the Pauley Ballroom, displaying a bunch of the dance announcements that he collected and preserved from the era. They make for some very cool Asian American community memorabilia.

"We called them 'dance bids' back in the day," Elmer says. "Finding a way to share them had been on my mind for years and I've finally finished this modest project."

Here some images from the gallery:

Chinese attorney granted posthumous law license

Hong Yen Chang was denied the right to practice law in California in 1890 be­cause of his race.



This is awesome. On Monday, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously to grant a posthumous law license to a Chinese immigrant whose application was denied 125 years ago solely because of his race.

Chinese immigrant, denied law license in 1890, gets one posthumously

In 1890, Hong Yen Chang came to San Francisco and applied for a license to practice law to help his fellow Chinese immigrants. But the state Supreme Court said Chang, despite his New York state law license, was ineligible for the California bar because of "persons of the Mongolian race" were not entitled to citizenship.

This week, in a nine-page ruling, the state court -- which includes three Asian American justices -- repudiated the 1890 decision. While the court said the ruling could not undo history, it was "past time to acknowledge that the discriminatory exclusion of Chang from the State Bar of California was a grievous wrong."

Calling all AAPIs attending the Selma Jubilee Bridge Crossing

Sunday, March 8 in Selma, Alabama



Who's going to Selma? The Selma Jubilee, March 5-9, is the official commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the historic voting rights demonstrations that took place in Selma, Alabama in 1965 (recently depicted in the feature film Selma). Did you know that there were Asian Americans activists who marched in Selma?

I recently heard from Craig Shimizu of the Japanese American Citizens League, who is attempting to connect AAPI individuals and organizations who are attending and participating in the Selma Jubilee, and perhaps organize groups to march together as one huge AAPI contingent on Sunday, March 8. It's a great idea.

It's time to answer the AAPI Roll Call. Here are some more details:

Honouliuli Internment Camp declared National Monument

"A monument to a painful part of our history so that we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."



Last week, President Obama announced the creation of three new National Monuments across the country, including the Honouliuli National Monument in Hawaii, where Japanese American citizens, resident immigrants, and prisoners of war were held captive during World War II.

President Obama announced the new designation along with the launch of the "Every Kid in a Park" initiative, providing all fourth grade students and their families with free admission to National Parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year. Honouliuli National Monument will help tell the difficult story of the internment camp's impact on the Japanese American community and the fragility of civil rights during times of conflict.