New Jersey Teen Arrested in Coronavirus-Related Hate Crime

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Girl Charged with Making Racial Slurs, Punching Asian Woman
In Edison, New Jersey, a teen girl has been arrested in the coronavirus-related hate crime attack on a 55-year-old Asian woman. According to police, the girl and a group of others surrounded the victim and yelled racial slurs regarding the origins of the coronavirus, then punched the woman on the back of the head. The teen was charged with bias intimidation, riot, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, as well as one count of violation of an emergency order because her presence outdoors during the stay-at-home order was not authorized or deemed essential.

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Philly Lawyer Sues for Defamation Over Instagram Post
Last month in Philadelphia, Tess Wei got into an altercation with Josiah Knapp while she was jogging. Wei alleges that Knapp told her to "go back where you came from" and then coughed in her face. She posted a photo of Knapp on Instagram, saying "PHILLY! This man yelled at me and then came right up to me and coughed in my face. who tf is he?" Wei's cousin, Peter Chau, re-posted the photo, asking, "Anybody recognize this piece of shit?" Now Knapp, an attorney, is suing Wei and Chau for defamation.

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Crisis Text Line Sees Spike in Activity from Asian Americans
The mental-health support Crisis Text Line received a fairly regular number of texts this year from people identifying as Asian -- until the week that Donald Trump called the coronavirus the "Chinese virus." The line also saw a large increase in crisis counselor applications from Asian Americans in the latter half of March.

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Irene Hirano Inouye, champion of Japanese American causes, dies at 71
Irene Hirano Inouye, a prodigious fundraiser who led the nation’s premier Japanese American museum in Los Angeles and built bridges across cultures with groundbreaking projects, has died after a battle with with leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. She was 71.

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'Green Hornet and Kato' Movie Project Lands at Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures and Amasia Entertainment are partnering on The Green Hornet and Kato, which is currently in feature development. The Green Hornet which originated as a radio show during the 1930s, follows the adventures of publisher Britt Reid, who moonlights as the titular masked vigilante. The 1966 TV series is probably best known as the show that introduced U.S. audiences to Bruce Lee, who played The Green Hornet's intrepid, capable sidekick Kato. So... the most important question, as I always ask when talk about a new Green Hornet starts up: who's going to play Kato?

Casting Call Seeks Actress to Play Anna May Wong

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



"Must be able to carry a tune."
I've been seeing this casting call passed around, looking for someone to play screen icon Anna May Wong in the upcoming Paramount Pictures film Babylon: "ANNA MAY WONG: aged 30-40's; Chinese-American; based on the real person, Anna May is a dynamic singer/actress in the 1920s who moves in the top Hollywood circles but still struggles against racial stereotypes in the roles she is asked to play. Must be able to carry a tune. Shooting will begin approx. June/July 2020 in Los Angles. To be directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Brad Pitt and Emma Stone. If you are interested in pursuing, please send your picture/resume to Francine Maisler Casting at FMCselftapes@gmail.com." Good luck.

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A new virus stirs up ancient hatred
"This coronavirus is new. But the diseases of xenophobia and racism are not. And as history has shown, outbreaks of the latter are potentially harder to contain, and far more lethal."

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Berkeley Law School Drops Boalt Name Over Racist Legacy
The name "Boalt Hall" was removed from the University of California Berkeley's law school after a yearslong process that determined, in essence, that the school should no longer honor a man whose most notable work was rooted in racist views -- views that were instrumental in legitimizing anti-Chinese racism and in catalyzing support for passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Good riddance.

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Why The Green Hornet is ripe for a return
A new movie version of The Green Hornet may soon be in the works. Indie film/TV production company Amasia Entertainment has secured the film franchise rights to the superhero property. First debuting as a radio serial in 1936, The Green Hornet follows the adventures of Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher by day who fights crime by night as the titular masked vigilante, alongside his trusty aide Kato. As we all know, in the short-lived 1960s TV version of The Green Hornet, Kato was famously played by Bruce Lee in one of his first Hollywood screen roles. Wherever this goes, here's hoping a movie reboot of The Green Hornet does Kato right.

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Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha
Robin Ha's Almost American Girl is a powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life. Robin, who grew up as the daughter of a single mother in Seoul, finds her life turned upside down when a vacation to Huntsville, Alabama unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation -- and her mom gets married. She struggles with extreme culture shock and isolation, until she discovers her passion for comic arts.