Building the Asian American Movement: Then and Now

Friday, July 12 at the Japanese American National Museum.



If you're in Los Angeles, check out this cool panel discussion, Building the Asian American Movement: Then and Now happening next week in Little Tokyo, co-presented by Visual Communications and the Japanese American National Museum...

Take a cross-generational look at the challenges and opportunities Asian American communities face as they continue to grow and engage in political action. Hear from a panel of Asian American activists who span the 1970s to the present. Learn about what motivated them to become politically charged and find what out what they believe it means to be an activist in today’s world and what issues continue to spur activism. The panelists have deep experience in student organizing, anti-gentrification campaigns, immigrant worker organizing, and other political campaigns.

Speakers include Sophia Cheng, immigrant workers organizer and lecturer at UCLA Asian American Studies Program; Tiffany Do, education and housing advocate; Frances Hyunh, tenant organizer with Chinatown Community for Equitable Development; Florante Ibanez, veteran organizer in the Filipino American community and lecturer in Asian American Studies at Pasadena City College; Miya Iwataki, veteran organizer in the Japanese American community around health care and redress/reparations and women’s issues; Sandy Maeshiro, veteran organizer with The Storefront in Seinan/Crenshaw and educational advocate; Jonathan Paik, Executive Director of the Korean Resource Center in Orange County and political empowerment organizer.

It's happening Friday, July 12 at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum. For further information, and to RSVP, go here.

Wake, Play, Slay: Asian American Women in Comedy

Panel Discussion on Wednesday, November 1 at NBCUniversal



If you're in Southern California, Comcast NBCUniversal and the Center for Asian American Media invite you to Wake, Play, Slay: Asian American Women in Comedy, a panel discussion highlighting female voices in comedy that are using laughter to tackle difficult and timely issues. The lineup includes Jenny Yang, Colleen McGuinness, Geeta Patel, Tess Paras and moderator Traci Lee.

It's happening Wednesday, November 1 at NBCUniversal. Here are some more details:

Whitewashing: Asian and Asian-American Representation in Film/TV

Diversity Speaks at the LA Film Festival, Saturday, June 17 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre



Los Angeles film fans! The LA Film Festival invites you to Diversity Speaks, two days of panel discussions focusing on expanding the definition of diversity and act as a call to action for the entertainment industry.

On Saturday, June 17, I'll be participating in a panel discussion entitled "Whitewashing: Asian and Asian-American Representation in Film/TV," along with Leonardo Nam, Kelly Hu, Kelvin Yu, Ally Maki, Bruce Thierry Cheung and Gloria Fan, and moderated by Jenny Yang. It's happening at 2:00pm at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

Here's some more info about the full Saturday lineup:

Vincent Chin: Dead or Alive? A Panel Discussion

Monday, June 19 at Chatham Square Library



Next week marks the 35th anniversary of Vincent Chin's brutal, racist murder at the hands of two white autoworkers in Detroit -- a case that set off a pan-Asian, nation-wide movement for justice. Thirty-five years later, what is the legacy of Vincent Chin? The New York Public Library will be hosting a panel discussion, Vincent Chin: Dead or Alive?, examining the case, what has and has not changed since Chin's murder, as well as the current state of civic participation and advocacy in API communities.

It's happening Monday, June 19 in the Community Room at Chatham Square Library. Some more details:

Elevate, Incubate & Demonstrate: Advancing Asian American Artists

Panel and Reception, Sunday, January 22 in Park City, Utah.



This week, the indie film world converges on cold, snowy Park City, Utah for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. And yes, it may be a little hard to find amidst all the white, but over the years there has been a small but scrappy and significant APA presence at the festival. And it's growing. So if you're headed to Park City, check out this panel discussion/reception hosted by a coalition of APA media folks.

Elevate, Incubate & Demonstrate: Advancing Asian American Artists will feature a panel of creatives and industry leaders in conversation on the current and future state of Asian Americans in media. It's happening Sunday, January 22 at Bodega on Main. Here are some more details about the event:

Ken Jeong promises there won't be any dog jokes on 'Dr. Ken'

Watch PaleyFest's panel with the stars of 'Dr. Ken.'



Over the weekend in Los Angeles, the Paley Center for Media hosted a screening and panel discussion for the upcoming ABC sitcom Dr. Ken as part of the PaleyFest Fall TV Previews. Audience members were treated to a screening of the pilot episode and a discussion with the stars of the show.

I had the honor and privilege of moderating the panel, which included executive producer/star Ken Jeong, Suzy Nakamura, Krista Marie Yu, Albert Tsai, Dave Foley, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Jonathan Slavin, Kate Simses and executive producer/showrunner Mike Sikowitz. They're an awesome cast and it was a ton of fun.

Jeong, who is very much the captain of this ship, talked about how the show has found its creative groove ("We are so on fleek right now"); what kind of Asian jokes they will not be making ("There won't be a goddamn dog joke in the fucking show"); and the awesomeness of kid actor Albert Tsai (He's "a national treasure").

The panel was streamed live on Yahoo, and is archived here. Check it out:

Cornrows, Bindis, Kimonos: The Impact of Cultural Appropriation on Communities of Color

A Panel on Cultural Appropriation; Wednesday, September 9



If you're in the Washington DC area, API Resistance invites you to Cornrows, Bindis, Kimonos: The Impact of Cultural Appropriation on Communities of Color, a panel discussion focused on the connection between cultural appropriation and state violence. The event, organized as part of the Black Lives Matter Week of Action, is happening Wednesday, September 9 at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church.

Here are some more details:

MOCAREADS: Re-imagining Asian American (and American) Poetry

Thursday, July 10 at the Museum of Chinese in America



If you're in New York City, the Museum of Chinese in America invites you to MOCAREADS: Re-imagining Asian American (and American) Poetry. Join scholar Dorothy J. Wang and contemporary Chinese American poets Marilyn Chin, Paolo Javier and John Yao in a dialogue about the impact of racial subjectivity on the conception of Asian American poetic form, craft and aesthetic. It's happening this Thursday, June 10 at MOCA.

Here are some more details about the event:

APA Film's Free Fall 2013 Series

This is for all you film fans in Washington DC... APA Film presents the 2013 Free Fall Series, featuring screenings, performances and panel discussions. Lots of good stuff going down, including a screening of Arvin Chen's Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez's Hafu, and Nadine Truong's Someone I Used to Know, so check the schedule and make plans. It's all free, but you have to RSVP to reserve your spot.

I want to specifically point you to the panel discussion on APA Stereotypes in Hollywood I'll be taking part on Sunday, October 13 with Kat Chow, Stephen Dypiangco, Simone Jacobson and Aaron Takahashi. Here are some more details about the event:

AAIFF'13 Panel Discussion: Where are the Asian Women in Film? July 30

Short notice, but if you're in New York, the Asian American International Film Festival is co-hosting a special panel with the Museum of Chinese America: Where are the Asian Women in Film? with director Nadine Truong, actor/producer Di Quon, director/professor Christine Choy and filmmaker/moderator S. Casper Wong. It's happening Tuesday, July 30 at MOCA. Here are some more details: