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.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Police Asked People To Call Out Protesters. They Got Flooded With K-Pop Instead.
On Sunday, the Dallas Police Department asked people to send in "video of illegal activity" from the Black Lives Matter protests in the city through the iWatch Dallas app, where people can submit photo, video, or text tips about possible crimes. Instead, it received a flood of pictures and videos of K-pop artists. In response to the tweeted request from Dallas Police, hundreds of K-pop fans replied with photos and videos of their favorite artists. Many people also claimed to have submitted videos of the police harming protesters, as well as fan edits of K-pop artists, to the iWatch Dallas app. Lesson: do not fuck with K-pop fans.
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Officer Who Stood by as George Floyd Died Highlights Complex Asian American, Black Relations
The image of then-Minneapolis police Officer Tou Thao, a Hmong American, standing with his back turned as a white officer knelt on George Floyd's neck has ignited a discussion about how to approach the topic of anti-blackness in the Asian American community. Thao, who has a history of being involved in use-of-force incidents, is being described by activists as a symbol of Asian American complicity in anti-blackness following the death of Floyd, a black man who begged for his life while then-Officer Derek Chauvin dug his knee into his neck for more than eight minutes.
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San Jose Officer Benched After Viral Protest Comments
The San Jose Police Department was doing damage control after one of its officers trended nationally on social media for aggressive comments toward demonstrators protesting the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis, shouting "Let's get this motherf—er" and "Shut up, bitch as he manned downtown skirmish lines. The officer, confirmed to be six-year SJPD veteran Jared Yuen, was recorded in multiple instances late Friday afternoon and drew immediate and wide rebukes from thousands of people who watched the video and called for Yuen's firing. As of Monday, authorities confirmed that Yuen has been temporarily taken off street duty and will not be staffing any more demonstrations.
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Fresh Off the Boat & Kim's Convenience Live Table Read
If you missed it, here's video of the casts of Fresh Off the Boat and Kim's Convenience doing a live table read of their respective shows' pilot episodes. Presented by Seed & Spark, the event was a fundraiser benefiting East West Players, Visual Communications, the Reel Asian International Film Festival.
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Casting Call: Growing Up Asian
An Emmy Award winning production company is looking for Asian American families to cast in a new reality series for a premium streaming network. Based on the casting call, it looks like they're looking for super driven Asian American parents who push their kids hard to achieve. Sounds like Tiger Mom: The Series! I don't know... could be a trap. I'll let you decide. Apply here.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
"Every Single Window Was Smashed"
Multiple Asian-owned businesses in San Jose were vandalized by a man driving a dark pick-up truck early Wednesday morning. According to San Jose police, the suspect smashed the glass door and windows of at least five businesses in the city's Berryessa neighborhood, including Tastea, Lee's Sandwiches and Seven Leaves Cafe.
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'Wuhan Plague' Plaques Found on Atlanta Businesses, Streets
Who has been posting these weird signs around East Atlanta? The round signs have been made to look like a plaque depicting Winnie the Pooh eating a bat with chopsticks below the words "Wuhan Plague." They've been popping up around the area on a variety of buildings and fixtures. The Atlanta Police Department's Homeland Security Unit, which investigates bias-motivated crimes, has been notified about the signs but so far no arrests have been made.
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Republican Strategy Memo Urges Anti-China Assault Over Coronavirus
Turns out, there really is a playbook. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has sent campaigns a detailed, 57-page memo advising GOP candidates to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China. The memo, authored by a top Republican strategist, includes advice on everything from how to tie Democratic candidates to the Chinese government to how to deal with accusations of racism. It stresses three main lines of assault: That China caused the virus "by covering it up," that Democrats are "soft on China," and that Republicans will "push for sanctions on China for its role in spreading this pandemic."
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Meals for Elmhurst Hospital Staff!
Elmhurst Hospital has been one of the hardest-hit hospitals in the state of New York, and it is currently at the epicenter of NYC's COVID-19 pandemic -- NYC Health + Hospitals, the city's public hospital system, has deemed Elmhurst Hospital its #1 priority because of the unprecedented surge in new cases. This campaign, started Queens resident Cynthia Kuang, has been raising funds to feed the hardworking staff of Elmhurst Hospital and supporting local businesses.
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Jhene Aiko & H.E.R. Perform for Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort
Some of music's biggest names came together for BET's Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort, a virtual concert to help raise money for African American communities impacted by COVID-19. Jhené Aiko and H.E.R. joined forces -- while quarantined separately -- to perform their duet "B.S." for the first time.
Watch a performance from San Jose Taiko's Swingposium: Big Band Music and Dance from Camp.
What do you get when you mix taiko with big band and swing dancing? A super-fun time, as evidenced by this awesome performance from San Jose Taiko's Swingposium: Big Band Music and Dance from Camp, an immersive show performed and produced last year with Epic Immersive and Wesley Jazz Ensemble.
The piece, "Singing in the Present," is a mash-up of San Jose Taiko's signature song, "Gendai ni Ikiru (Living in the Present)" and Benny Goodman's swing classic, "Sing Sing Sing." And it looks like it was a blast.
Reader-submitted photos from the Women's March on Washington and beyond.
You may have heard that some people got together and marched on Saturday. In Washington DC and cities across the nation, an estimated 3.7 million took the streets -- the biggest one-day protest in U.S. history -- in widespread, vocal defiance of Donald Trump's presidency. This is the first day of the next four years.
I knew a lot of friends and readers of this blog would be participating, and I thought it might be fun to create a photo gallery of faces and sights from the Women's March. So I put a call out on social media asking for folks to send photos of themselves and their signs in action...
... And I got flooded with photos. People showed up. I received hundreds of amazing photos from people who participated in marches in cities all around the country. I received so many, I couldn't keep track, and there was no way I could process all of the photos into a gallery in any reasonable amount of time.
But here is a small sampling of the reader-submitted photos from the march. Thank you to everyone who sent one in. I apologize; not every photo I received made it into the gallery. People are still sending them as I write this, and I just had to cut it off. But I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. Stay Angry!
A conversation with the acclaimed comic book writer and filmmaker, September 20 at Camera 3
If you're in the Bay Area, head out to the South Bay and don't miss your chance to hang out and hear from award-winning comic book writer and filmmaker Greg Pak. CAAMFest San Jose invites you to a special conversation with Greg on his remarkable work and career, moderated by acclaimed writer and cartoonist Gene Luen Yang. It's happening Sunday, September 20 at Camera 3 in San Jose.
See you at the Opening Night screening of 'Fresh Off The Boat' Season Two Premiere.
San Jose film lovers! This one's for you. CAAMFest San Jose is happening next week, September 17-20. CAAM's annual South Bay showcase celebrates its thirteenth year, featuring four days of highly anticipated film premieres, conversations with celebrated media makers and lively parties.
Festival programming gets going on Friday, September 18 at Camera 3 with a special screening of the Fresh Off The Boat season two premiere, followed by the Opening Night Party at the San Jose Museum of Art. This blog is a proud media sponsor of CAAMFest San Jose and the Opening Night Film.
So... who wants to go? I'm giving away free tickets to the Opening Night festivities. Scroll down for details...
See you at CAAM's annual South Bay showcase of sneak peeks and film premieres.
San Jose film fans! The Center for Asian American Media announces the return of CAAMFest San Jose, its annual South Bay showcase of exclusive sneak peeks and film premieres, conversations with celebrated media makers and lively parties. It's happening September 17-20 at Camera 3 Cinemas.
CAAMFest San Jose officially opens on Friday, September 18 with a special presentation welcoming the start of Season Two of the ABC hit comedy Fresh Off The Boat, with the show's Executive Producer Melvin Mar in attendance. Festival programming will continue with screenings and other events through the weekend.
Here's a rundown of some of the CAAMFest San Jose program highlights:
20-year-old Daniel Nhan was killed when two cars collided with him on Interstate 280.
In San Jose, authorities have identified the 20-year-old man who was killed when two cars collided with him on the freeway on Saturday. Daniel Nhan was apparently struck while walking on the busy highway.
On Saturday night, California Highway Patrol officers responded to reports of a pedestrian in the roadway on Highway 280, just north of Highway 101. Nhan was found dead in a northbound lane after being hit by two vehicles. Both drivers reportedly stayed on the scene after the accident.
17-year-old Simerjeet Singh allegedly "masterminded" the robbery, caught on home surveillance video.
Last week in San Jose, a teenager was arrested and charged as an adult for his role in setting up and recruiting gang members for a violent home invasion robbery that targeted members of his own family.
17-year-old Simerjeet Singh is accused of "masterminding" the home invasion robbery that targeted his father's home in Evergreen last month, enlisting 17-year-old Moses Herrera, 16-year-old Alvaro Valdivia and 22-year-old Moses Torres, three men he apparently knew from school. All four face felony first-degree robbery and burglary charges, with gang enhancements.
The robbery was partially captured on home surveillance video, and widely circulated on news outlets and social media last month. Investigators reportedly caught a break in the case when one of the teens caught on video turned himself in.
Not-so-nice custom license plate spotted in San Jose
Every month, the Department of Motor Vehicles gets thousands of applications for custom license plates. There are invariably always applications from drivers who must explain the meaning of a phrase to the DMV, who do their best to weed out references to sex, drugs and/or gang-related terms. This is somebody's job.
It appears that one driver managed to slip one past the DMV's rigid approval process. In San Jose, a car has been spotted reportedly sporting "one of the foulest, most vulgar phrases in the Vietnamese language."
A car with the offending license plate, spelling out the Vietnamese translation of "F*ck Your Mother," has been seen driving around San Jose, which is home to 130,000 Vietnamese people. The plate has caught enough attention to generate several complaints with the DMV.
Couple offers to give her lift, only to drive away with all of her stuff.
Beware the "kindness" of strangers... This week in San Jose, a graduate student was robbed by a seemingly helpful couple who stopped to give her a lift after her car broke down, only to drive off with all of her stuff.
Cecilia, who is not revealing her last name, was driving to work when her car broke down. Things started to look up when a couple of Good Samaritans drove up, helped her push her car to the side of the road, and offered to drive her to work. She accepted the ride and agreed to pay for gas... and that's when a bad day turned worse.
Wednesday, September 10 at Santa Clara Valley Labor Center
Yo, San Jose. On Wednesday, September 10, join South Bay First Thursdays for "Part of the Family: The Battle for Domestic Workers' Rights," an evening dedicated to the rising domestic workers' movement for equity. Attorney and freelance writer Sheila Bapat is the featured speaker for the event, which is co-hosted by Working Partnerships USA and Mujeres Unidas y Activas. Here's more info:
All right, San Jose. It's your turn. The Awesome Asian Bad Guys are coming to get you! National Film Society's action comedy webseries makes its next stop in the South Bay as part of CAAMFest San Jose 2014. It screens Saturday, September 6 at Camera 3 Cinemas in San Jose.
In Awesome Asian Bad Guys, Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino direct and star as down-and-out filmmakers who must recruit an unlikely team of Asian American heroes -- a motley crew that includes Al Leong, Yuji Okumoto, Tamlyn Tomita, George Cheung and Randall Park -- to take down a ruthless crime lord. The series is an homage to your favorite nameless Asian movie character actors of the 1980s and 90s.
Come join in the fun. Here are some details about the screening:
Bay Area! South Bay film fans, specifically. This one's for you. The Center for Asian American Media proudly presents the return of CAAMFest San Jose, a four-day festival of film premieres, conversations with media makers and parties. It's happening September 4-7 at Camera 3 Cinema in downtown San Jose.
CAAMFest San Jose kicks off with a special screening of Rea Tajiri's Yuri Kochiyama: Passion For Justice, commemorating the life and legacy of Yuri Kochiyama. Screenings and events, including the Opening Night screening of Geeta and Ravi Patel's Meet the Patels, continue throughout the rest of the weekend.
A Sriracha-themed eletronic dance music festival. This is a real thing.
For those who love electronic dance music, but think it could use just a little more hot sauce, I give you the Electronic Sriracha Festival. I'm not kidding. A Sriracha-themed dance music festival. This is a real thing.
Presented by Moveable Feast, it's going down Labor Day Weekend, August 30 at St. James Park in San Jose. It's the combination you didn't know you were missing. But somebody thought it would be a good idea to mix sound and spice, so there you go. Sensory overload. Your ears will be ringing and your tongues will be burning.
Police have raised over $100,000 in donations for victim's family
In San Jose, police have arrested two suspects in connection with the road rage killing of 37-year-old family man Phuoc Hong Long Lam, who was fatally shot on the side of the road last month.
17-year-old Fidadelfo Silva Ortiz and 23-year-old Daniel Alejandro Reyes were arrested in California's Central Valley last month in connection with Lam's murder. It's not clear which suspect fired at Lam, but both were inside the car during the incident, which was sparked by a near-collision:
Fire is the latest in a string of attacks targeting San Jose household
Who set this family's car on fire? This week in San Jose, a home security camera caught vandals lighting a family's car on fire. The arson is apparently only the latest incident in a string of attacks on this household.
Early Tuesday morning, video surveillance captured two suspects pouring a flammable liquid on a car hood and lighting a fire that destroyed two automobiles, a 2008 Acura MDX and a 2013 Honda Civic, in the driveway of a home in East San Jose. Homeowner Vince Tran was able to put out the fire with a garden hose before it spread. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
4-year-old girl and her father were targeted because they are Asian
What the hell? This week in San Jose, a woman was arrested and faces hate crime charges after assaulting a 4-year-old girl and her father with a tire iron at a Walmart. Authorities say the attack was racially-motivated, and the victims were targeted because they are of Asian descent.
20-year-old Maria Garate, who is described as a transient, faces one charge each of attempted murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon -- both with hate crime enhancements -- after attacking a young Asian girl and her father while they were shopping at a Walmart store in East San Jose on Tuesday.
Garate reportedly approached the girl and hit over the head, then hit her father when he got in the way. According to prosecutors, the attack was "premeditated, willful and deliberate" and the victims were indeed targeted because they're Asian:
Fundraiser accepting donations for the family of Phuoc Hong Long Lam
This is a tragic story out of the Bay Area, where a father was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident in San Jose last week. Police are asking for the public's help in the investigation, and have also set up an online fundraiser accepting donations on behalf of the victim's family.
37-year-old Phuoc Hong Long Lam was gunned down on the road a few blocks from his home. After almost getting into a collision with another vehicle, Lam got out of his car to confront the other driver. According to police, that's when a passenger in the suspect's vehicle pulled out a gun and opened fire on Lam.
Lam would have turned 38 next week. He was the family's sole breadwinner. To help out his widow and family in their time of need, a group of San Jose police officers have set up a webpage to collect donations, and already raised over $70,000:
