Category: Top Stories

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Kiss Me I'm Irish. Kiss Me I'm Italian! Kiss Me I'm Chinese?

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Mar 16, 2010 12:15 PM

I used to think that St. Patrick’s Day was a national holiday.

I attended Catholic schools in Los Angeles, and all the Bishops at the time, the ones who set the calendars for all the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, were Irish. Thus St. Patrick’s Day was always a school holiday. Always. Along with Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday and All Saint’s Day.

Then our school got a young new principal, Sister Nathaniel. She was Italian American, with dark brown bangs peeking out of her white habit, a matter-of-fact way of speaking and a brisk, efficient stride. She declared that since St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) was about the same time as St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), we would celebrate both saints’ days together.

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

What's On Your Reading List This Month?

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Mar 8, 2010 8:40 AM

I just finished reading Lac Su’s memoir, "I Love Yous are for White People," a story about growing up poor and Vietnamese American in Los Angeles dodging gangs, alcohol and an abusive father. It was a tough read but a sobering reminder that many Asian Americans do not fit neatly into the model minority stereotype.

Now I am reading Bich Minh Nguyen’s memoir, "Stealing Buddah’s Dinner," this year’s Michigan Humanities Council’s Great Michigan Read, about growing up Vietnamese American in suburban Grand Rapids and her fixation on American food.

Both writers ache to belong to the world around them.

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Elena Kadvany

Protests, Tension Unite UC Students

By Elena Kadvany, Mar 6, 2010 6:55 AM

The past weeks have seen chaos in the form of social change spread like wildfire across the University of California campuses. A dance party turned riot at UC Berkeley last Thursday. Students are still recovering from a slew of racially charged incidents. Hundreds of UC students lobbied legislators in Sacramento for funding on Monday (and five were arrested).

But in the midst of all the uncertainty and disorder, something exciting is happening at the UC campuses. Although the budget cuts are a threat to the future, and the highly publicized racial incidents unimaginably worse, the passionate solidarity emerging among students is as unexpected as it is empowering. A community has been born in protest. United by crisis, cross-campus student activist movements are standing up to defend public education.

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Nadia Prupis

Don't Give in to Donor Fatigue

By Nadia Prupis, Mar 3, 2010 4:11 PM

When the Indian Ocean earthquake and its subsequent tsunami killed hundreds of thousands of people in 2004, relief donations from around the world totaled $1.3 billion. Less than a year later, Hurricane Katrina devastated a massive portion of the East Coast, and millions of people around the country opened their wallets and their homes to support the survivors. At the time, many charities worried about the potential for donor fatigue—a decreasing will to support relief efforts. But despite a season of seemingly relentless catastrophes, contributions increased by 6.1 percent from 2004 to 2005. It was a statement about persevering human generosity and empathy.

Five years later, the same charities find themselves in the same situation. January's cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti prompted swift and massive relief responses around the world; at last count, donations exceeded $528 million. Then, about six weeks later, in what should have been the calm after the storm, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Maule Region of Chile. More than two million survivors found themselves homeless, injured, or evacuated.

The death toll climbed past 795 within three days. According to NASA research scientist Richard Gross, the movement was powerful enough to move the Earth's figure axis by three inches and shorten days by 1.26 microseconds. And in the aftermath, after just having proven that charity was alive and well around the globe, most of us—including many world leaders and relief organizations—did little more than stay seated, look around at each other, and say, “Huh?”

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Winter Olympians of color: American Like Us

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Mar 1, 2010 8:59 AM

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold.

C was planning to invite Michelle to her upcoming 7th birthday party, an ice skating party at Buhr Park. M loved the video clip of Michelle eating dinner with her family—using the same bowls and chopsticks that we did. For them, Michelle was an admired “older sister” that they looked up to. None of the other first-grade girls really knew who Michelle Kwan even was, but after two weeks of hearing about Michelle Kwan every day in class and at soccer, every girl in that class stayed up late that final night of the Olympics to watch Michelle Kwan’s bittersweet final performance.

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Chinese Lunar New Year Feasting and Family

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Feb 22, 2010 8:53 AM

The focal point of Chinese Lunar New Year celebration is gathering the whole extended family together for a big feast on New Year’s Eve.

Just as Thanksgiving has certain special foods that must be eaten like turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes with marshmallows, Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve also features special food that must be eaten, each dish imbued with meaning and good wishes for the new year. A whole fish is served because the Chinese word for fish sounds like “more than enough” (and one must leave leftovers so there will be “plenty” “left over” in the new year).

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Leticia Miranda

Report: Katrina Evacuees Didn't Increase Crime

By Leticia Miranda, Feb 22, 2010 8:46 AM

(From Mira Leti)

Just after Katrina hit, police deparments in neighboring “host” cities — San Antonio, Phoenix and Houston — accused survivors of bringing crime into their communities.

However, a recent study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice showed that in Phoenix and Houston there was only a modest increase in murders with San Antonio showing no increase. None of the cities saw a hike in auto theft or assaults, which would be more likely crimes done by those who lost everything in the hurricane.

Sean P. Varano, lead author of the study and assistant professor in criminal justice at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, said to the Houston Chronicle:

“Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix … all had pre-existing crime problems they have been struggling with for generations to correct. To say they created a tremendous spike in the crime problem appears to be an overstatement. To say a group came in to a place like Houston and created a crime problem seems to be passing the buck,” Varano said.


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Ninoy Brown

Continually SMH at UCSD

By Ninoy Brown, Feb 22, 2010 8:41 AM

 (From FOBBDeep)

While attending UCSD, there were more than a few WTF/”that’s racist!” moments experienced. And it appears to continue with a fraternty’s “Compton Cookout” themed bbq:

“UCSD party mocks Black History Month”

A weekend party that involved University of California San Diego students and mocked Black History Month has drawn the ire of black students and prompted a condemnation sent to all students and faculty by the chancellor.

An invitation to the “Compton Cookout” event urged participants to wear chains, don cheap clothes and speak very loudly, according to wording circulated by outraged students and verified by campus administrators.

As a guide for girls attending the event, the invitation read, “For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes…”

Read on

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NAM Youth Communications Team

Vallejo Teen Violence is Cry for Help

By NAM Youth Communications Team, Feb 14, 2010 6:43 PM

It was recently reported that a 47-year-old Vallejo Department of public works employee of Suisun City was robbed and assaulted by three juveniles. One struck the employee before the other two juveniles approached and knocked him down and stole his wallet.

A crowd of students standing across the street at Britton’s Mini Market from the incident witnessed the attack; police hope to review the surveillance cameras to identify the suspects.

The employee was treated at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center for a chipped jawbone, a minor break to his collarbone and a cut lip.

It’s crazy nowadays what people will do for a dollar. It’s also kind of scary knowing you could get robbed and assaulted even at work. Reading this article it made me wonder what kinds of households were the kids come from. It made me wonder about what has happened in their lives to make them feel they have to assault and rob different people.

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Discovering the meaning in Chinese New Year's celebrations

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Feb 14, 2010 6:17 PM

I never even heard of Chinese New Year until I was already 12 years old. We had recently moved from Los Angeles to San Jose, and I had just started attending Saturday morning Chinese School for the first time. One of our lessons was about Chinese New Year stories and customs. Of course, being only 12, I was most interested in the tradition of red envelopes, which contain gifts of money. I went home demanding to know why my brother and I had never before received red envelopes, and insisted on years of back pay.

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Leticia Miranda

Saving Mexico One Can of Sun Spray At A Time

By Leticia Miranda, Feb 13, 2010 6:23 PM

For Jennifer Aniston, turning 41 meant helping out Mexico by sunbathing herself at the Palmilla resort in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California.

One might go broke at this posh resort where rooms run $9,000 a night. But money is just money when you’re trying to save Mexico.


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Ninoy Brown

A Dream Realized

By Ninoy Brown, Feb 10, 2010 6:34 PM

February 5, 2010, The New Parish in Oakland (previously known as Jimmie’s Nightclub) is filled with a diverse range of faces to celebrate and remember the life of Mike “Dream” Francisco. Three year old’s hit the floor rockin’ their best b-boy/b-girl moves along with veteran popper, Bionic Man. Older heads recollect their memories of chillin’ and mentoring the legendary graffiti writer, younger heads recall the pieces he created which inspired them to pick up a can, and his counterparts remembered the escapades.

(Via FOBBDeep)

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Raising confident daughters of color while not forgetting Obama is black

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Feb 8, 2010 8:35 AM

Years ago, I took a seminar called, "Raising Strong and Confident Daughters." My husband laughed at me, "Could our daughters be any stronger or more confident?"

The class was an eye-opener, not just in how to raise my girls, but also in understanding my own Chinese American childhood. I had no memory of dealing with a lot of the issues the instructor talked about as being so important to preadolescent girls, such as friendships and physical appearances.

At first I thought that I must have been just so low on the social totem pole, because of race and nerdiness, that I had given up hope of competing in those arenas. Then I found a Wellesley study of Boston middle-school girls’ self-esteem along racial and ethnic lines and discovered that girls of different ethnic backgrounds based their sense of self-esteem on different factors. It made perfect sense once somebody said it out loud.




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Nadia Prupis

CBS, WTF?

By Nadia Prupis, Feb 4, 2010 9:58 PM

In 2004, CBS rejected would-be Superbowl Sunday ads from the United Church of Christ, with a message of tolerance, and from MoveOn.org, with a criticism of then-President George W. Bush. At the time, the network claimed that its policies prohibit “advocacy ads.”

In 2010, CBS changed its anti-advocacy policy just in time to accept a Super Bowl Sunday ad from the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, with an overtly pro-life message, featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow on the one day this year that renders him conveniently and undeniably relevant.

Although it hasn't aired yet, the 30-second commercial is said to feature Tim Tebow and his mother Pam, as she explains her choice—notice the keyword—not to end her difficult pregnancy in 1987, despite her doctor's advice. Today her son is a healthy, talented, award-winning athlete. And that's truly a happy ending for them.

For them.

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Sandip Roy

Colin Powell, We Ask But You Still Don't Tell

By Sandip Roy, Feb 4, 2010 2:36 PM

 If the State of the Union made one concrete promise it was to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. And the president obviously means business. The powers that be are lining up behind it.

Robert Gates said the Pentagon is preparing to repeal the law.
Adm. Mike Mullen got a lot of press for his comments that it is his “personal belief” that lifting the ban is the “right thing to do.”

Now Colin Powell has added his voice to the chorus. “Attitudes and circumstances have changed,” Powell said. They certainly have in the 17 years that have passed since he had opposed it.

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

The 'Asian fail' and having fun with the model-minority myth and other stereotypes

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Feb 4, 2010 7:28 AM

 Three summers ago, my 70-year-old father, who has been after me for years to finish my PhD, had a sudden post-retirement revelation, “It does not matter how many degrees you have; what matters is that you are a good person and live a happy life.”

He then turned to the kids and said, “You do not have to get good grades or go to a good college, you just have to learn how to be a good person and be happy.”

The children and I stared at him, mouths dropped open in disbelief, “Who are you and what have you done with my real father?”

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Sandip Roy

Immigration Reform - Killing it Softly With a SOTU

By Sandip Roy, Jan 28, 2010 12:49 AM

 I think President Obama just killed comprehensive immigration reform.

If he did, he killed it gently, with a pat on the head. Actually to be fair, he did not kill it. He sent it to the back of the bus. Behind the gays and lesbians.

The gays got the promise of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. And a reminder that he’s already given them Employee Non-Discrimination.

Immigration reform got a casual platitude.

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Alan King

Foster Teens, Advocates Address Issue of Aging Out at 'First-ever' Youth-led Hearing

By Alan King, Jan 27, 2010 2:31 PM

EDITOR’S NOTE: Washington Post Columnist Petula Dvorak covered the preparation of this hearing in her column, Normal Teens, Except for their Heartbreaking Circumstances. The article below is a follow-up to that hearing.

While most 18 year olds are preparing for prom or the college experience, Derek Reid is just trying to survive. He’s been in the D.C. foster care system for three years, lives in a group home on Capitol Hill and is on his third social worker.


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Daniel Hirsch

The Week in Dope: January 19-25

By Daniel Hirsch, Jan 26, 2010 2:32 PM

Amidst the annual glut of award ceremonies for film and television, Colorado cannabis fans had the privilege of hearing this week that they’ll be able to enjoy an award ceremony all their own. Coming this April, Aspen will host the first-ever Western Slope Cannabis Crown, where growers from across the country will compete for the hearts and votes of event-goers. According to Cannabis Crown organizer, 1,500 tickets have already been sold.

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Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Wading in the water of each other's cultural experiences

By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Jan 25, 2010 10:18 AM

Two years ago, my father’s choir at the University of Hawaii was invited to sing at a big international diversity concert at Lincoln Center in New York for MLK Day. Choirs from around the world had been invited to sing together, and a Hawaiian choir adds instant diversity with its multicultural population of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Portuguese, Caucasians and native Hawaiians. That summer, over a breakfast of Chinese pancakes and Portuguese sausage, my father told us about the difficulties he had had the night before at choir practice pronouncing the words in the spirituals that they were learning, “You have to say the words like a Negro,” he said.

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