Like millions of others around the U.S., on April 5, 2020, I put on a homemade mask and headed out to the grocery store to get some essential goods. This trip was just days after the governor called on all citizens of Pennsylvania to wear a face covering when leaving home. As I pulled in the parking lot and got out of my car, my stomach dropped with an unfamiliar feeling — fear. For most...
You’d be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Vincent Chin. You’d also be forgiven if you’re Asian and don’t believe that racism happens either. Those two sentences are co-related. So many of us don’t know much about our own history and it will continue to happen until we begin conversations with stories like Vincent Chin. Thirty-eight years ago, Vincent Chin was murdered. It happened in Michigan during the collapse of the American auto industry, during...
A recent tweet by Candace Owens came up in a recent discussion. In it, she said: “If white privilege exists — why are Asian-Americans the most successful group in America? If we award people based on race, why are Asians the top-earners with [the] best credit and the highest educational achievements? It’s almost as if liberals are completely full of shit.” Here are my thoughts: Invoking racist stereotypes like the Model Minority Myth is bullshit...
Some of my Asian American friends have reached out to me and asked, “how can I help? I’ve realized my whole entire life that while I was not racist, I have not been anti-racist. How can I do better?” Given that the U.S. economy and political system are rooted in anti-blackness, claiming our place in America means that we must take a position when faced with the separate but unequal worlds of whiteness and blackness....
I’m getting real sick of seeing #RooftopAsian2020 hashtag. So, to all my Asian brothers and sisters, this is for you. First off, it wasn’t Rooftop Asians ’92, it was Rooftop KOREANS ’92. Why is this distinction important? Because it’s a giant shameful bloodstain in the history of Korean Americans. Here’s where we have a fun history lesson: Koreatown became a thing because the neighborhood was considered undesirable due to its close proximity to Black neighborhoods....
