Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is chatting online today with Vanessa Teck for Terry Park's class at the University of Miami in Ohio about the Vincent Chin case.
Check it out today at 2:30 https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/c3ve8o09i22r859ssll6jfec6r8
Showing posts with label frances kai-hwa wang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frances kai-hwa wang. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2014
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on Role of the Media in Vincent Chin Case State Bar of Michigan Legal Milestone - YouTube
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Executive Director American Citizens for Justice, "Role of the Media in the Vincent Chin Case and the Birth of the Asian American Civil Rights Movement" at The State Bar of Michigan's 34th Michigan Legal Milestone commemoration of the Vincent Chin Case "From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry," Friday, June 19, 2009.
Finally got this video cut and uploaded!
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on Role of the Media in Vincent Chin Case State Bar of Michigan Legal Milestone - YouTube
Finally got this video cut and uploaded!
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on Role of the Media in Vincent Chin Case State Bar of Michigan Legal Milestone - YouTube
Remembering Vincent Chin video from Ankur Dholakia then of Detroit News
Thanks to Ankur Dholakia, then at Detroit News, for this clip of the Vincent Chin memorial plaque installation in Ferndale, Michigan, in 2010, which includes a short summary of the case and its significance at the beginning by former American Citizens for Justice Executive Director Frances Kai-Hwa Wang (me).
Here's another video clip of the installation ceremony from WXYZ News that does not want to embed:
Video: Dec 2010 WXYZ News: Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale
wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale
Here's another video clip of the installation ceremony from WXYZ News that does not want to embed:
Video: Dec 2010 WXYZ News: Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale
wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
"From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: Commemorating the Vincent Chin Case."
"From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: Commemorating the Vincent Chin Case." by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang for Harvard Kennedy School Asian American Policy Review, 2010, p. 23.
isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic855678.files/2010 - AAPR.pdf
isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic855678.files/2010 - AAPR.pdf
Monday, June 17, 2013
Video: Dec 2010 WXYZ News: Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale
Video: Dec 2010 WXYZ News: Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale
wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale
wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Schedule | V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA
Check out the awesome cool #v3activism panel at 3:00 at V3con: V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA http://v3con.com/schedule/
- See more at: http://v3con.com/schedule/#sthash.AuE9chbw.dpuf
Schedule | V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA
- See more at: http://v3con.com/schedule/#sthash.AuE9chbw.dpuf
Schedule | V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living Friends vs Relatives on Thanksgiving | InCultureParent
from ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in InCultureParent.com:
My parents say that there is a Chinese saying (there is always a Chinese saying) about how distant relatives are not as good as nearby friends. To illustrate, they recall the time our car broke down on the winding and treacherous Pacheco Pass after midnight and how our neighbor, Mr. Shigematsu, came to rescue us and did not get home until after 2 a.m. Our relatives in distant Los Angeles or San Francisco could not have done anything to help because they were too far away.
Thanksgiving is a time of feasting and family, and people are traveling, cooking and cleaning like mad, trying to get to their families for four brief days. Because many of my children’s friends are from international families and do not have extended family close by, I like to gather up all our friends and celebrate “Thanksgiving Eve” the night before with a big potluck of what turns out to be the most amazing spread of foods from around the world — teriyaki turkey, sticky rice stuffing, butternut squash Thai curry, chicken biriyani, babaganoush, tabbouli, lasagna, shrimp and broccoli, mangoes and black sticky rice, Thai pumpkin custard and more.
click on link for more: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang | InCultureParent
My parents say that there is a Chinese saying (there is always a Chinese saying) about how distant relatives are not as good as nearby friends. To illustrate, they recall the time our car broke down on the winding and treacherous Pacheco Pass after midnight and how our neighbor, Mr. Shigematsu, came to rescue us and did not get home until after 2 a.m. Our relatives in distant Los Angeles or San Francisco could not have done anything to help because they were too far away.
Thanksgiving is a time of feasting and family, and people are traveling, cooking and cleaning like mad, trying to get to their families for four brief days. Because many of my children’s friends are from international families and do not have extended family close by, I like to gather up all our friends and celebrate “Thanksgiving Eve” the night before with a big potluck of what turns out to be the most amazing spread of foods from around the world — teriyaki turkey, sticky rice stuffing, butternut squash Thai curry, chicken biriyani, babaganoush, tabbouli, lasagna, shrimp and broccoli, mangoes and black sticky rice, Thai pumpkin custard and more.
click on link for more: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang | InCultureParent
Thursday, October 27, 2011
ACJ at Advancing Justice Conference in San Francisco
ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang will be speaking at Advancing Justice Conference in San Francisco, Thursday, October 27, 2011:
Is There An App For That? Leveraging Social Media for Social Justice
Date: Thursday, October 27th
Time: 11:00am-12:30pm
Place: Spring C
Workshop Track: Capacity Building
Social media is now ahead of email in terms of online activity and accounts for over 10% of user time spent on the Internet. Recognizing that this shift is a powerful vehicle by which to communicate social justice messaging, many nonprofits are using social media to raise funds for their programs, inspire advocacy, and raise awareness. This workshop will address how to leverage social media more effectively, overcome challenges, and draw supporters to their cause.
Speakers: Keith Kamisugi, Director of Communications Equal Justice Society; Bilen Mesfin, Communications Consultant/Principal Change Consulting; Mariam Hosseini, Director of Communications Asian Law Caucus; Frances kai-hwa Wang, Online Communications Chair American Citizens for Justice Advisory Board
http://advancingjustice.org/conference/2011/is-there-an-app-for-that-leveraging-social-media-for-social-justice/
Is There An App For That? Leveraging Social Media for Social Justice
Date: Thursday, October 27th
Time: 11:00am-12:30pm
Place: Spring C
Workshop Track: Capacity Building
Social media is now ahead of email in terms of online activity and accounts for over 10% of user time spent on the Internet. Recognizing that this shift is a powerful vehicle by which to communicate social justice messaging, many nonprofits are using social media to raise funds for their programs, inspire advocacy, and raise awareness. This workshop will address how to leverage social media more effectively, overcome challenges, and draw supporters to their cause.
Speakers: Keith Kamisugi, Director of Communications Equal Justice Society; Bilen Mesfin, Communications Consultant/Principal Change Consulting; Mariam Hosseini, Director of Communications Asian Law Caucus; Frances kai-hwa Wang, Online Communications Chair American Citizens for Justice Advisory Board
http://advancingjustice.org/conference/2011/is-there-an-app-for-that-leveraging-social-media-for-social-justice/
Sunday, August 21, 2011
AML: From Band Camp to Ramadan - finding strength, skinniness and similarities | annarbor.com
from ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang at AnnArbor.com:
At the annual Band Camp concert at Interlochen a few years ago, my friend Shih-yi joked, “This would be a good day to rob Ann Arbor. Half the town is here.”
After a summer of family time, it is quite the plunge back into the cold refreshing waters of school life up at Interlochen where (some configuration of) the Huron, Pioneer and Skyline bands, orchestras, and choirs perform every year after a week of band/orchestra/choir camp — not only for the children who are summoned by the bugle call at 6:30 every morning, but also for the parents and siblings who have not seen all the other parents and siblings all summer.
The Huron Music Association has a bus for folks to ride up to Interlochen so that we do not all have to drive, but I sort of like the drive. I load up Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra songs in my CD player or iPod and I sing at the top of my lungs for four hours up and four hours back.
Driving long distances alone makes me nervous (I am always — justifiably — worried that my car is not going to make it), but once I manage to make it there and back successfully, I find that I am recharged, revitalized, renewed.
There is something about going someplace new to see things from a new perspective.
click on link for more: From Band Camp to Ramadan - finding strength, skinniness and similarities
At the annual Band Camp concert at Interlochen a few years ago, my friend Shih-yi joked, “This would be a good day to rob Ann Arbor. Half the town is here.”
After a summer of family time, it is quite the plunge back into the cold refreshing waters of school life up at Interlochen where (some configuration of) the Huron, Pioneer and Skyline bands, orchestras, and choirs perform every year after a week of band/orchestra/choir camp — not only for the children who are summoned by the bugle call at 6:30 every morning, but also for the parents and siblings who have not seen all the other parents and siblings all summer.
The Huron Music Association has a bus for folks to ride up to Interlochen so that we do not all have to drive, but I sort of like the drive. I load up Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra songs in my CD player or iPod and I sing at the top of my lungs for four hours up and four hours back.
Driving long distances alone makes me nervous (I am always — justifiably — worried that my car is not going to make it), but once I manage to make it there and back successfully, I find that I am recharged, revitalized, renewed.
There is something about going someplace new to see things from a new perspective.
click on link for more: From Band Camp to Ramadan - finding strength, skinniness and similarities
Sunday, August 7, 2011
AML: Thinking of peace at the Buddhist Toro Nagashi after the terrorist attack in Norway
From ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:
Two weeks after the Obon Festival, a Buddhist holiday to remember and celebrate one’s ancestors, during which spirits are said to come home to visit the family for two weeks, comes the Toro Nagashi, a Buddhist ritual to send our visiting ancestors back on their way to the realm of the spirits.
It is a beautiful ceremony, held at sunset at water’s edge, with Japanese American ladies in purple robes chanting, a Buddhist priest saying prayers, younger folks performing taiko drumming and song. Individual paper lanterns are dedicated to family members, lit, then towed out to sea by a small boat.
The ancestors who have been home visiting their families in the world of the living follow the bobbing lanterns down the river and out to sea, which helps them find their way back to the land of the spirits.
One could make a bad joke here that although we all like our relatives to visit, we do not like them to stay too long.
click here for more: Thinking of peace at the Buddhist Toro Nagashi after the terrorist attack in Norway:
Two weeks after the Obon Festival, a Buddhist holiday to remember and celebrate one’s ancestors, during which spirits are said to come home to visit the family for two weeks, comes the Toro Nagashi, a Buddhist ritual to send our visiting ancestors back on their way to the realm of the spirits.
It is a beautiful ceremony, held at sunset at water’s edge, with Japanese American ladies in purple robes chanting, a Buddhist priest saying prayers, younger folks performing taiko drumming and song. Individual paper lanterns are dedicated to family members, lit, then towed out to sea by a small boat.
The ancestors who have been home visiting their families in the world of the living follow the bobbing lanterns down the river and out to sea, which helps them find their way back to the land of the spirits.
One could make a bad joke here that although we all like our relatives to visit, we do not like them to stay too long.
click here for more: Thinking of peace at the Buddhist Toro Nagashi after the terrorist attack in Norway:
Sunday, July 17, 2011
AML Dancing to summer music outdoors and for the Japanese American Obon festival
from ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
My daughter Hao Hao and I were at an outdoor music festival when she first spied the little girl. About 3 years old, in a pink Hello Kitty dress, and one long brown curly ponytail, the little girl was dancing and twirling and hopping and flopping along with the music in front of the stage. “Awww, so cute.”
“That was you, not too long ago.”
(Then the little girl tried to climb onto the stage for her adoring fans, “That was definitely you.”)
I love listening to music at big outdoor summer events like Madcat Ruth at Ann Arbor Summer Festival's Top of the Park or George Bedard and the Kingpins at Grillin’ for Food Gatherers.
There is always an older couple dancing close on the side, cute little kids in sandals hopping all around. Perhaps the Internet has ruined my ability to concentrate for long periods of time, but I like the openness, the casualness, the fresh breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees.
click on link for more: Dancing to summer music outdoors and for the Japanese American Obon festival
My daughter Hao Hao and I were at an outdoor music festival when she first spied the little girl. About 3 years old, in a pink Hello Kitty dress, and one long brown curly ponytail, the little girl was dancing and twirling and hopping and flopping along with the music in front of the stage. “Awww, so cute.”
“That was you, not too long ago.”
(Then the little girl tried to climb onto the stage for her adoring fans, “That was definitely you.”)
I love listening to music at big outdoor summer events like Madcat Ruth at Ann Arbor Summer Festival's Top of the Park or George Bedard and the Kingpins at Grillin’ for Food Gatherers.
There is always an older couple dancing close on the side, cute little kids in sandals hopping all around. Perhaps the Internet has ruined my ability to concentrate for long periods of time, but I like the openness, the casualness, the fresh breeze ruffling the leaves on the trees.
click on link for more: Dancing to summer music outdoors and for the Japanese American Obon festival
Sunday, July 10, 2011
AML: Reading light summer romance without Asians, Asian Americans, or people of color | AnnArbor.com
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
While looking for light reading material for a recent airplane ride, I grabbed a pink book with a naked male torso that I vaguely recalled picking up at the King School Book Fair for 50 cents. I read the back cover, I read the first page, I randomly flipped through the book, and I could conjure up no memory of actually having read the book, so I stuck it into my carry-on, well within my 22-pound limit.
Although I usually prefer writers like Richard Rodriguez and Andrew Lam, not to mention Literature with a capital L, it’s summer, it’s an airplane, and I want something light and easy and with a happy ending. I have an equally embarrassing secret weakness for watching bad romantic comedies on the plane this time of year, too.
(I was sorely disappointed to realize at 35,000 feet that I had indeed read this book before, but it was so terrible that I could not remember how it turned out, so I had to read it all the way to the end a second painful time).
Summer is the season for light romantic comedies, and because there typically are no Asians cast or written into these stories, I can, ironically, go “off-duty” regarding race and culture for a moment and indulge myself in the great American illusion that the white experience is “universal.” It can actually be extra-hurtful to accidentally encounter an "Asian" character (like Mickey Rooney's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's") when I am in this mode because I thought I was safe.
click on link for more: Reading light summer romance without Asians, Asian Americans, or people of color
While looking for light reading material for a recent airplane ride, I grabbed a pink book with a naked male torso that I vaguely recalled picking up at the King School Book Fair for 50 cents. I read the back cover, I read the first page, I randomly flipped through the book, and I could conjure up no memory of actually having read the book, so I stuck it into my carry-on, well within my 22-pound limit.
Although I usually prefer writers like Richard Rodriguez and Andrew Lam, not to mention Literature with a capital L, it’s summer, it’s an airplane, and I want something light and easy and with a happy ending. I have an equally embarrassing secret weakness for watching bad romantic comedies on the plane this time of year, too.
(I was sorely disappointed to realize at 35,000 feet that I had indeed read this book before, but it was so terrible that I could not remember how it turned out, so I had to read it all the way to the end a second painful time).
Summer is the season for light romantic comedies, and because there typically are no Asians cast or written into these stories, I can, ironically, go “off-duty” regarding race and culture for a moment and indulge myself in the great American illusion that the white experience is “universal.” It can actually be extra-hurtful to accidentally encounter an "Asian" character (like Mickey Rooney's character in "Breakfast at Tiffany's") when I am in this mode because I thought I was safe.
click on link for more: Reading light summer romance without Asians, Asian Americans, or people of color
Sunday, July 3, 2011
AML Balancing old and new traditions for family and community at Fourth of July and Ann Arbor Summer Festival
from ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
When my seven-year-old son, Little Brother, came home from school and said that his first grade class would be talking about family traditions the next day, his older sisters all simultaneously said, “Uh oh.”
Because our family talks about traditions a lot more than “normal” people, his sisters jokingly call a lot of things “tradition” that are not really traditions in the normal sense. However, because Little Brother is so little, he cannot always tell when his sisters are joking. What if he thinks these are real traditions and tells his classmates about them?
For example, whenever Hao Hao does anything that bothers her older sister M — including going into her room and sitting on her bed and reading her books, she insists that she has to do it because, “It’s tradition!” Whenever anyone breaks out into song and dance, the stated reason is always because, “It’s tradition!”
Every Friday night we have dumplings for dinner before Chinese School. Is it because Mommy is too tired to cook on Friday nights? No, it is because, “It’s tradition!”
M always argues back, “It’s not a tradition just because you say it is.”
click on link for more: Balancing old and new traditions for family and community at Fourth of July and Ann Arbor Summer Festival
When my seven-year-old son, Little Brother, came home from school and said that his first grade class would be talking about family traditions the next day, his older sisters all simultaneously said, “Uh oh.”
Because our family talks about traditions a lot more than “normal” people, his sisters jokingly call a lot of things “tradition” that are not really traditions in the normal sense. However, because Little Brother is so little, he cannot always tell when his sisters are joking. What if he thinks these are real traditions and tells his classmates about them?
For example, whenever Hao Hao does anything that bothers her older sister M — including going into her room and sitting on her bed and reading her books, she insists that she has to do it because, “It’s tradition!” Whenever anyone breaks out into song and dance, the stated reason is always because, “It’s tradition!”
Every Friday night we have dumplings for dinner before Chinese School. Is it because Mommy is too tired to cook on Friday nights? No, it is because, “It’s tradition!”
M always argues back, “It’s not a tradition just because you say it is.”
click on link for more: Balancing old and new traditions for family and community at Fourth of July and Ann Arbor Summer Festival
Saturday, June 25, 2011
AML Resisting 'Slacktivism,' Remembering Vincent Chin, and Singing with Joe Reilly - NAM EthnoBlog
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in New America Media:
I recently interviewed for a job launching a new online literary magazine about literature and social justice activism. (The interview did not go so well, but...) What a great idea to link the glamour of novelists and poets with the purpose of social justice activism. This gives literature more weight and meaning, and gives activism more color and style.
Otherwise, social justice activism can be such a downer sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong. I am on the Advisory Board of American Citizens for Justice, the original Asian American civil rights nonprofit formed after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin 29 years ago today.
click on link for more: Resisting 'Slacktivism,' Remembering Vincent Chin, and Singing with Joe Reilly - NAM EthnoBlog
I recently interviewed for a job launching a new online literary magazine about literature and social justice activism. (The interview did not go so well, but...) What a great idea to link the glamour of novelists and poets with the purpose of social justice activism. This gives literature more weight and meaning, and gives activism more color and style.
Otherwise, social justice activism can be such a downer sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong. I am on the Advisory Board of American Citizens for Justice, the original Asian American civil rights nonprofit formed after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin 29 years ago today.
click on link for more: Resisting 'Slacktivism,' Remembering Vincent Chin, and Singing with Joe Reilly - NAM EthnoBlog
Thursday, June 23, 2011
On the 29th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin
Interesting links on the 29th anniversary of the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin:
How the Vincent Chin case continues to resonate after 29 years, by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang for Chicago is the World, June 23, 2011
http://chicagoistheworld.org/2011/06/how-the-vincent-chin-case-continues-to-resonate-after-29-years/
Crime Without Punishment: Why the Death of Vincent Chin Resonates Today by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in InCultureParent.com
http://www.incultureparent.com/2011/05/5009/
Vincent Chin? Remembering Ronald Ebens-the guy who got away with murder by Emil Guillermo at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund:
http://aaldef.org/blog/vincent-chin-remembering-ronald-ebens-the-guy-who-got-away-with-murder.html
On Anniversary of Vincent Chin’s Murder, CAPAC Members Denounce Explosion of Anti-Chinese Rhetoric in Campaign Ads
http://capac.chu.house.gov/news/press-releases/2011/06/on-anniversary-of-vincent-chins-murder-capac-members-denounce-explosion-of-anti-chinese-rhetoric-in.shtml
Vincent Who? goes online; limited time offer to view for free by Curtis Chin at APAs for Progress:
http://www.apaforprogress.org/vincent-who-goes-online-limited-time-offer-view-free
Remember Vincent Chin Vigil 6/23/11
http://remembervc.tumblr.com/
remember vincent chin vigil, june 23, on angryasianman.com
http://blog.angryasianman.com/2011/06/remember-vincent-chin-vigil-june-23.html
In Retrospect: Who Killed Vincent Chin? AAJA Conference Panel in Detroit, August 2011
http://www.aaja.org/programs/convention2011detroit/panels/
Advancing Justice Conference coming up in San Francisco, October 2011
http://www.advancingjustice.org/conference/2011/index.php
“Asian Pacifically New York,” a Photo Exhibit by Corky Lee
http://chapters.aaja.org/NewYork/?p=995
Vincent Chin by Model Minority on Channel APA Music
http://www.channelapa.com/2011/06/vincent-chin-by-model-minority.html
Edward Hong HanSarang Day 6: Remember Vincent Chin Poem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_dH-3-F5Lk
Plaque honoring murdered Asian man, Vincent Chin, unveiled in Ferndale
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/plaque-honoring-murdered-man-unveiled-in-ferndale
"Groom-to-be clubbed to death" video by Richard Lui on CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/crime/2009/05/28/lui.vincent.chin.cnn.html
Remembering Vincent Chin, Detroit News Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68k0R3uJoRg
Adventures in Multicultural Living column: Resisting 'slacktivism,' remembering Vincent Chin, and singing with Joe Reilly by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in annarbor.com and newamericamedia.org
http://annarbor.com/entertainment/parenting/resisting-slacktivism-remembering-vincent-chin-and-singing-with-joe-reillysocial-justice-and-environ/
Mark your calendars for the thirtieth anniversary next year with American Citizens for Justice, June 23, 2012, Chinese Community Center, Madison Heights, Michigan.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
AML: Resisting "slacktivism," remembering Vincent Chin, and singing with Joe Reilly, social justice and environmental activism and the arts
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:
I recently interviewed for a job launching a new online literary magazine about literature and social justice activism. (The interview did not go so well, but...) What a great idea to link the glamour of novelists and poets with the purpose of social justice activism. This gives literature more weight and meaning, and gives activism more color and style.
Otherwise, social justice activism can be such a downer sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong. I am on the Advisory Board of American Citizens for Justice, the original Asian American civil rights nonprofit formed after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin 29 years ago today.
I am involved with many other nonprofit organizations. I lecture about civil rights and activism. I know this stuff is important.
However, I also get hundreds of emails in my inbox every day, thousands of tweets on my Twitter feed and more posts than I can deal with on Facebook and Linkedin. Sometimes I simply do not want to click on that link, open that email, read that news clip that I know is going to be bad news.
click on link for more: Resisting "slacktivism," remembering Vincent Chin, and singing with Joe Reilly, social justice and environmental activism and the arts
I recently interviewed for a job launching a new online literary magazine about literature and social justice activism. (The interview did not go so well, but...) What a great idea to link the glamour of novelists and poets with the purpose of social justice activism. This gives literature more weight and meaning, and gives activism more color and style.
Otherwise, social justice activism can be such a downer sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong. I am on the Advisory Board of American Citizens for Justice, the original Asian American civil rights nonprofit formed after the baseball beating death of Vincent Chin 29 years ago today.
I am involved with many other nonprofit organizations. I lecture about civil rights and activism. I know this stuff is important.
However, I also get hundreds of emails in my inbox every day, thousands of tweets on my Twitter feed and more posts than I can deal with on Facebook and Linkedin. Sometimes I simply do not want to click on that link, open that email, read that news clip that I know is going to be bad news.
click on link for more: Resisting "slacktivism," remembering Vincent Chin, and singing with Joe Reilly, social justice and environmental activism and the arts
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: The importance of ethnic new media for filling out the conversation
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
As my children scurry around excitedly before our neighborhood’s annual Memorial Day Parade—decorating their bikes, finding bags for the candy the Girl Scouts will throw, thinking about doughnuts in the park, planning to barbeque with friends afterwards — I remind them to be respectful, that Memorial Day is not just about the parade, that it is actually a very somber occasion, one that honors the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our freedom in America, and that although we do not glorify war, their great-grandfathers and grandfathers were all in the military.
Yet, every year when parade organizers ask if I want to bring a group of Chinese School kids to march or lion dance in the parade, I hesitate. I worry. I agree only if I can get a big group of parents to walk with the kids, as security, just in case someone thinks people who look like us do not belong.
Of course, I know that people who look like us do belong.
click on link for more: The importance of ethnic new media for filling out the conversation
As my children scurry around excitedly before our neighborhood’s annual Memorial Day Parade—decorating their bikes, finding bags for the candy the Girl Scouts will throw, thinking about doughnuts in the park, planning to barbeque with friends afterwards — I remind them to be respectful, that Memorial Day is not just about the parade, that it is actually a very somber occasion, one that honors the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our freedom in America, and that although we do not glorify war, their great-grandfathers and grandfathers were all in the military.
Yet, every year when parade organizers ask if I want to bring a group of Chinese School kids to march or lion dance in the parade, I hesitate. I worry. I agree only if I can get a big group of parents to walk with the kids, as security, just in case someone thinks people who look like us do not belong.
Of course, I know that people who look like us do belong.
click on link for more: The importance of ethnic new media for filling out the conversation
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: Explore the richness of the Asian Pacific American experience with literature and the arts
from ACJ Advisory Board member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
Asian American writer Lisa Yee, author of Millicent Min Girl Genius, recently wrote an article for parentdish.com about how her mother instilled in her a love of reading. She opened by recollecting the books she and her mother read together:
When my daughter Hao Hao read the introduction (over my shoulder, as always), she said, "I know all those books." Then we joked that if she wrote a similar article someday, it would read, "My mom read me Ed Young, Allen Say, Laurence Yep, Grace Lin, Lisa Yee, Linda Sue Park..."
click on link for more: Explore the richness of the Asian Pacific American experience with literature and the arts
Asian American writer Lisa Yee, author of Millicent Min Girl Genius, recently wrote an article for parentdish.com about how her mother instilled in her a love of reading. She opened by recollecting the books she and her mother read together:
“When I was little, my mother and I had a nighttime ritual. After my bath, when I was zipped into my pink footie pajamas, she'd sit on the bed and read to me. Mom's voice wrapped me up in fairy tales about princesses beset by trolls, a monkey named George and the adventures of Madeline who resided in an "old house in Paris that was covered in vines.”
When my daughter Hao Hao read the introduction (over my shoulder, as always), she said, "I know all those books." Then we joked that if she wrote a similar article someday, it would read, "My mom read me Ed Young, Allen Say, Laurence Yep, Grace Lin, Lisa Yee, Linda Sue Park..."
click on link for more: Explore the richness of the Asian Pacific American experience with literature and the arts
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural Living: Citizenship questions on Mother's Day for President Obama, Wong Kim Ark, Superman and the 'birthers'
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang at AnnArbor.com:
My oldest daughter was almost born in Thailand. I was living in Kathmandu, Nepal, at the time, and the closest western hospitals were a day’s flight away in Bangkok. I loved cruising Bangkok Chinatown, and I thought that would be a fun way to spend a month, hanging out, waiting for the blessed event.
My mother said absolutely not. I had to go home to deliver the baby so that the child would be a U.S. citizen.
I tried to explain to my mother that the child of two U.S. citizens is automatically a U.S. citizen, no matter where she is born. Even the child of one U.S. citizen is a citizen. I had already checked with the U.S. Embassy.
“What do they know?” was my mother’s response.
And the kicker, “What if your child wants to be president of the United States one day?”
I thought my mother was needlessly worried, but since it was the Christmas season, it was just as easy to go home to California and have the baby among family and friends (and presents). Of course my mother was right.
Now, after President Barack Obama has released his long-form birth certificate to prove yet again that he is a natural-born citizen — which is still not enough to assuage the "birthers" — I see, once again, that my mother is always right. (Happy Mother’s Day!)
click on link for more: Citizenship questions on Mother's Day for President Obama, Wong Kim Ark, Superman and the 'birthers'
My oldest daughter was almost born in Thailand. I was living in Kathmandu, Nepal, at the time, and the closest western hospitals were a day’s flight away in Bangkok. I loved cruising Bangkok Chinatown, and I thought that would be a fun way to spend a month, hanging out, waiting for the blessed event.
My mother said absolutely not. I had to go home to deliver the baby so that the child would be a U.S. citizen.
I tried to explain to my mother that the child of two U.S. citizens is automatically a U.S. citizen, no matter where she is born. Even the child of one U.S. citizen is a citizen. I had already checked with the U.S. Embassy.
“What do they know?” was my mother’s response.
And the kicker, “What if your child wants to be president of the United States one day?”
I thought my mother was needlessly worried, but since it was the Christmas season, it was just as easy to go home to California and have the baby among family and friends (and presents). Of course my mother was right.
Now, after President Barack Obama has released his long-form birth certificate to prove yet again that he is a natural-born citizen — which is still not enough to assuage the "birthers" — I see, once again, that my mother is always right. (Happy Mother’s Day!)
click on link for more: Citizenship questions on Mother's Day for President Obama, Wong Kim Ark, Superman and the 'birthers'
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Adventures in Multicultural LIving: Selections from the smorgasbord of spring celebrations, learning from Passover and Black Day
from ACJ Advisory Board Member Frances Kai-Hwa Wang in AnnArbor.com:
In fifth grade, my class held a Passover dinner as part of our unit on Exodus. Exodus was a big deal then, with Charlton Heston starring in the “Ten Commandments” rerunning every year on television, so we knew the story well (that and “Gone with the Wind”).
I remember baking the unleavened bread and marveling at how flat it was. I had only ever had Wonder Bread at that point and was unfamiliar with the concepts of crust and crumb. I remember mixing the bitter herbs in a bowl, the pungent smell of them, and serving a small spoonful to each student and parent at our long table. We each held a small piece of paper with our lines, our prayers, our questions.
Since I attended a Catholic school, I am sure we held our Passover dinner on Holy Thursday to tie it into the Last Supper, and I am sure this unit segued right into Easter. I do not remember being taught that Passover was a living tradition, that there were still Jewish people and that Jewish people still celebrated Passover.
In my child’s mind, Passover was something the Israelites did right after they escaped from Egypt with Charlton Heston. My image of it stayed in ancient times.
Still, it is one of the big events that I remember from elementary school, and I always think of it every year when Passover comes. My understanding of it is nowhere near complete, but at least I know a little bit about unleavened bread, bitter herbs, salted water, and “Why is this night different from all other nights?” And I know it viscerally because I was there.
click on link for more: Selections from the smorgasbord of spring celebrations, learning from Passover and Black Day
In fifth grade, my class held a Passover dinner as part of our unit on Exodus. Exodus was a big deal then, with Charlton Heston starring in the “Ten Commandments” rerunning every year on television, so we knew the story well (that and “Gone with the Wind”).
I remember baking the unleavened bread and marveling at how flat it was. I had only ever had Wonder Bread at that point and was unfamiliar with the concepts of crust and crumb. I remember mixing the bitter herbs in a bowl, the pungent smell of them, and serving a small spoonful to each student and parent at our long table. We each held a small piece of paper with our lines, our prayers, our questions.
Since I attended a Catholic school, I am sure we held our Passover dinner on Holy Thursday to tie it into the Last Supper, and I am sure this unit segued right into Easter. I do not remember being taught that Passover was a living tradition, that there were still Jewish people and that Jewish people still celebrated Passover.
In my child’s mind, Passover was something the Israelites did right after they escaped from Egypt with Charlton Heston. My image of it stayed in ancient times.
Still, it is one of the big events that I remember from elementary school, and I always think of it every year when Passover comes. My understanding of it is nowhere near complete, but at least I know a little bit about unleavened bread, bitter herbs, salted water, and “Why is this night different from all other nights?” And I know it viscerally because I was there.
click on link for more: Selections from the smorgasbord of spring celebrations, learning from Passover and Black Day
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