14
2012
Reblogged from pag-asaharibon :
Hidden Minority: the Asian-American Poor
Siu Cheung has vivid recollections of what it means to be poor in the District of Columbia. Now 42-years-old, the Chinese immigrant was the youngest of five children. Her family came to the D.C. metro area when she was six years old.
“I grew up in the ‘hood,” said Cheung who lived on Benning Road and East Capitol Street in Southeast’s Ward 7, not far from a District landmark, the Shrimp Boat Seafood restaurant. Her family shared a two-bedroom apartment, and she shared a walk-in closet as a bedroom with her sister.
“We knew we were poor,” said Cheung who went to school in the District and Prince George’s County, Md. “We didn’t know people who were rich. My clothes were always second hand, and the first time I went to a movie, I was 16 or 17 years old.” The family did not take vacations, and no one was there to help with homework after school because everyone worked.
Cheung represented a group of Asian Americans classified as living in poverty, a group seemingly invisible to the larger American society, which views Asians as prosperous, educated, and industrious.
But poverty among Asians is more common than people realize, reaching about 12 percent of the approximately 17.3 million residents of Asian descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2011, the census Bureau says the AAPI community made up 5.6 percent of the population (including those classifying themselves as Asian and one or more races.) The Bureau breaks down the overall poverty rate for all Asians at about 12 percent, and 8.7 percent for AAPI families. This number increases to 20 percent for female-headed households and decreases to 6.7 percent when it’s a couple.
The Asian poverty rate is higher than the national average in Montgomery County, Maryland, with an estimated twenty percent of Asians living below the poverty line. In 2010, the federal poverty threshold was set at $23,314 for a family of four. Overall, the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line in 2011 was 15.9 percent, a higher than normal figure resulting from the weak economy.
“We have to confront the stereotype that there are no low-income Asians,” said Surjeet Ahluwalia, executive director of the Asian American Empowerment and Development for Youth and Families (AALEAD), a District-based community organization providing enrichment programs to low-income Asian youth. “Of course, many Asians are successful but the common response from people is, ‘Are there low income Asians?”
Lack of information and the stereotype about the successful Asian American combine to affect Asians doubly. Many Asians are not aware of the work of organizations such as AALEAD or programs administered by the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia governments. And often Asian Americans are not targeted for assistance.
The result is that many families like Cheung’s suffer in silence.
Through years of poverty, Cheung said, her family did not apply for or receive any government assistance such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) or Medicaid, which would have made their existence a bit easier. Life was tough. When Cheung’s family migrated here from Fujian, China in the 1970s, her neighborhood was largely African-American, she said, with no diversity. Residents were not used to seeing a poor Asian family, she says, recalling getting into “four or five fights to protect myself.” Things did get better for the family over the years, however. They adapted to their new life and community, and the family’s fortunes improved as they developed several restaurant businesses. (read more)
6
2012
Reblogged from fascinasians :
OC Company Boss To Asian Employee: You Can't Speak Vietnamese Even On Private Time
A veteran Orange County lab assistant who claims that his boss banned him from speaking Vietnamese anytime on the job—even on breaks or at off-duty functions—has agreed to settle his employment discrimination lawsuit prior to a scheduled 2013 trial.
This story is fucked up. You know what else is fucked up? The image they chose to pair with this article.
5
2012
Share and Signal Boost!
Alright, internet. I have a project for you!
As some of you know, the East Coast Asian American Student Conference is coming up in February 2013. The ECAASU Conference will be hosted at Columbia University February 22 - 24. It is the largest and oldest Asian American student conference in the country and provides students and community members with opportunities to learn, teach, network, and become part of a wide-reaching family. I myself have grown unmeasurably through the ECAASU network: the White House youth summits, the conferences, my time as a Campus Ambassador, etc. I’ve met the most powerful and inspiring people through ECAASU, been a part of inspiring others, and developed my identity more and more each day.
The point is: ECAASU is a fantastic opportunity and New York City is the greatest place in the world. Some students for one reason or another may not be able to attend whether it’s financial need, ID issues, or something else. I’m putting a ‘Donation’ button on my page and will be accepting contributions that will 100% be going towards train tickets, bus tickets, flights, accommodations, and registration fees - whatever the students need.
If you’re someone who wants to go to ECAASU, please fill out this form.
No guarantees on providing full funding, but I want to help and I’m sure the Tumblr community wants to help send some awesome students to a conference on social justice!
Note: I am not affiliated with ECAASU and this is not an official ECAASU post or project.
28
2012
27
2012
Reblogged from fascinasians :
- November 21, 2012: "Ringleader" of hazing and abuse that led Pvt Danny Chen to take his life given 15 days and a demotion.
- November 21, 2012: Red Dawn releases into theaters.
- November 21, 2012: Twitter erupts in series of racist, anti-Asian tweets.
- I see you, Amerikkka... I see you.
27
2012
Reblogged from gaobibaituo :
"
UC-Berkeley professor Elaine Kim’s documentary “Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded” details the frictionless path by which pop fantasy transitions into real-world perception, with troubling real-world consequences. And, as the documentary points out, the same slippage that conflates media fictions with flesh-and-blood people also imposes imagery emerging out of the “exotic East” on Asian women in the West.
“Asian women as prostitutes – the oversexualization of our image – we have to live with that history,” DeAnza College Asian-American studies professor Christine Chai says in the film, which goes on to point out that virtually every Asian-American woman, regardless of how independent, educated, successful and strong she might be, has at one point or another found herself uncomfortably boxed into a stereotype by those whose primary exposure to “Asian” culture comes from cinematic blockbusters and pulp bestsellers.
The price can go far beyond discomfort. DePaul law professor Sumi K. Cho has linked the Asian-woman-as-prostitute stereotype to what she calls “racialized sexual harassment,” professional exploitation rooted in the expectation that Asian women are culturally amenable to sexual advances.
"
11
2012
Reblogged from optimistic-red-velvet-walrus :
[tw: sexual assault] Dephanie Jao | Hunting for Asians
There are some things you expect to happen to other people — stuff you hear on the news and you think, “Man, that’s bizarre!”
It’s never supposed to happen to you.
On Sept. 28, when I saw two of my friends walking down Locust Walk, all I was expecting was an hour, perhaps two, when we could casually talk. We shared what was happening in our lives, our classes, our work. We were three Asian graduate students — two international, one American — sharing boring stories about our boring lives.
Then around 9:40 p.m., we found ourselves approached by a group of five people. There were three women and two men — all white. They introduced themselves, explaining that they were part of a Drexel sorority event. Some sort of relay. A scavenger hunt. In order to complete this event, they needed our help. The prize for completion was $300 and they wanted to win.
“We need to hook up with three Asians.”
For a moment the three of us looked blankly at each other. We were shocked, for one. Was this really happening? Had they just casually placed Asians as an item in a scavenger hunt?
“Are you guys drunk?” I asked. No, no, they said, eyes wide. Of course they weren’t drunk.
After that, things happened fast. Without asking for our permission, the group tried to separate my friends and me from each other. One woman had a camera. There was a flash. During this time we heard reassurances. Shouts. Don’t worry, we need to take pictures as proof, but it doesn’t have to be real. We aren’t going to post this anywhere.
One woman tried to instruct one of my friends to make poses. Put your hands across your chest. Turn this way. Smile. Another woman tried to pull the other friend away, but he resisted.
Suddenly, I found myself alone with somebody’s arm curled painfully around my neck, forcing me to face sideways. It took a second before I realized that the arm belonged to a man and while he forced my head closer to his, he slowly bent his head toward mine, mouth open, ready for a kiss. I could smell the beer on his breath.
That was when I realized. I flung my arms upwards, forcing his arm off me.
“No,” I said. “No, we’re not doing this. No.”
The group tried arguing with us for a bit. The man who had tried to kiss me even tried to grab another passing woman. But in the end, they finally left us alone.
Of all the possible things that could be said about what happened to us, one thing was certain: it should not have happened. Not just the fact that the group approached us, but the whole event itself. It was horribly dehumanizing. All of us felt like we had been treated like animals, like convenient pieces to be picked up as a part of a collection. Asians are not Pokémon to be collected.
Asians are stereotypically perceived to be less likely to fight back when faced with incidents of racism. That still doesn’t make it OK.
Even though what happened may not have been the result of racial hatred, it was still racism. Racism occurs whenever people are viewed as less than full persons because of their race. The group that night did not see us as people or as students — but as items who fit a convenient category on their scavenger hunt: three Asians.
It took us two days to gather enough courage to report the incident to the police.
Thinking back, I wonder: What would have happened if all of us had been international students? Would we have reported the incident?
There were many inconsistencies in the story the group told us that night. For one, why were there men at a sorority event? Which sorority, if there was indeed one, had created the event? Were they even from Drexel? Did they approach anyone else?
The perpetrators will probably never be caught. Though cameras caught parts of what happened, they only caught silhouettes. So where do we go from here? What will the Penn community do in response?
Dephanie’s a friend of my partner and has asked for help spreading this article around. So please reblog this everywhere! Universities are notorious for hushing this sort of thing up; the more people who know and speak up about it, the harder that is. Thanks!
11
2012
Reblogged from generasian :
Asian-American Voters Voting Largely Democratic
It’s official! Politicians, bloggers, newspapers, and writers all over the States are taking notice of the growing influence of Asian Americans on American politics. Usually, when politicians talk about “the minority group”, they’re usually referring to the large Hispanic and African-American minority, but according to this article and others like it, it’s high time they considered Asian Americans with a heavier weight. Compared to 20 years ago, Asian-Americans seem to have made a drastic, significant shift over from the Republicans to the Democratic camp. More than 70% of Asian Americans voted Democratic in this election.
Hey Romney, guess you should have been a little less anti-China and a little more pro-Asian Americans, huh?
9
2012
Reblogged from gaobibaituo :
18mr:
As we celebrate the gains our community made this election cycle, let’s not forget there’s lots of work to do. In our communities, in our country, in our daily lives. Not sure if you saw this xenophobic flyer that got mailed to voters in Ohio — but check it out.
The recent xenophobic flyer mailed by the Ohio Republican Party to voters prior to the upcoming election is deeply disappointing, infuriating, and unacceptable.
We ask for a pledge to end the use of xenophobic rhetoric, as well as an apology for the offensive materials distributed.
The “Betty Sutton is Taking our Jobs to Go” flyer utilizes racially-charged language and imagery that play on prejudices against Asian Americans, specifically those of Chinese descent. While it has been common practice to attack China in this electoral cycle, capitalizing on xenophobic rhetoric for political gain has long-term implications that negatively affect the APIA community.
The scapegoating of Asians for the effects of a changing economy has already culminated in the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin. Chin, a Detroit-born Chinese American, was beaten to death by two laid-off auto workers who blamed the loss of their jobs on the thriving Japanese auto industry. His death was the result of racial fear-mongering for political gain.
Elections should be issue-focused, without resorting to unfair and inaccurate comparisons. Using stereotypes to demonize and scapegoat one group of Americans at the expense of substantive debate must not be tolerated by the community at-large. We call upon all political parties and candidates to present their cases with respectful, inclusive dialogue.
It is our hope that, in the future, the Ohio Republican Party will engage in constructive dialogue, not the production of xenophobic rhetoric which targets a specific group of individuals.
Sincerely,
Johnny Wu, OCA-Cleveland President
Ready to go to work and deliver on the promise of this election? Sign on with Johnny Wu here: http://bit.ly/cmonOHIO
Fuck the yellow peril shit that comes with election season and racist assholes hiding behind patriotic capitalism as their defense….
8
2012
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