White House's New LGBT Liaison Also Ambassador to Asian America - NBC News.com

my article at nbc news asian america

"As a daughter of Indian immigrants," said Hardikar, "I'm proud to serve this President, who has shown time and again that inclusion of and more participation from Americans of diverse backgrounds only makes our nation stronger."

White House's New LGBT Liaison Also Ambassador to Asian America - NBC News.com

Alumni of A Cappella Group Fund Scholarship for Future Students - NBC News.com

my article at nbc news asian america re Penn Masala at University of Pennsylvania

"Penn Masala was the defining experience for all of us during college, and it remains a huge part of our lives post-college," said Penn Masala alum Samir Sheth, "The support of the University made a lot of that possible. We had been thinking about ways to give back for a while."

Alumni of A Cappella Group Fund Scholarship for Future Students - NBC News.com

A New Thanksgiving Tradition, Born of a Family's Separation - NBC News.com

An Essay--first in a long time--for NBC News Asian America about Thanksgiving Eve without half the kids:

Our guests bring tandoori chicken, vegetarian pulao, Sri Lankan chicken curry, Chinese red-cooked duck, Taiwanese oiled rice, sushi, sashimi, kimbap, mochi, Thai butternut squash, hummus and baba ghanoush. We don't even bother with turkey.

A New Thanksgiving Tradition, Born of a Family's Separation - NBC News.com

Asian Americans Show Solidarity, Support for Ferguson - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America:

More than three decades after Vincent Chin's death, the decision not to indict Darren Wilson reminds us that our justice system is still broken,” said Emma Chen, president of American Citizens for Justice/Asian American Center for Justice. Chen was recalling the 1982 beating death of Chinese-American Vincent Chin, whose killers were fined $3000 and never spent a night in jail.

Asian Americans Show Solidarity, Support for Ferguson - NBC News.com

Language Barriers Persist in Affordable Care Act Enrollment - NBC News.com

My article in NBC News Asian America

“In the first enrollment, we had NO support or resources in terms of bilingual navigator assistance for the Asian-American community,” says Dr. Tsu-Yin Wu, Director of Michigan’s only AHJ member Healthy Asian Americans Project (HAAP). But this year, she received a federal grant to hire additional help, and is hiring bilingual navigators who speak Mandarin/Cantonese, Bengali, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Hindi, and Gujarati.

Language Barriers Persist in Affordable Care Act Enrollment - NBC News.com

Hawaii's Patsy Mink Honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom - NBC News.com

My article at NBC News Asian America:

“What you endure is who you are. And if you just accept and do nothing, then life goes on," said Mink. "But if you see it as a way for change, life doesn’t have to be so unfair. It can be better. Maybe not for me, I can’t change the past, but I can certainly help somebody else in the future so they don’t have to go through what I did.”

Hawaii's Patsy Mink Honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom - NBC News.com

Teaching two writing classes at Chelsea District Library

Teaching two writing classes at Chelsea District Library Sat. Dec. 13 and Mon. Jan. 19:

Chelsea District Library
221 S. Main St.
Chelsea, MI 48118

Write an Award Winning Essay |Saturday, Dec. 13 | 10:00am-12:00pm | McKune | High School Only

Learn to write essays that can win you money for college, and much more. Join college instructor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang as she leads a workshop that will help you take your essay writing skills into the next level. Participants will practice writing essays for the Profile in Courage Essay Contest. This national contest offers a top prize of $10,000 as well as a trip to Boston. Please bring a notebook and pen.

Write Award Winning Creative Non-Fiction | Monday, Jan. 19 | 1:00am-3:00pm | McKune Grades 6 - 12

Creative nonfiction is another way to say true stories, well told. Learn to write great true stories with the help of Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, a creative writing instructor at Washtenaw Community College. Participants should come prepared to write, and will be working on submissions for several creative nonfiction contests. Please bring a notebook and pen.

You must register with the Chelsea District Library on the library's website or by phone to attend.

King Elementary students celebrate rare honor |

“King has had a big impact on my life,” he said. “In other schools, I might not have gotten the opportunity to dance in front of an audience … and I might not have had as many great experiences. It’s so much fun, and there are so many unique after-school events and activities, King proves itself to be much more than just a school. It’s a community.”

King Elementary students celebrate rare honor |

Writing Workshop today: English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream

Teaching an all-day writing workshop today: English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream (the midlife crisis writing workshop) at Washtenaw Community College 9:30-3:25. Info at wccnet.edu.

White House Launches Bullying Prevention Task Force - NBC News.com

my article for nbc news asian america

A professional football player is a surprising spokesman for bullying prevention, but Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward is drawing from his own childhood to bolster his advocacy.
“I was a bullied kid,” says Ward, a former member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, in a White House video. “I used to get talked about and teased all the time. The black kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was Korean, the Korean kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was black, and the white kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was both black and Korean.”

White House Launches Bullying Prevention Task Force - NBC News.com

Creative Writing Class: Dare to Dream this Saturday at Washtenaw Community College

I'm teaching an all-day writer's workshop this Saturday that I jokingly call my mid-life crisis writing workshop: Dare to Dream this Saturday, November 21, 9:30-3:25, at Washtenaw Community College.

Sign up at wccedu.net under Lifelong Learning (I can't find the link for some reason, but everyone else tells me that it is there).

Spring 2015 Creative Writing Classes - Washtenaw Community College

Classes coming this spring:

Beginning Writers Workshop ENG 4290 Start 03/21/15 Mandatory Fees: $0.00 Rm. TBD
1 session Sat Tuition: $69.00 Location: Main Campus Instructor: Wang

English Special Workshop- Dare to Dream ENG 4055 Start 04/18/15 Mandatory Fees: $0.00 Rm. TBD
1 session Sat Tuition: $69.00 Location: Main Campus Instructor: Wang Please read: Students should bring a pen and a notebook ...More

Creative Writing Classes - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Dozens of Groups Sign Letter Demanding Justice for Chaumtoli Huq - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America:

“The Mayor has snubbed over 60 community-based organizations representing a diverse cross-section of New Yorkers calling for a town hall meeting and basic reforms to community policing,” said Chaumtoli Huq, “In doing so, he has failed New York in his simplest obligation to us."

Dozens of Groups Sign Letter Demanding Justice for Chaumtoli Huq - NBC News.com

Literary Journals Featuring Writers Of Color - Writer's Relief, Inc.

Literary Journals Featuring Writers Of Color - Writer's Relief, Inc.

Actress, Director, Producer Joan Chen's New Role: Food Blogger - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America

“Not only am I a lover of food but I enjoy sitting around," said Chen. “This is also a way to share my journey as a Chinese American. Memories of my early life in China and my current life in America -- through food.”

Actress, Director, Producer Joan Chen's New Role: Food Blogger - NBC News.com

Midterm Elections: How Did Asian-American Candidates Fare? - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America:

"The 2014 November Election marked another milestone for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) candidates at all levels of government,” said Floyd Mori, CEO/President of Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies (APAICS). “AAPIs continue to show they are electable in any kind of political climate.”

Midterm Elections: How Did Asian-American Candidates Fare? - NBC News.com

Lava Flow Threatens Century-Old Japanese-American Community - NBC News.com

"I've had to help my friend’s parents move out of their home in Pahoa...I have great memories there, so sad to think of what will happen.” Did you know 100 years ago Pahoa was a largely Japanese American town? Check out the historic photos. Thanks Sam Horiuchi! My article for NBC News Asian America.
Lava Flow Threatens Century-Old Japanese-American Community - NBC News.com

Post-Typhoon Recovery Predicted to Continue "For Years" - NBC News.com

Thanks to Rotary International for making the reporting for my article in NBC News Asian America possible. The Philippines has come a long way after Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda) but it still has a long way to go. Thanks to all who are helping with the recovery. Thanks to all who shared their stories and their time with me.

“We were housed in a proper building, but you could feel the walls shaking. By the end of the day, we didn’t have a roof," said Sumaylo.

“I was born in a storm path. I know storms. If all the banana trees are blown away, all are blown the same way,” explains heritage interpreter Ka Bino Guererro, “But there was not a single tree standing, even in the forested areas. The coconut trees fell in opposite ways, there was no pattern.”

Post-Typhoon Recovery Predicted to Continue "For Years" - NBC News.com

Voices of Chinese-American Veterans from WWII to Afghanistan - NBC News.com

my Q&A with Victoria Moy, author of oral history of Chinese American vets from WW2 to Afghanistan:

What changed for me that year at the parade was seeing veterans my own age. I wanted to understand how and why someone my age, from my community, would decide to serve. I saw older and younger Chinese American veterans coming together to pose for a photo. Phil Eng, a Korean War vet said, "We're four generations of Chinese American vets here! If you're a writer, you should write a book about us!"

Voices of Chinese-American Veterans from WWII to Afghanistan - NBC News.com

Refugee Daughter Returns Home With Climate Change Battle Plan - NBC News.com

My article for NBCNews Asian America about Tibetan American Brower Youth Award winner Tsechu Dolma: #tibet #nepal #mustang #climatechange #sustainability

“Communities like Mustang have existed for centuries,” said Dolma, “It has a very rich history. These communities are vulnerable and endangered by the effects of climate change. The only way these communities can move forward is if we build sustainable models of local ownership and expansion of community rights over resources.”

Refugee Daughter Returns Home With Climate Change Battle Plan - NBC News.com

Mobile Library Brings Back Books to Typhoon-Affected Children - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America

“A sparkly, Pinoy-pride colored light bulb,” is how Filipina-American teacherMarcie Dunham describes her initial idea for Beep Beep Books. “Buy a jeepney. Fill it with books. Make learning magical. Inspire children.”

Mobile Library Brings Back Books to Typhoon-Affected Children - NBC News.com

Postponing launch of Third Space Salon

Sorry all, postponing launch until spring. But remember this name and this space! 

Third Space Salon is an Asian/Pacific Islander American (A/PIA) literary and performing arts nonprofit dedicated to creating community, celebrating the arts, with a side of cultural and educational exchange.

http://www.franceskaihwawang.com/p/third-space-salon.html

Inaugural Literary Festival of the Indian Subcontinent

What an amazing literary festival--First Annual Indo American Arts Council Literary Festival--why do i always live so far away from everything?

Inaugural Literary Festival of the Indian Subcontinent

Teaching at WCC today

My friend The Poet challenges me to write again and finally, haltingly, in the writing class that I am supposed to be teaching today, it comes...

Terry Park's class today

Chatting online with Vanessa Teck for Terry Park's class at the University of Miami in Ohio today about the Vincent Chin case.

Check it out today at 2:30 https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/c3ve8o09i22r859ssll6jfec6r8

Group Releases Preliminary Results of Asian-American Exit Polls - NBC News.com

My article at NBC News Asian America on AALDEF's 2014 Asian American Exit Poll preliminary results

"Asian-American voters continued to support Democratic candidates in 2014, but their support has declined since the 2012 presidential election,” said Margaret Fung, Executive Director of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

Group Releases Preliminary Results of Asian-American Exit Polls - NBC News.com

Nakedness in a Digital Age

LOVE Richard Rodriguez! I followed him--floated out after him, really--once out of lecture hall and out to the subway...and then i wrote to him about it afterwards...and he didn't find me completely insane, lol. No better writing teacher than reading this piece. How does he do it?

"You will recall that when King Lear takes off his clothes, he offends majesty. The scandal of Lear’s abrogation is that, without raiment, a king is a frail, poor creature, indistinguishable from a groundling; his kingdom is disarmed."

Nakedness in a Digital Age

Tibetan Photographer Shares Lonely Stories of Fellow Exiles - NBC News.com

beautiful lonely photos...

 "The great tragedy of my life is not being separated from my family, but being separated from the sensibility of missing them, after living without them for decades." 

Tibetan Photographer Shares Lonely Stories of Fellow Exiles - NBC News.com

Here's Why Pho Is Really Pronounced 'Fuh'

Here's Why Pho Is Really Pronounced 'Fuh'

Legal Group Mobilizing Monitors, Exit Pollsters Across America - NBC News.com

my article for nbc news asian america

“Mainstream media mostly ignored Asian American voters and did not do surveys in Asian languages. But now that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the country, elected officials and candidates in close races can't ignore the Asian-American vote any longer."

Legal Group Mobilizing Monitors, Exit Pollsters Across America - NBC News.com

Asian-American Groups Tackle Language Barriers to Get Out Vote - NBC News.com

My article for NBC News Asian America

“Why are we using 17 different languages?” asks Ahmed, “Because we are in Los Angeles.”

Asian-American Groups Tackle Language Barriers to Get Out Vote - NBC News.com

Also, for any registered voter who might have difficulty with English, you can bring a helper!

Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, added in 1982 by Congress, allows any eligible voter who needs assistance at the polls because of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write to bring a person of his or her choice into the voting booth to assist with the voting process.

Writing Classes at WCC Today

Teaching today. Lots of activists in my "jumpstart your memoir" class this am. Still time for you to join our afternoon class "writing with style finding your voice"