'Sanjay's Super Team' Features Pixar's First Human Protagonist of Color - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Pixar's "Sanjay's Super Team"

Before this film, Patel's father had not seen any of the movies Patel had worked on in his almost 20 years at Pixar, so the studio invited him to watch the film when it was completed. Patel told NBC News that his father was very moved — he was obviously proud of his son's achievements but was particularly touched to see a film about their relationship.

'Sanjay's Super Team' Features Pixar's First Human Protagonist of Color - NBC News

Failsafe: A New Kind of Video Game With Adventure and Diversity - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Failsafe with Beau Sia and Dante Basco

"Failsafe is a game that focuses on achievement without violence, exploration without being on a fixed course, and brings to the forefront diversity, without making it an agenda to force upon the player," Sia told NBC News. "Collectively we hope that Failsafe will broaden representation in video games. We want to make a game that represents us, the cultures we've drawn from to create Failsafe's, that gamers want to play over and over again, because they are geeked on discovery."

Failsafe: A New Kind of Video Game With Adventure and Diversity - NBC News

Read These Blogs | Angry Asian Man

Thanks for including me in this week's roundup, Angry Asian Man!

Essay: Carrying Our Courage, From Immigrant Stories to Refugee Stories: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang on the legacies of her immigrant family and passing them on to her sixth-grade son for his social studies project.

Read These Blogs

English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

One day intensive writer's workshop this coming weekend at WCC. Register to ensure a seat!

Facing a big change or opportunity in your life? Terrified or thrilled out of your wits? Not sure if you trust that you know what you know? Learn simple but powerful methods to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page in order to write your way through this challenge. Part journaling, part business plan, lots of short writing exercises, this class aspires to create the space in your head and the courage in your heart to take those first dizzying steps as you dare to dream. Bring a notebook and pen.

English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Chinese Food: Customs and Culture - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Launching a fun new class at WCC this Wednesday. Register for lots of foodie fun!

Explore Chinese Food Customs and Culture in the classroom, in the grocery store and at the dinner table. Learn about the customs, traditions and stories surrounding Chinese food and festivals. Challenge yourself to adventure beyond General Tso's Chicken. Learn how to put together a Chinese meal and how to pick the freshest tofu. What is the difference between Szechuan and Cantonese cooking? Where were fortune cookies invented? What is the difference between Chinese and Western table manners? And who was General Tso anyway and why are we eating his chicken?

Chinese Food: Customs and Culture - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Curtis Chin's "Tested" coming to UM Thursday

Curtis Chin's new documentary film, "Tested," will be showing as part of this year's Race and Social Justice in Education Symposium Series Thursday, December 3, 5:00 pm, University of Michigan, Schorling Auditorium, 1202 School of Education. Post-film discussion with filmmaker Curtis Chin too!

http://www.soe.umich.edu/news_events/news/article/race_and_social_justice_in_education_symposium_series_to_continue1/

More about the film: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/documentary-focuses-entry-barriers-elite-new-york-city-schools-n460091

Dreams of the Diaspora - Jyoti Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang - Google Cultural Institute

So Excited to be a part of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and Google Cultural Institute H-1B art exhibition with Jyoti Omi Chowdhury. Thanks to Lauren Peng, Jean Piguet, and Christine Tsai for helping us make this artwork.



Dreams of the Diaspora - Jyoti Omi Chowdhury and Frances Kai-Hwa Wang - Google Cultural Institute

ICYMI: More about the exhibit here: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/new-smithsonian-digital-exhibit-explores-immigration-stories-through-h-1b-n468221

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Teriyaki Turkey with sticky rice stuffing and a houseful of teenagers.


ICYMI 2014: A New Thanksgiving Tradition, Born of a Family's Separation - NBC News

App Helps Report Racial Profiling Allegations at Airports - NBC News

#FlyingWhileBrown this week? there's an app for that--FlyRights from The Sikh Coalition. My article at NBC News Asian America

"If the TSA profiles," Singh said, "they can be held accountable through the app. The app is a powerful tool to combat profiling because it immediately alerts the TSA, DHS, and members of Congress about air passenger screening violations and helps identify problem airports."

App Helps Report Racial Profiling Allegations at Airports - NBC News

Essay: Carrying Our Courage, From Immigrant Stories to Refugee Stories - NBC News

Thanks to The Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ) and The Poynter Institute's Minority Writers Seminar for their support in developing this essay.

Yet there are those who would reduce us to a single word — immigrant, refugee, minority, poor — and dare to look down on us when, really, it is just an accident of time and place and luck that any of us are born where and when we are.

Essay: Carrying Our Courage, From Immigrant Stories to Refugee Stories - NBC News

And thanks to everyone who has been sharing it so generously! Glad it is resonating!

StoryCorps' 'Great Thanksgiving Listen' Encourages Holiday Conversations - NBC News

Your Thanksgiving Homework: Talk to your relatives (or get the kids to do it) to get our AAPI stories into the StoryCorps archives with The Great Thanksgiving Listen. Any language ok, I asked. My article for NBC News Asian America:

"With The Great Thanksgiving Listen, StoryCorps hopes to capture the rich diversity of a generation of American lives," Colleen J. Ross, director of marketing and communications of StoryCorps, told NBC News. "As always, we are especially committed to honoring those whose stories might otherwise be omitted from the historical record, and to reminding people, through the collection of voices we will document, that every life matters equally and infinitely."

StoryCorps' 'Great Thanksgiving Listen' Encourages Holiday Conversations - NBC News

New Orleans Group Worked to Engage Young Voters in Gubernatorial Election - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re VAYLA

"As a nonpartisan organization...our job is not to recommend who to vote for but to make sure that our community understands the issues at stake and why their votes count," Minh Thanh Nguyen, executive director of VAYLA New Orleans, told NBC News. "Even with the various barriers that the governor and state legislature have enacted, like the lack of language access and moving of polling locations without proper notice, we have seen preliminary numbers to indicate that we are seeing more than above projected turnout from the [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community."

New Orleans Group Worked to Engage Young Voters in Gubernatorial Election - NBC News

New Smithsonian Digital Exhibit Explores Immigration Stories Through H-1B Visas - NBC News

My article for NBC News re the Smithsonian H-1B Visa Art Exhibition (in which I have a multimedia piece with Jyoti Omi Chowdhury). Tanzila Ahmed also has a beautiful artwork in the exhibition.

Dr. Masum Momaya, Curator of "H-1B" told NBC News that the exhibition "illuminates an immigration status that often gets stereotyped or left out of dialogue around immigration in this United States. Each year, people from all over the world come to the United States for a better life; some find opportunity, and others endure great hardship. The artists in this show take us through the emotions and nuances of their journeys, illustrating new and complex layers of what has been a defining characteristic of America and American history: immigration."

New Smithsonian Digital Exhibit Explores Immigration Stories Through H-1B Visas - NBC News

Direct link to "Dreams of the Diaspora": https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/dreams-of-the-diaspora/AwFGC9hcUOFpzA?exhibitId=QRdMk4sZ

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

Revisiting last year's Thanksgiving Eve essay, but I still don't feel like cleaning the house...

"I am standing in the kitchen, staring at this bird, paralyzed with performance anxiety, until memories of my great aunt, the first in the family to immigrate to America, come in whisps of steam and ginger. Was it Christmas? New Year's? I can see her bringing a roast duck to the table, glazed shiny red and brown, its neck long and curved, stuffed full of sticky rice, each grain hanging onto my chopsticks."

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

Chinese Foods and Festivals in Chelsea in February 2016

Launching a new class in Chelsea with Chelsea Adult Learners Institute (ALI) February 2016, should be fun!

Chinese Foods and Festivals

Foods and Festivals are always linked, and there is no easier way to introduce yourself to another culture than through its food and festivals. Chinese Lunar New Year's Festival is one of the most important festivals for Chinese people all over the world. Learn about the traditions, food, and stories of Chinese New Year’s and other Chinese festivals. What are some connections between favorite Chinese dishes and Chinese American history? Learn how to put together a Chinese meal, how to order in a Chinese restaurant, Chinese table manners and etiquette, how to use chopsticks, and taste test some new dishes.

http://www.adultlearnersinstitute.org/winterspring.html

Asian Americans React to Jindal Decision to Suspend 2016 Campaign - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Bobby Jindal's Presidential Campaign "suspension"

The truth is, @bobbyjindal was irrelevant from day one not just because he rejected an Indian American identity, but also our values.

Asian Americans React to Jindal Decision to Suspend 2016 Campaign - NBC News

Virginia Mayor Apologizes for Japanese-American Internment Remarks - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Roanoke Virginia Mayor

"In particular, I apologize to Americans of Japanese descent for the unwise and inappropriate comparison between the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the current refugee crisis. Any such comparison was a mistake and I apologize. It's not in my heart to be racist or bigoted."

Virginia Mayor Apologizes for Japanese-American Internment Remarks - NBC News

Virginia Officials Condemn Roanoke Mayor's Remarks About Internment - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Roanoke Virginia Mayor

"David is always running for something," Ferris said. Alhough Bowers was not running for reelection, Ferris said that Bowers may be considering running for several other offices, "and in order to run for any of those, he's got to move himself to the right, and this does it."

Virginia Officials Condemn Roanoke Mayor's Remarks About Internment - NBC News

Virginia Mayor Cites Japanese Internment in Statement on Barring Refugees - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America. Everybody is reacting to that Mayor in Roanoke Virginia

"The fact that not one single case of espionage by a Japanese American was proven underscores how wrong Mayor Bowers is to positively cite this policy. Instead of keeping us safe, Japanese internment compromised our principles and demonized an entire population of Americans. It is outrageous to let the same kind of xenophobia influence our policy today. If we do, we will only regret it again."

Virginia Mayor Cites Japanese Internment in Statement on Barring Refugees - NBC News

Sikh Community Condemns Doctored Photo That Depicts Sikh Man as Terrorist - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"By Photoshopping an image of a Sikh man to depict him as a terrorist, and worse, amplifying it through social and print media in the guise of legitimate news, an entire group of people are subjected to discrimination and hate violence,"

Sikh Community Condemns Doctored Photo That Depicts Sikh Man as Terrorist - NBC News

Modern Heirloom Jewelry Draws Inspiration From Dante's 'Divine Comedy' - NBC News

My Q and A for NBC Asian America re Alighieri Jewelry

"I found the 'Divine Comedy' to be such a visual piece of work that I kept imagining it rendered in objects," Mahtani told NBC News. "I wanted to tell a story, and the end goal is to establish a brand that sits in the intersection between design and literature."

Modern Heirloom Jewelry Draws Inspiration From Dante's 'Divine Comedy' - NBC News

Teaching at Wayne State Law School tonight

So excited to be teaching at Wayne State Law School tonight as part of a new course on Asian Pacific American Civil Rights Law! Here's some extra reading...

State Supreme Court Suspends Hawaii Telescope Permit - NBC News

Community Leaders React to Michigan Governor's Stance On Syrian Refugees - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Michigan Governor on Syrian Refugees

"I am very disappointed by the Governor's decision to halt Michigan's efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in Michigan," Michigan Representative Stephanie Changtold NBC News. "Michigan is supposed to be a welcoming state, and the Governor's office seems to be moving backward on that positive momentum. Providing assistance to those who are fleeing crisis in their country should be a priority if we are truly to be a pro-immigrant, pro-refugee state."

Community Leaders React to Michigan Governor's Stance On Syrian Refugees - NBC News

Minoru Yasui to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom - NBC News

My article re Minoru Yasui for NBC News Asian America

"Minoru Yasui stood up for what was right at a time of injustice toward Japanese Americans," Senator Mazie Hirono said in a statement Monday. "The Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mr. Yasui recognizes him not only for his courageous stand during the time of the unjust internment of Japanese Americans, but for his lifelong commitment to civil rights and social justice."

Minoru Yasui to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom - NBC News

WHHHYYYY.

WHHHYYYY.

Chinese Food: Customs and Culture - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Launching a fun new class at WCC in December. Register for lots of foodie fun!

Explore Chinese Food Customs and Culture in the classroom, in the grocery store and at the dinner table. Learn about the customs, traditions and stories surrounding Chinese food and festivals. Challenge yourself to adventure beyond General Tso's Chicken. Learn how to put together a Chinese meal and how to pick the freshest tofu. What is the difference between Szechuan and Cantonese cooking? Where were fortune cookies invented? Wha tis the difference between Chinese and Western table manners? And who was General Tso anyway and why are we eating his chicken?

Chinese Food: Customs and Culture - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ) and Poynter Institute Minority Writers Seminar

Thank you Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ) and Poynter Institute for this Minority Writers Seminar Fellowship to learn about Editorial Writing and Opinion Writing. Love this wonderfully cranky opinionated cohort!

Bill Would Provide Retroactive Citizenship For All International Adoptees - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America

"The issue is simple: the bill ensures that adoption is the creation of a legal family, no strings attached," Kelsey Yoon, a Washington D.C.-based attorney and international adoptee, told NBC News. "The next stage of our efforts will be focused on raising awareness and encouraging people to reach out to their senators and representatives to express their support for this bill as it still needs to pass both the House and the Senate. It is crucial that Congress knows that their constituents support this bill."

Bill Would Provide Retroactive Citizenship For All International Adoptees - NBC News

Contact your Congressperson now to let them know how you feel, here, http://action.18mr.org/aca-2015/

Documentary Focuses on Entry Barriers to Elite New York City Schools - NBC News

Q&A with filmmaker Curtis Chin (Vincent Who, Tested) for NBC News Asian America

The situation in New York City's public schools seemed like the perfect story to explore issues that matter to those working to improve America: racial equality, social justice, income inequality, and the model minority myth. I'm hoping this film will bring people together to discuss these issues and come up with solutions.

Documentary Focuses on Entry Barriers to Elite New York City Schools - NBC News

Mothers Create Materials to Help Their Children Learn Their Heritage - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America re "The Diwali Gift" by 3 Curious Monkeys:

"Currently, the Diwali celebrations in schools are usually a parent driven initiative," Chopra said. "If there is no parent willing to talk about it in the classroom, many times the holiday does not get mentioned."

Mothers Create Materials to Help Their Children Learn Their Heritage - NBC News

Campaign Urges USPS to Create Stamp in Honor of Japanese-American WWII Soldiers - NBC News

my article for NBC News Asian America

if Elvis, Batman, penguins, Harry Potter, butterflies, and Garfield all have commemorative stamps, then the most decorated military unit in U.S. history certainly meets USPS criteria.

Campaign Urges USPS to Create Stamp in Honor of Japanese-American WWII Soldiers - NBC News

omg Uncle George Takei has posted the article on his Facebook! Very interesting convo there...
https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei/posts/1407041902658592

Oakland Schools Join Others in California in Requiring Ethnic Studies - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re Oakland Schools and Ethnic Studies

"I truly believe that ethnic studies is important and gives students the ability to feel powerful and feel as though they can be the new Martin Luther Kings, the new Malcom Xes, the new Rosa Parks, the new Caesar Chavezes,"

Oakland Schools Join Others in California in Requiring Ethnic Studies - NBC News

Jumpstart Your Memoir - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Jumpstart that memoir today at WCC. Come join us!

For those who want to ease into the memoir writing process, this workshop is the way to go. Whether you have been scribbling poetry in a secret journal or you want to begin a memoir for future generations, it can take time to find your voice or have enough trust to show your writing to the world. Don't wait another minute to get started! Beginning one day and one word at a time, learn through doing, with short writing exercises and tips and tricks to help and inspire you to confidently write from the heart.

Jumpstart Your Memoir - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

Master Chefs Team Up for Marvel-Inspired Pop-Up Dinner Series - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America re #MarvelDinnerHK

"This event is very exciting for me," Leung told NBC News. "Marvel's many characters and stories are some of my favorites since childhood. I've been reading their comics since I was a kid so it's thrilling to now make dishes about Spiderman, Ant-Man, and Thor."

Master Chefs Team Up for Marvel-Inspired Pop-Up Dinner Series - NBC News

Students Call For Ethnic Studies in Portland High Schools - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America re APANO ALLY students in Portland, Oregon

"I want to learn about the diversity of the United States. Not just about how the Europeans came to settle in America but also about how I, my people and many others, came and settled in America, their hardships and their accomplishments," Jonah Kim, ALLY leader and Franklin High School senior, told NBC News. "I believe that this will unite America so that we all can accept one another for who we are. I want to be able to see a country where people are not ashamed of where they came from, but instead proud to have come from such a background."

Students Call For Ethnic Studies in Portland High Schools - NBC News

#DalitWomenFight Brings Fight Against Caste-Based Violence to U.S. - NBC News

my article for NBC Asian America re #DalitWomenFight

"Our main goal was to build awareness on caste apartheid in India and to expose caste-based sexual violence as one of the root causes of violence against women in India," Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Robert Rauschenberg Artist As Activist Fellow, told NBC News. "We also had some incredible relationships built with other movements dealing with state violence. This includes women from #SayHerName, #BlackLivesMatter, and INCITE."

#DalitWomenFight Brings Fight Against Caste-Based Violence to U.S. - NBC News

Photo Project Features Sikh Men Rocking Their Beards, Turbans - NBC News

HOT (albeit hipster inspired) My article for NBC News Asian America about Amit & Naroop's Singh Project

"Early 2013, working in the trendy parts of London, Shoreditch, Dalston, Camden, etc., we started to notice the rise in the popularity of the beard among young British men. Then we began seeing fashion campaigns featuring models with beards down to their chests," Amit and Naroop said in a statement to NBC News. "So we came up with an idea. Why don't we photograph British Sikh men and show how Sikh men have been wearing beards for centuries, but for them it isn't a fashion or fad, it's a key part of their faith."

Photo Project Features Sikh Men Rocking Their Beards, Turbans - NBC News

Asian-American Students Launch 'Open Hands, Open Minds' to Celebrate Identity - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America re Vanderbilt AASA #APAHM2015

"Though there is an emphasis on Asian Pacific American identity and experiences, we want everyone to feel that they too, could celebrate their own identity during this month, since we each hold our own junction of our identity," student leaders Amy Dam, Jordan Jenson, and Claire Song told NBC News. "We hope to help people understand and celebrate each others'—as well as their own—crossroads."

Asian-American Students Launch 'Open Hands, Open Minds' to Celebrate Identity - NBC News

Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Minoru Yasui Documentary - NBC News

My article for NBC News Asian America. Narrated by Uncle George Takei!

"We need more people like Min Yasui in the world — who are willing to stand up for what is right, for whom principles of justice are more important than personal comfort," said the film's co-director, Will Doolittle, in a statement.

Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Minoru Yasui Documentary - NBC News

Jumpstart Your Memoir - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development

One day writing intensive to finally get that memoir started this coming weekend at WCC. Register now to ensure a seat!

For those who want to ease into the memoir writing process, this workshop is the way to go. Whether you have been scribbling poetry in a secret journal or you want to begin a memoir for future generations, it can take time to find your voice or have enough trust to show your writing to the world. Don't wait another minute to get started! Beginning one day and one word at a time, learn through doing, with short writing exercises and tips and tricks to help and inspire you to confidently write from the heart.

Jumpstart Your Memoir - Washtenaw Community College Division of Economic & Community Development