Three Sikh-American Soldiers File New Lawsuit Against U.S. Department of Defense - NBC News

my article for NBC Asian America

The Army has been failing to make decisions on whether these patriotic Sikhs will be able serve their country while abiding by the tenets of their faith. In doing so, the Army is violating their constitutional and statutory rights."

Three Sikh-American Soldiers File New Lawsuit Against U.S. Department of Defense - NBC News

Asian-American and Muslim-American Communities Respond to Lahore Attack - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America re #Lahore, #LahoreBlast, #JeSuisLahore,#LahoreBleeds, #PrayForLahore, #PrayForPakistan, and #MainHoonLahore.

For the Asian-American and Muslim-American community, the attack, which killed and injured mostly women and children, felt personal, as were the condolences and condemnations.

Asian-American and Muslim-American Communities Respond to Lahore Attack - NBC News

#MuslimNeighborhood Hashtag Surfaces After Cruz, Trump Show Support for Neighborhood Patrols - NBC News

my article for NBC

Come to my #muslimneighborhood in Hamtramck and try some tandoori pizza and mango lassi or some halal barbeque chicken wings and ice tea. 

#MuslimNeighborhood Hashtag Surfaces After Cruz, Trump Show Support for Neighborhood Patrols - NBC News

Remembering Don Nakanishi, Pioneering Asian American Studies Professor - NBC News

my article for nbc

"Professor Don Nakanishi's contributions to Asian American Studies and ethnic studies were stellar and pioneering, reflected in his visionary leadership of theUCLA Asian American Studies Center," David K. Yoo, UCLA professor and director of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, told NBC News.

Remembering Don Nakanishi, Pioneering Asian American Studies Professor - NBC News

Cartoonist Starts #SendSikhNotetoTrump Campaign To Counter Stereotypes - NBC News

my article for NBC

"Trump is really good at playing with words and distorting facts," Singh said. "Besides making sure I cast my vote and make a call to everyone eligible to vote in primaries and November, I am trying to do a literary take down of Trump by channeling the 'goodness' which resides in all of us. My cartooning work, writings and performance art are all focused [on], to quote another Presidential candidate, 'appealing to the better angels of our nature.'"

Cartoonist Starts #SendSikhNotetoTrump Campaign To Counter Stereotypes - NBC News

Upcoming writing classes this summer

Finding your Voice

4 Tuesdays, July 5-26, 2016, 5:00-7:30 pm
University of Hawaii Hilo

Dare to Dream
4 Thursdays, July 7-28, 2016, 5:00-7:30 pm
University of Hawaii Hilo

Writing to Change the World
Saturday, July 30, 2016, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
University of Hawaii Hilo

English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream
2 Saturdays August 20, 2016-August 27, 2016, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Washtenaw Community College

Bring a notebook and pen. No lunch provided.

Jumpstart Your College Essay
2 Saturdays August 20, 2016-August 27, 2016, afternoon 1-4pm

Washtenaw Community College

Lunch is not provided. For ages 15-18.

Upcoming classes at WCC (and Today's creative non-fiction class cancelled)

Creative Non-fiction class cancelled, but sign up for these upcoming classes at WCC!

Finding Your Voice: Intensive Writers Workshop
ENG 4290
Start date: 05/07/16
Mandatory Fees:$0.00
Room : BE 140
1 session
Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .
Tuition:$69.00
Location : Business Education Building
Instructor : Frances Wang
Please read: No lunch provided.

Writing to Change the World
ENG 4013
Start date: 06/04/16
Mandatory Fees:$0.00
Room : BE 140
1 session
Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .
Tuition:$69.00
Location : Business Education Building
Instructor : Frances Wang
Please read: Lunch is not provided.

English Special Workshop: Dare to Dream
ENG 4055
Start date: 08/20/16-08/27/16
Mandatory Fees:$0.00
Room : BE 140
2 sessions.
Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .
Tuition:$69.00
Location : Business Education Building Location :
Business Education Building.
Instructor : Frances Wang
Please read: Bring a notebook and pen. No lunch provided.

Jumpstart Your College Essay
ENG 4012
Start date: 08/20/16-8/27/16
Mandatory Fees:$0.00
Room :Rm.
2 sessions.
Days of the Week : Weekly - Sat .
Tuition:$69.00
Location : Main Campus
Instructor : Frances Wang
Please read: Lunch is not provided. For ages 15-18.

https://washtenaw.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassListing.ClassListingDisplay&int_category_id=3&int_sub_category_id=49&int_catalog_id=1

Feathered Cloak and Helmet of Kalani'ōpu'u Return to Hawai'i after 237 Years - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"The ʻahuʻula and mahiole left their homeland at the end of the season of Lono in 1779 and the memory they hold in their very fiber is that of a healthy, abundant, sovereign society," Mehanaokalā Hind, director of community engagement at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a lineal descendant of Kalani'ōpu'u, said in a statement. "They will be returning home to the Hawaiian archipelago in that same season of the year 237 years later, at a time when Native Hawaiians are making strides in the health and well-being of our people. They will serve as a physical reminder to help guide Native Hawaiians in their pursuit of a thriving society."

Feathered Cloak and Helmet of Kalani'ōpu'u Return to Hawai'i after 237 Years - NBC News

Tammy Duckworth to Take on Senate Incumbent After Primary Win - NBC News

my article for NBC

"Tonight, we sent a message that a positive campaign that is focused on solutions for working families and the challenges they face can still be successful," Duckworth said in her primary night remarks. "We sent a message that standing firmly by the values we hold dear — respect, compassion, and tolerance — resonates more deeply than attack ads and negative soundbites. And we sent a message that our grassroots army, filling field offices and labor halls all across this great state, will not let big-money outside groups stop us from winning back this Senate seat."

Tammy Duckworth to Take on Senate Incumbent After Primary Win - NBC News

Asian-American Studies Major at Northwestern University Starts This Fall - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"The passing of Northwestern's proposal for a major in Asian American Studies, it is the result of over two decades of student activism, faculty advocacy, and alumni involvement," Asian American Studies department chair Shalini Shankar told NBC News. "In Spring 2015, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the student hunger strikes that eventually lead to the establishment of our program. This created a groundswell of momentum that encouraged us to reintroduce the proposal for a major."

Asian-American Studies Major at Northwestern University Starts This Fall - NBC News

Meet our neighborhood #NoGreenRoadBusYard

Message to University of Michigan, Dr. Mark Schlissel, and UM Regents, who are planning to build an industrial bus yard in the middle of our beloved community:

Please do not build a bus yard in the middle of our quiet and beautiful neighborhood--where our children watch spellbound as bunnies and deer graze in our gardens, where grandparents and young parents stroll with new babies in the sunshine, where children bike and play and laugh together on the street corners.

Almost every family in our neighborhood is connected to the university in some way. We are Alums, Faculty, Parents, Staff, Students, Volunteers. My family alone has been all of these. I first came to Michigan for graduate school, and I am now so proud to be teaching at the university. I have also worked as staff, and I have volunteered with many many many university activities. My children have practically grown up on the UM campus, and we joke that they know which departments host the best receptions with the best food because they have been to so many. My children have attended performances and events and camps, attended UM Children's Center when they were two, and take UM classes while in high school. The university is why we are here.

Our Martin Luther King elementary school's school colors and spirit week activities have always been maize and blue. UM is integral to King School's ambitious and academic school culture and part of students' everyday conversations about their future dreams.

Furthermore, our children are skittering across Green Road at 6:40 every morning, right at Green and Baxter, in the dark, on the ice, to catch the AATA bus to go to Huron High School. Please don't endanger them further.

Please take the time to meet our neighborhood and our families. #NoGreenRoadBusYard

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
UM Department of Philosophy alum
UM Department of American Culture instructor
UM Center for Chinese Studies volunteer
University Musical Society and UM China Theme Year community volunteer
UM Race Theme Year community volunteer
UM Medical Centers past staff
UM Children's Center parent
UM parent
Guest speaker at UM Law School, UM Medical School, UM Libraries, UM MLK Day Symposium, UM Children's Center, UM Yuri Kochiyama Leadership Program, UM APIA High Schools Conference, UM MAASU Regional Conference, UM ITASA Midwest Conference, UM Chinese Student Association, UM Chinese Student and Scholars Association, UM Center for Chinese Studies teacher trainings, University Musical Society China Theme Year community education events, UM Race Theme Year community education events, UM classes
I have also written about UM events for Ann Arbor Observer, AnnArbor.com, IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, NBC News Asian America.

Meet our neighborhood and our families:

Ann Arbor's Ultimate Cultural Divide: University of Michigan vs Ohio State
http://www.annarbor.com/passions-pursuits/ann-arbors-ultimate-cultural-divide-university-of-michigan-vs-ohio-state/ … …

Wear Maize and Blue to the King School Ice Cream Social
http://www.annarbor.com/passions-pursuits/wear-maize-and-blue-to-the-king-school-ice-cream-social/

Bidding War at King School--U-M fans pay to keep Mr. Karr blue.
http://annarborobserver.com/articles/bidding_war_at_king_school_full_article.html … …

A pair of poems for our children at King School International Night

http://www.annarbor.com/passions-pursuits/a-pair-of-poems-for-our-children-at-king-school-international-night/

The Glazier Way Parade--Candy, donkeys, and remembrance

http://annarborobserver.com/articles/the_glazier_way_parade_full_article.html

My Neighborhood: King, Ann Arbor Observer City Guide, vol. 37, no. 13, August 2013-2014:

More info and link to petition: https://nea2ccdotorg.wordpress.com/u-m-green-road-bus-yard/

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/boycott-university-of-michigan-s-bus-yard-in-our-neighborhood

Jumpstart your Memoir today at WCC

Jumpstart your Memoir w me today at WCC! Next week it's creative nonfiction! (Register for next week's class today while there is still room!)

Teenager Who Beat Sikh American in Chicago Sentenced to Community Service - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"Since Mr. Mukker was viciously assaulted last September, we have seen a meteoric rise in hate crimes against Sikh Americans as xenophobic political speech has increased," Harsimran Kaur, legal director of The Sikh Coalition, told NBC News. "Charging the assailant with a hate crime is an important step towards addressing the broader epidemic. We hope that the 200 hours of community service are spent with the Sikh American community in an effort to further educate."

Teenager Who Beat Sikh American in Chicago Sentenced to Community Service - NBC News

Student Wearing Pakistani Tunic Ejected from Trump Rally - NBC News

my article for NBC Asian America

"I planned to wear my sherwani to the Trump rally to represent all the minorities in this country and to remind Trump that this is not only a country full of white people," Javed told NBC News. "America is a melting pot full of people of different diversities, religions, ethnicities, and races. I went to the rally to raise the voices of the minority. I want Trump to realize that it is not OK to publicly bash minorities such as labeling all Muslims as terrorists, making ISIS the main representation of Islam, or saying all Mexicans are rapists."

Student Wearing Pakistani Tunic Ejected from Trump Rally - NBC News

International Women's Day 2016: A Spotlight on AAPI Leaders, Influencers - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

For Women's History Month and International Women's Day, NBC Asian America is taking a look back at a few of the inspirational Asian American and Pacific Islander women we have been honored to feature this past year. From social activist legends to legislating trailblazers, in real life and in comic or character form, here are some of the formidable women you should know.

International Women's Day 2016: A Spotlight on AAPI Leaders, Influencers - NBC News

Naked Man Holding Sword Arrested for Allegedly Vandalizing Sikh Temple in Washington - NBC News

my article for NBC

"No house of worship in America should ever be desecrated," Sikh Temple of Spokane spokesperson Subarna Nagra said in a statement. "While Sikhism is a distinctly different religion from Islam, we stand with our Muslim, Jewish and Christian neighbors in denouncing this act of hatred."

Naked Man Holding Sword Arrested for Allegedly Vandalizing Sikh Temple in Washington - NBC News

Sikh-American Army Capt. Seeking to Serve with Turban, Beard Gets Temporary Win - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"The Court issued an extremely well-reasoned opinion granting Capt. Singh's request for an order to stop the Army from subjecting him to standards that are different than those that apply to everyone else...The judge made clear that if the Army wants to study the impact of long hair on helmet safety or the impact of facial hair on mask safety, it must do so in a scientifically valid study, not a study of one soldier whose religious liberty is at risk as a result."

Sikh-American Army Capt. Seeking to Serve with Turban, Beard Gets Temporary Win - NBC News

Guerrilla Girls Spotlight Art by Women, People of Color in Twin Cities Takeover - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America and NBC BLK

"How can museums present the art of our time without including all the voices of our culture?" one of Guerrilla Girl's founding members, who goes by the name "Frida Kahlo," told NBC News. "When museums and galleries show mostly white males and not enough of everyone else, they're exhibiting the history of power — not the history of art. The Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover is an outpouring of art about social and political issues of all kinds, an unprecedented coming-together of artists, galleries, schools and museums."

Guerrilla Girls Spotlight Art by Women, People of Color in Twin Cities Takeover - NBC News

Alleged Attacker of Sikh-American Bus Driver Charged with Hate Crime - NBC News

My article for NBC Asian America

"Since hate crimes often terrorize entire communities, it's critical for law enforcement agencies to respond appropriately to restore trust and assure impacted communities that perpetrators will be held accountable," Gurjot Kaur, senior staff attorney at The Sikh Coalition, told NBC News. "Proper training of officers will also help build confidence in victims, who may feel fearful or ashamed, and encourage reporting."

Alleged Attacker of Sikh-American Bus Driver Charged with Hate Crime - NBC News