For your reading pleasure this Sunday: Immigrants, Bulosan and 'colorism'

A Filipino American family is on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Review section.

I love lazy Sundays. I swear, I could just sit here in my backyard in the shade of my ol' tree and read on my iPad all day. This weekend has given us a plethora of articles that will make one stop, take a deep breath, and ponder. Hopefully, a light bulb will go on and one will experience an "ah-ha" moment.

Today, I'm reading:

Contrary to white supremacist fears that the shifting demographics is changing America, the writer says, "I took reassurance this past week in another Texas immigration story, which suggests that America’s powers of assimilation remain formidable."

In an amazing story (photo above), New York Times writer Jason DeParle asks, "What Makes An American?" He  has been following a family for over 30 years, from their life of poverty in the Philippines to their new life in Texas. Their immigrant story reassures him that the American promise and dream is still alive. He focuses on the the daughter of the family and concludes, "She didn’t replace an American; she became one."

Filipinx American author Elaine Castillo reflects on the importance of Carlos Bulosan's iconic novel  America Is In the Heart.

She write in The Nation that the impact of the book goes beyond the words on the page. It changes one's perspective, thus it changes one's life. It gave her "Life Tools."

"To not read it is, to put it simply, to not know America, to deprive oneself of the full backstory of the long, drawn-out, bloodied multiverse that is our shared history—Filipinx, American, everywhere in between,"

Miss Universe Catriona Gray is not mentioned in this story,  but it is about why we idolize people like her.

Just add another "ism" to your life. You've heard of ageism and racism, now you can ponder "colorism." Yes, it's been part of some Asian cultures for so long we just accept it as a reality of life.

From Vogue, we get the article Skin Lightening Is Fraught With Risk, But It Still Thrives in the Asian Beauty Market—Here’s Why.

San Jose State University Joanne L. Rondilla explains how skin color isn’t primarily about vanity for Asians; it’s about social standing. “Having light skin implied that one was a woman of high class, education, and leisure,” she writes. “A woman’s light skin meant she did not need to work outdoors to make a living."

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