Filipino American arrested for allegedly taking part in the 1/6 Insurrection at the nation's Capitol

Kene Brian Lazo, AKA "walis man" was arrested for his part in the 1/6 invasion
of the U.S. Capitol.

Federal authorities swept up the broom-carrying Filipino American suspect for taking part in the Jan. 6 Insurrection at the nation's Capitol.

Known as the "walis man" because he carried a Filipino broom (walis tambo) into the Capitol and used an American flag for his cape, Kene Brian Lazo was arrested as a suspect by the FBI in his Norfolk, Virginia home last Friday.

Lazo faces the following charges:

• Knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority;
• Diorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority;
• Disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or in a Capitol building; and
• Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Social media users were able to track the suspect down immediately after the Capitol takeover before his Facebook page was taken down. Coconuts Manila did our own sleuthing and found that the man, who uses the name “Fam Council,”  posted a selfie of himself inside the Capitol wearing his unusual garb.

In addition, he posted several videos of the mob as they take over Capitol Hill.

According to an FBI affidavit, the agency was also able to find out Lazo's whereabout through Facebook after receiving a tip about "Fam Council" website.

Thousands of Donald Trump supporters, encouraged by Trump, marched to the Capitol,  broke through police lines and busted windows and doors in an attempt to stop Congressional ratification of the 2020 election results in which Joe Biden defeated Trump. In all, five people lost their lives as a result of the attempted coup, including two members of the undermanned Capitol police.

Thus far, the federal government has filed charges against more than 450 people in connection with the 1/6 attack, which authorities viewed as an act of domestic terrorism.

Memorial Day 2021: Dedicated to those who defended the Capitol and Democracy on Jan. 6, 2021

January 6, 2021, insurrectionists, ignoring the Constitution, tried to take over the United States. 

OPINON

On the first Memorial Day on June 1, 1865, U.S. Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Lincoln's most famous speech, was also his shortest. He gave it in the field where the Battle of Gettysburg in 2863 was fought. There were some 23,000 casualties, including over 7,000 soldiers fatalities on both sides in that battle, a turning point in the Civil War.

Present day, 2021: The Republican senators blocked the creation of a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Insurrection when thousands of conservative extremists stormed the Capitol in order to stop Congress' ratification of President Joe Biden's Presidential victory.

The Capitol police lost two of its members and hundreds more suffered injuries as a result of that attempted coup. Fortunately, none of the insurrectionists, traitors to the Constitution, the U.S. and to Democracy found any of the lawmakers as they wandered through the Capitol hallways.

As today's Republicans try to cover the truth about the 1/6 Insurrection by choosing to ignore that dreadful day and the very real threat it presented to our country, the words of Lincoln gain more significance on this day.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this post is opinion laced with news. Readers are encouraged to access multiple news sources to form their own opinions.

 

Jo Koy draws from his Filipino American life for material for a TV situation comedyJO

Jo Koy will play a nurse in a sitcom centering on a Filipino American family

Among Filipinos and Filipino Americans, family is everything: more than country, more than city, more than community, more than one's self. 

Filipino American comedian Jo Koy is producing and starring in a TV series centering around a Filipino American family. 

Asian American families are still a rare commodity on American television.

The sitcom All American Girl starring Margaret Chol featured a Korean American family and Fresh Off the Boat centered around a Taiwanese American family. It will be the first time a Filipino family will be fully portrayed on U.S. television.

There have been Filipino characters on U.S. TV for the last few years -- Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto) in The Good Place and Mateo Liwanag (Nico Santos) in Superstore -- but they were individual characters whose background we barely knew. Their families were practically nonexistent.

A peek at Filipino families was given in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend where we meet the family of Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III); and in The Assassination of Gianni Versace we are introduced  to the drark portrayal of Andrew Cunanan's (Darren Criss) father (Jon Jon Briones).

Currently, the Mindy Kaling production, Never Have I Ever, features an Indian American family of teenager Devi Vishwakuma played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

The ABC half-hour sitcom, Josep, which is currently in development, will follow the life of a hardworking Filipino American nurse played by Koy. Written and executive produced by showrunner Steve Joe, Josep will also see its lead character navigating dating, fatherhood and his outspoken mother moving in with him.

If you've seen Koy's standup routines, you know that a good portion of his material comes from being raised by his Filipino mother and her eccentric family. 

Koy is at the peak of his popularity and his schedule reflects that. He is currently on his Just Kidding tour. Koy can also be heard on his weekly podcast, ​The Koy Pond with Jo Koy ​by Starburns Audio. Listeners can dive in each week as Koy welcomes friends and fellow comedians.

The Filipino American comedian is also producing a movie featuring a FIlipino cast, Easter Sunday. The family comedy is based on his life experiences and features Lou Diamond Phillips, Eva Noblezada, Brandon Wardell, Tia Carrere, Lydia Gaston, Rodney To, Melody Butiu, Joey Guila and Elana Juatco.

In addition, his memoire “Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo,” was released last March. The book shows how Koy’s mixed-race background ultimately shaped his brand of comedy and his determination not to give up on his childhood dream to be a stand-up comedian. 

“I’m not trying to pat myself on the back. It was a long road,” Koy said. “And when I finally got to this point in my career, I just looked at my manager. I was like, ‘Man, I would really like to tell people, you know, this struggle, and how hard it was to really get here.’”

Hate and pandemic added to reestablished White House Initiative on AANHPI

Native Hawaiian Krystal Ka'ai will serve as executive director of the White House Initiative on
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order Friday reestablishing the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, reinvigorating the body by expanding its responsibilities, including coordinating a "comprehensive" federal response to the rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination.

"... For far too long, systemic barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity have put the American dream out of reach for many AA and NHPI communities, and racism, nativism, and xenophobia against AA and NHPI communities continues to threaten safety and dignity of AA and NHPI families," stated a White House fact sheet.

Long-time Capitol veteran Krystal Ka’ai, a Native Hawaiian and executive director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, will serve as the executive director for the initiative, which will include representatives from across the executive branch.

The AANHPI communities make up the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and make invaluable contributions to America's society, economy, and culture states the White House. 

"Yet for far too long, systemic barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity have put the American dream out of reach for many AA and NHPI communities, and racism, nativism, and xenophobia against AA and NHPI communities continues to threaten safety and dignity of AA and NHPI families," continues the order.

The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private and nonprofit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for every AA and NHPI community. 

The Commission is also charged with advising the President on policies to address anti-Asian xenophobia and violence, ways to build capacity in AA and NHPI communities through federal grantmaking, and policies to address the intersectional barriers that AA and NHPI women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities face. 

The Commission will include AA and NHPI civic leaders from across the country, and will reflect the rich diversity of AA and NHPI communities throughout the United States.

The new Initiative is charged with driving an ambitious, whole-of-government agenda to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities by:

• Helping to coordinate a comprehensive Federal response to the rise in acts of anti-Asian bias and violence
• Addressing the systemic lack of disaggregated data on AA and NHPI communities in Federal statistical systems
• Expanding language access and language assistance programs for AA and NHPI individuals across federal programs
• Strengthening economic security and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities by empowering AA and NHPI entrepreneurs, building new workforce training opportunities, and promoting workplaces that are free from harassment against AA and NHPI workers
• Addressing the concentration of poverty experienced in many AA and NHPI communities
• Addressing disparities in educational outcomes for AA and NHPI students of all ages, and addressing bullying, harassment, and discrimination in our Nation’s schools
• Advancing climate and environmental justice for AA and NHPI communities who are particularly impacted by the climate crisis and are overburdened by environmental degradation
• Promoting inclusion and belonging for all AA and NHPI communities by strengthening public awareness and education about AA and NHPI communities, cultures, and traditions
• Empowering AA and NHPI communities to be civically engaged, including through electoral participation
• Building a Federal workforce where AA and NHPI public servants are leaders at the most senior levels of our government
• Ensuring that AA and NHPI communities are empowered and equitably served by Federal funding, grants, and contract

“Data disaggregation is a racial and health equity issue. Disaggregating data plays a critical role in better understanding how Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are adversely impacted by health, economic and social inequities." said Rod Lew, MPH, Executive Director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL)

At a time where anti-Asian hate is surging, the AANHPI communities are also a pandemic that has disproportionately hit these communities revealing the significant health inequities faced by many Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in particular. To ensure that the Federal government is mitigating COVID-19 related anti-Asian bias, advancing health equity for all AA and NHPI communities, and ensuring AA and NHPI communities can equitably recover from these crises, the Initiative will be led out of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Ka'ai's appointment has greeted with praise.

“The appointment of Krystal Kaʻai serves as a beacon of hope and provides a sense of place for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. We are excited and eager to work with Krystal and the Biden Administration to address the important needs of our community” said Kūhiō Lewis, President and CEO for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Ka'ai has served as the Executive Director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) since 2013, leading legislative, communications, and outreach strategy for a bicameral caucus composed of more than 70 members in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. 

She worked to advanced key priorities impacting the AAPI community, including health care, immigration, education, civil rights, economic development, and more. She previously served in various roles with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the State of Hawai‘i.

Juliet K. Choi, President and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, said: "We’re especially pleased that the Initiative will be led out of the Department of Health and Human Services, as our AA and NHPI communities have faced, and continue to face, long standing disparate health outcomes that have been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by xenophobia and anti-Asian hat."

Vietnamese American lawmaker passes on Florida Senate bid

CONGRESSMEMBER STEPHANIE MURPHY

Florida Congressmember Stephanie Murphy will forego a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2022 but holds open the possibility of a run in 2024.

Murphy, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, cites a rough race challenging incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2022 midterms. 

“We’ve had too many close losses in Florida, and so I wanted to use my experience from winning tough races to help the party prepare itself,” Murphy said in a video released earlier this week on her social media accounts.

In a state that has voted with the GOP in the last two Presidential elections in 2016 and 2020, a Democrat running for office at any level faces a daunting task. Plus, in the midterms, historically and party in power face an uphill battle to retain its seats in Congress. Republican voters usually have a better turnout than Democrats in the midterms.

In addition, the Florida GOP-controlled legislature and governor recently passed voter suppression laws that will likely be challenged in the courts in this election cycle.

Democrats fare better in the years when the nation elects a President when Democrat voters are more prone to turn out.

If Murphy decides to run in 2024, she would go against Florida's other incumbent Senator, Rick Scott, deemed a weaker opponent than Curz.

“The reality is that Marco Rubio will not be an easy opponent, especially if it’s on the heels of a bruising primary, where Democrats spend millions attacking each other instead of using those millions to build the infrastructure we so desperately need to win here,” Murphy said.

“So, I’ve decided, instead of running for the U.S. Senate, I will devote my energy to helping make our party stronger. While I will not be running statewide in ’22, I will work to help the Democratic Party build toward statewide success.”

Murphy said she will seek reelection to Congressional District 7 in Central Florida.

Murphy's exit from the race against Cruz leaves the door open for fellow Democrat, Rep. Val Demmings, who hasn't announced her plans for 2022. Demmings, a former police chief, was on Joe Biden's short list as a possible running mate.

Racial reckoning: California city apologizes for burning down its Chinatown

First U.S. city to formally apologize for its past treatment of Chinese residents

Antioch's downtown once was the site for a Chinatown.

A California city formally apologized for its racist treatment of early Chinese residents during a period known as "The Driving Out," that included a district once known as Chinatown.

Acknowledging the wrongs Antioch’s early residents inflicted against Chinese Americans, Mayor Lamar Thorpe on May 19 issued an apology and introduced a series of proposals to make amends. “We’re in the middle of a national awakening that has been spun out of anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate,” Thorpe said in downtown Waldie Plaza, where the California city's Chinatown once stood.

“I think we will be the first city, not only in the Bay Area, in California, but throughout the United States, to officially apologize for the misdeeds and mistreatment of the Chinese,” Thorpe said at a news conference, according to East Bay Times. “And so this is, this is no small thing that we’re doing here today. This is a big deal.”

After the 1849 Gold Rush attracted fortune hunters from around the world, many miners stopped in Antioch, located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta enroute to the Sierra Nevada foothills where gold was discovered.

Chinese entrepreneurs set up shop along the waterfront, feeding and supplying the 49ers heading upriver to the goldfields. The Chinese who made Antioch their home  lived in hotels, homes and houseboats along the river. 

After the initial rush to find gold died down, many Chinese remained in the area to work on the railroads and built the river levees that created one of the richest agricultural regions in the country. 

SCREEN CAPTURE / KTVU

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, right, presents the apology resolution to Andrew Li,
president of the Contra Costa Community College Board.

The boundaries of Antioch's Chinatown were created by white leaders and landowners who didn't want the Chinese as neighbors.

The years following the Gold Rush, no immigrant group was as loathed as the Chinese. That hatred became endemic to California, planted and stocked by politicians, city leaders and the media. Their xenophobic talking points will sound familiar today: outrage over “low skill” laborers taking jobs from white people, complaints that Chinese people failed to integrate into American society (while simultaneously barring them from schools, social gathering places and even public streets) and accusations of “an invasion.”

This period, 1850-1870, in Antioch and in most of the country became known as “The Driving Out,” with the forced removals of Chinese immigrants from cities throughout the West Coast and Honolulu. 

During this time, Antioch became a so-called sundown town in which Chinese residents were barred from walking city streets after sunset.

To avoid the restrictive local laws, the Chinese residents built a series of sturdy, brick-lined tunnels connecting the businesses and residences so that business could continue after nightfall.

"The citizens of Antioch have been endeavoring to rid themselves of the Chinese for some time,” the Sacramento Bee wrote in the spring of 1876.

The final straw came on April 29, 1876, when a local doctor announced that the source of venereal disease contracted by several white men were the Chinese women downtown.

An angry mob formed going door-to-door in Chinatown telling Chinese residents to leave the town by 3 p.m. or suffer the consequences. No exceptions, the mob declared. Children, old, men, women, healthy and  the infirmed had just hours to pack up and depart via the ferries that plied the waters, connecting San Francisco to Sacramento and Stockton.

By the 1870s, California had moved from local ordinances, like Antioch’s street ban, to creating entire anti-Chinese political parties. San Franciscan Denis Kearney, (Ironically, one of San Francisco's main streets is named after him) himself an immigrant from Ireland, formed the Workingmen’s Party of California. Its stated goal was to eradicate Chinese workers and its infamous slogan was: “The Chinese must go!” 

The state constitution ratified in 1879 had only one article that addressed a racial or ethnic group. Entitled “CHINESE,” it banned corporations from hiring “Chinese or Mongolian” people and specified "no Chinese shall be employed on any State, county, municipal, or other public work, except in punishment for crime." Three years later, the infamous federal Chinese Exclusion Act banned immigrants coming from China.

The Sunday after Antioch's Chinese residents were driven out of town, a rumor began to spread that the Chinese had returned.

By 8 p.m. that day, the area known as Chinatown was set on fire. The firemen did little to stop the blaze, using their equipment only to protect the nearby white-owned businesses and residences.

"[T]he story of Chinese immigrants and the dehumanizing atrocities committed against them should not be purged from or minimized in the telling of Antioch’s history," the city said in its resolution.

The city also said it "must acknowledge that the legacy of early Chinese immigrants and xenophobia are part of our collective consciousness that helps contribute to the current anti-Asian-American and Pacific Islander hate."

A plaque recognizing Antioch's past treatment of its Chinese residents is missing.

Antioch Mayor Thorpe said he would create a historical district designating the location and history of Antioch's old Chinatown. “These histories help inform who we are today and avoid mistakes of the past,” said Thorpe.

A bronze plaque recognizing Antioch's history with its Chinese residents from the Joaquin Murrieta Chapter of E Clampus Vitus, a fraternal organization, has been lost to time.

Now a city of over 100,000, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up about 10% of Antioch's population, attracted to the new homes being built, warm climate and accessibility to the urban core of the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Some may say that what happened in the past has no effect on who we are today,” said Joy Motts of the Rivertown Preservation Society. “We believe this to be incorrect. And that, to the contrary, to not acknowledge the wrongs or intolerances of yesterday can only make it more plausible that they happen again.”

“Chinese and Asian residents who were so instrumental in building our community and communities of the Bay Area in the state of California.” Dwayne Eubanks, president of the Antioch Historical Society, who spoke in favor of the resolution. “History matters,” he said. 

Burglary ring that targeted Asian American business owners busted by federal agents.

A burglary ring that targeted New Jersey Asian American business owners was the latest criminal gang busted by federal agents.

Eight members of an interstate burglary crew were charged for their roles in a conspiracy that targeted homeowners of Asian descent for residential burglaries, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced Tuesday, May 25.

Rabine Armour of Easton, Pennsylvania; Kevin Burton of Newark; Kevin Jackson of Rahway, New Jersey; Thomas Rodgers of Newark; James Hurt of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania; Sherman Glasco of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Randi Barr of Irvington, New Jersey; and Terrance Black of Irvington, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property. 

Burton is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and conspiring with Keesha Davis, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to tamper with evidence. The defendants will appear by videoconference today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.

As alleged in the complaint, these defendants were part of a sophisticated, multi-state burglary crew that targeted the homes of business owners of Asian descent, intending to steal the cash proceeds of their businesses as well as jewelry, foreign currency, and other property,” Acting U.S. Attorney Honig said. 

“A comprehensive investigation led by our partners at the FBI and aided by the cooperation of local law enforcement revealed the links among over 50 residential burglaries and thereby uncovered this scheme. As a result of this careful investigative work, the defendants now face federal charges for their actions.” 

“These defendants allegedly carried out a brazen conspiracy based on stereotype and opportunity,” Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. said. “It is fitting that these arrests come at a time when society is raising awareness regarding crimes against our Asian American citizens.”

Law enforcement officials identified eight members of an interstate burglary crew responsible for more than 50 home burglaries. 

Armour, Burton, and Jackson were arrested in Old Bridge, New Jersey, and Barr was arrested in Hazlet, New Jersey, during burglaries in progress. 

Searches of Armour’s and Burton’s residences revealed tens of thousands of dollars in United States currency and currency from Asian countries, jewelry, family heirlooms, and other valuables that were previously reported stolen by victims. 

According to court documents, while searching vehicles used in the commission of burglaries, authorities  recovered notes containing the home addresses of individuals of Asian descent with derogatory descriptive terms to identify the ethnicity of the homeowners.

A subsequent investigation of the contents of communications obtained from Armour and Burton’s cellular telephones, in addition to location data associated with crew members’ phone numbers, led law enforcement to identify other conspirators, including Glasco, Hurt, Black, and Rodgers. In comparing communications, location information, and recovered stolen property with known burglaries matching the methods employed by the burglary crew, law enforcement was able to link the defendants with numerous residential burglaries of homes owned by Asian Americans.

Law enforcement officials learned that unlawful entry into the homes was often made through unsecured second-floor windows; the victims’ cars were burglarized at their respective places of business in order to ascertain the homeowners’ addresses from the vehicles’ documents; makeshift trackers were placed on victims’ vehicles; the crew looked for indications of occupancy of homes by individuals of Asian descent; and once inside, the crew sought out cash, jewelry, and firearms.

The charge of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

Asian Americans have been targets of burglary and home invasions in recent years. 

Authorities arrested three suspects in April for burglarizing 26 Asian American business owners in Colorado and Wyoming. All three suspects have been charged with racketeering, conspiracy and multiple counts of burglary and theft/criminal mischief, according to CBS Denver.

A Texas-based ring was busted in 2019 and earlier this month its leader was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Other members of the gang await sentencing. This group conducted a series of violent home invasions, tying up the Asian American occupants while searching their residences. 

Both the Texas and New Jersey operations based their criminal activities in the belief that Asian Americans distrusted financial institutions like banks and had large amounts of cash and jewelry stashed in their homes.

While the crimes occurred several years ago, many in the Asian American community say it adds anxiety in light of the uptick in Asian hate seen nationwide.

Lu-in Wang, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law who has studied crimes of opportunity against Asians, said choosing victims based on  stereotypes could be the reason for the proliferation of operations targeting Asian Americans at their homes.

Criminals might assume that Asian business owners or home owners would be easy targets who likely would have cash or valuable jewelry stored in their homes or would be reluctant to involve the police because of language barriers.

“We’re targeting you because we think you’re an easy target,” Wang said. “That can make people feel even more vulnerable than ‘We’re choosing you based on hate.’”

NYC Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang battles "perpetual foreigner" stereotype

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Andrew Yang could become mayor of New York City, the financial hub of the U.S.

Andrew Yang, New York City mayoral candidate, has slipped in the polls after being the frontrunner for weeks.

Yang, who gained national attention while running an underdog campaign seeking the Democrats' nomination for President in 2020, is now third in a field of eight, according to a new poll conducted by Emerson College and PIX11 News.

During his campaign, Yang has had to contend with the "perpetual foreigner" trope even though he's lived in New York City for 25 years. The question arises: "How long does one have to live in the city to be called a New Yorker?"

An editorial cartoon in the Daily News showed Yang emerging from a subway station while a nearby storeowner says, " The tourists are back."

Yang responded to the cartoon Tuesday in a social media post, writing, “Every time you say that I’m not a real New Yorker, you’re telling another Asian American that they don’t belong.”

The cartoon, being a cartoon, did not portray Yang in a good light. Critics and Yang supporters called it racist, depicting Yang with small, slanted eyes. The cartoon drew sharp criticism from the AAPI community, already reeling for a surge of racist attacks for the past year.

"I will be the first to tell you that I’m open to different opinions and will always welcome conversations on policy. And I am a proud son of immigrants," Yang continued in his post. "But to paint me in the media as a perpetual foreigner to this city is wrong and subtly approves racism at a time when people are being beaten on the street on the basis of who they are."

The Asian American Journalists Association wrote a letter to the Daily News criticizing the cartoon.

"We want to be clear that we don't take sides in political races," said AAJA executive director Naomi Tacuyan Underwood. "We want to hold media organizations accountable in terms of the candidate coverage without feeding into or perpetuating stereotypes and historical tropes."

Evelyn Yang, the candidate's wife, was driven to tears in a press conference Tuesday denoucning the cartoon. “It’s not funny. It’s racist. It’s toxic,” she said. 

Underwood said exaggerated, mangled depictions of Asian Americans were used to fuel arguments for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

In response to the critical salvos, The Daily News had the artist redrew the cartoon by adding pupils to the eyes. but retained the message.

The change in the redrawn editorial cartoon was subtle.

Following is Andrew Yang's social media post:

Jordan Clarkson wins NBA's Sixth Man Award

JORDAN CLARKSON 

Jordan Clarkson is having the best year of his NBA career. The Utah Jazz guard was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year Monday. 

The Filipino American is the first Asian American to earn that distinction as the most impactful player coming off the bench.

This past season he was a reliable scoring machine giving the league-leading Jazz a shot of energy or a momentum changer when the starters might be having an off-night.

"For me, it was tough," Clarkson told TNT's "Inside The NBA." "My first couple years because I started in L.A. during that time, but just coming to myself and trying to find the impact I can have in this game, and what I can bring to it. When I got that role, I just kind of took it, worked at it, and this situation -- being traded here to Utah from Cleveland -- it really enhanced everything, just because everybody knows their role and knows what they are doing.

"I just accepted it and just took it as one and kept rolling with it."

In this year's shortened 68 game season, even though he wasn't a starter, Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes.

The L.A. Lakers picked Clarkson 46th overall in the 2014 NBA draft. As a rookie he was a starter, a role he played his first two years. At one point, he and Jeremy Lin played at the same time, they formed the first Asian American backcourt in the NBA.

When Luke Walton became coach, he told Clarkson that he would be coming of the bench. Clarkson took that a demotion and sought to prove Walton wrong. 

However, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he floundered, unsure of his role. Two years ago, he was picked up by the Jazz, which wound up having the best record in the NBA this season.

The No. 1-ranked Jazz is in the playoffs and on Sunday, they lost their first game against the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz have a good chance to win the NBA crown and Jordan will be called on to come off the bench and provide a burst of energy and points.

Vast majority of anti-AAPI incidents are prompted by white racists

Demonstrations against the rise in anti-Asian racism are being organized across the nation.

In the thousands of incidents studied in a new report for which there were reported details about the individuals who were the source of anti-Asian harassment, discrimination, and stigmatization, the majority of the offenders were identified as male, white, and, in the case of politicians, affiliated with the Republican Party.

The Virulent Hate Project, which is supported by U-M’s Center for Social Solutions and Poverty Solutions initiative, reviewed 4,337 news articles from 2020 that addressed coronavirus-related, anti-Asian racism in the United States. From those articles, researchers identified 1,023 unique incidents of anti-Asian racism.

"We found that there are many forms of anti-Asian racism that took place as early as January 2020 all throughout the pandemic," said Melissa Borja, lead researcher on the Virulent Hate Project and assistant professor in U-M’s Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program.

"There is a lot of conversation in the current moment about hate crimes, but the reality is that Asian Americans experience a wide variety of forms of racism, and all of them did harm all across the country and all ethnic groups were affected and all age groups were affected. So this is a pervasive problem and this is why many Asian Americans are feeling concerned about going about their daily lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in China, resurfaced long-held stereotypes about Asian Americans, and stigmatizing rhetoric led to increased anti-Asian hostility in 2020 that has continued in 2021, said Borja.

“We saw two main stereotypes driving anti-Asian hostility in 2020: first, the view of Asian Americans as ‘perpetual foreigners,’ and second, the belief that Asian people and Asian Americans are a ‘yellow peril’ that pose an epidemiological, cultural, economic, racial and national security threat to the United States,” Borja continued.

Studying these hate incidents and making the data publicly accessible can contribute to a better understanding of anti-Asian racism, shape public policy and guide the activism of Asian American community organizations, she said. The Virulent Hate Project supports the work of Stop AAPI Hate and the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University.

“We imagine this project as not just counting incidents of anti-Asian racism, but collecting hundreds of stories that can help shape the public conversation,” Borja said. “In addition to tracking anti-Asian hate incidents, it also is important to document the ways Asian American communities are resisting racism and advocating for anti-discrimination policies that will better protect them.”

In the 184 incidents in which the race of the source was identified, the perpetrators were predominantly white. White individuals were reported as offenders in 165 of the 184 anti-Asian incidents (89.6%). 

In contrast, Black individuals were identified as offenders in 10 of the 184 anti-Asian incidents (5.43%). This observation is worth noting, given the current public conversation about Asian-Black relations, the report cites. The information that presented, while limited and imperfect, does not support the common claim that Black hostility is driving the current epidemic of anti-Asian racism and violence.

Of the 157 incidents for which the political affiliation of the politicians and government officials could be identified, 152 incidents (96.82%) involved politicians affiliated with the Republican Party.

“There has been a tendency to target different Asian ethnicities throughout the United States history,” said Karen J. Leong, an associate professor of women and gender studies and Asian Pacific American studies in the School of Social Transformation. “It’s never been one monolithic anti-Asian narrative. It’s taken on different forms and specificites based on the particular moment.”

“Anti-Asian racism is linked structurally to white supremacy and often to cis white hetero patriarchy, which really is about this very normative idea of heterosexual families, led by the authority of white males,” Leong said.

This white supremacy is now persevering through political agendas that shift the blame for many of America's problems onto marginalized communities, she says. 

“There's this idea of how to get different non-white groups to fight against each other, rather than to unite and fight against white nationalism and white supremacy,” Leong said. “So there's ... this constant shifting of who's going to feel like they might have access and who's going to be seen as the other, and how these different groups can be pitted against each other.” 

Other key findings from the Virulent Hate Project include:

• Of the 1,023 unique anti-Asian hate incidents analyzed, 66% (679 incidents) involved anti-Asian harassment and vandalism that targeted individuals or groups. 

• Approximately 33% (344 incidents) involved stigmatizing and discriminatory statements, images, policies and proposals made by individuals or groups that reproduced anti-Asian stereotypes and harmed Asian Americans as a community.

• Anti-Asian harassment affected Asian Americans of all ages, ethnic groups and genders, although the harassment was not experienced evenly across demographic groups. Women were the victim in 65% of anti-Asian harassment incidents, and

• Chinese Americans experienced nearly 58% of the harassment incidents reported in the news, although 14 Asian ethnicities were victims of the attacks or harassment.

• Incidents of anti-Asian harassment were reported in the news in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The majority (67%) of anti-Asian harassment incidents occurred in businesses, streets and public transit.

Jeremy Lin says the announcement of his retirement was premature

JEREMY LIN

Whoa! It looks like sports journalists jumped the gun. Jeremy Lin is not retiring from professional basketball.

Lin posted a long, cryptic message last week on social media wherein he admitted that he had come to the realization that his attempt to return to the NBA was not going to happen. It sounded like the end of his career.

He wrote: "I didn't get it all done, but I have no regrets," Lin wrote. "I gave my ALL and hold my head high. As for what's next, I trust what God has in store for me … Thanks to everyone whose rolled with me on this journey. I love you all."

“It wasn’t my official retirement, but it was definitely something where I’m kind of realizing that there’s not much else I can do to prove that I belong in the NBA,” Lin told The Spin.

At one time, he was the only Asian American in the National Basketball League.

Since he began his career 11 years ago when he went undrafted after a stellar 4-year stint at Harvard, he played played for the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He last appeared in a game for the 2018-19 Raptors that won the NBA title.

The high point was a few weeks with the Knicks when he started in place of the team's starting guard. He was nothing short of spectacular. For 26 games, he was the toast of the town. Linsanity was born.

Unfortunately, an injury kept him from playing in the playoffs and he was never able to regain the consistent winning form of Linsanity.

After playing part of the season with the Raptors, where he earned helped earn a championship, no NBA team picked up his contract so he spent a year playing for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. 

Last year he turned down a huge contract to return to the Ducks so he could audition for the NBA by playing in the G-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors. He was among the top ten scorers in the league. He watched as the other top scorers were called up by NBA teams. When he didn't get that call, he came to the realization that his NBA dream may be over.

But, he says, he's not retiring and his mulling over his options.  “Every challenge that I’ve been given, every ask of me I’ve done and I’ve performed well, so for me, it’s kind of realizing, hey, it doesn’t really matter what I do,” Lin says.

UCLA Report: Audiences want movies that reflect the diversity of America

Will the pandemic force Hollywood to rethink diversity goals?

ANALYSIS

For the movie industry, 2020 was a year like no other. Theaters shuttered, No red carpets. Audiences staying home. Movies premiering on streaming channels.

Like everyone, Hollywood studios had to get creative in 2020. UCLA’s latest Hollywood Diversity Report, published  last week by the UCLA College Division of Social Sciences, shows that 54.6% of the top films of 2020 were released solely via streaming subscription services, a major departure from business as usual.

But like reports from recent years, movie audiences -- whether at home or at the few theaters that remained open -- were more diverse and movies that had diverse casts continued to do better at the box office.

However, Hollywood decision-makers appear not moved by the report's data. The most underrepresented groups in all job categories, relative to their presence in the U.S., are Asian, Latino and Native actors, directors and writers.

The film installment of this year’s Hollywood Diversity Report tracks the top 185 films of 2020, breaking down performance by box-office revenue for theatrical releases and, new for this year, Nielsen ratings for streaming films.

Though 2020 was far from a typical year in the Hollywood film sector, new evidence nonetheless supports longstanding findings from the UCLA report series that America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse content. Movie fans of color had a larger impact than usual because of the industry's move to releasing new films on streaming platforms, where diverse audiences flocked to during the pandemic

For six of the top 10 theatrically released films, minorities accounted for the majority of domestic ticket sales during opening weekend. For the seventh top film, minorities accounted for half the ticket sales.

For the smaller-than normal number of top films released theatrically in 2020, median global box office receipts peaked for those that had very diverse casts — from 41 percent to 50 percent minority, states the report 

For the much larger collection of top films released via streaming platforms, ratings and social media interactions were highest for titles with casts that were from 21 percent to 30 percent minority. 

Meanwhile, people of color accounted for the majority of opening weekend domestic ticket sales for six of the top 10 films released in theaters in 2020 (ranked by global box office), as well as half of the tickets for a seventh top 10 film. Similarly, households of color accounted for a disproportionate share of the households viewing eight of the top 10 films released via streaming platforms in 2020, ranked by total household ratings. 

Finally, findings based on box office share and household ratings reveal that the films most favored by diverse moviegoers and households in 2020 tended to have casts that were greater than 30 percent minority. 

Constituting more than 40 percent of the U.S. population, people of color accounted for an even a larger share of the market due to their heavy consumption of top films in 2020, and the data clearly show they preferred diverse content.

Coinciding with Hollywood’s most atypical year in terms of how films were released was the industry’s most successful year on the diversity front. As this report documents, women and people of color not only made progress in each of the major employment arenas considered in 2020, but in two of them — among leads and total actors — both groups either reached or came very close to reaching proportionate representation. This was a first.

These market realities clearly make the case for Hollywood treating diversity as a first-order business imperative, states the UCLA report. "Indeed, a recent McKinsey & Company report estimates that the industry is leaving about $10 billion on the table by not including more Black talent and stories in its creative ecosystem," the report says. "This figure only grows when we consider the audience shares and purchasing power of other diverse groups marginalized by the industry."

Could there be a correlation between the the pandemic's health measures and the tremendous progress observed on the diversity front? Or were these corresponding breaks with business as usual a mere coincidence, Hollywood finally coming to terms with its diversity problem by happenstance in a year also skewed by the pandemic? 

How do we know that the progress observed in 2020 was not an anomaly that will be revealed as such by findings from the next report?

Movies with AAPI leads or themes slated to be released in 2021 can give us an indication. Already Raya and the Last Dragon, Mortal Kombat and Army of the Dead have already had their premieres this year

Some of this year's blockbuster releases include: Jungle Cruise will debut in July, Shang Chi and the Legend of 10 Rings is scheduled for a September premiere, Oscar winner Chloe Zhao's The Eternals starring Gemma Chan and Kumail Nanjiani ,has a November opening; Matrix 4, December.

In addition, several other films with smaller budgets, but more intimate, such as  Paper Tigers, The Fabulous Filipino Brothers and Islands, are making the rounds in the film festival circuit, seeking distributors that might be released throughout the year.

Movie productions usually are years in the making so the the decisions made this year will be the true test. The headline for this time in 2022 could be: 2020 was the turning point for Hollywood's diversity woes; or, Hollywood goes back to its old ways in 2021.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this post is news laced with opinion. Readers are encouraged to access multiple news sources to form their own opinion.

Punk rockers Linda Lindas get a record contract after viral video

The Los Angeles band, the Linda Lindas.

Can't get enough of the Linda Lindas, the youthful punk rock group whose video performance of "Racist, Sexist Boy" went viral?

We may get to see and hear more of the four-girl group. The band has signed with Epitaph Records, according to Spin. 

The band — Bela, Lucia, Eloise and Mila, who range in age from 10 to 16 and describe themselves on their websit as “Half Asian / Half Latinx. Sisters, cousins and friends who play music together because it’s fun!!”

The video of the girl group before they broke into their son, neatly attired in school uniforms, didn't give a hint at what was to happen next.

“A little while before we went into lockdown, a boy came up to me in my class and said that his dad told him to stay away from Chinese people,” said drummer Mila, the youngest and most innocent-looking of the group. “After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me. Eloise and I wrote this song based on that experience.”

And then they broke into song. No, a better description is: they exploded. Heads bobbing, jumping up and down, and screaming, "You're a racist, sexist boy ..." They were not the  shy, retiring stereotypes most of America expects.

The song is a vicious attack on the mysogynist attitudes adopted by most males in our society. We shouldn't be surprised that in this day and age of social media, instant messaging, making online communities with people you don't know, the MeToo movement, that girls so young recognize and resist those values. Young people -- some say, Gen Zers -- are totally involved in taking part and organizing the demonstrations against the hate and xenophobia directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Since the video was posted last Thursday, it has received over 2 million views.

 Here's the rest of their set performed in the L.A. Public Library: