Seattle: Teaching Filipino American history is a social and societal affirmation

A mural depicts Filipino American experience in Seattle.

It wasn't until college before I learned any Filipino American history. By then, my self-worth had plummeted to depths I didn't realize until I stepped back as an adult to look back on my life's journey.

Middle school and high school were terrible. The popularity and a reputation for academic accomplishments that I fostered in elementary school vanished as I entered 7th grade when the social aspects of school began to take precedence.  All the way through high school, although I got along with students of all races in my multi-ethnic school, I always had this feeling of being on the outside and not belonging.

For the first time, Seattle public school students are being offered an option to study Filipino American history to fulfill their US history requirement. After all, Filipino American history is part of US history.

Usually, in the most forward-looking school districts, which are rare, Filipino American history is part of the overall curriculum of an Asian American history class. But Seattle public schools offering is perhaps the district offering a distinctly Filipino American subject, not Chinese, Japanese or the all-encompassing Asian American history, but Filipino.

According to 2020–2021 Seattle Public Schools (SPS) student data disaggregated by racial demographics, upwards of 4,700 students identify as Filipino, Filipino American, or as a multiracial Filipino student. 

Filipino American history has already been incorporated into SPS's curriculum of US history, but this virtual offering centering on the Filipino American experience can now fulfill that same history requirement.

It took decades of community work to develop the academically acceptable curriculum including contributions from the University of Washington and from the local Filipino American community.

Usually, curriculum is developed from the materials available from national publishers and educational institutions and then selected by the local school districts. In Seattle's case, it is the first time that locally produced educational formed the basis of the curriculum.

Much of the material is derived from the Filipino American National History Society, headquartered in Seattle. Having October designated as Filipino American History Month is the product of the work of FANHS.

It took many individuals and decades of research and lobbying for the creation of the history class. One of the key local sdvocates was SPS senior project manager of academics Devin Cabanilla. For years, he used his role in the district and his strong ties with the local community to leverage acceptance of the idea.

It wasn't until the arrival of SPS's Ethnic Studies program manager Alekz Wray and the current district administration leaders, did the idea break through the bureaucratic red tape.  Wray shepherded the course through the academic requirements of SPS and helped integrate the local material into the curriculum. 

“It was really important for me to make sure that this class was not a product of SPS," Wray told the Emerald. "This was a product of the community that has been living this history, because who’s telling the story is super important … This was the Filipino, Filipina, Filipinx American communities’ story to tell, and because the community still has ownership over this curriculum, they’re still able to empower and uplift and keep this as a living curriculum.”

The course, “Filipinx American US History,” fits into the district’s expanding catalog of courses centering diverse perspectives in literature and history classes, such as Black Studies US History and Native American Literature. The high school course uses Filipinx in its name, a term indicating gender neutrality in place of Filipino or Filipina, although some say “Filipino” is already a gender-neutral term.

RELATED: A pilgrimage to Carlos Bulosan's gravesite

The Filipino community has a strong presence in Seattle where a park and bridge is
named after one of the Philippines' revolutionary figures.

The school district said expanded access to these ethnic courses is critical to its racial equity work and commitment to the community. 

During this current surge of outright racism, especially attacks against Asian Americans, anti-racist curricula and teaching methods are a potentially potent way for schools to better promote a just society and improve educational outcomes for low-income students and students of color, according to studies by educational experts.

“Students going through ethnic studies curricula find themselves empowered having that self-confidence … a lot of people start to get to know themselves,” said Dr. Third Andresen, a UW professor who played a critical role in designing the curriculum. “It (ethnic studies) increases the probability of college access and the probability of graduation.”

SPS spokesperson Tina Riss Christiansen said there are currently  11 students enrolled in the virtual Filipinx U.S. History class. There are also a couple hundred eighth graders at several middle schools who will take the class this school year. Christiansen also points out that Seattle schools also tests Filipino languages every year for World Language Credit Testing and a Seal of Biliteracy to fulfill the foreign language requirements of some colleges.

“Filipinos are contributors in any community they go to, so this class will be for all of us, by Filipinos,” Wray said. “I’m really excited for students to be able to take this class and to really challenge the master narrative,” which usually teaches US history from a Euro-centric point of view.

"I’m so jealous of kids,” Cabanilla told the Emerald. “The relevance of who Filipino Americans are in American history wasn’t clear to me until after college. For kids to be able to recognize that [they] are a valid part of American history ... it’s so affirming.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Democrats, Republicans focus in on Georgia's AAPI voters for key Senate contest

Georgia's AAPI voters will choose between Sen. Raphael Warnock, left, and Herschel Walker.

Early voting has already begun in some Georgia counties to determine who Georgians will send to the US Senate in a runoff election between Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican foe and former football player Herschel Walker.

Asian American voters could be the difference-makers in the runoff election after neither candidate was able to win the majority needed to declare victory last Nov. 8.

Asian American voters overwhelmingly voted Democrat in the 2020 Presidential election and is largely credited for providing the margin of victory and the state's electoral votes to Democrat President Biden. 

In the 2020 US Senate races, Asian Americans voted for the Democratic candidates over the Republicans by a margin of 61% to 34%, according to exit polls conducted by the Asian American Legal Education Fund.

In the 2022 campaign, Warnock garnered 49.44% of the vote to Walker's 48.49%, or difference of about 38,000votes. runoff contest, both Democrats and Republicans have focused more of their campaigns to woo this crucial demographic. The seat will determine whether the Democrats expands its thin 50-49 majority in the chamber after flipping a GOP seat in the Midterm Elections. If Warnock wins, the Democrats won't have to do the stiff negotiations with Republicans to pass Democratic policies.

Democrat State Representative Marvin Lim, the only Filipino American in elected office in Georgia, is hoping the Democratic party will do better in the days leading up to Dec. 6.

"I think for Democrats, it really hammers home the importance of meeting voters on the ground consistently, not just a month or week before an election," Lim told the Filipino American network ABS-CBN News, "and meeting on issues that they care about rather than the issues we think they should care about. I don’t think Democrats necessarily did that here."

"Senator Warnock has really been effective in actually getting things done on the issues people care about and showing that he has done that in a year and in a state where everything is swinging Republican, it’s going to be important to keep doing that leading up to the runoffs a month from now," he said.

“Our community needs to hear directly from leaders and from the candidate saying, ‘We have a real message of change that’s positive,’” Shekar Narasimhan, the founder of AAPI Victory Fund, told Politico. “And we think by doing what we’re doing and continuously doing it, we’re giving that message to them.”

Largest Asian American ethnic groups in Georgia include: Asian Indian (165,545), Korean (71,877), Chinese, except Taiwanese (71,388), Vietnamese (66,834), Filipino (46,601) and Japanese (21,078), according to APIAVote, a nonpartisan advocacy agency. All the communities, except for the Vietnamese, leaned heavily towards the Democrats.

Voting turnout among Asian Americans almost doubled in the state of Georgia from 2016 to 2020, and the number of ballots cast by Asian Americans in Georgia went up by 60,000 votes in 2020, according to the Democratic firm TargetSmart.

The deep political engagement of the AANHPI community in the political affairs of their state showed up in the Nov. 8 elections when six AANHPI first-time candidates won seats to the state's Senate and House of Representatives bringing the highest number of  AANHPI lawmakers in the state capitol, eight Democrats and two Republicans.

Republicans have learned from the 2020 election results that also gave the state two Democratic Senators, Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff.  Prior to the Nov. 8 election, Walker held a rally with the Indian American community in September ahead of Election Day.

“Republicans have been on the ground investing in Georgia’s Asian American community and earning votes all cycle,” said Nainoa Johsens, the RNC’s director of Asian Pacific American media.

Raymond Partolan, National Field Director of the Asian Pacific Islander American Vote, stressed to ABS-CBN News the important role Asian American voters might play in the the Senate race.

"In the runoff election which occurred in 2021, Raphael Warnock, who is now Senator Warnock, won the Georgia runoff by just 93,550 votes. And based on our counts, there are over 270,000 Asian American voters within the state of Georgia. So you can see Asian American voters can indeed be the margin of victory," Partolan told the Filipino American news outlet.

Both parties are bringing in money and people from around the nation to rally the Asian American electorate. Maryland Lt. Gov.-elect Aruna Miller, the first South Asian woman elected to the post, said she is planning to make calls to get Asian American voters to the polls for Warnock.

She told Politico: “Look, many South Asians left their country of origin to come to the United States to seek opportunities. But those opportunities come with being engaged civically, with coming out and voting. It doesn’t just happen overnight.”

Former President Obama is scheduled to campaign for Warnock this coming week, just before the Dec. 6 deadline.

The former US ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley told Republicans at a rally for Walker that Warnock, should be “deported.” a message that the GOP thinks rings with the majority immigrant communities of Asian Americans.

“I am the daughter of Indian immigrants,” Haley said. “They came here legally, they put in the time, they put in the price, they are offended by what’s happening on [the southern US] border.

“Legal immigrants are more patriotic than the leftists these days. They knew they worked to come into America, and they love America. They want the laws followed in America, so the only person we need to make sure we deport is Warnock.”

Her statements drew a sharp reaction from Black leaders.

Cornell William Brooks, a Harvard professor and pastor, tweeted: “Were it not for civil rights laws Black folks died for, Nikki Haley’s family might not be in America.

“Were it not for a HBCU [historically Black college and university] giving her father his first job in the US, Haley wouldn’t be in a position to insult Georgia’s first Black senator. Warnock’s history makes her story possible.”

Working against the Democrats this time around are the voting restrictions the GOP-led legislature passed in SB 202, such as the reduction of drop-off boxes, and a shorter time limit for mail-in ballots. Also, instead of the nine-weeks that was in effect in 2020 election runoff, the time between the election and runoff has been reduced to four weeks giving organizers a shorter time to organize, outreach and rally its voters.

Partolan expects money and volunteers to come pouring into Georgia right up until the Dec. 6 election day. Then, it will come down to which party has better ground game in getting their voters to the polls and withstand the long lines made longer by the reduction in places to vote, another result of SB 202.

"It’s going to be a mad scramble to get as many Asian American and Filipino American voters to go to the polling place to cast their ballots again on December 6th."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Hirono bill amends Violence Against Women Act to include funding for Native Hawaiians

US Senator Mazie Hirono has been an advocate for Native Hawaiians.

The US Senate unanimously passed legislation  Nov. 16 allowing Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence to access critical programs and resources provided by Congress through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

More than two-thirds of sex trafficking victims in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian women and girls, and 37% of reported child sex trafficking cases in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian, according to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Yet, the nonprofits established to assist these victims have not been able to access federal grants.

"It would likely shock many of my colleagues to learn about the gender-based violence and sex-trafficking numbers in Hawaii," said Sen. Mazie Hirono, who sponsored the legislation that would amend the VAWA to allow agencies to apply for federal funding. "And of sex trafficking survivors in Hawaii—over 70 percent are Native Hawaiian women and girls. But yet, Native Hawaiian organizations cannot actually serve Native Hawaiian women through these grants."

The reauthorization of VAWA—which was signed into law in March, 2022—provides funding to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, sex-trafficking, dating violence and stalking. Senator Hirono’s legislation amends the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to ensure Native Hawaiian organizations can actually serve the Native Hawaiian community.

Indigenous women across the country—including Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women — experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence.

Therefore, VAWA includes Services, Training, Officers Prosecutors (STOP) grants to provide funding for eligible Native-serving nonprofits, including Native Hawaiian organizations, to help combat sexual violence and support survivors. However, because of how the law was written, while Native Hawaiian organizations are able to apply for STOP grant funding, they cannot use the funds to actually serve the Native Hawaiian community. As a result, Native Hawaiian women have been unable to access critical resources included in VAWA.

According to census data, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups make up 10.5% of today's Hawaii’s population. However, they constitute the majority of sex trafficking cases. When looking at just child sex trafficking cases, Native Hawaiians represent 37% of victims statewide. 

KITV

Sen. Hirono's bill will allow more aid to Native Hawaiian victims of gender abuse.

Hirono, one of only two Senators of AANHPI descent, has been a strong advocate for the Native Hawaiian community and efforts to combat violence against Native Hawaiians. In August, she pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray to do more to protect the Native Hawaiian community from sexual exploitation at a full Judiciary Committee hearing and emphasized the need for the FBI to include the Native Hawaiian community in its efforts to address the missing and murdered Indigenous people crisis and violence against Native communities. In May, she joined a resolution designating May 5th as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Hirono's VAWA amendment goes to the White House where President Biden is expected to sign the bill.

“For decades, Congress has provided funding to organizations that support survivors of gender-based violence through the Violence Against Women Act. This funding is critical to support all women, including Native women who experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence. However, Native Hawaiian women have been excluded from accessing these much-needed resources,” said Hirono.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

California's newest Poet Laureate is a Korean American professor

RAMAPGE / YOUTUBE

California's Poet Laureate Lee Herrick teaches English at Fresno City College

A Korean American fan of rap group Public Enemy has been appointed as California's Poet Laureate.

Governor Gavin Newsom today appointed Lee Herrick, who was adopted by a White couple when he was one-year old, to serve as California’s 10th Poet Laureate. 

Herrick, 52, of Fresno, is a writer and professor who teaches at Fresno City College and the MFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. A former Fresno Poet Laureate, Herrick’s work is a vivid celebration of the California experience. 

“As a teacher, poet, and father, Lee writes movingly about his identity as a Californian and encourages others to reflect on what the state means to them,” said Governor Newsom.

 “Lee’s dedication to highlighting the diverse experiences of Californians, and making them so accessible through his poetry, makes him a perfect candidate for Poet Laureate. I look forward to his work to inspire communities and individuals across the state through the power of the written word.”
 
Herrick’s poetry canon explores the diversity and vitality of the California experience and the exhilarating success of the American experiment. Born in Daejeon, South Korea and adopted as an infant, he grew up in Modesto immersed in literature, art and various cultural influences.

Herrick writes eloquently on the immigrant experience – bringing to life the smell of chapchae and the sound of mariachi trumpets, the farmers market at midnight, and the small talk of Armenian neighbors. Herrick’s work is a Whitmanesque celebration of the best spirit of our state, the vibrancy of the Central Valley, and ourselves, continued Newsom's statement

“I am deeply honored, humbled, and excited to be named California Poet Laureate,” said Herrick, who will use his platform called Our California to bring together poetry with a social justice or civic engagement organization in each city that he visits during his term as Poet Laureate. 

“I am grateful to Governor Newsom, his staff, First Partner Siebel Newsom, the Fresno Arts Council, the City of Fresno for making me a poet, poets and writers and readers throughout this great state, friends, teachers, colleagues, students, and mostly, my family, parents and sister, and my wife and daughter for their love and light.”
 
Herrick served as Poet Laureate of the City of Fresno from 2015 to 2017, where he led local efforts to bridge communities and engage young people in expressing themselves through writing.

Herrick tells the campus newspaper Rampage that becoming an English major was not always plan A. In college, he changed his major three times.

He says, “I started off as business [major.] I just wanted to be rich. Then I switched to law, and then I settled on English.” However, he always loved poetry. “I loved writing little raps songs.”

Herrick tells the Rampage his inspiration to write comes from “family, music and the beauty and struggle of other people’s lives.”

He says he has a passion for live music.

“I grew up listening to a lot of rap and punk,” he says. “So, I would see bands like Public Enemy and Fugazzi.”

He credits his parents for providing a safe place for him and his sister. “They made my home, our home, a place that was safe. And a place where we could talk about race or racism, or education and any challenges that I was having.”

In the Rampage interview, Herrick says he has not met his birth parents but would love to. In contrast, he has met some distant cousins and stays in touch with them through Facebook.

In 2008, he flew to South Korea to do a birth search but was unsuccessful in finding his parents. “ Very emotional and very difficult,” Herrick said. “But I am extremely glad I went through that process.”

Lee Herrick was interviewed when he was named Fresno's Poet Laureate.

 
Herrick’s work has been published in the Bloomsbury Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, the Normal School, The Poetry Foundation, ZYZZYVA, and other publications. He is a contributor to many anthologies, particularly those examining the literary flourishing of California’s Central Valley. Herrick is the author of three books of poetry: Scar and Flower, Gardening Secrets of the Dead and This Many Miles from Desire.
 
The California Poet Laureate is charged with advocating for poetry in classrooms and boardrooms across the state, inspiring an emerging generation of literary artists, and educating all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced our state through creative literary expression. 

Over the course of a two-year term, the Poet Laureate provides public readings in urban and rural locations across California, educates civic and state leaders about the value of poetry and creative expression and undertakes a significant cultural project, with one of its goals being to bring poetry to students who might otherwise have little opportunity to access it.
 

Herrick's position requires Senate confirmation. He will receive a stipend from the California Arts Council.

 “I’m thrilled that Lee Herrick will serve as California’s next Poet Laureate. Lee’s poetry invites us to reflect on our love of California and reminds us of the values we hold so dear — our inclusivity, empathy, and creativity,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. 

“Lee’s deep understanding of culture and community alongside his irrefutable talent will no doubt guide him throughout his tenure as our state’s poetry advocate. I look forward to working with him as he spreads a love and appreciation of poetry and literature across California, especially amongst our youth.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Garland issues Memorandum to improve access to services for people with limited proficiency in English

Attorney General Merrick Garland

A press release from the Department of Justice, opened with this message in Tagalog:

Naglathala ngayon ang Departamento ng Hustisya ng isang panandaan na humihiling sa mga ahensiyang pederal na suriin ang kanilang mga gawi at mga patakaran ukol sa daan sa wika upang patibayin ang pakikipag-ugnayan ng pamahalaang pederal sa mga indibidwal na may limitadong kasanayan sa Ingles (LEP).

For those who don't speak Tagalog, one of the Philippines dialects, here is the English translation:

The Justice Department issued a memorandum today requesting that federal agencies review their language access practices and policies to strengthen the federal government’s engagement with individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP).

“All people in this country, regardless of the language they speak, deserve meaningful access to programs and activities that are conducted or supported by federal agencies,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is committed to working with our federal partners to address linguistic barriers in governmental services that deny individuals a full opportunity to participate in economic, social, and civic life.”

This memorandum outlines a course of action for federal agencies to improve, modernize, and carry out their language access responsibilities under Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.” 

As set forth in the memorandum, the Civil Rights Division, with assistance from the Office for Access to Justice, will spearhead a collaborative effort to determine: 

• whether agencies can further update their language access policies and plans; 

• whether agencies are effectively reaching LEP individuals when disseminating information about federal resources, programs, and services; 

• whether agencies have considered updates or modifications to guidance to federal financial assistance recipients regarding their obligations to provide meaningful language access under the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations; and 

• whether agencies can adapt their digital communications to welcome LEP individuals.

This memorandum builds on existing efforts by the Department of Justice to engage with LEP individuals, including a new focus on expanding language access assistance in the Department’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. 

In May 2022, Attorney General Garland appointed Ana Paula Noguez Mercado as the Department’s Language Access Coordinator within the Office for Access to Justice to help ensure that the Department is leading by example. 

The Office for Access to Justice has since expanded its language access team and is leading the Department’s Language Access Working Group to provide technical assistance and training across components as they continue to improve language access for all. 

The Civil Rights Division continues to maintain www.LEP.gov, which provides resources and information to help expand and improve language assistance services for LEP individuals, in compliance with federal law.

Appropriately, the translation of this press release is also available in:

Arabic

Chinese – Simplified

Chinese – Traditional

Korean

Spanish

Tagalog

Vietnamese

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell votes against his own inter-racial marriage

Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which includes the protection of interracial marriages, despite being married to former US Secretary for Transportation Elaine Chao, who is Taiwanese American.

The Respect For Marriage Act would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and would require each state to recognize marriages that are valid in the state where they were performed.

The RFMA was introduced out of fear that the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which earlier this year overturned Roe v. Wade, might do the same thing to the long-standing Loving vs. Virginia ruling that legalized interracial marriage and the Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

McConnell, who was re-elected by the GOP Senate Minority Leader last week, never really explained his opposition to the RFMA, but Senate watchers speculated that it was his opposition to the same-sex marriage provision that prompted his nay.

He was equally mum when Trump delivered his racial slur against his wife via social media as he was criticizing McConnell's apparent support for some other Democratic legislation. However, on CNN, former McConnell aide said Trump's comments were out of line. "This is outrageous, it's beyond the pale, every Republican ought to say so," he said.

Trump insulted McConnell's wife in a post on his Truth Social website last month, calling Chao McConnell's "China-loving wife, Coco Chow." He also said McConnell had a "death wish" for backing "Democrat-sponsored bills," in the same post.

Despite McConnell's opposition to the RFMA, the Senate on Nov. 16 advanced legislation moving it closer to becoming law.

The 62 to 37 vote was a crucial test of support for the RFMA. With the backing of 12 Republican members, the Senate easily cleared the 60-vote procedural hurdle needed to move the legislation forward. Drafters of the plan were optimistic it would garner enough backing from the GOP after a bipartisan group of senators added amendments to the bill to include protecting religious liberty.

The RFMA passed the House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote in July.

Because of the amendment, the House will take another look at the bill before going to President Biden's desk for his signature. The White House urged passage of the measure.

"The right to marriage confers vital legal protections, dignity, and full participation in our society," the White House budget office said in a statement. "No person should face discrimination because of who they are or whom they love, and every married couple in the United States deserves the security of knowing that their marriage will be defended and respected."

Interracial marriage has become increasingly common in the United States: today, 17% of new marriages in the US are interracial, and “mixed race” was the fastest growing demographic category according to the 2020 census. Despite this increased acceptance, however, the recent increase of racism and hate crimes has created a challenging environment for many of those families.

Chao drew Trump's ire when she disapproved of the attempted coup on Jan. 6 and resigned her post five days later, the first administration official to do so in protest.

“I think the events at the capitol, however they occurred, were shocking. And it was something that, as I mentioned in my statement, that I could not put aside,” Chao said.

“And at a particular point, the events were such, that it was impossible for me to continue given my personal values and my philosophy,” she continued.

Chao added that “I came as an immigrant to this country. I believe in this country. I believe in the peaceful transfer of power. I believe in democracy. And so … it was a decision that I made on my own.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard now a Fox News pundit

ABC

Former Hawaii Congressmember Tulsi Gabbard is making new friends on the right.

The transformation of Tulsi Gabbard, from a former rising star in the Democratic Party and Bernie Sanders acolyte to spokesperson for the extreme right, is almost complete after signing a deal with Fox News. All that's left is for her to declare an intention to run for President as a Republican.

The Samoan American, who ran for President under the Democratic banner in 2020, signed a deal with Fox News to become a contributor on the Rupert Murdoch network.

A spokesperson for Fox confirmed Gabbard’s hiring on Tuesday, Nov. 15,

Gabbard has emerged as a leading critic of liberals since, campaigning with a number of Trump-backed Republicans during the recent midterm elections cycle.

Last month, she announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party.

"I can no longer remain in today's Democratic party," she said on her podcast. "It's now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers, driven by cowardly wokeness..."

Gabbard accused the Democrats of "stoking anti-white racism," being contemptuous toward religion and police and driving the country closer to nuclear war.

In 2012, Gabbard became the first Hindu elected to Congress. She joined then-Rep. Tammy Duckworth as the only two women combat veterans in Congress.

She began building a national profile during the 2016 election, when she demonstrated her independent spirit when she resigned from her post as vice chairperson of the Democratic National Committee to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

In 2020, she decided to run to be the Presidential nominee for the Democrats, abandoning a re-election campaign for her House seat. She left the Presidential campaign in March 2020 and endorsed Joe Biden.

During the midterm campaigns, she endorsed and campaigned for several Republican candidates, including election denier Arizona's gubernatorial candidate Keri Lake.

Even before she left the Democrats, Gabbard has made regular appearances on the Fox network over the last several months and on Monday served as a guest host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the channel’s top-rated prime-time program.

Her name has even popped up from GOP insiders as a possible candidate for President or Vice President for the Republican Party, even though she has not yet officially joined the GOP. 

Like Donald Trump, she has expressed her admiration for Russia's Vladimir Putin and appears to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which aligns with some Republicans' wish to reduce funding and weapon sales to Ukraine.

As if the prove her departure from the Democrats was genuine, Gabbard went on to endorse and campaign for 13 Republicans for the Midterms. Ten of them lost.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Cardiovascular disease reflects diversity of Asian American communities

 

BY AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

Cardiovascular disease rates differ among Asian American subgroups but are rising faster for most of them than for white adults, new research suggests.

Only people of Japanese American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent are not experiencing a faster rise in heart disease rates, according to findings presented this month at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Chicago. The research is considered preliminary until full results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The findings underscore a need to collect and analyze data for individual groups of Asian Americans, said lead study author Dr. Kaylin Thuy Nguyen, a clinical fellow at the division of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University in California.

"Asian Americans are a diverse group," Nguyen said. "There's a lot of heterogeneity – different cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, nutritional patterns. There are stark differences we mask when we aggregate data and look at the groups as a whole. If we assume the same risk for everyone, we might miss the opportunity to treat risk factors."

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the United States. According to the 2020 census, roughly 24 million people in the U.S. identified as Asian alone or a combination of Asian and other groups, with people of Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese descent accounting for 85%.

Health data on people with these diverse ancestries has long been studied as if they were one group. But recent studies reveal significant differences among these groups in cardiovascular risk factors and disease. The new study looked at how cardiovascular disease rates differed among Asian American subgroups in one Northern California health system, compared with their white peers, and how these rates had changed from 2007 to 2018.

Researchers analyzed patient records for middle-aged Asian American men and women who self-identified as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or mixed race.

Compared with those of white adults, cardiovascular disease rates grew faster during the study period for all Asian subgroups except Japanese and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. High blood pressure, or hypertension, likewise increased more quickly for nearly all subgroups – except Japanese – than it did among white adults.

Overall, cardiovascular disease rates were highest among Filipino Americans – about twice as high as their white peers throughout the study period (32.2% in 2007, rising to 45.1% in 2018, compared with 16.5% for white adults, rising to 21.9%).

Coronary artery disease rates increased faster for the Filipino, Asian Indian and Chinese subgroups than they did among white people. Heart attack rates grew more slowly among the Chinese and Korean subgroups than among white adults.

The study didn't look at why cardiovascular risks and disease differed among the subgroups. But Nguyen said one reason Japanese Americans might experience a lower cardiovascular risk is their traditional diet, which is similar to the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet with a lot of fish and vegetables and little red meat. Prior research has linked the Japanese-style diet with lower cardiovascular risks.

Future studies should collect and analyze additional data, said Lan Doan, assistant professor in the department of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. Such data, she said, should include how long people have lived in the US, if they regularly see a health care professional or have consistent access to health insurance, how much they've adapted to Western diets and lifestyles, and whether there are geographic differences in cardiovascular risks.

"If we don't start tracking and disaggregating data, we're not going to be able to understand what differences in health there might be, and we can't target treatments or preventive measures," said Doan, who was not involved in the new research.

"We need to keep deepening our understanding of who these Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations are, and thinking about all the multilevel factors that influence the risk and progression of cardiovascular disease and risk factors across their lives," she said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. 

AALDEF Exit Poll: Asian American voters still prefer Democrats

AALDEF

Hundreds of AALDEF volunteers conducted an exit poll during the Nov. 8 elections.

Asian American voters overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in the Midterm Elections held Nov. 8, based on exit polling by hundreds of volunteers.

The polling of over 5,300 Asian American voters conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund found  that for the House of Representatives, 64% of the surveyed voters chose the Democrat candidate, twice as many as those who voted for the Republican candidate, 32%.

The results were similar, about two to one, for candidates running for Senate and Governor.

The respondents showed their preference for Democrats despite expressing misgivings about President Biden. Only 45.3% of theAANHPI respondents approved of Biden's performance, 31.4% expressed disapproval and 23.3% didn't know.

“Asian Americans were nearly unified in their support of candidates for the House, the Senate, and their respective governors and were likely the difference in close races in Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia," said Jerry Vattamala, director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program. 

Other highlights of the exit polls included:

• Top 3 factors influencing House vote: Economy/Jobs (15.0%), Health Care (14.5%), Education (13.1%)

• Victim of Anti-Asian Harassment or Violence in the Past Two Years: 21.6% Yes, 78.4% No

• Support Requiring Teaching a Unit of AAPI History in K-12: 82.7% Yes, 17.3% No

• Support Access to Legal Abortion: 63.8% Support, 15.8%Don’t Know, 20.4% Oppose

• Support Laws to Protect Transgender People from Discrimination: 65.2% Support, 20.9% Don’t Know, 14.0%Oppose

• Main Source of News: Newspaper (18.3%), Other (15.9%), CNN (13.0%), Radio (9.9%), and Facebook (9.2%)

• Outcome of 2020 Presidential Election Legitimate (DC, LA, MA, MI, NJ, TX, VA only): 59.2% Yes, 16.3% No, 24.5% Don’t Know

Over 550 AALDEF volunteers surveyed Asian American voters and monitored poll sites in 15 states (California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia) and the District of Columbia. 

For more preliminary results per each state, click here.

Volunteers also monitored for compliance with the language assistance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and to guard against anti-Asian discrimination and intimidation.

"Unfortunately, too many Asian American voters were required to provide identification when it was not required, were sent to the wrong poll site, were not given provisional ballots, and did not have access to interpreters in jurisdictions that were required to provide them,” said Vattamala. 

AALDEF attorneys and volunteers observed several voter problems, including:

• Missing or no interpreters
• Poll workers incorrectly requiring voters to provide identification
• Voters being sent to incorrect poll sites
• Voters not being provided provisional ballots
• Machine breakdowns

Voters were surveyed in English, as well as 11 Asian languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. AALDEF will release a more detailed analysis of the exit poll surveys in the future

“Our flagship exit poll illuminates the crosscutting issues that are important to Asian American communities and the values we share. With critical issues like abortion access and immigration at stake in the midterm elections, the Asian American vote is now more important than ever,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF.

"In the last decade, Asian Americans have been the fastest growing racial group in the electorate, numbering more than 13.3 million Asian American voters. Their support or opposition can make or break a close election," she said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Congressional District 45's Asian vs. Asian race divides AANHPI community

ANALYSIS

Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, a Korean American, has apparently won the seat for Congressional District 45 in Southern California by running one of the nastiest and hate-filled campaigns in the country against her opponent, Taiwanese American Jay Chen.

A week after voters went to the polls, Steel has 53.8% of the vote to Chen's 46.2%. While the counting of votes is continuing, Steel's lead of about 13,000 votes was enough for the Associated Press Tuesday morning to call the race in Steel's favor.

“I am humbled that voters have given me the opportunity to continue to fight for them in Washington, DC,” Steel said in a statement, according to the Orange County Register. “I have been firm in my commitment to deliver for working class families, and will continue to work to lower taxes, stop inflation, and stand up to Communist China.”

The last reference to "Communist China" typified the Steel campaign strategy which grew relentless in the later weeks of the campaign.

District 45 includes a large portion of Orange County, home of large AANHPI communities, that make up about 37% of the district. This district runs from Brea and Fullerton in north Orange County, out east to “Little India” in Artesia, before heading south to the center of the region’s political gravity in Westminster and Garden Grove — Little Saigon, reportedly the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. White voters make up about a third of residents.

Steel, a Korean American immigrant, was criticized for running one of the nastiest campaigns in the country by trying to link Chen to the Chinese Communist Party, a Red Scare tactic that apparently played well in the Vietnamese American community, mostly refugees who fled South Vietnam when it fell to North Vietnam.

Chen's grandparents fled communist China to Taiwan. Chen's parents immigrated to the US, where he was raised. He countered the hit pieces with his military record as a US Navy veteran. Veteran groups rallied to his side as did many Chinese American organizations, who feared that Steel's tactic would stir up the "perpetual foreigner" trope, adding fuel to the current spate of attacks against Asian Americans.

While Chen tried attacking Steel for her support for Trump policies and her votes against the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure and the anti-Asian Hate resolution and her support for the Supreme Court's tossing of abortion rights for women, Steel's red-baiting was enough to overcome her voting record.

One of the worst and offensive ads appeared on YouTube showing Chinese men with accents giggling in glee that Jay Chen could get elected with a picture of the Chinese leader posted behind them.

In the weeks before Nov. 8, Red and yellow poster (colors from the PRC's flag) bagan sprouting up throughout the lampposts and fences throughout the district, saying "China's Choice: Jay Chen" and little letters below, "Paid for by Michelle Steel Campaign."

Democratic Asian American lawmakers from neighboring districts like Representatives Mark Takano, Ted Lieu and Judy Chu made appearances on Chen's behalf while GOP House Minority Leader and possibly future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy campaigned for Steel.

Surprisingly absent from the race was the presence of politically active Hollywood celebrities. Their absence is noticeable only because of the proximity of the district to the entertainment capitol, minutes away by freeway. In close races, such as in CD45, every vote counts. Their participation may have swayed young people into voting.

Steel has avoided media events such as public debates or candidate forums. Linking Steel to Trump has been difficult for Chen. Besides McCarthy, no other big-name Republican came to the district on Steel's behalf.

With the AANHPI communities divided between the candidates, other groups may have played an more decisive role in the determining CD45's outcomes.

Orange County has long been a Republican stronghold, an island of conservatism in the Blue sea of the Los Angeles metro region. The Orange County Register endorsed Steel, but the more liberal Los Angeles Times, recommended Chen.

The conservative tradition of Congressional District 45, which encompasses portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties and once the home of the KKK chapter in Southern California, is still a strong element in the district and perhaps tipped the electoral scales towards Steel, whose husband holds a prominent position in California's Republican Party.

What did matter was funding. Steel's campaign collected millions of dollars from the GOP and dark money from conservative PACs, outspending Chen. 

A total of $13.3 million has been invested in this race, $11.4 million raised by the candidates themselves and $1.9 million spent by "independent expenditures." Independent expenditures are when companies and organizations spend to support or oppose candidates but are not connected to the candidates' camapaigns. There are no spending limits.

Steel raised $6.7 million, spent $5.8 million, and had about $1 million on hand, as of October 19, according to OpenSecrets. Chen, raised $4.5 million, spent $4.2 million, and had about $429,000 cash on hand.

The biggest PAC donation was by the conservative Congressional Leadership Fund which gave Steel about $3.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.

One of the positives that may have come out of this race was to show to the political parties how diverse are the groups that fall under the Asian American umbrella term. Vietnamese, because of their history, trend towards the Republicans in contrast to the other AANHPI groups. Korean, Filipino Americans and Pacific Islanders may have conservative religious views on abortion but fall in line with Democrats in support of affirmative action and health care access. Small business owners in the AANHPI communities may be concerned about economic issues, but they support abortion rights and gun control.

According to several polls by the Pew Research Center, the Carnegie Endowment and APAI Vote, AANHPI are politically savvy and enthusiastic about voting but the major parties need to increase outreach to them and not take them for granted.

There is still a strong tendency to support Democratic policies but there is also a small, but growing movement to the right by some of the recent immigrants in contrast to more established AANHIP communities.

All this to say, the increasingly influential AANHPI communities can influence political outcomes in certain key regions and states. They will register to vote. They will come out and vote, but the Democrats and Republicans need to reach out to them where they live, not in a patronizing manner and in the more than two dozen languages they understand. 

That's no easy task with the 2024 campaign only two years away.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a developing story. Check back later for updates. For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.