Mixed-race children define themselves in a new HBO documentary "1000% Me"

With humor and sensitivity, filmmaker and comedian W. Kamau Bell tackles the joys and challenges of growing up mixed-race through conversations with kids and families in the San Francisco Bay Area, including his own, that he he has put together in an upcoming HBO special, "1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed."

Recognizing that his own children, born to a Black father and White mother, and growing up in a country still deeply divided by race, would have very different experiences in America than he and his wife did, embarks on a journey of discovery in his family’s Bay Area community. 

RELATED: 

•  Multiracial Americans Becoming the New Normal.
• Mixed race babies on the increase 

The documentary focuses on interracial families from the San Francisco Bay Area, featuring interviews with multiracial children from about 7-years-old up to 16-years old, interracial couples, and field experts. While it will include different perspectives, Bell aims to largely showcase the experience of multiracial children and how their racial identity is a formative part of growing up.

In a series of playful and impactful conversations, Bell explores how these young people navigate issues of identity in a world that can ask them to pick a side and thoughtful exchanges with families reveal the many joys and complexities of what it means to raise multiracial children. 

In his trademark fashion, Bell maintains a serious focus while keeping the discussions lively and accessible, proving along the way that children are more than capable of understanding and furthering complex conversations about race, culture, and identity.

Featured participants, include many who come from families of Asian combined with other races.: 

• Sami (10) is Black and White and looks up to Alicia Keys and Juno, Sami’s sister (7), will tell you why it’s the best to be a middle child.
• Myles (11) is Black and Filipino-American, likes to play basketball, and helps his lola (grandmother) compete in a Filipino cook off.
• Presley (10) is White and Filipino-American. She has her own punk band and occasionally rides around San Francisco with her dad belting tunes from his Karaoke motorcycle.
• Kanani (10) is White, Indigenous, and Latina. She and her parents spend every summer with her dad’s tribe in Costa Rica.
• Anisa (11) is Black and Pakistani-British and she considers being Muslim as much a part of her “mix” as race.
• Her friend Mila (10) is Chinese American and Black. She is deeply thoughtful and speaks in the measured tones of a future world leader while her parents discuss the deeper implications of wearing mismatching socks.
• Sumaya (7) is Guinean and Punjabi and has strong opinions about mangoes, dogs, and llamas.
• Carter (13) is Black and Latina and her best friend Nola (13) is Black and White. They both have two moms but very different birth stories.
• Kaylin (16) has two mixed-race parents. She’s part White, part Black, and part Korean.
• Older family members also participate in the discussions including siblings, parents, grandparents, as well as other adults, and professionals invested in these issues.

The number of Americans identifying as more than one race nearly doubled to 13.5 million between 2010 and 2020, according to US Census data, making mixed race the fastest growing segment of the population.

To some observers, the increase in the number of Americans identifying as more than one race shows that barriers are breaking down. But the increase also may reflect changes to census questions designed to tease out the heritage of multiracial people.

It may also be attributed to the high-profile presence and acceptance of mixed race individuals in the public eye, including: 

Former President Obama and current Vice President Kamala Harris are of mixed race as is Justin Jones, who was in the news recently as one of the Tennessee 3 who were expelled from the Tennessee legislature..

Include AANHPI actors Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa and Vanessa Hudgens as mixed race; as well as entertainers Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R. and Saweetie and athletes tennis player Naomi Osaka and NFL quarterback Kyler Murray.

Journalist Alex Wagner, who is of Burmese and White descent, talks about the moment she realized she was of mixed race in an interview with HelloGiggles:

There were a few discrete moments, though, where I understood that I wasn’t “generically American.” One of them, which I talked about in the book, was this time when I was about 12 years old, when my dad and I were at the local diner, and my dad, who was white, got up and went to use the men’s room. The line cook looked at me and said, “Are you adopted?” It was the first time I thought, “Oh wait, he thinks I look really different. He thinks that I don’t belong in this particular family picture. Why is that?” I was embarrassed in that moment, and I was ashamed for myself, which is totally messed up on a number of levels, but is, I think, a natural reaction to being made to feel like you don’t belong, that you’re an outsider. That was the seed of like, “Okay, wait a second. What does it mean to not be of this place? Where do I fit in the American story? Where does a mixed-race person find that sense of cultural rootedness?”

According to the 2020 US Census, California had the largest numeric increase in people identifying as more than one race, growing 61% from 2010 to slightly over 2 million. People who identified as both White and Asian made up the largest group in both years. Americans identifying as White and American Indian grew by 84% to 384,600.

As children of older generations struggled to fit in and find themselves, the children in Bell's HBO special as the next generation of mixed-race Americans, are offering their own definition of themselves, which could also help define the new America emerging from the old Black-White paradigm.

 FYI: "1000% Me: Growin Up Mixed" airs at 8 p.m., Monday, May 1, 2023 on HBO.

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

"Blindspotting," back for season 2, sets an example of diverse storytelling

SCREEN CAPTURE / INSTAGRAM

Filipino American actor Dante Basco, en garde! appears on "Blindspotting."

One of the most innovative and courageous sitcoms is back for Season 2 after a long hiatus due to the pandemic.

Blindspotting is set in Oakland, California but its creators want to spotlight the Bay Area and its diverse communities. The Bay Area is home to a large Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island community.

The premium cable outlet Starz debuted the critically acclaimed series from Starz parent Lionsgate TV and creators Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs and based on their 2018 film of the same title.

Casal also said on the podcast that he sees no limits for how big the world of Blindspotting can grow: “Every character we wrote on the show is worthy of their own show. Every character we hope to write on the show could be that way about a specific region that doesn’t have any TV shows.

This week's episode will feature Filipino American actress April Absynth who plays Jacque, the street-smart best friend Trish, one of the central characters, who is always on the lookout for economic opportunities. 

The plotline allows the episode to bring in new Filipino American characters. One of them is Dante Basco, who grew up in the East Bay.

We don't know much about the episode but an instagram post I couldn't help but smile as we see that Basco using a spatula like a sword, perhaps an homage to his groundbreaking character of Rufio, leader of the Lost Boys in Hook, which starred the late Robin Williams.

"Look at the amount of universes New York has been afforded," says Casal. "Let’s do that with this: a whole show about the Filipino community in Daly City, Latinos in San Jose or Asians in Oakland or any other city.”

Jasmine Cephas Jones reprises her role from the movie as Ashley, who’s trying to keep things together with her racially mixed family while her partner Miles (Casal) serves a jail sentence.

Along with Jones, the Blindspotting cast includes Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, Candace Nicholas-Lippman and Helen Hunt.

If you didn't catch the first season when it debuted in 2021, the first season of Blindspotting is available on the Starz streaming network, or you can read the original synopsis:

Blindspotting centers on Ashley, who is nipping at the heels of a middle-class life in Oakland until Miles, her partner of 12 years and father of their son, is suddenly incarcerated, leaving her to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she is forced to move in with Miles’ mother and half-sister. The series stars Jasmine Cephas Jones (#freerayshawn) as “Ashley”; Benjamin Turner (recording artist) as “Earl,” who is fresh out of prison, wearing an ankle monitor and just trying to kill time and lay low; Candace Nicholas-Lippman (Good Trouble) as “Janelle,” Ashley’s close friend who’s just returned to the neighborhood after spending many years in Bali; Jaylen Barron (Free Reign) as “Trish,” Miles’ half-sister, who might be wilder than he is; Atticus Woodward (Shameless) as “Sean,” Ashley and Miles’ sweet, smart and energetic son; Helen Hunt (Mad About You) as “Rainey,” Miles’ mother who has strong opinions and holds family above all else; and Rafael Casal who reprises his role as “Miles,” Ashley’s ride-or-die partner of 12 years and father of their son.

Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said, “The series deservedly garnered critical acclaim and is a wonderful example of our programming mandate focused on unique, authentic stories by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.”

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

'The State of Chinese Americans:' politically involved, they still must contend with hate

Some states are looking at legislation banning the sale of property to some Chinese Americans.

A new survey found that three out of four Chinese Americans have experienced racial discrimination in the past year.

Even with a long history in the US, and even as the hysteria surrounding the pandemic eases, Asian Americans, especially Chinese Americans, continue to be targets of acts of hate, according to a report by the Columbia University’s School of Social Work, one of the world’s leading research universities, and Committee of 100, a nonprofit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans.

The results from a year-long research project and survey, "The State of Chinese Americans," that looked at the health, economic, and sociopolitical conditions of today’s Chinese American population were released Monday, April 27.

“The Chinese American population is one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, yet it remains underrepresented in politics and policy, and underserved in healthcare, education, and social services,” noted Gary Locke, Committee of 100 Chair, former U.S. Ambassador to China, and current President of Bellevue College in Washington. 

“This important collaboration between Committee of 100 and Columbia University brings a critical and deeper understanding of the real experiences of Chinese Americans, not the stereotypical assumptions assigned to a ‘model minority’ group. Moreover, it highlights that this is a group that is both politically active and engaged. These findings are certain to influence economic, social, and political policies to help improve the well-being of the entire Chinese American community.”

FYI: To read the executive summary and view the data slides, click here.

The first and largest project of its kind, the “State of Chinese Americans” survey gathered information from nearly 6,500 participants from across the U.S., compiling data related to demographics, politics, cultural identity, health, economic security, and social engagement. The research effort was supported by over 100 Chinese American and allied organizations nationwide, who shared the survey with community members in English, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese.

Collecting disaggregated, accurate and comprehensive data on Chinese Americans will help inform policymakers and the public on the diverse set of opinions, perceptions, and needs of Chinese Americans across the country. This will enable key decision-makers to develop timely and responsive policies, programs, and services to address those needs.

Key findings

Racism against Chinese Americans continues. While the overwhelming majority of Chinese Americans see themselves as an accepted part of American society, culturally blended between American and Chinese traditions, they are also marginalized. 

The Chinese American respondents have experienced discrimination in their daily lives with:

• Nearly 3 out of 4 (74%) Chinese Americans having experienced racial discrimination in the past 12 months;
• 55% worrying about their safety relating to hate crimes or harassment;
• 9% having been physically intimidated/assaulted and 7% having had property vandalized/damaged;
• Nearly half of the survey respondents (46%) reported being treated with less respect than other people at least a few times in the past 12 months;
• 1 in 5 reported that people made a racial slur, called them a name, or harassed them in person or online at least a few times in the past 12 months.

Political involvement

The overwhelming majority of Chinese American citizens vote. They care deeply about issues facing US society, and they want better relations and more collaboration between the U.S and China, including:

• The overwhelming majority (83%) of Chinese American citizens are registered voters, and 91% of registered voters voted in the 2020 presidential election;
• Racism, crime, gun control, and the economy were identified as the top four most important issues facing the U.S. according to respondents;
• Most respondents (82%) agreed that the U.S. should build a collaborative economic relationship with China;
• The economy and trade were identified as the two top areas for mutual benefit from U.S.-China collaboration efforts.

Chinese American diversity

Even as non-Asians fail to recognition of all the ehthnicities and nationalities that make up the AANHPI communities, even within the Chinese American community there is great diversity. 

While often stereotyped as a “model minority”, many face disadvantages or hardships in health and economics and need better support from policies and services, including:

• Nearly one in four (24%) Chinese Americans are at moderate or severe risk of mental illness when asked about their psychological distress, including feeling worthless, depressed, hopeless, restless, nervous, or that everything was an effort;
• Nearly a quarter (24%) reported either fair or poor physical or mental health, or having one or more types of disability;
• 10% reported a household income below $15k and 9% reported experiencing food or bills hardship in the past 12 months.

"This initiative has deepened our understanding of the many challenges faced by Chinese Americans today – including experiences of discrimination and risk of mental illness. These critically important findings now make it possible for us to create clear and informed policy – policy that leads to equity,” says Dr. Melissa Begg, Dean of the Columbia School of Social Work.

Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100 noted, “This collaboration with Columbia University marks the first in what I hope will be a long partnership in gathering and analyzing quality data related to the Chinese American community. The findings from this survey are certain to influence many conversations around the power of disaggregated data. 

"For example, the vast majority of Chinese Americans believe that the US should work to find ways to collaborate with China on economic issues. The majority of them see the current US-China relationship as negative and needing improvement. As we delve more deeply into the data in the coming weeks and months, I am confident that the findings will have real impact in our efforts to work towards a more inclusive and equitable society for all.”

Additional Survey Findings 

• Nearly 40% reported speaking two or more languages at home, with 80% being English proficient;
• Over half of the sample were born in Mainland China and over a quarter (27%) were born in the U.S., but the percentages of those who specified Mainland China and the United States as a place of upbringing were similar (44% and 41%);
• 79% viewed current U.S.-China relations as negative, and negativity grew with increasing educational attainment.

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

Merrie Monarch winners dance and chant to preserve Hawaiian culture and language

SCREEN CAPTURE

Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown won the Miss Aloha Hula crown.

For the third year in a row, the title of Miss Aloha Hula went to a dancer from Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe. Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown was named Miss Aloha Hula 2023 at the 60th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival earlier this month.

After months of practice, the big moment came two weeks ago, April 13 in Hilo, Hawaii ,for the 21-year old Brown and her halau (hula and culture school) under the tutelage of her kumus, Tracie and Keawe Lopes.

“I heard my name and I looked to my kumu, and in that moment, I felt just really excited to finally take the stage, and all the preparation that we had, it was amazing ... hearing my name and being able to step on the stage, I was ready to share my story and make my presentation with everybody,” Brown told Hawaii News Now.

Brown, a Chaminade University senior who will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, said it was exhilarating and humbling as she danced.

Brown performed a hula ʻauana (modern hula) to the mele “Kuʻu Home A I Kāneʻohe,” which described the beauty and memories of a home that was once located beneath the Koʻolau Mountains in Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. 

Her kahiko, “Pole Lauaʻe O Makana,” honored Kaumualiʻi, the last ruling aliʻi nui of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau in her extended chant and dance. She earned a total of 1,148 points for her presentations.

In her kahiko hula, Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua 

Thronas Brown must also demonstrate her mastery of the 

ancient Hawaiian language as well as dancing in the "old way."

The honors were not over for the dance school from Oahu. 

The competition was closely contested the following Saturday. With just two points separating the top three finishers in the Wahine Division. Hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e eked out a victory over the second place finisher by one point.

• 1st Place: Hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e with 1,231 points
• 2nd Place: Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu was second with 1,230 points
• 3rd Place: Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala, was third with 1,229 points.

YouTube

Hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e won the wahini division by one point.

(Editors Note: Apologies for not having access to a longer performance.)

YouTube / Sonny Ching

Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu came in a close second.

Overall winners for the Kāne Division are:

• 1st place: Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘ilahi, from Wailuku, Maui, with 1,217 points.
• 2nd place: Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, from Kapahulu, O‘ahu, with 1,215 points.
• 3rd place: Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lā, from Kapalama, O‘ahu, with 1,206 points.

The Merrie Monarch Festival is dedicated to the memory of King David La‘amea Kalākaua, known as the “Merrie Monarch” for his flamboyant and fun-loving ways. Kalākaua was elected king of the Hawaiian Nation in 1874, and reigned until his passing in 1891. He was a patron of the arts, especially music and dance.

The Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce began the Merrie Monarch festival in 1963, and the private Merrie Monarch Festival community organization took on the responsibilities of running the event five years later. 

The central purpose of the annual celebration is the perpetuation, preservation, and promotion of the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture.

With its wins in the solo and women's group categories, Hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e was crowned the best overall school overall.

“We’re just so grateful to Ke Akua [God] for carrying us through and allowing us to have the breath of life to even chant and dance and express our aloha for our mo‘olelo,” said Kumu Hula Tracie Lopes of Hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e. “It means so much to us as Hawaiians and as people."

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

Biden sticks with Kamala Harris despite vicious GOP-led campaign

BIDEN CAMPAIGN

Contrary to reports from conservative media, the President and Vice President get along fine.

OPINION

President Biden ended any guessing games surrounding a second term. He announced Tuesday that he will run for President in 2024 and he will retain Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Since the moment Biden chose Harris for his Vice President, she has been under constant attack by conservative news outlets orchestrated by the Republican Party and its supporters. The onslaught of criticism -- ranging from the sound of her laugh to her inability to carve out her own identity --  eventually seeped into some Democratic doubters who saw her as a drag on the ticket.

Much of the criticism could be traced to outright racism and sexism, demanding  more from the country's first woman Vice President, first Vice President of Asian  and Black descent than they would expect from any White male predecessor. 

Really? The role of Vice President is not to carve out her own identity but to support the President and his policies. The President's policies, not her's.

Can you think of any "accomplishments" by Vice President Pence?

Even Joe, Biden, as President Obama's Vice President, failed to inspire Democratic supporters with his lackluster track record at the White House as Obama's closest advisor despite his "good-ol'-Joe" image.

The upcoming GenZ voters, who have shown to be more prone to voting and influential than previous generations, were just toddlers when Dick Cheney was Vice President under former President George W. Bush. And, could you even name Gerald Ford's Vice President? (I'll save you the trouble: From 1974 to 1976, it was Nelson Rockefeller. In his unsuccessful bid to be elected President in 1976, Ford's running mate was Sen. Bob Dole.)

BIDEN CAMPAIGN

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will team up again in 2024.

Some Harris skeptics have questioned whether Biden should have chosen her to be his running mate again, citing low ratings and asking whether she has done enough to define herself in her historic role as the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to be vice president.

Biden's and Harris' popularity ratings remain low, according to FiveThirtyEight polling averages, but Harris' 40% approval is even lower than Biden's 42%. 

Whoever the Republican nominee will be, (It is very likely we will see Donald Trump in that role.) you can be sure that Harris will continue to be in Republican crosshairs during the entire campaign.

Biden will be 82 in 2024, so the GOP propaganda machine will try to ramp up the fear factor by emphasizing that Harris would become President if Biden was somehow  impaired by illness or dementia. Much like the conservative media and Republicans turned Rep. Nancy Pelosi into a bogeyman, they will likely paint Harris as incompetent with red-meat attacks that will stir up misogynists, conspiracy theorists, the NRA, Christian Nationalists and white supremacists.

Media outlets need to guard against being sucked into the anti-Harris vortex that will assuredly come out of Fox News, New York Post, Breitbart News and other conservative news outlets by amplifying the negative assertions by playing catch-up.

To be fair, Harris was hampered by being assigned the no-win task of the border issue and to undo the pass a voting-rights bill caused by the conservative Supreme Court gutting portions  the Voting Rights Act.

On the other hand, Harris has exceeded expectations on abortion rights and attacking racism. She has shined. when she's in campaign mode with the ability to communicate the administration's accomplishments to nonpoliticians in infrastructure and economy.

Harris is also has strong appeal with those constituencies that Biden needs in order to win in 2024, including Blacks, AANHPI communities, women and young voters.

To emphasize Biden's support for Harris, the Vice President was featured prominently in the three-minute video launching their 2024 campaign showing her alongside the President greeting voters allowing her to bask in the Presidential power that comes with the position of the most powerful person in the world.

In order to give the campaign a rolling start, Harris' first visit after the campaign announcement was to Howard University, her alma mate,r for an invent co-hosted by Planned Parenthood and NRAL Pro-Choice America so she was assured of a freindly reception. She took the stage to a standing ovation and left the podium to chants of "Four More Years."

“We are living, I do believe, in a moment in time where so many of our hard-won freedoms are under attack,” Harris said. “And this is a moment for us to stand and fight."

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

AANHPI turning to streaming networks to find content and characters they can relate to

AANHPI audiences are flocking to the streaming networks like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon in search of stories reflecting their concerns and characters that look like them.

Compared to the general population, AANHPI audiences watch about 27% more streaming content – the platform with the highest AANHPI representation at more than 10% share of screen, according to a new report from Nielsen.

The AANHPI audience has made it clear – through their voices and dollar spend – that they desire for their stories to be seen and heard. Studios and advertisers can tap into the growing value of authentic stories and inclusive representation to engage an audience that is eager to see itself represented on screen.

"Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) are a driving force in the US, both as cultural influencers and powerful consumers," says the report.

In addition, the Nielsen report, 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Diverse Intelligence Series , shows high bingeability scores of Asian-led content across top streaming platforms and opportunities for advertisers to better engage AANHPI audiences.

Despite a slight dip in representation from 2021 to 2022, streaming programs are still significantly more inclusive of AANHPI people than other platforms. Streaming had more than twice the representation on broadcast and three times the representation on cable. In addition, Asian-inclusive content is highly bingeable and attracts all audiences beyond AANHPI viewers.

"Asians are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, both in numbers and buying power. Studios and advertisers can tap into the growing value of authentic stories and inclusive representation to engage an audience that is eager to see itself represented on screen," said Patricia Ratulangi, Vice President of Global Communications - DE&I at Nielsen.

"Asian-led content continues to successfully attract and retain audiences, celebrating high bingeability scores across all major streaming platforms."

For the upcoming Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, Nielsen is  collaborating with Gold House, the leading platform that unites, promotes, and invests in Asian Pacific creators and companies, to further spotlight AANHPI driven television content.

"We're excited to partner with Nielsen and spotlight content that continues to captivate audiences and advance representation of our diverse communities," said Jeremy Tran, Executive Director of Gold House. "Through our collaboration, we were excited to see Asian-led shows amass more than one million new viewers, whether in its third season like Never Have I Ever or in its first season like The Company You Keep."*

In this report, Nielsen explores the media platforms and content that’s drawing Asian Americans. For marketers, content creators and media publishers, we hope you’ll see there is value – and audiences – to be gained when you embrace our community.

Other key highlights in the 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Diverse Intelligence Series include:

• AANHPI audiences watch about 27% more streaming content – the platform with the highest AANHPI representation at more than 10% share of screen.

• Despite a slight dip in representation from 2021 to 2022, streaming programs are still significantly more inclusive of AANHPI people than other platforms. Streaming had more than twice the representation on broadcast and three times the representation on cable. In addition, Asian-inclusive content is highly bingeable and attracts all audiences beyond AANHPI viewers.

• Good content appeals to all audiences

1. 91% of AANHPI audiences and 
2. 87% of general audiences are open to content featuring people outside of their identity group.

• In addition, the report shows high bingeability scores of Asian-led content across top streaming platforms and opportunities for advertisers to better engage AANHPI audiences.

1. Advertising in Asian-led content delivers value AANHPI audiences are 46% more likely than the total - population to buy from brands that advertise in inclusive content. 
2. In 2022 brands in the fashion, pet care, electronics and travel categories allocated a significant portion of their advertising budget toward content that features and appeals to the AANHPI community. These are also the categories where Asian Americans are spending more than the general population.

FYI: Download the 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Diverse Intelligence Series for more details and insights. Please visit www.nielsen.com/asian-american to learn more. Join the discussion on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/nielsen-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/) and Facebook (Nielsen DiversityEquityAndInclusion).

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

California looking at a bill banning caste-based bias

California Senator Aisha Wahab, center, introduced a bill that would ban discrimination by caste.

Some say that caste, a 3,000 years-old practice of social stratification, affects interactions among South Asians living in the US and should be against the law. 

Senate Bill 403 was recently introduced in California by State Senator Aisha Wahab, seeks to end discrimination based on caste. If approved and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California would be the first state to codify the caste ban. Seattle became the first US city to formally outlaw caste on Feb. 21.

Since 1948, the practice of caste was outlawed in India after the subcontinent gained its freedom from Great Britain but the 3000-year old custom has ingrained itself  in South Asian society so deeply that it still forms an heiarchial value system that places people in different levels of society where there is no hope for movement up or down and interaction between the different castes are discouraged.

As the first Afghan American and Muslim elected to the California state senate, Wahab has received both support and criticism from the South Asian community after introducing the bill. She represents the 10th Senate District, which encompasses Silicon Valley with its large Asian American population.

Despite the law, caste is practiced in the US, say critics who mainly come from the lower castes. In general, Brahmins occupy the highest level. Caste is not something widely discussed among South Asians who would prefer to keep it out of the public eye.

South Asian immigrants to the US are affected by the caste system, said Wahab. "Because of the caste system people are treated very differently and they are restricted by their families on whom they can marry," Wahab said in an interview with the Guardian. It also affects how they are treated in employment, housing and by financial institutions.

"Why did Seattle feel the need to ban caste-based discrimination? Why is Toronto also doing the same? Why is there such a big movement to tackle this issue? Because it’s happening," she said in the Guardian. 

Incidents involving tech companies brought attention to the age old practice. The California Civil Rights Department sued Cisco on behalf of an engineer who claimed two other South Asian American engineers, discriminated and harassed an employee on the basis of caste.

That case was dismissed by an order of the Santa Clara Superior County Court last week but the Civil Rights Department said in an email to the Associated Press that they will continue pursuing the complaint, which might appealing the court ruling. Cisco refused to comment on the pending litigation.

In another instance, Google canceled a speech to be given by a Dalit anti-caste activist, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, who intended to show how caste was affecting Google's South Asian workforce. The presentation was cancelled reportedly because some Hindu employees complained to management that they felt they were being targeted on the basis of religion.

Soundararajan's presentation was based on data gathered by her civil rights organization, Equality Labs, which found that two-thirds of American Dalits have faced discrimination in their US workplace.



Surnames, skin tones and dialects are commonly used to try to determine a person’s caste, said Gaurav Pathania, a sociologist and expert in caste at Eastern Mennonite University, in an PBS interview. For individuals in the so-called lower castes, he said, “there are experiences shared of being excluded from social gatherings and being harassed with casteist slurs.” In both subtle and overt ways, the caste system impacts everyday interactions for many in the South Asian diaspora.

“Caste has now migrated, and those people with the casteist mindset have many caste perceptions which contributed to believing in the idea of superiority and inferiority.” This is reflected in various types of discrimination and expulsion of people in lower castes in the US, Pathania said.

The issue of caste has sharply divided South Asian Americans. The Hindu American Foundation wrote a letter to Wahab, who sponsored SB 403.

"We oppose SB-403 because both its legislative intent and impact will result in an unconstitutional denial of equal protection and due process to South Asians (the vast majority of whom are of Indian origin) and other vulnerable ethnic communities.," the letter stated in part.

"SB-403 unfairly maligns, targets and racially profiles select communities on the basis of their national origin, ethnicity and ancestry for disparate treatment, thereby violating the very laws it seeks to amend, the Unruh Civil Rights Act. It further violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the US and California State Constitutions.”

As amended, SB 403 will be reheard by the Judiciary Committee. If it makes it out of the committee stage, it will need to pass the state Senate and Assembly and be signed by the governor before it becomes law.

"These are all the issues that are not talked about in the mainstream media and public," says Wahab. "So we as policymakers want to be proactive and make sure that all people are protected regardless of where they come from or their background or anything like that."

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

17 suspects arrested for violent clashes in Sikh American community

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, left, Sutter County DA Jennifer Depre, (center) and Sacramento DA Thien Ho at the
press conference announcing the arrests of 17 gang members.

Arrests of 17 individuals will stem the violence including sword fights, fisticuffs and shootings that have been ruining recent celebrations of the northern California Sikh community.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré announced Sunday, April 16 that law enforcement made 17 felony arrests as a result of a months-long, multi-agency investigation of rival criminal syndicates operating throughout Northern California.

These warring gangs, known as the Minta and the AK-47 Group, are suspected of committing numerous violent clashes including five attempted murders, in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo, and Merced counties.

“No family should ever have to worry about drive-by shootings or other forms of gun violence in the neighborhoods where their children live and play. As a result of this joint law enforcement effort, we’re taking guns off the street and putting suspected gang members and their associates behind bars," said Bonta during the press conference in Yuba City.

“This started out as one group, and one faction broke off, and since then they have been rivals trying to outdo each other," Sutter County District Attorney General Jennifer Dupré.

"Mainly they show up places and try to shoot each other,” she said, comparing it to the US Civil War “where brothers were fighting against brothers.”

The violence started as fistfights and sword fights at a 2018 Sikh parade in Yuba City where one suspect’s attack with a sword was violent that the sword broke, Dupré said. That’s where the name of the police investigation, "Operation Broken Sword." originated.

Authorities believe the continuing violence between these groups resulted in a mass shooting at a Stockton Sikh temple during a wedding on August 27, 2022, followed by a shooting at a Sacramento Sikh temple on March 23, 2023.

The joint law enforcement effort reached a climax on April 15 in a large-scale operation with agents executing search warrants at 20 locations, also resulted in the seizure of 41 firearms.

Arrested were: Karandeep Singh, Pardeep Singh, Pavittar Singh, Husandeep Singh, Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirath Ram, Dharamvir Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Nitish Kaushal, Gurminder Singh Kang, Devender Singh, Karambir Gill, Rajeev Ranjan, Jobanpreet Singh and Singh Dhesi, according NBC News.

Five others, Amandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Gursharn Singh, Grucharan Singh and Jaskaran Singh, remain at-large.

Dupré said the investigation was “ramped up” at last month’s parade in Vineyard, where investigators intercepted two vehicles near the parade route. The prosecutor said authorities arrested seven people found with four handguns and two assault weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines in those vehicles near the parade route. The suspects’ intent was to take up position along the parade route and shoot at rivals.

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Thousands of Sikhs are attended last month's parade where violence broke out.

Dupre said investigators were at last month’s Sacramento County parade with the goal of keeping the event “violence-free,” and she’s convinced law enforcement prevented what could’ve been a mass casualty incident. “If those weapons had gotten into the parade it could have been a blood bath,” Dupre said.

But despite the arrests, violence did breakout. The Vineyard shooting occurred about 2:30 p.m. after a fight broke out among a group of men, all in their 20s, who were not part of the parade, she said.

More than 20,000 Sikh reside in and around Yuba City and Sacramento, the largest Sikh community in the United States. 

The individuals arrested in connection with the violence do not in any way reflect or represent the vibrant Sikh community in the region, said Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho. Leaders of the Sikh community in Northern California have condemned this violence again and again, he emphasized.

The massive investigation and arrests involved 500 officers and multiple law enforcement agencies.

“Today, California is safer thanks to collaboration, determination, and swift action by DOJ agents and our law enforcement partners in Sutter County,” said Bonta. "Together, we’re putting public safety first. Thank you to our law enforcement partners across the state for working with us day-in and day-out to protect the people of California.”

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

FBI breaks up PRC's New York City "police station" allegedly spying, harassing US residents and citizens

Two Chinese Americans were arrested Monday by the FBI for their connection to secret "police stations" under the direction of officials of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The mission of the "police station" was to harass and intimidate Chinese living in the US, including US citizens, say federal authorities. 

Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, both New York City residents, were arrested Monday (April 17) and face charges of conspiring to act as agents for China and obstruction of justice.

“The PRC, through its repressive security apparatus, established a secret physical presence in New York City to monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of its government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The PRC’s actions go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression.”

There were two criminal complaints against the PRC filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York that were unsealed Monday in federal court in Brooklyn:

One resulted in the arrests of Lu and Chen for their involvement in the alleged "police stations." The second complaint charges 44 defendants with various crimes related to efforts by the national police of the PRC – the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) – to harass Chinese nationals residing in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere in the United States. 

The alleged "police station" was located in lower Manhatten and resulted in the arrests of Lu and Chen at this New York City homes.

As alleged in the complaint, Lu and Chen are charged with conspiring to act as agents of the PRC government as well as obstructing justice by destroying evidence of their communications with an MPS official. The defendants worked together to establish the first overseas police station in the United States on behalf of the Fuzhou branch of the MPS.

In response, the PRC's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a media briefing today, Tuesday, April 18: "China firmly opposes the U.S.'s slander and smears, its political manipulation, the false narrative of 'transnational repression,' and blatant prosecution of Chinese law enforcement and cyber administration officials."

The alleged "police station,"  closed in the fall of 2022 after those operating it became aware of the FBI’s investigation. It occupied an entire floor in an office building in Manhattan’s Chinatown. 

PRC AGENTS?

While acting under the direction and control of an MPS Official, Lu and Chen helped open and operate the clandestine police station," the DOJ alleges. None of the suspects informed the US government that they were helping the PRC government surreptitiously open and operate an illegal MPS police station on US soil. By US law, foreign agents are required to register with the federal government.

“This prosecution reveals the Chinese government’s flagrant violation of our nation’s sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “As alleged, the defendants and their co-conspirators were tasked with doing the PRC’s bidding, including helping locate a Chinese dissident living in the United States, and obstructed our investigation by deleting their communications. Such a police station has no place here in New York City – or any American community.”

Before helping to open the police station in early 2022, Lu had a longstanding relationship of trust with PRC law enforcement, including the MPS. Since 2015, and through the operation of the secret police station, Lu was tasked with carrying out various activities, including to assist the PRC government’s repressive activities on U.S. soil:

• In 2015, during PRC President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States, Lu participated in counterprotests in Washington, D.C,. against members of a religion that is forbidden under PRC law. A deputy director of the MPS awarded Lu a plaque for the work he performed on behalf of the PRC government.
• In 2018, Lu was enlisted in efforts to cause a purported PRC fugitive to return to the PRC. The victim reported being repeatedly harassed to return to the PRC, including through threats of violence made to the victim and the victim’s family in the United States and in the PRC.
• In 2022, the MPS Official sought Lu’s assistance in locating an individual living in California who is a pro-democracy activist. In turn, Lu enlisted the help of another coconspirator. Later, when confronted by the FBI about these conversations, Lu denied that they occurred.

In October 2022, the FBI conducted a search of the illegal police station during which  agents interviewed both Lu and Chen and seized their phones. In reviewing the contents of these phones, FBI agents observed that communications between Lu and Chen, on the one hand, and the MPS Official, on the other, appeared to have been deleted. In subsequent consensual interviews, Lu and Chen admitted to the FBI that they had deleted their communications with the MPS Official after learning about the ongoing FBI investigation, thus preventing the FBI from learning the full extent of the MPS’s directions for the overseas police station.

GOOGLE STREETVIEW

The alleged PRC "police station" took up an entire floor of the glass-faced building in Manhatten's Chinatown.

If convicted of conspiring to act as agents of the PRC, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In addition to the two arrests, the DOJ is charging 44 defendants with various crimes related to efforts by the national police of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) – to harass Chinese nationals residing in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere in the United States.

The defendants, including 40 MPS officers and two officials in the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), allegedly perpetrated transnational repression schemes targeting US residents whose political views and actions are disfavored by the PRC government, such as advocating for democracy in the PRC.

In the two schemes, the defendants created and used fake social media accounts to harass and intimidate PRC dissidents residing abroad and sought to suppress the dissidents’ free speech on the platform of a U.S. telecommunications company, which the DOJ documents refer to as "Company-1."

According to ABC News sources, "Company-1" was Zoom and from China the insider allegedly was able to disrupt meetings on Zoom.

The defendants charged in these schemes are believed to reside in the PRC or elsewhere in Asia and remain at large.

CYBER HARASSMENT

“These cases demonstrate the lengths the PRC government will go to silence and harass U.S. persons who exercise their fundamental rights to speak out against PRC oppression, including by unlawfully exploiting a U.S.-based technology company,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “These actions violate our laws and are an affront to our democratic values and basic human rights.”

“China’s Ministry of Public Security used operatives to target people of Chinese descent who had the courage to speak out against the Chinese Communist Party – in one case by covertly spreading propaganda to undermine confidence in our democratic processes and, in another, by suppressing U.S. video conferencing users’ free speech,” said Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. 

The complaint alleges how members of the 912 Special Project Working Group created thousands of fake online personas on social media sites, including Twitter, to target Chinese dissidents through online harassment and threats. These online personas also disseminated official PRC government propaganda and narratives to counter the pro-democracy speech of the Chinese dissidents.

As alleged, for example, Group members created and maintained the fake social media accounts through temporary email addresses, posted official PRC government content, and interacted with other online users to avoid the appearance that the Group accounts were “flooding” a given social media platform. The Group tracks the performances of members in fulfilling their online responsibilities and rewards Group members who successfully operate multiple online personas without detection by the social media companies who host the platforms or by other users of the platforms.

The investigation also uncovered official MPS instructions to Group members to compose articles and videos based on certain themes targeting, for example, the activities of Chinese dissidents located abroad or the policies of the US government.

As alleged, the defendants also attempted to recruit US permanent residents or citizens to act as unwitting agents of the PRC government by disseminating propaganda or narratives of the PRC government. On several occasions, the defendants used online personas to contact individuals assessed to be sympathetic and supportive of the PRC government’s narratives and asked these individuals to disseminate Group content.

In addition, Group members flooded "Company-1" with complaints to have Chinese dissidents and their meetings removed from the social media platform.

For example, Group members disrupted a dissident’s efforts to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre through a videoconference by posting threats against the participants through the platform’s chat function. 

In another Company-1 videoconference on the topic of countering communism organized by a PRC dissident residing in New York, Group members flooded the videoconference and drowned out the meeting with loud music and vulgar screams and threats directed at the pro-democracy participants.

GLOBAL ESPIONAGE

The arrest of Lu and Chen is the first arrests in the world in connection with the PRC "police stations."

The DOJ complaints imply the PRC may have scores of these "police stations" operating around the world. The British Broadcasting Corp. reports that PRC embassies in the US and Canada have said the locations are "overseas service stations'' opened during the pandemic supposedly to assist nationals abroad with driver's licence renewal and similar matters.

But human rights groups have accused the PRC of using the outposts to threaten and monitor people of Chinese descent living outside of China.

Safeguard Defenders, a watchdog that tracks disappearances of critics of the Chinese Communist Party, issued a report in September detailing claims that Chinese police are operating a program of foreign stations to harass regime critics abroad.

Beijing claims the so-called overseas service stations were set up to provide essential services to citizens. But Safeguard Defenders said they in fact are used to coerce emigrants to return home to face criminal charges in China, in an effort to silence dissent of the regime abroad.

The Madrid-based Safeguard Defenders' report claims that China was running "illegal, transnational policing operations" in 30 countries, including Europe and Australia.

The Dutch and Irish governments have already ordered China to shut down the operations, while the stations are also being investigated by the governments of the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

In the US, the FBI charges unveiled Monday may be the tip of an iceberg that reveals the extent the PRC and other foreign governments might have on US citizens. 

By the spread of disinformation, threats, harassment and the abusive use of social media platforms, the foreign agents might be able to influence opinions of Asian America towards candidates, policies or beliefs that would benefit foreign governments or homegrown political entities sympathetic to those countries.

The PRC is not the alone in posing a cyber threat to the US and its people. Many experts described Russia as the far more dangerous short-term threat but warned cyber competition from China is more threatening in the long run, cites the Washington Post.

“When dangerous is defined as having the greatest potential to cause damage to people and organizations in the U.S., the answer is Russia,” said Katie Nickels, director of intelligence for the cybersecurity firm Red Canary, told the Washington Post. “When dangerous is defined as having the greatest potential to threaten the strategic role of the U.S. as an enduring great power, the answer is China.”

“These cases demonstrate that the Chinese Communist Party, once again, attempted to intimidate, harass, and suppress Chinese dissidents in the United States,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “In the United States, the freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy, and the FBI will work tirelessly to defend everyone's right to speak freely without fear of retribution from the CCP. These complex investigations revealed an MPS-wide effort to repress individuals by using the U.S. communications platform and fake social media accounts to censor political and religious speech.”

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