Some of the members of the California Asian-Pacific American Judges Association.
Since 2006, the number of Asian American judges in California have doubled, making up about 10% of the judges in California.
That shows progress but there is still a way to go to achieve true representation since Asian American make up about 15% of the state, according to new data released by the Judicial Council
Despite having two California Supreme Court justices -- Associate Justice Joyce Kennard, who is Indonesian/ Chinese and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who is Filipino American, both of whom are retired, the state has been slow in making its bench more reflective of the state's diverse populations.
Efforts by California to increase the number of judges of color into the court system continued. If the bench was truly representative of the state's Asian American population, there would be 15% of the bench would be Asian American.
“People may have certain perceptions of what a judge should look like, and Asian Americans being fairly new to this field are bursting that mold,” said California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu in an interview with the L.A. Times.
For the 18th straight year, California's judicial bench has grown more diverse. Black and Latino judges have also doubled since 2006 and the number of women judges have almost doubled.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, responding female judicial officers constitute 41.2% of judicial officers across all court levels, a 1 percentage point increase over the prior year and an increase of more than 14% points since 2006—the first year that data were collected for this purpose.
The bench also has continued to become more racially and ethnically diverse. The proportion of responding white judicial officers has declined by more than 9 percentage points since 2006. The percentage of responding Asian, Black, and Hispanic judicial officers has doubled over the same time period.
Survey of California Bench
The Judicial Council surveyed California judges and justices in December 2023 to get a snapshot of the demographics of the California bench—including gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Responding to the questionnaire is voluntary for judges, and the data only reflects the responses provided.
The data also show changes over the past 18 years in the percentage of responding justices and judges reported in the following race/ethnicity categories:
American Indian or Alaska Native (0.4% in 2023 compared to 0.1% in 2006);
Asian (9.8% in 2023 compared to 4.4% in 2006);
Black or African American (9.0% in 2023 compared to 4.4% in 2006);
Hispanic or Latino (12.5% in 2023 compared to 6.3% in 2006);
Pacific Islander (0.3% in 2023 compared to 0.1% in 2006);
White (60.3% in 2023 compared to 70.1% in 2006);
Some Other Race (1.3% in 2023 compared to 0.2% in 2006);
More Than One Race (4.8% in 2023 compared to 4.4% in 2006); and
Information Not Provided (1.7% in 2023 compared to 9.9% in 2006).
Data show the percentage of female justices and judges has increased to 41.2%, compared to 27.1% in 2006, continuing a steady upward trend.
Federal judges appointed by Biden
California efforts to diversify its bench coincides with the progress at the federal level where President Biden is doing his best to remedy the glaring lack of AAPI judges.
Asian American judicial appointments at the federal level century ago, no AAPI person had ever been selected to serve as a federal judge in the United States. It was not until 1971 that America broke that shameful barrier, with the confirmation of Herbert Choy for the Ninth Circuit.
Much has changed since 1971. Now, 90 AAPI individuals have served as lifetime federal judges. Remarkably, nearly 40% of them were nominated by President Biden.
President Biden has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 36 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) lifetime judges, including 24 AANHPI women, who are now serving lifetime appointments on the federal bench.
In less than four years, Biden has already exceeded the previous record of 22 AAPI judges set by President Barack Obama (and that was over eight years). In percentage terms, 18% of Biden’s confirmed judges have been AAPI, as opposed to 7% for Obama and 6% for Donald Trump.
As Asian American judges climb up the judicial ladder, there is still one barrier still to be accomoplished: the United States Supreme Court.
“They have a foot in the door in virtually every sector of the legal profession,” Justice Liu told the L.A. Times. “The question now is how wide that door’s going to swing open for them.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
Nicole Scherzinger, who jost will be bringing Sunset Boulevard back to Broadway.
The musical Here Lies Love with its all-Filipino cast last week didn't win any Tonys, Broadway's equivalent to the Oscars,but next year could be a completely different story with the potential of multiple Tony's for Asian American artists.
One thing that Here Lies Love proved is that there is plenty of talented AANHPIs and Broadway producers need not limit their casting to just white or black performers.
However, if you are one of those fans who want to see more Filipino and Asian American presence on the Broadway stages, here are some shows and upcoming productions with AANHPI artists in principal roles to raise questions on calling it The Great White Way.
'The Great Gatsby' with Eva Noblezada
The musical adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,stars Eva Noblezada as Daisy Buchanan, the great love of rich playboy Jay Gatsby. Coincidently, Since March 29, the revival has been playing at the Broadway Theatre, where Here Lies Love recently called home,
FYI: Tickets for The Great Gatsby are no sale at Broadway District.
Noblezada has become a fixture on Broadway, where she earned a Tony nominations for Miss Saigon and for the lead of Hadestown when it opened in 2018. As Euridyce, the Filipino American e won a Grammy for the cast album of the same show.
The show features music & lyrics by Tony Award nominees Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square) & Jason Howland (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Little Women), a book by Jonathan Larson Grant winner Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones), and is staged by award-winning director Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and choreographer Dominique Kelley (Mariah’s Magical Christmas Special, Dancing with the Stars”).
'Maybe Happy Ending' with Darren Criss
Maybe Happy Ending, starring Filipino American performer Darren Criss, will begin previews on Broadway on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, and open on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at the Belasco Theatre (111 W. 44th St.).
It is. a homecoming for Criss who has been spending time on the West Coast where he is from, winning critical praise, which includes an Emmy and Golden Globe for his role as Andrew Cunanan in the 2018 dramatic series of The Assasssination of Gianni Versace. and earned another Emmy nomination for his role in Glee. He also won praise for his stage Broadway and Off-Broadway performances in Hedwig and th Angry Inch (2015), How to succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2012), and most recently, in American Buffalo (2022) and Little Shop of Horrors (2024).
Maybe Happy Ending is the offbeat and captivating story of two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet. Helmed by visionary director and Tony Award® winner Michael Arden (Parade, Once on This Island), with a dazzling scenic design by Dane Laffrey (A Christmas Carol) and book, music, and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed duo Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending is a fresh, original musical about the small things that make any life worth living.
While Criss is undoubtedly the "star" name attached to the production, the musical also has Korean American Hue Parkl playing the female lead. Another Filipino American, Dez Duron; rounds out thethree main charcters in the cast.
'Sunset Boulevard' with Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger, who currently stars in the London production of Sunset Boulevard, will reprise her role as faded silent-screen star Norma Desmond for New York audiences. It will be the singer's Broadway debut.
“This bravura new revival belongs to the here and now. Nicole Scherzinger gives a career-defining performance,” writes the New York Times.
Based on the acclaimed Billy Wilder film, Andrew Lloyd Webber's lush and brooding Tony Award ® – winning Best Musical is a noir-esque journey to Hollywood's glamorous past.
“It has truly been a lifelong dream of mine to perform on Broadway. So, to be bringing this iconic production to NYC with my London co-stars and our cutting-edge director Jamie Lloyd is a pinnacle moment for me in my career,” said the Hawaii-born Scherzinger, who won the Olivier for her role.
Scherzinger will be joined by director Jamie Lloyd and her London co-stars Tom Francis, Grace Hodgett-Young and David Thaxton at Broadway’s St. James Theatre with preview performances beginning Saturday, September 28 ahead of a Sunday, October 20 opening night.
Before being a judge in the wildly-popular TV reality shows, The Masked Singer and The X Factor, Scherzinger was a member of the girl group, the Pussycat Dolls.
Based on the acclaimed Billy Wilder film, Andrew Lloyd Webber's lush and brooding Tony Award ® – winning Best Musical is a noir-esque journey to Hollywood's glamorous past.
'Hadestown' with Jon Jon Briones and Isa Briones
The good news: Jon Jon Briones and his daughter, Isa Briones, star in the award-winning musical Hadestown.
The bad news: The Filipino American father and daughter team will be leaving the Broadway production June 30.
“There’s just this pinch-me moment. I can’t believe I get to do this with a musical theater legend but also that legend is my father and also telling a beautiful, beautiful story,” Isa Briones tells the Associated Press.
Daniel Dae Kim will star in the Broadway premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Yellowface this Fall.
The play, which is inspired by real events, follows a playwright protesting the casting of white actors playing Asian roles in Miss Saigon, and then mistakenly casting a white actor as an Asian lead in his own play. Yellow Face, directed by Leigh Silverman, is scheduled to start previews at what will be the newly renamed Todd Haimes Theatre September 13, 2024.
Best known for his TV roles in Lost and Hawaii 5-0, Kims is an outspoken advocate for AANHPI representation in the arts. Its fitting that Kim take part in this farce about racial casting.
Its not the first time Kim has been on Broadway. He made his Broadway debut as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Tony-winning 2017 production of The King and I.
'Hamilton' with Stephanie Jae Park
Stephanie Jae Park has been slaying the pivotal role of Eliza Hamilton in the current Hamilton Broadway production, a role Korean American has had since 2022. However, she will be leaving the show in July to advance her already promising career as a songwriter, actor, singer and dancer.
Park was born and raised in Guam up until age 11 when the family moved to the mainland. Her mother was an opoera singer and encouraged her three daughters to take singing and dancing lessons.
If you're lucky, Mark dela Cruz, fresh off his sting on Here Lies Love, is the standby Alexander Hamilton, the first Filipino American to play that role whenever Trey Curtis, the latest actor to play the title role,, needs a break.
'Aladdin' with Adi Roy and Sonya Balsara
Two Indian American artists took over the principal roles in Aladdin, which has been playing on Broadway for 10 years.
Adi Roy will playplays the title role and Sonya Balsara is Jasmine in Aladdin, adapted from the animated Disney film and centuries-old folktales including “One Thousand and One Nights.
Roy took over the title role June 2 after playing Aladdin in the touring production this year.
Sonya Balsara took over the role of Jasmine in 2023. Roy assumed the Aladdin role earlier this year, based on the Disney musical film, has been playing on Broadway for a decade.
Even though Aladdin has many South Asian elements to the story including its locale of the mythical Agrabah, this is the first time two South Asians perform in the principle roles of Aladdin and Jasmine.
"The magnitude of this opportunity and responsibility is not lost on me," says Balsara in a Playbill interview. "It is a privilege to inspire young people, especially young girls who never saw themselves represented in other princesses or roles on Broadway.
"Beyond that, it is my dream that her story teaches all people that they can speak their truth: that you can feel overlooked and then choose to rewrite the story, that your voice can spearhead significant change toward a new world you dream about.
"In order to be a role model for others, I am also learning to take ownership of who I am and my identity being mixed race. I have always had a complicated relationship with my identity in this industry, never quite feeling like I belong anywhere," says Balsara." Each night when I grace the stage, I aim to embrace all that I am—my Parsi, Hindu, and European-American roots—as well as the artist I am always striving to be."
Adi Roy and Sonya Balsara play the lead roles in 'Aladdin.'
''Old Friends' with Lea Salonga
Perhaps the most anticipated show featuring an Asian American performer won't happen until 2025. The Filipino singer who some say, opened the doors to Asian performers on Broadway, Lea Salonga, will be returning to New York City Old Friends, a show based on the songs of the legendary Stephen Sondheim.
Salonga, who rocketed to fame and earned a Tony for her performance in Miss Saigon at the age of 18, will be joined by another Tony winner, Bernadette Peters, reprising their performances from the concert's London priemiere. Previews will begin March 25, 2025, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
The show will also get a pre-Broadway run via Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group, with performances set for the Ahmanson Theatre.
Salonga also was the singing voice for Disney's princesses Jasmin in the movies Aladdin and Mulan in the feature of the same name. She has also starred in Broadway productions of Les Misérables,Once on this Island, and Allegiance.
And more ...
While we celebrate the representation these artists bring to Broadway, the fact that we are able to list the AANHPI performers in this short article highlights the problem of the lack of diversity on Broadway as highlighted in the 2021 report by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition.
In the 2018-19 season, the last full season before the pandemic,the AAPAC report found that Asian American actors were cast in just 6.3% of all available roles; Asian American playwrights, composers, librettists and lyricists made up just 4.4% of all writers produced; and Asian American directors helmed only 4.5% of all productions.
The report found that only 20 Asian American perfomers were cast in the Broadway ensembles, singers and dancers in supporting roles usually in the background and rarely with speaking roles.
The recent productions with all-Asian casts, K-POP, Here Lies Love and Allegiance in 2022 and 2023 gathered together some of the best Asian American performers on Broadway.
Although the musicals, didn't have longer runs, they provided platforms for the performers to prove they do belong and that there is more than enough talent for professional theater. Already, cast members from thse shows have roles in other productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway.
We currently have Michael Maliakel and Sonya Balsara holding it down in Aladdin, for the ‘long running shows’ as well as Ruthie Ann Miles in Sweeney Todd. Lola Tung coming in to Hadestown as Eurydice on Feb 9 opposite Lilias White as Hermes and Jordan Fisher as Orpheus for a limited run. Chicago recently added Lili Thomas as Mama Morton and Red Concepción as Amos – so even long running shows can be inclusive. And….revivals – with Vishal Vaidya holding it down in Merrily We Roll
“Triumphs in representation come in waves. While this fall is a low point in visibility for many communities on Broadway, there are few as absent as the Asian-American performing community.” The Ensemblist’s Mo Brady said in a statement. “Right now, there are only 20 Asian-American actors in all of the ensembles of Broadway's 19 currently-running musicals. If every single Asian performing in a Broadway ensemble can fit in one photograph, then we know we have a problem with representation."
In Hamilton, Stephanie Jae Park is Eliza, Marc Delacruz is the standby for several of the lead male roles, which he most recently was lauded in various publications for switching roles mid show. Jen Sese is there as standby for all the Schuyler sisters, and Eddy Lee and Preston Mui, round out the Ensemble.
Bailey Anne Kennedy broke barriers when she won the Miss Maryland pageant.
“Sometimes the underdog does win in the end,” Bailey Anne Kennedy said in an Instagram post following her crowning as the new Miss Maryland.
By winning the pageant on June 1, the first day of Pride month, Kennedy broke through numerous barriers: She is the first Asian American, the first woman over 29 years of age, the first married woman and the first trangender woman to win the Miss Maryland contestt. She will represent Maryland for the Miss USA title August 4 in Los Angeles.
"As an Asian, we have been raised to be humble and be grateful for every opportunity," Kennedy told NBC. "So at that time, I was crying, thinking that 'Oh my god, I am doing something big for the community.'"
Some on social media criticized Kennedy and the Miss USA organization, making transphobic remarks about her inclusion and saying she didn’t deserve to win over the pageant’s cisgender women. She addressed the comments in another Instagram post.
“Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities,” she posteed on the social media platform. “The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society.”
The Cambodian American immigrant's win last week was a whilrlwind of emotions because I knew it was bigger than me,” she told Washington, D.C., TV station WDCW. “I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up.”
Previously women over the age of 28 were not allowed to compete in the pageant. Transgender women have been allowed to compete for the past decade. Filipino American Kataluna Enriquez was the first Asian American trans woman to win a state titlewhen she was crowned Miss Nevada in 2021.
"Since 2012 trans women have been welcomed into our organization. Additionally, as of 2023 the organization invited all adult women of any age, marital and family status. As an organization, we fully support our Miss Maryland USA 2024, Bailey Anne," a spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement.
"I hope that I can be a beautiful contribution to society so that we are no longer looking at the LGBTQIA+ community in a negative light," Kennedy continued in her interview with NBC. "Minority girls are going to be able to see me and see themself and be able to see their reflection through my journey as well."
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
Asian American chefs and restaurants won prestigious James Beard awards June 10, considered the Oscars of the culinary world.
Portland, Oregon's Langbaan, serving Thai food, was named the country’s most outstanding restaurant at the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony June 10 in Chicago.
According to the James Beard foundation, the award goes to an establishment that “demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality and operations, while contributing positively to its broader community.”
“This 24-seat restaurant, which channels sort of a Bangkok night market vibe, has been instrumental to introducing Portland to authentic addictive flavors of Thai cooking,” awards show commentators said. “Whether it’s the bright salads, mouth-numbing larb, complex curries … Langbaan is the most fun you can have in Portland on a night out.”
“Thai food had much, much more than what Americans had seen.” said Langbaan owner Akkapong Ninsom. The restaurant changes its menu every two months to focus on a different region in Thailand and one of the first to offer a Thai tasting menu.
Courtesy of Kuya Lord
Chef Lord Maynard Llera at work.
Additionally, Filipino American Lord Maynard Llera, owner of Kuya Lord in Los Angeles won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of California in ceremonies held in Chicago..
"It's just surreal," he said after his win Monday night. "I came here 20 years ago from the Philippines with a dream of opening a restaurant."
This is his first James Beard Award win, and the only award Los Angeles took home this year.
The award brings attention to Philippine cuisine, which has long been overlooked while other Asian cuisnes won acceptance and praise in the US. The award puts Kuya Lord on the nation's culinary map alongside Chicago’s tasting menu restaurant Kasama, San Francisco's Abaca and Seattle’s Musang.
Befor the Beard honors, Kuya Lord, a 20-seat over-the-counter restaurant, was drawing raves from local food critics.
Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison called the Llera “a gripping new expressionist of Filipino cooking.”
“The finesse and power of Llera’s cooking has transitioned seamlessly from pop-up to restaurant,” Addison noted.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
The Kuhuku High school seniors begin their performance during their graduation.
This is the time of year when high school seniors take the next big step in their lives. Millions of young people take part in their graduation ceremonies.
Several years ago I stumbled upon a video showing the commencement ceremonies of Kahuku High School located in the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. We continue that tradition this year.
Initially, what caught my attention was the student body population, dominated by Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders -- a welcome contrast to most mainland high schools.
What also surprised me was thepassion and pride of the senior class and the 100% participation in song and choreography for thl event they'll remember for the rest of their lives. Again, that was a comoplete contrast to the high school I attended where being cool was not showing honest emotion and showing enthusiasm was looked as too rah-rah.
The Kahuku graduation ceremonies took place May 18. It culiminated with a rousing haka led by Alisha GAleiia, the first female student to lead traditional haka.
The student population of Kahuku High & Intermediate School is 1,353 and the school serves 7-12.
The singing and dancing tradition began in 1995 when current Principal Pauline Masania was a teacher and the senior class advisor.
Initially, she worried that the students wouldn't buy into particcipatio but she was surprised at the solidarity that developed among the different cliques that develop in high school.
“Sometimes you have some kids, for them, it’s really out of the comfort zone. They don’t give it their whole heart. But as I watch the practices, I thought every student is thoroughly enjoying themselves and going all out,” Masaniai told KHON.
The videos of the cseremonies continue to go viral. Other schools have contacted her thoping to do something similar at their their high schools. The graduation ceremony was even eatured on the Today show.
Sena Fonoimoana was a graduating senior in 2001 He helped cchoreographed his claass's commencement and has been doing ever sice. .
“I’m just blown away at where it is at and where it’s gotten,” Fonoimoana told KHON. “This is just timing for this class with social media now, the way it is so… It’s been here for a while and we’re just trying to carry on the tradition or just grateful it’s at the stage and the kids realize I can make a positive effect.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
Usually when a federal agency makes a mistake, it tries to brush it off with bureaucratic rhetoric so it was unusual when an FBI official admits the agency made in implementing the much malighned China Initiative.
The China Initiative, a Trump administrative policy supposedly to uncover spies of the Peoples Republic of China, had a “negative impact” on the Asian American community admitted Jill Murphy, deputy assistant director of counter-intelligence at the Fedreal Bureau of Investigation.
Murphy made her statement at an event sponsored by Rice’s Baker Institute and Office of Innovation and advocacy groups like the Asian Pacific American Justice Task Force, brought together FBI officials, field agents, AANHPI community leaders, activists and scientists for the first time on a livestream. More than 400 participants from across the country took part in the session.
The China Initiative targeted researchers and scientists of Chinese descent but wound up racial profiling innocent academics, health care workers, and businesspeople for failing to disclose alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Although the FBI targeted hundreds of people of Chinese descent from 2018 to 2022, in the end, there were no espionage convictions.
However, the PRC's attempts to influence US policy, harassment of US residents and theft of technology and research is very real. Most recently:
On June 8, a US Navy service member was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for transmitting sensitive US military information to an intelligence officer from the People's Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments.
Several men were arrested and charged for allegedly harassing and threatening New York residents of Chinese descent for their views vs. the PRC last year. The investigation is continuing.
The Department of Justice has issued warnings of China's interference with US elections this year by spreading misinformation and disinformation targeting Chinese American voters through Chinese lnaguage publications and social media.
In the 2020 elections, the DOJ said the hackers also began targeting email accounts belonging to senior staffers of a presidential campaign in May 2020 and Washington-based journalists, several months before the general election.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate efforts by the Chinese government to intimidate Americans who serve the public, silence the dissidents who are protected by American laws, or steal from American businesses,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement, adding that the “case serves as a reminder of the ends to which the Chinese government is willing to go to target and intimidate its critics.”
The FBI is struggling to protect uS residents and tech. The agency is riching out out with a clear message: "we acknowledge past missteps and seek the community’s assistance in countering the Chinese Communist Party and its government."
“We really need to spend time listening to you and your concerns, and we’re not always right, and we can always be better. We need open lines of communication,” said Murphy.
Murphy said agents were learning about the “correct way” to talk about the Asian American community, clarifying the distinction between the Chinese government (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party, not the Chinese people.
Quan said making that distinction was important in “humanising” the Asian-American community, said Gordon Quan, a former city council member in Houston and one of the speakers at the event
“We believe in national security as well. But by the same token, don’t paint all Chinese with the same brush that you know China is a threat. And if you’re Chinese, you’re a possible threat,” Quan said.
During the Houston livestream, Kelly Choi, a supervisory special agent at the FBI’s Houston field office, urged Asian-Americans to collaborate with law enforcement agencies, whether reporting crimes to the FBI or local and state authorities. She recalled how after the US closed the Houston consulate, some Asian-Americans were not comfortable talking to the agents conducting routine interviews.
She said that in the past several years, the bureau had been working with community leaders to improve communication, and that the public forum was one of the suggestions that had come from that effort.
Citing potential “misplaced trust”, Choi emphasised the agency’s commitment to improving local engagement, saying the FBI sought to foster confidence through outreach.
Douglas Williams, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston field office, said the FBI wanted Asian-Americans to trust the FBI “when something does happen in this community … that you feel comfortable calling us and that we can investigate it”.
Murphy conveyed the bureau’s commitment to understanding the Asian American community better and to exercising greater discernment in case selection, aiming for a more respectful and nuanced approach.
“I’m very cognisant of ensuring that we are opening our investigations on predicated facts or allegations of either things that threaten national security or federal criminal violations,” she said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
The DOJ met with leaders of community agencies from South Asian commuities.
Two days after a Texas man was charged with a federal hate crime and for making interstate threats against the employees of a Sikh nonprofit organization the US Justice Department took time to reassure that it is taking steps against the rising wave of violence against people from the Middle East and South Asia.
Bhushan Athale, 48, of Dallas, was charged June 5 by complaint with one count of interfering with federally protected activities through the threatened use of a dangerous weapon and one count of transmitting an interstate threat to injure another person.
Acording to the criminal complaint, on or about Sept. 17, 2022, Athale, an Indian American, called the main number of an organization that advocates for the civil rights of Sikh individuals within the United States. Over the next hour, Athale left seven voicemails expressing extreme hatred toward Sikh individuals working at this same organization and threatening to injure or kill these individuals with a razor.
Athale’s voicemails, which were filled with violent imagery and obscenity, contained references to places, people and tenets that are particularly significant within the Sikh religion.
Among other things, Athale stated his intention to “catch” the Sikhs at the organization, forcibly “shave” the “top and bottom hair” of these individuals, use a “razor” to forcibly “cut” these individuals’ hair and “make” them bald, forcibly “make” them smoke and eat tobacco and “show [them] the heaven.”
In March, Athale again called the same Sikh organization and left two more voicemails. In these voicemails, Athale again used violent imagery to express his hatred toward Sikhs as well as Muslims, suggesting, among other things, that the Indian Government and Mumbai Police should “catch them and beat their ass” and “f*ck these rascals’ mothers.”
The investigation reflects that Athale has a long history of making religious-based comments and threats, such as when he previously used a professional networking site to express to a former co-worker that he “hate[d] Pakistan” and “hate[d] Muslims,” and he told the co-worker “I hate you, I just don’t know how to kill your whole family including you? Tell me??? I will figure it out […] Probably I will hire a Jew, they will be most happy.”
If convicted, Athale faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for interfering with federally protected activities and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for transmitting an interstate threat. Both charges also carry a penalty of up to a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The charges leveled against Athele ppreceded a June 7 meeting the Department of Justice had with Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian and Hindu community stakeholders. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division outlined relevant enforcement efforts across the Department and highlighted actions to prevent and combat discrimination and hate crimes.
Thie meeting, held quarterly,g occurrs at a time when hate and threats of violence against these communities remain concerningly high, particularly since Oct. 7, 2023.
FYI: If you believe that you or someone else experienced religious or national origin discrimination, report a civil rights violation online at civilrights.justice.gov. If you believe you are a victim or a witness of a hate crime, report it to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submitting a tip at tips.fbi.gov. Learn more about the department’s work on hate crimes here.
In the US, Siks is the second most targeted group for hate crimes based on religion, according to the latest DOJ Hate Crimes report.
Representatives from the Civil Rights Division, FBI, Criminal Division, Community Relations Service, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties and Office of Community Oriented Policing Service heard from attending organizations about campus safety and civil rights protections for student protestors as well as concerns about employment discrimination. Representatives from other federal government agencies also participated, including Department of Homeland Security Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Departments of Education, Labor, Transportation and State.
Combating hate crimes and addressing discrimination claims are among the department’s top priorities.The June 7 meeting represents the department’s latest efforts to engage with organizations and stakeholders on issues affecting Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Sikh, Hindu, and South Asian communities.
In March, the department hosted a community safety briefing for Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian community stakeholders, during which the department released resource documents designed to help the public better understand federal civil rights laws, including laws that prohibit violence and discrimination on the basis of religion and national origin, discrimination in public accommodations, and protections afforded by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Besides the Dallas case,the DOJ has also continued to aggressively investigate and prosecute hate crimes, including recent cases include:
A Texas man who carried out a mass shooting targeting Muslims at a car repair shop in Dallas in which one person was killed, and four others were seriously injured;
A New Jersey man who broke into the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University during the Eid holiday and destroyed property, including prayer stones, items with inscriptions of the Quran, and a Palestinian flag;
A Florida man who assaulted a Muslim woman postal worker by pulling her out of her truck and grabbing her neck while attempting to pull off her hijab and threatening her; and a Florida man who threatened a Michigan-based Muslim civil rights nonprofit.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.
Jon Jon Briones and daughter Isa Briones share a moment during curtain call of Hadestown.
At a reent Tony-award winning Hadestown curtain call when the actors dropped their stage persona and became their real-worlds selves again, Isa Briones and Jon Jon Briones wound up in tears.
It was the first time the Filipino American father and daughter shared a stage.
“There’s just this pinch-me moment. I can’t believe I get to do this with a musical theater legend but also that legend is my father and also telling a beautiful, beautiful story,” Isa Briones tells the Associated Press.
Her father, Jon Jon Briones, the experienced professional, also succumbed to the emtional moment. “When we were rehearsing, I was crying watching Isa, and I would miss my cues because I was watching her,” he tells AP. “I’ve also learned to look relaxed for the cast because if one of their leads is nervous, that’s not good. But I lost it at curtain call. I lost it.”
Last March 19, Hadestown on Broadway added Olivier Award nominee Jon Jon Briones and daughter Isa Briones to the Broadway cast in the pivotal roles of ‘Hermes’ and ‘Eurydice,’ respectively. The father-daughter duo took over the roles played by Tony winner Lillias White and Lola Tung.
If you're anxious to see Filipino Americans on Broadway after the short-lived run of Here Lies Love with its all-Filipino cast, theatergoers will have a short chance of watching the Briones perform together beacuse the last performance for both father and daughter will be June 30.
Last seen on Broadway and in the West End as ‘The Engineer’ in Miss Saigon, and known for his various series regular roles on Ryan Murphy’s Ratched and Class of ’09, Jon Jon makes his return to Broadway. Isa, best known for her series regular roles onStar Trek: Picard and Goosebumps, makes her Broadway debut.
Isa was. also in the natinoal touring company for Hamilton and off-Broadway prouction of Grease, but Hadestown is her debut on Broadway.
Written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown is currently playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 W 48th Street).
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