Smithsonian celebrates AANHPI Heritage Month with series on Asian food

One of the signs that popped up in several demonstrations against anti-Asian hate was "Love Us Like You Love Our Food."

Some of the cuisines of Asia are as American as -- well -- apple pie. Dishes from Asia have changed the flavor palate, restaurant experience and expectations of most  lovers of good food.

There's no better gateway to the various Asian cultures than through their food. Smithsonian APA celebrates  Asian American Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a series of online presentations. 

Indeed, the Chinese American restaurant is and ubiquitous part of the American landscape. There are more Chinese restaurants than McDonald franchises in the United States.

Sophisticated restaurant goers' tastes have gone beyond chow mein and sweet and sour pork and there are fierce debates over which is better, Filipino lumpia or Vietnamese chả giò.

Foodies seek restaurants serving the freshest sushi and sashimi and Millennials line up outside trendy boba shops. 

Some say Jollibee's from the Philippines and Von's Korean-style fried chicken are way tastier than KFC for the crispiest and juiciest chicken

Ramen noodles, over the years the savior of many college diets, has gone gourmet and boast the hand-made noodles are tastiest broths.

Smithsonian Associates, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, presents CULINASIA, a dynamic, free series of virtual conversations that will explore food legacies and the ways in which Asian diaspora cuisine continues to change and enrich people’s lives. 

Four panel discussions will be held May 5, May 19, June 9 and June 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Asian foods and cooking have long been an indelible part of America’s food culture, and yet people also harbor complicated relationships with those who prepare their meals. 

In a four-part conversation series, chefs, food writers, food entrepreneurs, home cooks, cookbook authors and other participants whose heritage and experiences span the complex spectrum of the Asian diaspora in the United States will discuss the successes, challenges and future of Asian food in America.

NBC

Philadelphia's Chinatown offers a plethora of restaurants and cuisines.

CULINASIA is curated by Burmese American restaurateur and cultural connector Simone Jacobson. The series received federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

The free conversation series is presented on Zoom; registration is required. The public may visit www.smithsonianassociates.org to register.

Saving Chinatown and Our Legacies
Wednesday, May 5; 6:30 p.m. ET
In the COVID era, anti-Asian racism and violence has been widespread, and many Asian restaurants large and small have permanently closed their doors. Why are the survival of Chinese restaurants and the preservation of the legacy of Asian food in America so essential to the soul of cities? A panel of chefs, advocates and activists will discuss the future of Chinatowns across the country. The panel includes food writer Grace Young, a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and co-creator of Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories; Brandon Jew, chef and owner of Mister Jiu’s, Moongate Lounge and Mamahuhu in San Francisco and author of Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food (Ten Speed Press); Jennifer Tam and Victoria Lee, founders of Welcome to Chinatown, a grassroots initiative supporting New York City’s Chinatown businesses; Daphne Wu, co-organizer of Save Our Chinatowns, an arts and culture initiative uplifting Bay Area Chinatown communities; and Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown BID/Partnership in New York.

Filipino "boodle fights" or "kamayan" (eating by nand) is gaining in popularity.

Southeast Asia Got Something to Say
Wednesday, May 19; 6:30 p.m. ET
Opening a Southeast Asian restaurant, bar or food business was always an uphill battle. How can they keep their doors open during a global pandemic with the doubly stacked odds of anti-Asian racism at an all-time high? A panel of Southeast Asian chefs and restaurateurs from across the country discuss how they are meeting the moment. Attendees will hear from celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Jet Tila, Food Network star and chef partner in Pei Wei Restaurant Group, and Christine Hà, the first blind contestant of MasterChef—and winner of its third season in 2012—and owner of The Blind Goat and Xin Chào in Houston. Then they can follow along as Genevieve Villamora, co-owner of the award-winning restaurant Bad Saint in Washington, D.C., and Vilailuck “Pepper” Teigen, author of The Pepper Thai Cookbook: Family Recipes from Everyone’s Favorite Thai Mom (Clarkson Potter), demonstrate a recipe from the new cookbook.

“Fast, Casual, Ethnic”: Asian Food Beyond Misnomers and Myths
Wednesday, June 9; 6:30 p.m. ET
A national panel of Asian American food professionals explores the pervasive, harmful and persistent myth that so-called “ethnic” food is supposed to be cheap and fast. Speakers examine the origins of long-held assumptions about Asian food and challenge people to grapple with how to collectively move beyond them. The panel includes Kim Pham, a first-generation Vietnamese American and co-founder of Asian pantry staple company Omsom; chef Katsuya Fukushima, co-owner of Washington, D.C.’s Daikaya, Bantam King and Haikan; FilAm chef Dale Talde, a three-time contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef, with restaurants in Brooklyn, Jersey City and Miami; Sana Javeri Kadri, a third-generation Mumbai native and Diaspora Co. founder and CEO working toward a more equitable and delicious spice trade; and Food and Wine restaurant editor Khushbu Shah, whose primary interests include the foodways of the South Asian diaspora.

Asian American Farmers Look Back to Go Forward
Wednesday, June 23; 6:30 p.m. ET
In film and popular media as well as farming and land ownership, Asian Americans have been historically underrepresented and repeatedly denied opportunities for advancement. The Oscar-nominated film Minari offers a unique opportunity to explore how being Asian in America is further complicated by the model minority myth and the “perpetual foreigner” burden carried by diverse communities. Asian American farmers and vintners come together for a discussion inspired by the semi-autobiographical story of a Korean American family that embarks on a new kind of American dream, traveling from their California home to a rural Arkansas farm where they nurture the father’s hopes of growing Korean produce to sell to vendors in Dallas. Presenters include Mai Nguyen, founder of the Asian American Farmers Alliance; Kamayan Farm co-founder Ariana de Leña; and Thai American winemaker Kenny Likitprakong of the family-owned, California-based Hobo Wine Co. Participants can view Minari in advance of the program, Friday, June 18, at 7 p.m. as part of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery’s film program. Find more information here.

This May, we celebrate ... and resist

ASIAN American Pacific Islander Heritage Month will have a more serious tenor this year.

May is traditionally a month we take time to learn and celebrate our history and heritage, try out some of the old family recipies, young people learn the traditional dances and songs, but this year there is a sense of urgency that had been missing from previous observances of AAPI Heritage Month.

A website has been created to help Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to express their opposition to the direction the country is moving. it was created by #AAPIsResist. 

#AAPIsResist is a coalition of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) national, local, and student organizations committed to strengthening our organizing and advocacy in resistance to the administration’s hateful, discriminatory, and harmful actions and its broader effects on our communities.

"During this year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) in May, we are celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) resistance, both past and present, in order to strengthen our commitment to achieving broader racial, environmental, economic, and social justice," states the website with suggestions and "how-to" advice on how to take your resistance to the next level.

From the incarceration of Japanese/Americans to the deportations of Southeast Asians to the uptick of hate violence against Muslim and perceived-to-be Muslim communities, we center APAHM as an important political moment to reflect on our communities’ ongoing resistance.

Much of the rise in hate incidents parallels the rise in white nationalism emboldened by the new administration in Washington which wants to turn back the clock on the progress made since the Franklin Roosvelt presidency. That includes discarding environmental protections, equal rights for communities of color, women and the LGBTQ issues and, some say, attacks to come on social security and Medicare.

"We are calling on AAPI organizations and individuals to take part in the #AAPIsResist Month of Action throughout APAHM to show that we are not afraid to stand up and speak out and that AAPIs are #NotYourModelMinority." 

TGIF FEATURE: AAPI history and demographics at a glance

MAY is Asian Pacific American Heritage Week and to help employers and those agencies seeking grants to service the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, DiversityInc publishes these charts and figures, updating them every year.

This diversity-management resource offers insight to evolving workplace diversity, featuring a detailed timeline of Asian/American history and the relevant demographics you need to know.

President Jimmy Carter signed a joint resolution in 1978 that declared May 4–10, 1979, as the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. This was later extended by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to a month-long observance. 

The month commemorates the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant, a fisherman named Nakanohama Manjiro, or “John Mung,” to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the transcontinental railroad’s completion on May 10, 1869, half of which was bulit by Chinese laborers.

The latest population figures, based on the 2010 Census but extrapolated to 2015, shows that Indian/Americans have surpassed Filipino/Americans as the second largest Asian ethnic group in the U.S. The boom of Asian Indians is attributed to the use of H1-B visa used to attract workers with specialties needed in the U.S. Many of those imported workers, who bring their families with them, eventually become U.S. citizens.

More than half of all H-1B visas have been awarded to Indian nationals, according to the Pew Research Center. From fiscal years 2001 to 2015, workers from India received the largest share (50.5%) of all H-1B visas for first-time employment, while the second-largest share went to workers from China (9.7%). Other countries receiving a large share of visas during this time include Canada (3.8%), the Philippines (3.0%) and South Korea (2.8%).

Click the links below to download a PDF, or click these links to expand: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Timeline and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Facts & Figures.

Another good source for statistics about the AAPI community is the Pew Research Center's The Rise of Asian America report done in 2013.

That's a rap for #StarringJohnCho

AS A PARTING shot, on the last day of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and enter into a new month, we present a fun little video. 

(Warning: Some of the language used in the video may be offensive to some.)

By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAm News

Korean/American rapper Dumbfoundead, AKA Jonathan Park, is taking the #StarringJohnCho concept to the next level.

The Koreatown-based musician took classic Hollywood scenes from both the big screen and television and superimposed his face on top of the White male stars.

“After the last Academy Awards and the regular whitewashing of Hollywood roles, I wrote this song and made this video to add my piece to the conversation,” said Dumbfoundead on Facebook and You Tube. “Thanks guys! New album coming out in July!”

RELATED: The Man Behind #StarringJohnCho

His song Safe is described as a counter to how Asians and Asian Americans are perceived–the model minority that will “take it and smile, the punching bag of America.”

Safe is produced by Denny Kim and Kirby Lee and executive produced by Park.

“Park embodies the qualities that #StarringJohnCho communicates: a lead with charisma, presence, and bankable talent,” said William Yu, the man behind #StarringJohnCho and a digital strategist from Massachusetts. “I personally think it is furthering the conversation of Asian American visibility. The song tackles the negative ways in which Asian Americans are perceived today.”

RELATED: The weird history of Asian sex stereotypes.

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AAPI Heritage Month: A powerful poem, "My Chinese ..."

SHE'S 18 years old and she's a student in the Boston public schools. She presented her poem "My Chinese" and brought down the house at the "Louder Than A Bomb" slam poetry contest held in Boston last week.

Unfortunately I don't have her name. Who is she? If anybody knows her name, please let me know.

Her words touched a nerve with a lot of people, including me. You don't have to be Chinese to feel her powerful poem. 

RELATED: 'Dear Young Man of Color'

"My Chinese is a racist joke I threw in the garbage, wrapped in a napkin stained with my culture and it made a sound as it hit the bottom: 'chink.'"

Wow! She touched me deeply, recalling those moments in my life when I felt ashamed or embarassed 

Any Asian understands what it means to have one's heritage suppressed by a culture will then turn around and appropriate it, exoticize it, make fun of it, or ... to render it invisible or irrelevant.

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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News

Google honors Asian/American civil rights hero

Today's Google Doodle

IF YOU USED the Google search engine today, you might be wondering what today's Google doodle is all about.

Today’s Google doodle pays homage to human rights activist Yuri Kochiyama on what would have been her 95th birthday.

Raised in San Pedro, California, Kochiyama was imprisoned in a Japanese-American internment camp in Arkansas for two years during World War II when she was in her twenties. She would later move to Harlem and dedicate her life to fighting for the rights of African/Americans, Latinos and Asian/Americans.

There and through her work, she formed a close bond with Malcolm X. In a Life photo spread about Malcolm X's assassination, Kochiyama is shown cradling the civil rights icon's head (See below).

She's one of this country's unsung civil rights heroes that bridged the gap between the Asian/American and African/American communities, two communities that have been at odds recently over the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley by former NYPD police officer Peter Liang.

RELATED: Justice is not just a black-and-white issue

Kochiyama passed away in 2014.

From the Google Doodle blog:

Kochiyama left a legacy of advocacy: for peace, US political prisoners, nuclear disarmament, and reparations for Japanese Americans interned during the war. She was known for her tireless intensity and compassion, and remained committed to speaking out, consciousness-raising, and taking action until her death in 2014.

Google Doodle Blog

Unfortunately for my international readers, this doodle only shows up in the U.S., but you can still find out more about Yuri Kochiyama by using the link below

Learn more about this Asian/American heroine.

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For more news about Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News. which contributed to this report.