San Francisco's Chinese New Year's Parade is the largest in the nation.
In a flurry of bill signing before the end of September, among the dozens of bills signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a bill that would make the Lunar New Year an official holiday for state employees.
“Recognizing this day as a state holiday acknowledges the diversity and cultural significance Asian Americans bring to California and provides an opportunity for all Californians to participate in the significance of the Lunar New Year,” said Newsom in a proclamation.
in signing the bill authored by Assemblymember Evan Low (San Francisco), Newsom did not specify a date to the new holiday, which would apply only to state employees. Various ethnicities celebrate the Lunar New Year, but the actual date of the event fluctuates among the different cultures and depends on the Lunar cycle.
According to the US Census, Asian Americans make up 15% (or, 6-7 million) of California's total population. Chinese Americans number around only about 1.3 million out of a total of almost 40 million but are concentrated in politically powerful urban centers such as the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angele-Orange County metro region.
Although earlier this year, Newsom proclaimed Feb. 1 a state holiday, to celebrate Chinese New Year, the best known of the Lunar New Year celebrations. In the US, the Vietnamese and some Hmong have altered their celebrations to coincide with the Chinese New Year, although in the countries of origin, the dates might differ. For example, the Hmong celebrate the new year in early December and the Thai usher in the new year in April.
Chinese New Year is defined as the second new moon after the winter solstice; thus it begins sometime between late January and mid-February, approximately at the beginning of Spring (which, in the Chinese calendar, starts forty-five days after the winter solstice). It is celebrated not only in China, but also in Korea, Vietnam (where it is known as Tet), and in Chinese communities throughout the world.
“I am signing AB 2596, which authorizes any state employee to utilize 8 hours of vacation, annual leave, or time off in lieu of receiving 8 hours of personal holiday to observe the Lunar New Year,” specified Newsom.
The new holiday does not create an extra day off for state workers. The proclamation allows employees to use existing vacation time to take the day off if they wish. In the past, workers who wished to take the Lunar New Year's day off, had to use personal time. The state proclamation does not mandate the holiday for private businesses or other local jurisdictions.
"I am extremely proud of the richness of the diversity and backgrounds represented in our state and understand the importance of watnting to see one's own experience reflected in our state holidays," said Newsom in his proclamation.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.
California is taking historic steps to address the recent rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a $262.6 billion budget that includes $156.5 million to support victims of anti-Asian hate incidents, data collection and media outreach.
The API Equity Budget sponsored by the API Legislative Caucus is among the most significant actions ever taken in response to the surge in anti-AAPI hate and violence over the past year and addresses racial inequities that have harmed AAPI communities since the 1800s.
“This funding is essential in addressing both the pandemic-related hate our community is facing and the racial inequities that have too long shaped the lives of California’s AAPI community," said state Senator Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, Chair of the API Legislative Caucus.
“This sends a message to the API community that the State of California sees them and that we matter."
The majority of the funds, $110 million, will go to community groups who have been engaged in fighting the racist attacks and assisting the victims. Since the start of the pandemic, xenophobia and bigotry against the AAPI community have escalated to unprecedented levels.
Stop AAPI Hate, a community organizing collecting reports of anti-Asian incidents has received more than 6,600 reports of hate incidents since March 2020. Almost half of those incidents were reported in California, and these racist attacks have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable members of the community, including elders, young people, and AAPI women who report hate incidents two times as often as AAPI men.
The API Equity Budget is a small line item in the $260 billion-plus state budget signed by Newsom. The budget can still be amended before the Legislature adjourns in September, but the API caucus is calling on Newsom to keep the fAPI Equity Budget intact in the final version.
“For decades, API communities have been longing to be seen and heard. The pandemic amplified the need to do more amid rising hate against Asian Americans. The state’s remarkable investment acknowledges this struggle by ensuring that victims have access to culturally competent services and resources," said said Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.
"It also shores up research and data collection, so we can look at ways to prevent such attacks from happening in the first place. Every person has the right to shop, go to school and enjoy our neighborhoods safely without fear of being attacked. It is my hope that with this historic investment our communities feel safe once again.”
Following is a summary of where the funds will go:
$10 million will provide support to Stop AAPI Hate to track, respond, and prevent incidents of racial bias and harm;
$10 million will go to the AAPI Data project to increase accurate data collection and data equity on AAPI needs, challenges, and barriers;
$10 million will go to anti-bias block grant to provide funding to schools to create restorative justice programs to address hate and macroaggressions early;
$5 million will support a peer social media network project addressing bullying and mental health for children and youth;
$1.5 million will go towards a workgroup to address education attainment for low income first generation AAPI college students, and support the Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs as it coordinates these programs; and
$10 million will go to ethnic media outlets to reach AAPI and other underserved communities in California.
“Our communities have been vital to California since its founding in 1850,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, Chair of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. “These investments are unprecedented in the state’s history, and will go a long way to ensure that our state remains deeply inclusive and is able to harness the talents and contributions of everyone who calls California home.”
As the sponsor of this effort, the API Legislative Caucus built a strong partnership with the California Commission on APIA Affairs and the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition, and together mobilized and joined forces with over 150 AAPI and ally organizations to champion this historic bill.
“The challenge to root out systemic racism will not be completed overnight, but we now have the tools to expand services, invest in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, increase anti-bias education, and better track and prevent these cowardly attacks,” said Assemblymember Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, who serves as Vice Chair of the API Legislative Caucus.
The $263 billion-plus state budget can still be amended before the Legislature adjourns in September, but the API caucus is calling on Newsom to keep the fAPI Equity Budget intact in the final version.
“This is a really historic proposal because it's really a flashpoint for our community to stand up and to ask to be seen, but also ask to be heard,” said Ting. EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.
California Assemblymember Evan Low voted to approve ACA 6,
UPDATED Jun 13, 12:20 p.m. to correct the vote of AAPI legislators.
George Floyd's death hung over the California Assembly Wednesday as the legislative body voted on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, a measure that would repeal Prop. 209 that banned affirmative action.
“I’m so grateful I didn’t have to convince you that racism is real, because George Floyd did that,” Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego and the author of the proposal, told her colleagues before a vote was taken.
In the end, the Assembly voted along party lines, 58-9, to let voters decide whether to repeal the amendment. The state Senate must vote on the measure before June 25 if the question is to make on the November ballot.
The partisan vote also exposed the rift within the Asian American community over the issue of affirmative action.
Most of the Assembly's AAPI members voted for the measure. Two Democrats — Ed Chau of Monterey Park and Kansen Chu of San Jose — sat out the vote.
Meanwhile, Republicans Phil Chen, Steven Choi and Vince Fong voted no. Republican Tyler Diep did not vote.
“I do not want to live in a state where the color of my skin or my race or my sex or my national origin determines my qualifications for a position, a job or entering to a college,” Choi told the L.A. Times. “I came here to this country to get away from ideologies like that.”
A similar attempt to overturn Prop. 209 via an amendment died in the Legislature in 2014 after a small, but well-organized opposition in the Chinese American community pressured some Chinese American lawmakers to vote against it.
Although studies show that the overwhelming majority of Asian Americans favor affirmative action, the small, but vocal Chinese American opponents made it appear to the mainstream media that they represented the majority of Asian American.
ACA 5 is supported by members of the API, Black, Latino and Women’s Caucuses, as well as leading business and civil rights organizations across California, including Equal Justice Society, the California Black Chamber of Commerce, Chinese for Affirmative Action and scores of faith-based organizations.
Some Asian Americans fear ACA5 would make it harder for them to gain admission to the state's prestigious public universities — where students of Asian descent are overrepresented.
Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, who is of Chinese descent said his office received more than 3,000 emails and phone calls opposing the repeal compared to just nine in support. Despite the opposition in his district, Low voted in favor of ACA 5.
"It’s about fear. It’s about race. It’s about the loss of power. Asian-Pacific Islanders, particularly the Chinese community, fear the loss," Low said, adding that he didn't run for office for "self-preservation."
“Some of the opposition want you to believe Asian Americans unilaterally oppose affirmative action. That is simply not true,” said Assemblymember David Chiu, D-San Francisco.
A national survey by AAPI Data found that a majority of respondents supported affirmative action programs designed to increase the number of underrepresented black and minority students on college campuses,” compared to 32% who did not. Of the six national origin groups surveyed — Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese — only a majority of Chinese-American respondents opposed the policy.
“We know that there is some intense mobilization in some parts of the Chinese community but we try hard to help explain that actually the Asian American community is quite diverse,” said Vincent Pan of Chinese for Affirmative Action. Pan is also the co-chair of Opportunity for All, an umbrella advocacy group pushing to repeal Prop. 209.
The political climate and the Asian American community has changed since 2014. Because of Donald Trump, Asian American voters have shifted decidedly towards Democrats and progressive issues.
The state has grown even more diverse. As of 2019, Hispanics make up 39% of the state’s population while whites account for 36.8%, according to the US Census. Asians have grown to 15.3%. African Americans have held steady with 6.5% of the state’s population.
Many Asian Americans and organizations have expressed their support for Black Lives Matter and the hundreds of thousands who demonstrated for equal justice in the death of Floyd.
The Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center announced during a televised town hall on Race and the Coronavirus on Aug. 2 that it has received 1,100 reports of hate and harassment against Asian Americans in just two weeks. The town hall televised and streamed live by ABC7 in San Francisco on Facebook and YouTube attracted a wide range of civil rights activists, political and educational leaders and sports and Hollywood celebrities.
Russell Jeung, chair of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, said reports of hate include Asian Americans being yelled at, shunned and physically attacked. He said victims have also been spat on and coughed at, raising public health concerns.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen of Santa Clara County shared the story of a Vietnamese couple threatened by someone who imitated the cock of a gun and said if he had an AK-47, he would shoot and kill them all. Rosen said prosecutors are proceeding with misdemeanor charges against the suspect. His office has released a video on YouTube advising that “this is not a Chinese virus.”
Actor Tzi Ma who will appear in the upcoming live action movie Mulan and has taken part in the Wash the Hate campaign recalled when someone rolled down his window and screamed ‘you should be quarantined.’
Registered Nurse Kyle Navarro shared “he felt a rush of anger and fear” when a White man spit at him and called him a g**k as he delivered medicine to a family.
“It’s never the responsibility of the person attacked to respond,” said Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations of San Francisco. “The obligation is on the rest of us. I need to intervene to do something to protect my brother and sister.”
Cynthia Choi, Co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, said the rapid rise of hate requires a “government response to address the underlying causes of racism.” She urged everyone to work collectively to stand up with other communities.
“Racism is given an amplified mike from the White House,” said Jacqueline Martinez Garcel of the Latino Community Foundation. “That this is happening right now is not surprising.”
There were also videotaped messages from San Francisco Giants Manager Gabe Kapler, Golden State Warrior head coach Steve Kerr, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, actor Hudson Yang and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Yang said for the first time he felt ashamed of being Asian after three middle-age men in hoodies confronted him at the grocery store. He said Asian Americans need to demonstrate they are as American as anyone else.
That brought a rebuke from Jeff Yang, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, who said the onus on proving who are Americans should not be on Asian Americans. “That looks like we’re defending ourselves for something we shouldn’t have to defend.”
Paul Saffo, a long range tenchology forecaster from Stanford University, called bias a “maladaptation of a deep evolutionary trait…don’t pretend we don’t have it.”
“The virus doesn’t care who you are, what class you are, what race you are,” said Dr. Peter Ching Hong, an infections disease specialist at UC San Francisco. He said Asian Americans are not more likely to be infected by the disease than anyone else.
Assemblyperson Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) says its important to call out institutional racism based on facts and data and pledged to enact laws and approve funding toward that end.
Instagram influencer @Jackfroot says he’s been sharing lots of stories of hate and evil while amplifying the good things of people stepping up and standing up.
Aimee Allison, founder of She the People emphasized that the Black community understand the pain and damage of racism.
“It requires us to show up and speak up together,” she said.
Chinese workers grade a section of the transcontinental railroad.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE to celebrate the contributions of the thousands of Chinese workers who built the western half of the transcontinental railroad, one of the most remarkable engineering feats of the 19th century.
May 10 -- from this year onward -- will be known as California Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial Day in honor of the nearly 12,000 Chinese railroad workers who worked on the first railroad line to link the coasts of the United States.
In connection with Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the California state Assembly passed the resolution authored by Assemblymember Evan Low, on May 8 in an unanimous vote. May 10
"The thousands of Chinese immigrants who risked their lives to build the Transcontinental Railroad faced prejudice, unsafe working conditions and low wages. Their sacrifice and courage must never be forgotten," said Low, who represents parts of the South (San Francisco) Bay, aka Silicon Valley. Hear more from Low, below:
At the national level, the request for the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad was introduced by Rep. Grace Meng, NYC.
"The story of the Chinese railroad workers and the tremendous contributions they made to the growth and prosperity of our country must be told," Meng said in a statement. "They deserve the recognition they earned, and a commemorative postage stamp would be a very appropriate tribute to this important part of American history."
Meng's resolution was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which oversees the Postal Service.
BACKGROUND ON TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
In early 1865, the year the American Civil War ended, the Central Pacific Railroad arranged with labor contractors to recruit workers from China, mostly from Guangdong province in South China.
Desperate for work, the Chinese workers left their hometowns, which suffered from poverty and civil unrest, and boarded ships for California to support their families.
The Chinese railroad workers set a world record by laying 10 miles of railroad track in just one workday and were considered indispensible by their foremen.
However, the Chinese workers faced prejudice, isolation and dangerous working conditions. Nearly 1,200 Chinese railroad workers died during while working on the railroad through avalanches, explosions and other causes while carving the rail lines through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
"The Chinese railroad workers' contribution will be remembered by more and more people both in the U.S. and in China," said Gordon Chang, a professor of American history at Stanford University and director of the Center for East Asian Studies.
When the task was completed on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Point, Utah, a photograph was taken showing the workers and those who attended the historic moment linking the country from coast to coast.
As the final insult to their hard work, the photograph omitted the Chinese laborers. Many people have questioned why the Chinese workers were not in the official photograph marking the historic occasion. Turns out, they were out to lunch.
"J.H. Strobridge, when the work was all over, invited the Chinese who had been brought over from Victory for that purpose, to dine at his boarding car. When they entered, all the guests and officers present cheered them as the chosen representatives of the race which have greatly helped to build the road ... a tribute they well deserved and which evidently gave them much pleasure."
There was only one photograph that gave any indication of Chinese involvement in laying down the last few rails of the railroad. A stenographic view was taken by A. J. Russell titled "Chinese at Laying Last Rail UPRR."
The final tasks of laying down the rails and connecting East and West -- as the stereograph depicts -- was described in the report from End of Track, November 9, 1868, as quoted in the Southern Pacific Bulletin, August, 1927:
"Long lines of horses, mules and wagons were standing in the open desert near the camp train. The stock was getting its breakfast of hay and barley. Trains were shunting in from the west with supplies and materials for the day's work. Foremen were galloping here and there on horseback giving or receiving orders. Swarms of laborers, Chinese, Europeans and Americans were hurrying to their work. On one side of the track stood the moveable blacksmith shop where a score of smiths were repairing tools and shoeing horses and mules. Close by was the fully equipped harness shop where a large force was repairing collars, traces and other leather equipment. To the west were the rails and line of telegraph poles stretching back as far as the eye could reach. The telegraph wire from the last pole was strung into the car that served as a telegraph office. To the eastward stretched the grade marked by a line of newly distributed earth. By the side of the grade smoked the camp fires of the blue clad laborers who could be seen in groups waiting for the signal to start work. These were the Chinese, and the job of this particular contingent was to clear a level roadbed for the track. They were the vanguard of the construction forces. Miles back was the camp of the rear guard–the Chinese who followed the track gang, ballasting and finishing the road bed. Systematic workers these Chinese – competent and wonderfully effective because tireless and unremitting in their industry ... The rails, ties and other material were thrown off the train as near to end of the track was as feasible, and then the empty train was drawn back out of the way. At this point the rails were loaded on low flat cars, and hauled by horses to end of track. The ties were handled in the same way. Behind came the rail gang, who took the rails from the flat cars and laid them on the ties. While they were doing this a man on each side distributed spikes, two to each tie; another distributed splice bars; and a third the bolts and nuts by which the rails were spliced together. Two more men followed to adjust and sent back for another load ... Back of the track builders followed a gang with the seven more ties necessary to complete the foundation for each rail. These were put into position and spiked by another gang, which also leveled up the track and left it ready for the ballasters. ..."
The California resolution states that "through their fight against discrimination, the Chinese railroad workers set an example for the millions of Asian Americans who came to the United States after them."
"Both the descendants of the workers and the wider Asian-American community view the sacrifices of the Chinese railroad workers as being integral to the creation of the vibrant and growing Asian-American community that exists throughout the country today," the proclamation says.
A. J. RUSSEL
No Chinese were show in the historic photo showing the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
Assemblymember Evan Low joined other Democratic legislators in an open letter to Californians. Earlier versions of this post misidentified the above photo.
AFTER TODAY'S (Jan. 20) inauguration of President Donald Trump as the 45th President, President Barack Obama and his family took a flight on Air Force One to Palm Springs, California. Perhaps he wanted to get away from the hubbub in Washington and take comfort in the bluest of blue states, take in some golf and just depressurize after living under a microscope that last eight years. Before Obama boarded Air Force One for that flight west, California's Democratic legislators issued an open letter today to the people of California marking the first day of the Trump administration. The seven AAPI legislators signed the letter. The state, with its large immigration population and the diversity of its residents, voted overwhelmingly (2 to 1) for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton over Trump; Gov. Jerry Brown has vowed to resist any attempts by the Trump administration to weaken the state's laws on protecting the environment and restrict guns; and numerous cities and school districts have declared themselves sanctuaries in preparation for the expected clampdown by ICE under direction of the new president.
"We will continue to honor our commitments to the people of California," the letter stated. "The California contract is a promise to ourselves and to one another that we will build a sustainable economy, environment and society that doesn’t just protect the wealthy or the powerful, but instead will benefit every Californian and benefit from every Californian."
AAPI state lawmakers joined in signing the letter led by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (Oakland-Hayward), chair of the California Asian * Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. He was joined by David Chiu (San Francisco); Phil Ting (San Francisco), Kansen Chu (San Jose), Evan Low (Silicon Valley), Ed Chau (Monterey Park) and Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance). The letter acknowledges the new administration in Washington, D.C., but emphasizes that change will not alter California’s progressive path. Assemblymembers also participated in reading the letter on video.
The letter outlines a commitment to protecting California’s progress – and making new gains where necessary – on an array of issues including transportation, housing, education, jobs and the economy, environmental protection and environmental justice, equal protections under the law, public safety, immigrant protections, health, retirement security and freedom of information.
“We join together on these issues today, knowing that we have much to achieve, but knowing that our chances of success are bolstered by the scope of what we are working for,” the letter says. “Each piece is essential to a complete California dream.”
At stake is $105 billion in funds that comes from the federal agencies for safety net services and infrastructure improvements. It is feared that the Republican-controlled Congress will divert that money as a form of punishment.
Trump has promised to repeal Obamacare even though no plan has been proposed to take its place. The state has perhaps the most successful program in implementing the Affordable Care Act in its Covered California health care plan that has made more progress in lowering the percentage of its uninsured population from 17 percent to 9 percent between the launch of Covered California in 2013 to 2015. After their respite in Palm Springs, the Obama family will return to Washington D.C. where they will live until their daughter, Sasha, 16, finishes high school in two years.
