New York Times: Conversation about Asian Americans continues

A WHITE WOMAN'S racist attack telling a New York Times editor to "go back to China" has sparked a dialogue about race, Asian/Americans and America.

First there was a front page open letter written by the affronted deputy metro editor Michael Luo, followed by a video under the hashtag #ThisIs2016 featuring Asian/Americans and the micro and macro aggressions that they had suffered.

That sparked a response from South Asians and Filipinos who felt slighted by not being included in the video.

For the next chapter, the NYTimes brought together some writers, journalists, academics and one politician to continue #ThisIs2016 part three. The conversation was interesting, thoughtful and provides a jumping off point for the rest of us to talk to our children, our co-workers and with each other. 

Here's a sample:

"Can I ask you all a counter-intuitive question?" asks Anand Giridharadas, author of The True American. "What do you think is our role, as members of these communities, in helping white America adjust to its new role in a new America? There is a view out there that says: 'It’s your problem to learn not to be racist, your problem to let go of privilege.' And there is a different view that says: 'We’re not going to get anywhere near equality and harmony without helping white America get there.' Because it is a 400-year-fact that is ending, and right or wrong, the change is hard."

RELATED: An open letter to the New York Times; expand the definition of Asian American

3:27 PM ET

"As challenging as this is," responds sociologist Anthony Christian Ocampo from Cal Poly in Pomona, California. "I think exercising empathy is a start – empathy for the pain that our fellow community members experience, empathy for those who feel we are excluding them, and even empathy for those who aren’t as “woke” for whatever reason. As writers and journalists, our job is to usher people toward the right side of history. As much as we’d like to just rush them, we can’t."

How do you handle the micro-aggressions that seem to be part of our everyday lives? What do you tell your children about the racism that they will encounter throughout their lives? Is it time to redefine the term "Asian American?" Why do brown Asians and South Asians feel excluded in conversations about Asian America? Was it right for Luo to respond to the white woman's attack?

Unfortunately, the participants didn't come up with any definitive answers because these are tough questions. However,  their discussion will definitely get us talking among ourselves as we - along with the rest of the country - struggle with the changes that are occurring in our society.

The New York Times has devoted considerable time and resources to encourage this dialogue. Hopefully, the newspaper will continue to help answer some of these questions because the issue is not going away any time soon.

I recommend that you read the entire New York Times article moderated by Luo. Be part of the ongoing conversation.

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An open letter to The New York Times needs to expand who they see as Asian American

The face of the Asian America is changing.

IT'S OCTOBER - Filipino American History Month - but you'd never know it if you read the New York Times.

Once again, brown Asians were marginalized - or just plain ignored - when the Old Grey Lady did a story about Asian/Americans responding to a racist encounter aimed at their Deputy Metro Editor Michael Luo when a passerby yelled at him "Why don't you go back to your f--king country?"

Luo wrote a powerful letter - hash tagged #thisis2016 - in response and the editors placed it on their front page. The NYT also posted a video to accompany Luo’s letter. The video, however, was flawed. It featured all East Asians and only one Filipino/American, Keratin Perez.

It might have passed without notice, but it was the second time that brown Asians were slighted and forgotten by the NYT. It irked some, enough so that five wrote their own letter directed to the New York Times that was published in Huffington Post.

"Your video told us, 'You’re still invisible!'" said the HuffPost letter written by E.J.R. David, Ali Mattu, Razia Kosi, Ernabel Demillo and Kevin Nadal.

"You did this during Filipino American History Month - the month when we are supposed to be most proud of our brown presence in the U.S."

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"And you did this during election season - when xenophobia against South Asians is on the rise and Islamophobia is so overt that Muslim Americans (and South Asian Americans who are presumed to be Muslim) expect to be discriminated in their everyday lives.

"We hesitated for a second and then hustled to confront you. We pulled out our smartphones and started commenting on your social media posts, questioning why seemingly 96 percent of the stories shared were East Asian or non-Brown Asian stories. It was comical, in retrospect, because you probably don’t even read comments on social media. But the pain you inflicted on us with your continued disregard is real. It clearly tells us, once again, that we are unseen, unheard, and unappreciated in this country.

“We are a part of this country!” We yelled back.

"It felt silly. But how else to prove we belonged?"

... "That even though we compose more than half of the Asian Pacific Islander population, even though we have been in these lands now called the United States since 1587, and even though many of us trace our roots back to lands that are affected by U.S. colonialism and imperialism, we still don’t belong," the letter continued. "We’re still forgotten. We’re still not Asian American, let alone American."

The HuffPost letter pointed out that the NYT coverage of Asian Americans favored East Asians even though Brown Asians make up more than half of all Asian Americans. Then the tone changed expressing anger.

"Maybe you don’t know this, but the continued failure to include us whenever you talk about “Asian Americans” is extremely insulting, degrading, and oppressive. It gets to the heart of the invisibility that Brown Asians experience."

The letter writers went on to touch on a topic that isn't often heard outside of AAPI circles, the issue of "colorism" among Asian/Americans. You know, lighter skin is some sort of uniform of superiority.

The NYTimes shouldn't be left off the hook. It needs to take responsibility for its oversight. There's certainly enough Brown Asians in New York City. The editors and writers of the NYTimes need to go beyond the European view of what constitutes an Asian, beyond the Korean, Japanese and Chinese trope that defines what an "Asian" should look like. 

Maybe this video produced by the Media Factory might help:

It was filmed and edited by the award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy. The participants are:

Jose Llana, RJ Kaleo Nadal, Brenda Gambol, Kirklyn Escondo, Stephanie Chrispin, Isabella Villacampa, Lugao Kasberg, Nicole Ponseca, Michael Capito, Ryan Abugan and Hossannah Asuncion.

They were interviewed by Kevin Nadal. #BrownAsiansExist