California governor blocks bill banning caste discrimination

California State Sen. Aisha Wahab, center, introduced the bill that would have banned caste in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill Saturday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill  what would have been a precedent-setting law banning caste discrimination. 

SB 403, introduced by Sen. Aisha Wahab earlier this year, overwhelmingly passed the Assembly and State Senate earlier this year. It exposed deep divisions in California's South Asian communities.

Newsom, who was caught between Democratic progressives and civil rights advocates, and an influential conservative South Asians, said the proposed laws was "unnecessary" because existing law already prohibited discrimination.

“In California, we believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter who they are, where they come from, who they love, or where they live,” Newsom said in a statement. “That is why California already prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, and state law specifies that these civil rights protections shall be liberally construed.”

Newsom's veto was welcomed by Samir Kalra, managing director of the Hindu American Foundation, who stated: "With the stroke of his pen, Governor Newsom has averted a civil rights and constitutional disaster that would have put a target on hundreds of thousands of Californians simply because of their ethnicity or their religious identity, as well as create a slippery slope of facially discriminatory laws."

"We thank Governor Newsom for listening to the thousands of voices that contacted his office and seeing that SB-403 was premised on racist rhetoric, a baseless lawsuit, egregious Civil Rights Department misconduct, false claims about the Hindu religion and South Asian community at large, and the self-serving, methodologically flawed, caste survey by Equality Labs," continued the HAF statement.

Caste is an ancient, complex social system that regulates people's social status based on their birth. It's primarily associated with India and Hinduism, but caste-based divisions are also found in other faiths and countries.

Even though caste s illegal in India, the social construct is so embedded in South Asian culture, it still affects most aspects of life, including who one associates with, who one marries and employment opportunities. The immigrant workers brought to the US for their tech skills make up a significant number of employees in the high-tech industry. Members of the lower castes say the belief system also made the trip across the Pacific.

Caste issues have surfaced prominently in Silicon Valley, where Indian workers with bachelor’s degrees made up 27% of tech workers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in 2021, according to CalMatters. Wahab's district covers part of Silicon Valley in the State Senate.

The state filed a lawsuit against Cisco two years ago in behalf of an employee who accused managers of bias because of his lower caste status. He alleged that he received lower pay and was denied career opportunities. While the state has dropped charges against the managers, the suit against Cisco is still being litigated.

Althugh Cisco is the poster child of caste in California, is not alone in its awkward dealing with caste, which is not a protected class in California, unlike race, ethnicity and religion. Other Silicon Valley giants such as Google and Microsoft and other companies, who employ large numbers of H-1B visa holders, most of whom come from South Asia, have also come under scrutiny. 

If the bill had been signed by Newsom, California would have been the first state to ban the caste system. The cities of Seattle and Fressno, Calif. have instituted bans on caste.

Wahab's office did not immediately respond to Newsom's veto, but several of the bill's supporters did not hesitate to express their disappointment.

Amar Shergill, former chairperson of the California Democratic Party’s progressive caucus which backed the bill, was undeterred in his support. He noted that past civil rights bills also took many tries, and many years, before they passed.

“It is a testament to the righteous energy in this movement that we came so far, so fast,” Shergill wrote on X. “Caste discrimination is a scourge which we have brought to the top of public consciousness and that new fact will spare many people from suffering. I am confident that this issue will receive favorable outcomes when it is tested in Court because we have successfully educated the legal world and won them to our side.”

"The Sikh Coalition was proud to sponsor this legislation, because we know firsthand the pain and trauma that comes with being targeted by hate, and the Sikh faith explicitly condemns caste discrimination," said Harman Singh, Policy & Education Director, Sikh Coalition. "Accordingly, we joined more than 45 Sikh organizations and gurdwaras in California urging Gov. Newsom to sign this bill. While we are frustrated by this failure to take a meaningful step forward for the civil rights of all, we will continue to fight for legislation that protects all communities—including the Dalit community—from hate and discrimination."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Anti-caste bill passes California Senate, 34-1

California's Senate Bill 403 brought out supporters and opponents during hearings.

The California Senate voted 34-1 May 11 in favor of legislation outlawing caste discrimination in the state. 

If Senate Bill 403 passes in the state Assembly and is enacted, California could become the first state in the nation to make caste bias illegal by adding it as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

“California reaffirms its commitment to stand against discrimination and I’m proud that this is a bipartisan effort amongst my colleagues, said State Sen. Aisha Wahab, who authored the bill. SB 403 is one of the most high-profile bills in the legislature this session, and brought out a record number of people to comment on the bill at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in April."

Senator Wahab, who has been working on this bill since November 2022, has received numerous threats, including death threats. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

Of the legislation, Wahab says “this bill is about workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights. This bill is about ensuring the American Dream is accessible to all those who pursue it.” SB403 is now headed to the Assembly, and must make its way through committees and a floor vote before it reaches Governor Newsom’s desk.

The bills is supported by ACLU, Bend the Arc, California Labor Federation, Alphabet Workers Union, MeToo International, and many others.

Opponents have maintained that the law will single out Hindus and people of Indian descent.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

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.

Indian American takes helm of Twitter as founder Jack Dorsey steps down

Parag Agrawal is Twitter's new CEO.

Another Indian American immigrant is taking the helm of a tech company. Parag Agrawal was named CEO of Twitter after serving as the social media company's Chief Technology Officer.

Agrawal's promotion was announced Tuesday after Jack Dorsey decided to step down as CEO of Twitter, a company he founded in 2006 in San Francisco.

"I've decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter's CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I'm deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It's his time to lead," said Dorsey.

"I want to thank the Board for their confidence in my leadership and Jack for his continued mentorship, support, and partnership," said Agrawal. "I look forward to building on everything we have accomplished under Jack's leadership and I am incredibly energized by the opportunities ahead. By continuing to improve our execution, we will deliver tremendous value for our customers and shareholders as we reshape the future of public conversation."

Agrawal joins a cadre of Indian Americans leading high profile U.S. tech companies. including Sundar Pichai of Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Adobe's Shantanu Narayen and VMWare's Raghu Raghuram.

Dorsey's departure and Agrawal's promotion comes as Twitter is being questioned about its role in spreading falsehoods and acting as the medium for the spread of the lies of radical rightwingers, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists.

Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.

Upon the announcement of Agrawal's promotion conservatives began spreading tweet he sent in 2010 that read "If they are not gonna make a distinction between muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people racists."

As some Twitter users pointed out, the 11-year-old tweet was quoting a segment on “The Daily Show,” which was referencing the firing of Juan Williams, who made a comment about being nervous about Muslims on an airplane.

It didn't take long before the tweet went viral and people began trolling Agrawal. What people missed was that at the time of posting his tweet in 2010, Agrawal, 37, had already clarified his comments to a Twitter user. "I was quoting Asif Mandvi from The Daily Show. The article you are reading seems too deep for my current mental state," Agrawal said.

In a later tweet on the same thread from the timeline, the Twitter CEO had further said, "I am amused by people that pass judgement on people for passing judgement. I was attempting to do the same to amuse myself.”

The 37-year old Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since October 2017. As CTO, he has been responsible for the Company's technical strategy, leading work to improve development velocity while advancing the state of Machine Learning across the company. 

Prior to being appointed CTO, Parag had risen to be Twitter's first Distinguished Engineer due to his work across revenue and consumer engineering, including his impact on the re-acceleration of audience growth in 2016 and 2017. 

Parag holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

Afghan refugees arriving; agencies offering assistance kick into gear

U.S. MARINE CORPS

Afghans refugees and Americans board a military cargo plane to escape Afghanistan.

The Biden administration has asked U.S.refugee aid organizations to prepare to receive and resettle the thousands of Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover of their home country.

According to White House officials, more than 82,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took control. Of those, 4,500 were American citizens. Most of the other evacuees had secured limited special immigrant visas, reserved for people who have worked with the U.S. or NATO. 

Refugees have been arriving at Dulles International Airport in Virginia where they are being processed, tested for COVID-19 and offered vaccinations and medical treatment. From there, they are sent to military installations spread across the nation.

American civilians, green card holders, Afghans who served along U.S. forces and have Special Immigrant Visas and another group called vulnerable Afghans. That includes people who have not quite completed the 14 steps to get a Special Immigrant Visa.

Applicants in earlier stages are being sent to third countries, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Germany. In those countries, the evacuees  undergo "robust security processing," said a senior administration official.

Besides the Americans leaving, which includes government workers, employees  of non-government organizations and private businesses, as many as 50,000 Aghan refugees who worked with the Western agencies or assisted the U.S.  and their families are among those leaving Afghanistan.

* * *

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, is among the first military bases to receive the refugees.

“We will welcome Afghan refugees with open arms here in New Jersey at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst,” NJ Gov. Phil Murphy said in a tweet. “Our state has always served as a shining beacon of hope to the world, and we will do everything in our power to help these refugees rebuild their lives.”

A press release from the New Jersey base says that the facility is prepared to house 9,000 people.

Reports from various news sources say other military installations, Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, are beginning to accept the refugees.

Concurrently, U.S. nonprofits are scrambling to hire new employees, train volunteers, raise funds to find housing and jobs for the wave of refugees. The first batch of Afghan refugees are already arriving after President Biden ordered the U.S. military leave Afghanistan after a 20-year presence.

After initial processing, the Afghans are are being sent to one of four military bases across the country, where they to complete paperwork and undergo medical exams before being sent to local communities across the country or to family members already in the U.S.

Connecticut-based Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, for instance, has received two families and expects to resettle 400 to 500 individuals over the next 12 months, according to Chris George, the group's executive director

* * *

Forth Bliss, Texas is one of the military bases where initial processing is taking place.

El Paso Congressmember Veronica Escobar said Monday that more than 650 Afghan refugees had arrived at the military installation as of Saturday. Fort Bliss officials on Sunday had indicated additional arrivals would be continuing over the next several days.

For those non-American citizens who clear security, arrangements are made for them to meet up with family members or receive assistance from local nonprofits.

"The number of people coming, it can’t be a few sites. It’s going to be everybody, all hands on deck. Lots of people ending up in lots of communities," said Russell Smith, Refugee Services of Texas.

Smith says they literally have no lead time because of rapid developments on the ground in Afghanistan. He said in some cases, they are getting just four hours’ notice of people arriving.

"We are having to kind of scramble my staff, it’s all hands on deck," Smith said. "We're putting them in hotels until we can get an apartments set up. We're trying to be as nimble as we can to make sure that we're welcoming the families and then getting them settled."

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, told The Texas Tribune that Fort Bliss can expect up to 10,000 refugees to pass through the Army base.

* * *

California Gov. Gavin Newsom took a break from campaigning against an election calling for his recall, to say: 

“We’re a state of refuge. I’m proud of the fact over the last decade California has taken in more refugees than any other state in America, and I’m proud of the fact a disproportionate number of Afghani refugees are here in Northern California, not just here in the south, but also up in Sacramento County. We’re already working in terms of a lot of those refugees coming in and working with CBOs and non-profit organizations to make sure that they feel welcome and celebrated as members of our community.”

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley and Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay is preparing to support 130 families, according to J., the Jewish News of Northern California. The East Bay organization has been helping Afghans resettle for years, but has never tried to support so many families so quickly, the newspaper reported.

The San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California is home to the largest Afghan community in the United States.

In Southern California, Jewish Family Service of San Diego told the Times of San Diego it has resettled 74 Afghans since Aug. 6 and is preparing for an untold number of additional arrivals.

“Most cases are assigned to JFS with little more than 24 hours’ notice before arrival, though all have prior connections — whether family or friends — to the San Diego region,” Etleva Bejko, the director of refugee and immigration services for the nonprofit organization, told the paper.

* * *

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin's only active military installation, has been preparing for refugees since early last week. The 60,000 acre base between Sparta and Tomah could house as many as 2,000 refugees at one time in its barracks, which are typically used to house U.S. service members as they train or prepare to head overseas. 

About 1,000 service members from multiple units of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve have begun to assemble at Fort McCoy to provide support to "Operation Allies Refuge."

Refugees will be housed at Fort McCoy for an unknown amount of time, depending on if they need to quarantine.

* * *

“This is not going to be a routine refugee settlement,’' said Chris George, the executive director of the Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services in Connecticuttf. “This is more akin to emergency evacuation.’'

“The one key element that we don’t have control over and can be a major obstacle is the lack of housing,’' George told the Hartford Courant. “That’s what I’ve been spending a lot of my time on recently. … We are sending out mass emails. We are reaching out to churches and synagogues — all in the hope of trying to find more apartments where we can place these people when they arrive.’'

The New Haven agency can resettle as many as 200 refugees over the next four months — a huge total when 200 is the normal average for the entire year, George said. When combined with the help of a second nonprofit agency, Bridgeport-based Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc., George said the overall total in Connecticut could reach as high as 1,000 over the next 12 months.

"We're preparing for unprecedented numbers," said George.

* * *

Airbnb says it will provide housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees around the world for free. The refugees will be staying in properties listed on the company's website.

Tuesday, Airbnb and Airbnb.org announced that Airbnb.org is providing temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide – the cost of which is funded through contributions to Airbnb.org from Airbnb and Brian Chesky, as well as donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.

Airbnb and Airbnb.org recognize that the situation on the ground is fast evolving. Airbnb.org will closely collaborate with resettlement agencies and partners to go where the need goes, and evolve this initiative and our support as necessary. In addition, given the tremendous need, Airbnb urges fellow members of the global business community to join efforts to provide immediate support to Afghan refugees.“As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees resettle around the world, where they stay will be the first chapter in their new lives," said Chesky. "For these 20,000 refugees, my hope is that the Airbnb community will provide them with not only a safe place to rest and start over, but also a warm welcome home.”

* * *

A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found 81% of the 2,142 U.S. adults surveyed said the U.S. should “help those Afghans come to the U.S.,” while just 19% said they should not.

Taking in those Afghans, who worked as intelligence sources, drivers and in other support roles of the U.S. effort, has support from 90% of Democrats, 79% of independents and Trump voters and 76% of Republicans in the poll.

How you can help

Resettlement agencies are rebuilding after Donald Trump slashed refugee admissions to the lowest level since the U.S. program began in 1980, forcing the groups to cut staff and close offices.

Nevertheless, there are a number of nonprofit agencies assisting Afghan refugees in the United States and those still in Afghanistan. Click here for more information.

Michigan city settles Voting Rights Act lawsuit; agrees to provide Bengali language assistance

The nation's first Bangladeshi mural is located in Hamtramck, Michigan. 

Bengali speakers, already an influential voting bloc in a small Michigan city, will be able to fully participate in democracy with voting assistance and election materials in their native language as mandated in a consent decree.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)’s lawsuit against the City of Hamtramck over the former City Clerk’s failure to provide Bengali language information and assistance in compliance with the Voting Rights Act (VRA) has been resolved by agreement with the city to provide Bengali language information and assistance. 

“I am really happy to hear that this agreement was reached,” stated limited English proficient plaintiff Rahima Begum, as translated by one of her children. 

“For many years I struggled to vote because I couldn’t understand the ballot and needed the help of my children to translate it. Not only would having the ballots translated and Bengali poll workers help me, but it will also benefit many other Bengalis who are unable to vote due to a language barrier. I am confident that it will encourage more people to vote and participate in the democratic system.”

The Hamtramck City Council convened an emergency meeting to approve the terms of a negotiated Consent Decree on June 30.

“AALDEF applauds Hamtramck’s speedy resolution of this Complaint, and its commitment to meeting the needs of its Bengali speaking voters going forward, which is especially noteworthy at a time when access to voting around the country is under attack,” said Susana Lorenzo-Giguere, Senior Staff Attorney with AALDEF’s Democracy Program. 

“With this Consent Decree, Bangladeshi American voters achieved progress toward equality at the polls," explained Lorenzo-Giguere. "Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires equal access to voting for people with limited English, as determined by the census, but that was not happening here for the Bangladeshi community. Under the local Census Information Center, this community constitutes over 20% of the city’s population.”

The  Detroit suburb of 21,365 residents is noted for being the first U.S. city with a majority Muslim city council.  After a 2015 election, there were four Muslims in the six-member city council. Bangladeshis make up 24.3% of the city’s population as of November 2019, according to information obtained from PIAST, which tracks Census data.

Before AALDEF’s lawsuit, Hamtramck’s former City Clerk had failed to provide access to Bengali ballots, provide adequate numbers of Bengali speaking poll workers or interpreters, and had an English-only elections website from which Hamtramck’s English-speaking residents can easily obtain election information.

Hamtramck was notified of its obligations under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act in 2011 when the Director of the Bureau of Census announced that Hamtramck, Michigan was covered for Bengali language assistance. As a result, the City was required to provide translated ballots, voting materials, and oral language assistance in Bengali. 

In April 2020, AALDEF sent a letter to the former city clerk, August Gitschlag, alerting the City to specific violations under Section 203, ahead of its 2020 special election to fill the late Representative Isaac Robinson’s seat of Michigan’s 4th House District that includes Hamtramck. 

Nonetheless, the city’s 2020 primary and general elections continued to be inaccessible to many of its Bengali speaking voters. After 10 years of Section 203 coverage, and a year after specific notification of Section 203 violations without any response from the former city clerk, AALDEF filed a lawsuit on behalf of Detroit Action, and Rahima Begum, a limited English proficient (LEP) Bangladeshi American voter.

“Hamtramck has a very large Bangladeshi American community, many of whom have low English proficiency,” said Branden Snyder, executive director of Detroit Action. “This lawsuit was necessary to protect the voting rights of this growing population and to remove unnecessary barriers to engaging in our democracy. We are pleased with the results. These are good community solutions which we hope can be replicated for other communities and in other cities, even where they aren’t required by the VRA.”

WDET

Campaign signs reflect the diversity of Hamtramck, Mich.

In this Consent Decree filed with federal court, the City of Hamtramck has agreed:

• To completely and accurately translate all election-related material, including ballots, information, instructions, and announcements, including their website, into Bengali.
• To assign at least one Bengali speaking bilingual poll worker to each of Hamtramck’s seven voting precincts and at least one Bengali interpreter will be assigned to each of the City’s four poll sites, including two interpreters at the Community Center poll site.
• To hire a Bengali Elections Program Coordinator who will coordinate all facets of Hamtramck’s Bengali Elections Program.
• To establish a Bengali Language Advisory Group which will provide feedback to the Program Coordinator and the City Clerk on the effectiveness of the language assistance and how best to provide election-related materials and assistance to the LEP Bengali speaking community.

The Consent Decree applies to all elections conducted by the city going forward, allowing for a reasonable time period to implement the provisions of the Consent Decree for the Primary Election being held on August 3, 2021.

Both AALDEF and Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter decided to not seek the attorneys’ fees to which they were entitled, in the interest of directing Hamtramck’s resources instead to its bilingual election program to meet the language needs of the LEP Hamtramck voters for the upcoming elections.

“The right to vote is fundamental and cannot be taken away or restricted based on English language ability,” said Sarah Prescott, partner of Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter. “Our firm is proud to serve as co-counsel with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund on this important issue, which will hopefully allow more eligible voters to finally participate in our democracy.”

Asian immigrants seek a place in America: Streets in Queens, NYC reflecting their Asian neighborhoods

South Asians celebrated the renaming of streets in Little Punjab. in Queens, NYC.

As Japantowns and Chinatowns struggle to maintain their existence because of gentrification, rising rates and the coronavirus, new immigrants seek a place to call their own; as if to proclaim their existence in America.

Honoring the contributions of the South Asian American community, the borough of Queens, New York has named two streets Punjab Avenue and Gurdwara Street.

The area has carried the nickname "Little Punjab" for years because of the number of businesses run by Punjabis and the home of two active gurudwaras, Sikh houses of worship. About 150,000 Indian Americans live in Queens, one of the most diverse boroughs in one of the most diverse cities in the U.S.

Punjab is a region split into a province of eastern Pakistan and the northwestern state of Punjab in India.

Punjab Ave. and Gurdwara Street are segments of 101st Ave. and 97th Ave. respectively. The street sign desgnating Punjab Ave. were installed in October and the following month, Gurdwara Street was made official.

According to a CBS New York report, the initiative was a joint effort by several South Asian groups and City Councilmember Adrienne Adams.

“This community has been underserved, not really recognized,” Adams told the news website.

“Invisible, which is a travesty, knowing everything that all of our community brings to this wonderful district.”

The success of the South Asian community in identifying their neighborhoods with streets has given new hope for efforts to rename a portion of 97th Avenue "Little Manila," an effort launched last summer.

A petition asking for the street name change to Little Manila was established here.

This is what the Little Manila street name would look in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens.

The Little Manila neighborhood has been growing since the 1965 Immigration Reform Act and the need for nurses to staff New York Hospitals.

In the 1970s, New York hospitals faced nursing shortages and recruited from the Philippines, bringing many Filipino nurses and their families to Queens. Those who worked at Elmhurst Hospital settled in the surrounding neighborhoods, including Woodside, where the Filipino community has since thrived. By the 1990s, 72% of Philippine immigrants in New York were registered nurses.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Filipino community was severely impacted—not only were many working in the health care system, but Little Manila was physically situated on the front line of the city’s epicenter.

Presently, 54% of New York Filipinos live in Queens. In 2009, 13,000 of the 85,000 residents of Woodside are of Filipino descent, thus making up 15% of the neighborhood’s population. An estimated 86,000 Filipinos and Filipino Americans reside in NYC, making them the third-largest Asian group in New York today.

Unlike the racist zoning and redlining that helped form America's J-towns and Chinatowns, today's desire for street renamings is a physical symbol asserting the  presence of South Asians and Filipino Americans and their contributions to the United States.

AAPI actors made strides on TV but future diversity is iffy

Mindy Kaling's "Never Have I Ever" stars a diverse cast.

With a snap of the fingers, relatively speaking, we have three shows on television with South Asian leads. If you count reruns of Priyanka Chopra's Quantico and Mindy Kaling's The Mindy Project, South Asians have gained unprecedented visibility on US TV.

The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition (APAMC) on March 24 heralded the premiere of two new television series on cable networks that feature South Asian Americans: the unscripted Family Karma on Bravo and the animated Mira: The Royal Detective on Disney Junior. The following month, Kaling's sitcom Never Have I Ever debuted introducing an Indian American perspective to the coming-of-age genre

For years, APAMC has advocated for greater diversity and inclusion of Asian Americans in Hollywood-produced programming.

“While South Asian Americans are glad to be represented, they also yearn for the chance to tell their own stories. That is why we applaud the entry of two new series that center Indian or Indian American life and culture.

Click here to read the full APAMC report.

“When APAMC met several years ago with NBCUniversal, we noted the absence of Asian Americans on the cable network Bravo, known for its pop culture personalities. We’re glad the network found a way to include us,” said APAMC Chair Daniel Mayeda.

The APAMC—the only organization to have graded the top four television networks since 2001—issued its annual Report Cards for the past 2018-19 season, assessing the four major TV networks on their progress toward diversity and inclusion of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) onscreen and behind the camera.

Although ABC and CBS maintained their same grades for Actors and NBC increased (from C to C+), the Coalition fears that the unprecedented success of Crazy Rich Asians in the Summer of 2018 failed to boost significantly the number of APA-led series on network TV. ABC had three pilots in contention that would have starred APAs (first name in the credits), including two that would have featured Asian American families. NBC had a pilot about an Asian American magician, and CBS was considering an Asian American family sitcom including Ken Jeong as a cast member. But none of them made the 2018-19 line-up.

“Since the APAMC began meeting with the networks in 1999,” noted Mayeda, “we have generally seen an improvement in the various categories (such as Actors, Unscripted, Writers/Producers, Directors). For example, in the 2002-03 season, onscreen representation of APAs was so bad, we gave two networks Fs in the Actors category. As part of the larger Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition (MEMC) —which also includes the NAACP, National Latino Media Council, and American Indians in Film/TV—we pushed the networks to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), create diversity departments, actors showcases, writers and directors programs, and other pipeline programs.”

But progress has plateaued in many cases for the networks, with Fox recording its lowest grade in the Actors category (D+) in the past 18 years.
The biggest gains for APAs now seem to be happening in non-network media, including streaming services Netflix (Master of None, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before parts 1 and 2, Ugly Delicious, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Always Be My Maybe, Tigertail, Never Have I Ever, The Half of It), Amazon Prime (Man in the High Castle, Warrior), and Hulu (PEN15); cable channels Comedy Central (Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Ronny Chieng: International Student), AMC (Into the Badlands, Killing Eve, The Terror: Infamy), Bravo (Family Karma), and Disney Channel (Andi Mack, Mira, Royal Detective); and theatrically-released motion pictures (Searching, The Farewell, Plus One, Stuber).

“While we continue to advocate for the networks to feature more APAs in leading roles, the Coalition applauds the increased inclusion of APAs in other venues,” Mayeda said. “We recognize that many of these programs and films would not have been possible without the training and opportunities created by the networks’ diversity efforts. But the networks themselves need to redouble their efforts to avoid slipping behind their streaming and cable counterparts in representing APAs.”

ABC received the highest overall grade -- a "B" -- for the third year in a row and led with the highest grade in five of the seven categories: Actors (A-; third consecutive year), Commitment to Diversity (A; likewise), Development (B+), Directors (B+; tied with CBS), and Writers/Producers (B).

CBS came in second earning an overall grade of B-, Fox maintained its C gradevfollowed by NBC's C- (a huge improvement from the previous year's F grade). 

APAMC members include Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, East West Players, Japanese American Citizens League, Media Action Network for Asian Americans, National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Visual Communications.

With the loss of Fresh Off the Boat and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC will be hard-pressed to maintain its grade next year.

In fact, with the 10th and final season of Hawaii Five-O, The Good Place, the single season of The Terror: Infamy largely set in a WWII Japanese American internment camp, the final installment of Man In the High Castle, the cancellation of the martial-arts dystopian Into the Badlands and the end Disney's Andi Mack, television will likely be lacking in an AAPI presence overall.

Long-running "Hawaii Five-O" with its diverse cast of secondary characters has said 'Aloha."

One area the networks can improve on is coverage of AAPI in the news.

“Given the backlash many Asian Americans have faced because of COVID-19, we urge the networks to also produce news stories on this rising concern as well as the remarkable contributions our communities have made to this country,” added Rita Pin Ahrens, Executive Director of OCA—Asian Pacific American Advocates, an APAMC member organization.

The AAPI audience is moving to other media for their news and entertainment. According to Nielsen, the Asian American community is the most plugged-in ethnic group and mostly depend on online sources for entertainment by AAPI artists, vlogs and communication via social media.

"After the mega success of Crazy Rich Asians,” says founding APAMC member Guy Aoki, “other Asian American projects have done well, including Always Be My Maybe, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and The Farewell. And the Korean drama Parasite became the first international film to win the Oscar for best picture. We don’t want to lose momentum and want to remind Hollywood that what we learned from those successes still holds true: people of all races are interested in stories about Asian people and are willing to pay money to see them."

Aoki adds: “We want the networks to re-commit to getting Asian American family shows back on the air, which people will gladly watch for free.”

Facebook, Instagram unblock #Sikh; apologize for 'mistake'

ASAM NEWS

After blocking hashtag #Sikh for nearly three months, Instagram and Facebook finally unblocked the hashtag after admitting that they made a “mistake.”

Tribune India reported users learned about the blocked hashtag after attempting to post about the injustices faced in Operation Blue Star of 1984. According to Independent, users were unable to search or post anything if they used hashtag #Sikh. Instead, users read an error message that said, “Posts for this hashtag are temporarily hidden because of unusual activity that may not meet Instagram’s Community Guidelines.”

This issue was recently brought to widespread public attention after Sikh Press Association, a national news agency representing the Sikh community, publicly questioned Instagram and Facebook on June 3rd. Sikh Press Associate wrote in a tweet, “In the same week that #Neverforget1984 trends on Twitter, Instagram seemingly conspires to suppress the truth about the atrocities of the 1984 Sikh genocide by censoring the faith of 27 million people.”

Times of India dubbed Operation Bluestar as a “painful memory” to the Sikh community. The Operation was carried out by the Indian Army in June 1984 to wipe out militants in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a city in India. In the process, millions of Sikhs were killed.

Canada-based author Rupi Kaur also tweeted: “The hypocrisy of @facebook’s approach to free speech: Zuckerberg says fb’s [facebook’s] principles prohibit him from blocking trump as he incites violence & hate. Meanwhile as Sikhs raise their voice to mark the injustices of 1984: Sikh hashtags are blocked. @amy-xiaoshi-depaolainstagramcomms do better.

In response to Kaur, Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s chief executive said he had never heard about the issue before. “Not sure what’s going on here, but we’re looking into it and will circle back,” wrote Mosseri from his personal account.

Soon after, Instagram announced that the block had been reversed. In a tweet, Instagram wrote, “Thanks for your patience today. We investigated this issue and found that these hashtags were mistakenly blocked on March 7th following a report that was inaccurately reviewed by our teams.”

The social media platform claimed the tag was added to a ban list after a report was inaccurately filtered out by its teams. Instagram immediately owned up to its mistake by tweeting, “We became aware that these hashtags were blocked today following feedback we received from the community, and quickly moved to unblock them. Our processes fell down here, and we’re sorry.”

The company further stressed, “This is an incredibly important, painful time for the Sikh community. We designed hashtags to allow people to come together and share with one another. It’s never our intention to silence the voices of this community, we are taking the necessary steps so this doesn’t happen again.”

Earlier this week, Instagram tendered an apology for inadvertently blocking #BlackLivesMatter. Instagram explained that a defect in its spam detection system caused the latest glitch, according to India Today.

However, Mail Online suggested that unlike Facebook and Instagram’s other apparent mixups in the recent months, the word Sikh had been blocked because of the companies’ human error, instead of algorithm.

As the company failed to follow up on why and how the word ‘Sikh’ was blocked or how the ban escaped detection for so long, many netizens took on social media to portray their rage.

One user commented directly on Instagram Comms thread, “This is nowhere near enough information or a proper explanation. An entire community erased as a hashtag from Instagram and Facebook over an ‘inaccurately reviewed report.”

Many others demanded further explanation behind what happened how these global social media giants would never make the same mistake again.

Hasan Minhaj is not joking in a powerful message to Asian Americans, "We cannot stay silent about George Floyd

Hasan Minhaj, host of Netflix's Patriot Act, gave an impassioned plea aimed directly at Asian Americans and why AAPI need to support the George Floyd protestors and for equal justice for all People of Color, especially Black Americans.

The comedian wasn't joking when he dropped a Patriot Act Digital Exclusive episode on YouTube titled ‘We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd.’ that excoriated the anti-black sentiment that permeates through AAPI communities.

In the 12-minute long episode, that has since gone viral on social media, he starts in his typical style pointing out the absurdity of some situations:

“Asians, we love seeing Black excellence — Barack, Michelle, JAY [-Z], Beyoncé, the Travis Scott [Air Jordan] 4s. We spent the last five weeks praying at the altar of Michael Jordan. How could we be afraid? We love Black America. Yeah, on screen in our living rooms. But if a Black man walks in your living room or wants to date, God forbid, marry your daughter, you call the cops.”

Then he dives into the colorism that exists in Asian culture where lighter skin is coveted and dark skin is looked down on.

And to drive his point home, he shows of picture of former Minneapolis police officer Tuo Thao, one of the four officers who were involved in the arrest and death of Floyd. While three officers restrained Floyd, Thao stood in front of the onlookers videotaping the incident.

"That is America. A black man was murdered in cold blood, and we were on the f**king sidelines watching," said Minhaj, calling for non-black POC to take a more active role. "I'm not saying we were the ones who killed George Floyd. But we have to be the ones who pull that cop off his neck!"

"We think we're not a part of the story, but we're at the scene of the crime! That's why the full picture matters. This doesn't happen in a vacuum — it happens in a system," he continued.

"We have to donate our money and time to black organizations," said the second-generation Indian American. "We have got to get our civics law school nerd shit on right now."

He specifically challenged Asian immigrants: "America's story didn't start when we got here," said Minhaj. "When you became an American citizen you don't just get to own the country's excellence. You have to own its failures. That is the deal."

He concluded with a direct appeal to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is on a first-name basis with his fellow Muslim American to aggressively prosecute the four former officers, "to set a precedent, so the next time we see a cop with a knee on a black man's neck, we see it for what it is -- murder.!"