TGIF FEATURE: It's hard to classify Charlyne Yi's humor

Charlyne Yi

IT'S DIFFICULT to describe Charlyne Yi. She's an actress (she played Dr. Park in House was featured in a handful of movies), she's a comedian (watch her interview below on Conan O'Brien), she's an impersonator (she impersonated a turtle in her audition tape for Saturday Night Live), and lately, she's a singer in a band (you be the judge.)

She just has a funny (as in strange) way of looking at the world. 

In an interview with Sheila Heti in The Believer, the Filipino American describes herself: 

"I tried theater in college, but I was such a bad actor. I would sincerely try to act how I was feeling, and people would start to laugh because I was so bad and so nervous. There would be a serious scene with a husband and wife arguing, and I’d be shaking. My teacher was saying that there’s a very fine line between drama and comedy, and I thought, He’s totally right. And I slowly realized, Oh, this is funny! I think that’s when I discovered that people were laughing at the real me in the awkward situation I was in, trying to act.

"The first time I performed was at a comedy audition. I pulled up the mic but it hit my mouth because it came too high, and it dropped and I couldn’t figure out the mic, and I couldn’t see anything on stage because of the lights. There were four judges there and I had to perform with them laughing, which made me even more uncomfortable, and I was just shaking and talking and they were laughing the whole time. Afterwards I was talking to one of the judges and he was like, “That was hilarious!” I was like, What are you talking about?

"Then I realized he couldn’t tell if I was joking or not about being nervous. He thought maybe it was an act, but he wasn’t sure. I thought, That’s so interesting—maybe I’ll master that. So I’d constantly try to do stuff like that in theater class once I learned that you can make people laugh in a way that they’re unsure of what they’re laughing at, and are slightly embarrassed that they’re laughing."

She is succeeding at that. You don't really know if she is putting on an act or if it is the real Yi. At any rate, she has managed to parlay her ambiguity into a number of roles. 

It's hard not to laugh when watching her when she is on screen, but I don't think she minds.

Right now, she says she's retired from acting. "Well… kind of. I always like to say that I retired, just because it sounds cool. But I always say I quit acting, and then I always go back to it like two years later, and I’m like, 'OK, I’ll say two lines on this movie.' And besides, I like starting rumors about myself as well, where half of it’s true and half of it’s not." 

She's kidding, right? 

Have a great weekend!

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Ernie Reyes Jr. needs kidney transplant; martial artist in the fight of his life

In "CSI-Los Angeles," Ernie Reyes Jr. fought LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnel.

AS AN EDITOR of the Philippine News in the late 1970s and 1980s, I remember coming across contributed photos of a young boy in his karate gi doing a flying sidekick, a spectacular-looking move favored in the movies.  His father would send us photos of his son almost monthly doing benefits, entering tournaments, appearing with his martial arts show team. 

They lived in San Jose and the PhilNews was based up the road in San Francisco so it was natural that we used his contributions.

The proud father was Ernie Reyes Sr., who owned a chain of karate dojos in California. His son was Ernie Reyes Jr., who went on to act in the movies and an all-too-brief career in MMA.

The traditionalist in me may have questioned the flashy red, white and blue gi's but based on just their photos, I could tell they took the martial arts seriously.

As a young boy, young Ernie's used of his fighting prowess in "Sidekicks",  and he brokered those skills for roles in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze."  As he grew older roles came in  "Rush Hour 2" and "Indiana Jones and "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." His most recent performance was on "NCIS: Los Angeles."

After all those fights - in the dojo, in the ring and on the screen - Ernie Reyes, Jr, now 43, is in another fight. He is fighting for his life.

As a youngster, Ernie Reyes Jr. made
the cover of "Inside Karate."

Ernie Reyes Jr. needs a kidney transplant. His sister, Destiny Reyes, took to GoFundMe to raise $75,000 for the procedure.

According to the page, which has raised just over $60,000 as of this writing, Reyes "was recently in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) suffering from kidney failure. Ernie is currently undergoing dialysis treatment three times per week for 4 hours a day while waiting for a kidney transplant.

On the GoFundMe site, Destiny said: "Regardless of where you have seen or heard of Ernie Reyes Jr., he has impacted peoples' lives all over the world through his extraordinary performances in television and film. Please be aware that he needs support during this time of need and recovery of his life." 

Ernie Reyes, Jr.’s fans wouldn’t expect any less from a man whose brief mixed martial arts fighting record was 3-0. However, kidney failure is one opponent he can’t simply punch or kick and make it go away.

As of this writing, Destiny's GoFundMe campaign for her brother - with small donations of $5, $10 and up - has raised just over $60,000. His dad, Kwan Jang Nim Ernie Reyes Sr., has contributed words of encouragement to the campaign aimed at saving his son.

“I’d like to thank everyone around the world for sending their love and prayers to Ernie Jr and the Reyes family in this time of need. To everyone that has conveyed their unconditional love, I would like to return that positive energy flow back to you with the deepest gratitude and appreciation.”

If you want to contribute to helping the career fighter conquer his latest battle, click here and give what you can.

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An Open Letter to Asian Americans

Emma Stone. Asian? 

Ed's Notes: The following is an open letter to Asian Americans from Singapore-born Beverly Murray, who now writes out of Miami. For more on her edgy insights, check out her website at http://www.backthatsassup.com. Photos and captions are my additions.

DEAR Asian-Americans:

You already know the drill.

We live in a country where every time we turn on the TV, hardly anyone looks like us. No one in the movies has looked like us since we were kids. Onscreen, the ones who do look like us are either math nerds, asexual corporate drones, or prostitutes. We were stoked in the mid-90’s that finally, finally we were going to get a TV family that physically resembled ours. Of course, that show was abruptly cancelled, and we’ve had to wait another 21 years for a comparable Asian TV family.

Twenty. One. Fucking. Years. Welcome to our reality.

In a world that is becoming more interconnected by the day, where movie blockbusters and hit TV sitcoms export American soft power to the world, where diplomacy is carried out – not just within embassies – but vis-à-vis pop cultural icons and entertainers – Asian-Americans are invisible.

This phenomenon is especially disturbing when you look at the statistics: Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in the US. Our households outspend the average American family by 19% annually, and are more likely than the average American to spend more money on name brands – by a whopping 29%. We’re avid internet shoppers, spending almost double of what the average US population spends annually.

We need writers of all kinds such as 
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Alex Tizon, author of Big, Little Man

In short, we’re the perfect consumers. You’d think it’d make sense for TV networks and media companies to devote more time to Asian perspectives – but no. Year after year, we faithfully flock to opening nights of movies that reflect someone else’s narrative. Not ours. Not even close.

Which brings me to my next point. Unless you’ve been hiding a rock for the past week, you’ve probably heard about the Emma Stone kerfuffle.

You know, Emma Stone? Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, freckles. She’s playing the lead role in Aloha, a Cameron Crowe movie. As a half-Asian woman. Named Allison Ng. Who lives in Hawaii. A state which, despite being 60% ethnically Asian/Pacific Islander, has somehow been personified in an all-white cast. The fact that my mom’s maiden name is “Ng” is just icing on this giant ironic shitcake.

(To recap: Emma Stone, half-Asian woman, movie “all about Hawaiian cultural heritage”, all-white cast.)

So who’s to blame for this? Our first instinct is point fingers at Hollywood, and sure, the outrage is entirely warranted. Hollywood bears the brunt of culpability, because their entrenched myopia and inability to embrace our narratives – as rich and diverse as they are – has directly resulted in our pathetic representation in the media. To be fair, Asian-American groups have raised a huge stink about Aloha. And box offices around the country are hearing it, loud and clear. Heading into its second week of release, Aloha has raked in a paltry $10 million – Crowe’s worst movie to date. On the other hand, Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks Aloha at an abysmal 18%, so there is a good chance that this movie has managed to royally suck all by itself.

But is that the full story? Is Big, Bad Hollywood solely responsible for this void? Does that really explain why we aren’t better represented in the media?

My Asian brothers and sisters – you diverse, multi-colored, heterogeneous, polyglot group of sexy bitches. I need you to listen up. Part of this shit is our fault.

We're not saying wear your race on your sleeve,
but it would help a lot if major stars are more upfront about their mixed
Asian heritage. Yes, I'm talking about you Keanu Reeves. 

I’m talking to you, Asian parents. I see you with your flash cards, violin lessons, piano recitals, math drills, Kumon-everything. Quite frankly, it makes me want to scream. Not because I don’t believe in a rigorous education, or in setting high academic standards for kids. But because I’ve seen this dog-and-pony-show with my own eyes, way too many times. I know where it all leads. So many of you pay lip service to “encouraging creativity”, and sure, you’re proud of the odd watercolor painting here and there. And you’d probably come around if your child wanted to become a professional musician. But it’d better one of the traditionally prestigious orchestral positions (read: a cellist, and not, say a drummer in a punk band). You and I both know that within our communities, if little Kimmie wanted to study sculpture at a small, Midwestern, liberal arts college – 3/4 of you would freak the fuck out. We may not talk about this in public, but behind closed doors, away from “the other” Americans, many of us have acknowledged that this is an old, old record that we’ve heard in various iterations.

Justin Lin boldly went where few have gone. He is one of the few 
Asian Americans to break into the directorial ranks of Hollywood. He's 
currently helming the next movie installment of the Star Trek franchise.

I’m looking at you too, Asian kids. I’m stoked that you’re flocking to pre-med, engineering, and computer science programs. If this is truly what excites you – go for the gold. (And expect a call from me later – I hate dealing with the Apple Genius Bar). But for the rest of you who are secret artists, actors, writers, creatives. The weird ones. The black sheep of your families. The freaks who have always marched to the beat of their own drum. We need you. We need you now, more than ever. We need your names in lights, your stories on bookshelves, your art on display for all to see. Believe me, I know what kind of pressure you’re under. Most of us are from immigrant families. Some of us have known crushing poverty in our home countries. And if we haven’t, there is always that Asian perspective which holds that the needs of the group collective outweigh the desires of any one individual. We buy into the notion that the only acceptable route to the American Dream is via one of five career options. It’s a lie. And if you don’t reach back to yank out that apparatus that connects you to the Asian-American Matrix, you’ll live in crushing spiritual imprisonment, even as you peer out from your gilded cage.

Do it. Share your art. Do your thang, even if your parents tell you that entertainers have no future in States, that the safer option is to become a CPA. Do it even if you think you’ll fail spectacularly, because you don’t have the right look, the right build, the right whatfuckingever for audiences. Do it especially if it makes your soul sing, because you do the world no favors by hiding your light. It took me decades to realize this. And none too soon, because as we speak, even the publishing world is studiously whitewashing minority narratives.

Ruthie Anne Miles, Korean American actress/singer, joined a small club
of Asian American performers when she won a Tony award

 last week for her role in The King & I.

And if you’re not an artist? You sure as fuck are still a consumer, my Asian friend, and a discerning Grade A one at that. We don’t have to continue settling for movies and sitcoms with people who look nothing like us, whose experiences and voices are not our own. We can’t just politely ask and wait – we have to demand a seat at the table – call out networks and studios when they deploy another Tired Asian Caricature, and reward the progressive ones with our support, financial or otherwise. Support homegrown artists. It’s time for male Asian characters reclaim their swagger, lest we’re subject to another Hangover sequel with Ken Jeong’s naked ass and his inability to get laid; time for Asian women to be something other than modern day Suzy Wongs, auxiliary to whichever white heros they’re simpering over at present. Time for us to be an integral part of the zeitgeist.

Is this too much to ask? Don’t we have bigger fish to fry? Fuck that. All we have in the end are stories, stories that are ours, stories that deserve to be told in our own unique voices.

It’s what our forefathers would have wanted for us.

Originally posted at BACK THAT SASS UP on Sunday, June 07, 2015 AT 11:53 AM PDT.

***

RELATED: Why Aloha means 'forget it!'

It's awards show season, but not for Asian Americans

Why all the Oscar's acting nominees are all white 

 And we close with Bruno Mars, who isn't afraid to represent.

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NBA FINALS: Asian fans of the Golden State Warriors showing their colors

The ultimate Golden State Warriors fan cave

SOME OF the Golden State Warriors' most devout fans are Asian/Americans. As the  NBA championship finals continue between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the fanaticism is hitting a new high. 

The National Basketball Association and the Warriors' organization has noted the makeup of their fan base and have taken deliberative steps to reach out to Asian/Americans and fans in Asia to encourage their loyalty.

Among the fans is Alvan Mangalindan, a resident of Hercules, a few miles up I-80 from Oracle Arena where the Warriors play. He was featured in a recent feature by KGO-TV because Mangalindan has the ultimate Golden State Warriors "fan cave." And that makes his house the obvious choice for an NBA Finals viewing party, whether he and his wife like it or not.

RELATED: 

The Golden State Warriors' Asian connection 

The Warriors' secret weapon is 10-year old Filipina American

Filipino/American barber teaches Steph Curry Tagalog 

Fan creates song & video to cheer on the Warriors 

Filipinos make up a third of Warrior's Facebook fans 

Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin, James Hardin  celebrate Chinese New Year's 

Alvan has been collecting Dubs paraphernalia since he was 12 years old. He has everything Warriors from the early days to the modern days. And much of it is signed. His pool table, his foosball table, his window blinds, and even the Barbie doll are all emblazoned with the Warriors logo.

READ: Super Fan Alvan Mangalindan was featured in the East Bay Times.

The Warriors have made a strong effort to woo the large Asian/American community in the San Francisco Bay Area by having several nights devoted to them: Asian/American Heritage Night, Filipino Heritage Night, Pacific Islander Night and Chinese/American Heritage Night. Apparently, the marketing strategy is working.

To get a sense of how rabid the Warriors' the Asian/American fan base is take a look at the Warriors' Fan of the Day on KGO-TV's website to see plenty more Asian/American Warrior fans! And to get a closer look at Mangalindan's fan cave, view video below:

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Report: Multiracial Americans becoming the new normal

More Americans will be multiracial.

AMERICA'S FUTURE is going to be a lot more colorful, that's for sure.

More and more Americans are identifying themselves as multi-racial, according to a Pew Research Center report released on June 11. "Multiracial Americans are at the cutting edge of social and demographic change in the U.S.—young, proud, tolerant and growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole," says the report.

Multi-racial Americans make up about 7 percent, or 9 million, of the total U.S. population. But with a tendency to marry other multiracial people, that group identity will certainly grow exponentially. In Hawaii, multiracial people make up 20 percent of the population.

Because of the many racial combinations, it is difficult to generalize about this group but the most striking thing that stood out in the report is how socially liberal they are, thus tend to lean Democrat politically. A large number identify as independents. 

Those multiracial individuals who identify more white, along with those who see themselves as American Indian, tend to be more conservative. Those who identify with one of the other groups of color, were more liberal. 

Among multiracial people, the largest group, 50 percent, are made up of the combination of white and American Indian. 

White/Asian is at 4 percent but the demographic trend indicates this will change dramatically in the future. In 2013 majority of mixed-race babies were either biracial white and black (36 percent) or biracial white and Asian (24 percent). Only 11percent were white and American Indian.

If current trends continue—and evidence suggests they may accelerate—the Census Bureau projects that the U.S.'s multiracial population will triple by 2060. In other words, about 1 in 5 Americans will identify themselves as multiracial.

A festival celebrating being multiracial

The timing of the Pew center's report couldn't be more timely. On June 13, multiracial artists, writers, comedians, musicians, multiracial and multicultural families—are expected to gather at the Mixed Remixed Festival at the Japanese American National Museumin in Los Angeles, to celebrate the stories and lives of multiracial people and families. 

Related: 'Hapa-palooza' Celebrates Canada's Mixed-Heritage Residents

"Our goal is to raise awareness that the mixed race experience is very much the American experience," Mixed Remixed Festival Founder and Executive Producer Heidi Durrow, told NBC News. "The festival isn't about mixed-race pride. It's about breaking the silences we have about the complexities of racial and cultural identity."

Actress Sharon Leal is half-Filipina

If pop culture is any indication about the future of our country, producers and marketers seem to be preferring racially ambiguous characters in its television commercials and magazine fashion ads.

In the entertainment industry, the abundance of multiracial entertainers abound: Beyonce,  Hallie Barry, Norah Jones, Keanu Reeves, Enrique Iglesias, Sharon Leal, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and the list goes on and on. Lest we forget to mention: the current occupant of the White House is biracial.

The prominence of multiracial celebrities in our society makes it easier to have an environment of acceptance and tolerance towards people of different races. How could someone be bigoted against someone they may be related to? At least in these terms, the future looks brighter.

How will America react to this trend? That's the only negative possibility - acts of bigotry may actually rise as the last gasp of that group that has traditionally been in power, i.e. white males. In the 1950s, whites were 85 percent of the U.S. population. When conservatives talk about the "good old days," that is what they are talking about. When they say they want "to take America back," what they are saying is they don't want to share the abundance of this country.

As white people lose their power and dominance, certain elements may feel cornered and will do all they can - including inducing fear of the nonwhites - to maintain the status quo. Look how Obama's election brought the rise of repressed racism out into the open and into the courts and state legislatures and onto the streets.

We shouldn't be afraid of the future. Instead, as the races continue to blend and the American spirit is reinvigorated by immigrants eager to take advantage of the opportunities this country provides, the American dream will continue to act as a lure for the best, bravest, brightest and most ambitious people from throughout the world. As the immigrants who came before them, they will meet each other, fall in love and have multiracial babies.

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TGIF FEATURE: Kat Evasco's one-woman show 'Mommy Queerest' strikes a funny bone

KAT EVASCO is a writer, stand up comic, and performing artist living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Kat Evasco

She has performed at venues including the Haha Cafe, San Jose Improv, the Purple Onion, Napa Valley Opera House, Logan Center for the Arts, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and FringeArts. 

Her newest gig will be at the speakers' series put on by Next Day Better + San Francisco at the city's SoMa StrEAT Food Park, 428 11th St., on June 20, 1-6 p.m.

Tickets? Click here. 

This spring, Evasco toured the Eastern Seaboard with her autobiographical one-woman show, Mommy Queerest. This new work chronicles the coming-out process of a lesbian daughter and a closeted lesbian mother, illustrating how the reclaiming of their sexuality challenges and strengthens their relationship. Mommy Queerest aims to celebrate sexuality, eradicate homophobia and break cycles of abuse. 

Mommy Queerest was reviewed in the Bay Area Reporter:

"Evasco's one-woman show, co-written with and directed by John Caldon, is an explosively funny and seductively revealing look back in bewilderment as her own sexuality came into focus amid the mores of Filipino-American culture and a mother in denial. Graphic sexual remembrances that might seem shocking if simply written out here become part of the high-comedy fabric of the show thanks to Evasco's affable, informal, and even jubilant presentation and a matter-of-fact delivery of what could be disturbing revelations."

Evasco currently serves as the Deputy Director for The Future Project. She is the Managing Director of Guerrilla Rep, an independent theater company that develops and produces new plays in San Francisco, primarily focusing on biographical and documentary theater to address relevant social and political issues in America through real life/living context.

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Next Day Better presents speakers on Filipino DJs in hip-hop, the role of Filipinos in San Francisco's future

ONE OF the most interesting untold stories in the music industry is the era of the 1970-1990s when Filipino American teenagers, not even old enough to drive, had a strong influence on the hip-hop scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Oliver Wang, former music writer in the Bay Area and currently a college prof at Long Beach State, will be talking about his recently released book: "Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJs San Francisco Bay Area" at an event sponsored by a new movement called Next Day Better: SF.

Since 1994, he has written on popular music, culture, race, and America for media outlets such as NPR, Vibe, Wax Poetics, Scratch, The Village Voice, SF Bay Guardian, and LA Weekly among many others.

The Filipino DJs - 15, 16, 17 years old - had their own followings and they performed in churches, union halls, anywhere there was a party. They negotiated and did business with promoters, developed fantastic, professional-style light shows, says Wang. Out of this milieu came world champions such as: DJ QBert, Apollo, Mix Master Mike, DJ Shortkut, and so many more.

EVENT DETAILSWhere: SoMa StrEat Food Park, San FranciscoWhen: Saturday, June 20Time: 1:00 pm-6:00pm
Facebook Event page
Purchase tickets here: 

Wang, along with other personalities, will be part of the event organized by NextDayBetter, which is organizing a speakers series for the Filipino Diaspora communities around the world. Besides, San Francisco, NDB has chapters in cities around the world. The timing of the event is no accident. The event will be held in the same period the "official" Philippine Independence Day celebrations are being held in conjunction with KalayaanSF sponsored by the Philippine Consulate. So as the local media writes about Philippine Independence festivities, Next Day Better will be among the activities.

"Our events celebrate and share the inspirational stories of changemakers, community leaders, and innovators and call them to action, they state on their website. "The NextDayBetter San Francisco curatorial team has worked tirelessly this past year to curate a group of cultural producers that uplifts and highlights the contributions of Filipino communities."

The theme of the event is “Imagine 2035.” We want both speakers and attendees to envision the possibilities of San Francisco based on the historical and cultural contributions of Filipino diasporic communities ba answering this question: “What will San Francisco become in the year 2035?”

“Our team has put together this speaker series as a way to give our generation’s influencers a platform to discuss their unique experience in their field and exchange ideas on how they’re making the next day better,” says NextDayBetter SF team member Rap Sarmiento.

Besides Wang, the speakers include:

• Kat Evasco, comedienne, writer, and performing artist
• PJ Quesada, VP of Marketing, Ramar Foods, Founder of the Filipino Food Movement
• Dori Caminong, activist and community organizer, Glide Memorial and SF Entertainment Commission
• Everett Katigbak, environmental designer and Pinterest brand manager
• Desi Danganan, serial entrepreneur, designer, crowdfunder and principal of Plinth Agency

And what's a Filipino event without food? Or, at least, talking about food? There will also be a food panel of Filipino chefs: 

• Tim Luym, Chef, The Attic, Mekong Kitchen, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, formerly of Poleng Lounge and WoW Truck
• Jason Angeles, CEO of FK: Frozen Custard, Sugar and Spu

For information about NextDayBetter and the activities slated in other cities, go to their website.

RELATED: Filipino diaspora makes Philippine Independence Day a global celebration

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Former militant Richard Aoki informed FBI on the Sixties' Asian American activists

The sunglasses became a trademark for the militant Richard Aoki.

IF YOU WERE an Asian American college student in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, it was difficult not to be affected by what was happening in the area of civil rights that bubbled over to impact all communities of color. 

Out of that cauldron of discontent arose one young man, who was able to bridge the African American civil rights struggle with the then-fledgling Asian American civil rights movement.

Newly released FBI documents obtained by investigative journalist Seth Rosenfeld indicate that Aoki was more active as an informant than initially thought. Read the full story here. 

As the new documents show, Aoki informed on his fellow Asian American activists as well as Black Panther leaders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, who were his friends. He also gave the FBI information on the Third World Strike and its principle leaders on the UC Berkeley campus.

Aoki met Huey Newton and Bobby Seale at Oakland's community college, Merritt College. Rosenfeld wrote how Aoki  supplied arms and weapons training for the militant Oakland-based Black Panthers. He eventually was named the organization's Field Marshall.

A young Richard Aoki in a confrontation
with police in a demonstration 

According to Rosenfeld's report, besides the Black Panther Party; Aoki provided info to the FBI about the Asian-American Political Alliance; the Young Socialist Alliance; the Socialist Workers Party; the Red Guard, a radical group in San Francisco's Chinatown; and the 1969 Third World Liberation Front strike and several other campus political groups at Cal.

The University of California Berkeley, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement and the cradle of the students' anti-war movement, may have looked like the center of a pending revolution to our country's intelligence and local law enforcement agencies. At least that's how then Gov. Ronald Reagan viewed them when he sent in the National Guard to restore order on campus.

Coupling the campus unrest with what was happening the streets of Oakland, the FBI's long-time director, J. Edgar Hoover, declared in 1968 that the Panthers, who by now had chapters across the nation, posed “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” 

Based on the new documents, Rosenfeld writes:

"Three of the newly released reports concern the Asian American Political Alliance, a nonviolent civil rights group founded at UC Berkeley in 1968 to oppose racism, the Vietnam War and U.S. “imperialistic policies.”

"The group aimed to break the silence of what its members saw as all-too-conformist Asian American communities. It supported the Black Panthers and other minority 'liberation' groups. The FBI investigated the group as a potential threat to internal security."

Aoki spent his formative years in one of the infamous internment camps for Japanese Americans during WWII, earned his street cred in the streets of Oakland as a gang member and studied at Berkeley. He committed suicide in 2009 by shooting himself in his Berkeley home.

Since his suicide, Aoki's story grew in stature. In a 2009 feature-length documentary film, "Aoki," and a 2012 biography, "Samurai Among Panthers," he is portrayed as a militant radical leader.

It was a surprise - nay, a shock to his friends - when it was revealed in 2012 that Richard Aoki, who was part of the inner circle of the Black Panthers and a leader in the Third World Strike, was an FBI informant.

Hyphen Magazine wrote a four-part series on Aoki after Rosenfeld's 2012 expose. Many of his fellow Asian American activists couldn't believe that the man who was a leader in their organizations  was an informant and came out strongly in defense of a man they considered a friend. One of the reasons he was held in high esteem was because he was one of the few who could link the discrimination faced by Asian Americans with that of the Civil Rights struggle led principally by African Americans.

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The Filipino diaspora makes the celebration of Philippiine independence a worldwide event

A Filipino American choir performed at last year's city hall gala in San Francisco.

PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY on June 12 has taken on worldwide status with the millions of Filipino workers throughout the world.

In few places such as San Francisco, it is gaining a foothold as an annual event as part of the city which seeks any reason to have a party. It will be a two-week celebration in San Francisco. It'll start on June 12 with the transformation of City Hall into an ornate beau arts ballroom for a formal dinner and dance and culminate in a free outdoor concert featuring American Idol finalist Jessica Sanchez.

The concert is the commemoration's main event in the heart of downtown San Francisco, in historic Union Square, against the backdrop of San Francisco’s iconic cable cars and well-known landmarks. Besides the concert, the fiesta will feature a cultural showcase, food bazaar and marketplace.

Jessica Sanchez

The celebration of the 117th anniversary of Philippine Independence should turn posh Union Square into a mini-Manila, or at least, a larger version of the Serramonte Shopping Center in next door Daly City. It will bring in not only the city's Filipino Americans but the larger community around the Bay Area.

KalayaanSF, named after the Filipino word for “independence”, is a series of events held in San Francisco during the month of June to commemorate and celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, which occurred in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. 

Organized on an annual basis by the Filipino-American community in the Bay Area with the support of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, the celebration showcases Philippine culture and heritage, drawing attention to the contributions Filipinos and Filipino-Americans have made to their communities.

This is not to be confused with Philippine-American Friendship Day when the U.S. granted independence to their Pacific colony on July 4.

Cities throughout the world where large concentrations of Filipinos reside - from Honolulu to Seattle to New York City to London, San Diego, L.A., Chicago, Stockton, Daly City,  Sydney, Brisbane, Copenhagen, Riyadh, Rome, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul - all part of the Philippines diaspora, will mark the day with parades, dinners, concerts and talent shows, the guitars will come out to strum the old ballads, loudpeakers will blare with hip-hop, speakers will wax eloquently (and probably to long) and the long bamboo poles will find a stage to dance the tinikiling, lith women will don the butterfly sleeves for the zarzuela, brave men will suck in their stomachs and bare their chests to dance the exotic mountain dances and Muslim princesses will step nimbly through the rapidly clacking bamboo poles, health care professionals, nannies, maids, 

RELATED: Speaker series eyes SF's future for Filipinos

teachers, chefs, bankers, and the thousands of crew members on countless ocean liners and merchant marine cargo ships, high tech workers or newly minted billionaires in Silicon Valley, they are recent immigrants speaking in their dialect or 6th and 7th generation Americans with blond hair with that wonderful inherited lightly tanned complexion, have done what Filipinos have always done - adapt, survive and perhaps prosper in whatever surroundings they are in, an innate ability that is a blessing and sometimes a curse.

The wonderful halo-halo-like melange of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Polynesian, Negrito, Spanish, American and Japanese and (most recently) Vietnamese that we call Filipino are all tied together by the Internet and social media, unearthing long-buried memories of volcanoes and jungles, white sand beaches and beeping jeepneys, the sweetest mangoes and fresh fish roasted over an open fire, the love, laughter and the poverty of relatives left behind. 

Image by Jason Baguia

Heroes of the Philippine Independence

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Asian American journalists meeting in SF this August

THE 2015 Asian American Journalists Association National Convention will be held in San Francisco this summer.

If you're a news junkie, this is a good peak into the state of the world of contemporary  journalism.

Back in the day, when I could include myself in that profession, I attended a few of the annual gatherings and found them always to be informative and fun. It's a nice to meet friends from across the region and sometimes to meet people who've read your material but we never had a face-to-face meeting.

As a journalist, you always wonder who is reading your material ... or, if anybody is reading your stuff. So to receive that reaffirmation is always a shot in the arm to get your journalistic juices flowing again.

Each time I went, I always marveled at how young everyone looked. I guess it is natural to think that for you, time stood still and everybody else aged and all these people entering the profession keep looking younger and younger.

With the state of journalism as it is: newsrooms cutting staff, more media businesses cutting payroll by preferring inexperienced J-school grads over more seasoned journalists, news content being managed by people who have no connection to their communities and there's more emphasis on being first rather than being accurate because of the 24-houre news cycle. 

I was struck by how the people who worked in television looked so good and neat compared to the scruffier radio and print journalists. Indeed, judging by the proliferation of Asian newscasters and TV reporters throughout the country, I trust a lot of those people got good-paying jobs.

Even with what might seem like a "proliferation," diversity in the 2015 newsroom, no matter what medium you're working in, is still lacking. Despite all the high-sounding words favored by news executives, it is still overwhelmingly a white media run by white-thinking corporate types. 

I imagine that these days, even the TV folks are looking over their shoulders at the new media offered by high-tech and more search engines offering their own news services, media outlets are having to compete in unfamiliar fields. At the same time, the news being produced by Yahoo, Google and their like need more than just regurgitating the work of the print and TV journalists. They need reporters and editors who adhere to the old values of accuracy and objectivity.

I always thought that it would behoove the major news outlets to use the ethnic newspapers much like major league baseball uses the minor leagues. Use the minority news outlets to train their reporters as they hone their craft. That would allow the young reporters to hone their craft and it would give the news organizations not only more experience staff, it would give them a perspective of the communities that have normally receive media coverage in most sensational situations.

However, that situation seems more and more unlikely as the bottom line continues to dominate the decision-making of media outlets. 

This year, the AAJA convention is in San Franciso, which will draw a substantial number journalists. So if you're hanging around the Hyatt Regency in August and notice a higher number of Asian Americans in the lobby and across the street at the Ferry Building, now you'll know why.

There's still time if you want to register for the convention. If you want to find out more about the convention, go to the AAJA convention page.

Whether you are a media industry veteran, new to the field or still in school, the convention is a can’t-miss event for media professionals and aspiring journalists looking to network and grow in their careers. The four-day convention includes plenary sessions, panel workshops, seminars and other activities with interactive discussions about industry and community issues. 

The list of speakers is a who's who in journalism from the TV networks to the Internet.

The convention’s Career Fair & Expo features top news and media companies, universities and journalism industry services, along with one-on-one critiques with veteran journalists and other opportunities for professional and student journalists.

I especially recommend it to the new media folks who have assaulted the mainstream media's sensibilities and changing journalism as we knew it. They are the new purveyors of news (as they see it) and who are making critical news decisions without the training, experience or judgement of professional journalists. There is so much more to journalism than just being first.

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TGIF FEATURE: Filipino American Hailee Steinfeld signs record deal

In Barely Lethal, Hailee Seinfeld shows she is up for action movies as well as musicals and dramas.

HAILEE STEINFELD is having quite a month: Pitch Perfect 2—which she starred in—debuted at No. 1, she played a part in Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Bad Blood” music video, she just landed a record deal with Republic Records and her latest movie, Barely Lethal opened last weekend.

The Filipino American said she has always loved to sing but she never sang in a film until Pitch Perfect 2, in which she plays Emily Junk. Her cover of "Flashlight" got the attention of Republic Record executives.

“The moment that we met Hailee we found her commitment to music inspiring,” Republic Records’ executive vice president Charlie Walk said in a statement. “She has the vision, natural talent, and dedication to compete at the highest level. We are thrilled to be part of her musical journey.” 

“What I love about Hailee at the end of the movie is that you feel like she’s at the beginning of something,” explained director/actress Elizabeth Banks. “The message was that the Barden Bellas all-girl singing group had mentored her through the movie and now, she’s ready for whatever comes next," hinting at a Pitch Perfect 3. 

Hailee wasn't the only Filipino American in the Pitch Perfect 2 cast. She was joined by the Filharmonics, an a cappella boy-band based in Los Angeles.

Besides singing and acting, the multi-talented Hailee showed she also has some martial arts moves in the just-released Barely Lethal, in which she plays a teenage assassin who longs for a "normal" life. Mix Nikita with Mean Girls and you get the gist of the movie.

Hailee shot to fame in 2011 after starring in the western True Grit. At 14-years-old, she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar

Between then and now, at 18, Hailee has blossomed into a lovely young woman after playing Juliet in the 2013 version of Romeo and Juliet directed by Carlo Carlei.

Steinfeld also recently starred in Taylor Swift's celeb-packed "Bad Blood"music video, playing a group of triplets called the Trinity. The video also featured many other of Swift's high-powered BFFs, including Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, among others.

Her mother is interior designer Cheri Domasin Steinfeld from Bohol Province in the Philippines. Through the early years of her career, the mother-daughter practically lived in their car going from audition to audition in Los Angeles.

“My relationship with my mother is amazing,” she disclosed. “My mom and I are so close. She travels the world with me and I could not do what I am doing without her by my side. I found that the best thing when I am in a group of people, I would have one or two people come up to me and say, ‘You are Filipino!’ I am Filipino, too. And I am like ‘Yes, this is awesome!’ So it is sort of this one thing that connected me with many people that I find is really interesting.”

By all reports, this talented young lady has her head on straight. No airs, no diva-like behavior. In a lot of ways, she is like her Perfect Pitch 2 character, Emily Junk. Even though she's been in the business for a number of years  she still emanates an innocence and naivety.

Watch out for her name, Hailee Steinfeld is in high demand in Hollywood and she is heading for stardom, folks.

Have a great weekend! Go watch a movie.

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