MTV awards Asian American shows: 'Bretman Rock' and 'To All the Boys'

It has been a busy week for AAPI news but we can't let the week go by without mentioning the MTV Movie & TV Awards held May 16 where two Asian American projects won in their respective categories, Breakthrough Social Star and Best Movie.

Hawaii's own Bretman Rock, AKA Bretman Sacayanan, was voted Breakthrough Social Star for his immense global popularity on social media.

As a beauty influencer, a web series star, and more, the Filipino American teen  understands what it takes to break through and make his presence known. The sight of his 16 million Instagram followers and 8.4 million YouTuber subscribers speak for itself. But at the Unscripted special, he was the one in front of the microphone holding the Golden Popcorn, which he accepted as Breakthrough Social Star. A

"Hey guys, I've never prepared a speech before," he began, "so what I'm about to say is... unscripted, or whatever."

"I would like to thank everyone that watched me grow up on the internet. It's probably the most traumatizing (thing) I've ever done in my entire life," Rock said, right after Olivia Rodrigo's "Deja Vu" played him onstage. "But it's all worth it because I'm here onstage accepting this award."

"This award is for all the Asian Americans who (believe) in me, all the Pacific Islanders, and most importantly, this is for all the LGBTQ community," Rock concluded.

MTV

"To All the Boys: Always and Forever" won MTV's Best Movie Award. From left, producer
Matt Kaplan, star Lana Condor and author Jenny Han.

The voters for the MTV Movie & TV Awards have decided the Netflix original film has earned its spot among other classic Hollywood trilogies. They proved it by crowning the third installment, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, as Best Movie during the awards ceremony on Sunday (May 16). 

The film's star, Lana Condor, along with "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" author Jenny Han and producer Matt Kaplan, came out onto the stage to accept the Golden Popcorn.

"Thank you for all the fans who voted. Thank you, Netflix. Jenny, thank you for trusting us with your books. Without that, we wouldn't be here," said Kaplan during his short speech, before handing it over to Han.

"You've shown so much love for Lara Jean. Thank you so much for that — and I ask that you keep showing that love for the Asian-American community at large," Han said, referring to Condor's character from the series.

The third and final installment in the To All the Boys franchise was up against heavyweight Oscar nominees Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Judas and the Black Messiah, Promising Young Woman, and Soul for Best Movie. For MTV's audience, however, To All the Boys: Always and Forever walked away with the Golden Popcorn.

In just two weeks, philanthropic foundation raises $1 billion to combat hate attacks

During a meeting with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other White House officials, The Asian American Foundation announced that in two weeks since the philanthropic organization's launch, the foundation has raised over $1 billion for AAPI community organizations.

The $1 billion contributions will be used to combat anti-AAPI hate, and advance research and public education on AA and NH/PI communities. It is the largest philanthropic commitment in history fully focused on supporting AA and NH/PI communities. 

TAAF leaders met with Deputy Assistant to the President and AAPI Senior Liaison Erika Moritsugu, White House Public Engagement Director Cedric Richmond and Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and discussed the importance of business, philanthropy, and nonprofits working together for change. 

Members of TAAF’s Advisory Council, including Daniel Dae Kim and Lisa Ling took part in  the meeting virtually, as did some of the foundation and corporate partners that made contributions to the fundraiser, including representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, MacArthur Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Mastercard, Bain & Company, and sweetgreen. 

Biden and Harris spoke to the group, re-emphasizing their commitment to fight the alarming rise of hate-fueled violence directed at AAPI.

Earlier in the day, Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Anti-Hate Crimes Act to combat the anti-Asian violence.

Smithsonian launches fundraising campaign for gallery for AAPI history, art and culture.

IRENE HIRANO INOUYE

To help fill in the Grand Canyon-like gap in American history and culture, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) has announced the launch of a campaign to have a gallery on the National Mall devoted to the Asian American experience.

The Irene Hirano Inouye Memorial Fund honors the center’s late board chair who dreamed of creating the gallery as a permanent exhibit for AAPI history, art and culture in the nation's capitol.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Americans have been critical contributors to the American story for nearly 200 years. Despite this long history, the AAPI narrative has been in many instances untold or invisible.

“Irene always understood how critical it was for these narratives to be told throughout the Smithsonian,” said Lisa Sasaki, the director of the center. “She dedicated her life to elevating Asian Pacific American stories as the founding president and CEO of both the Japanese American National Museum and the U.S.-Japan Council and as the board chair of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.”

Through the fund, APAC will continue to carry on Inouye’s vision and belief that cross-cultural understanding and celebrating Asian Pacific Americans make the country richer and the Smithsonian stronger. Endowing the center’s directorship secures this vision, bringing to life a much-needed space for learning, discovery, creation and national visibility for Asian Pacific America.

I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story, at the National Museum of American History. Taking Filipino American author Carlos Bulosan’s poem as inspiration, this is one of the exhibits created by the Smithsonian APAC telling the stories of the builders and workers of Asian Pacific America.

“We are so honored that the Smithsonian has created this memorial fund,” said Jennifer Hirano on behalf of Irene Hirano Inouye’s family. “The intent of the fund perfectly encapsulates the legacy that my mother hoped to leave.”

Inouye was the founding president & CEO of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, which she led for three decades (1988–2008). 

At the Smithsonian, she served on the Smithsonian National Board and on the boards of the National Museum of American History and APAC. In 2010, Inouye co-founded, along with her husband, the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, the U.S. Japan Council. She served as the founding chair of the board of advisors for the Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies at UCLA from 2012 until her death in April 2020.

Established in 1997, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center is a museum without walls that presents innovative, community-centered museum experiences throughout the United States and beyond. 

To donate or for more information about the fund, the public can visit the center’s website. Follow the Center on Twitter and Instagram: @SmithsonianAPA.

Celebrities, activists added to MTV's 'See Us Unite For Change' celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month

Olivia Munn, left, and Henry Golding, center join host Ken Jeong in the MTV celebration.

With Ken Jeong set to host, MTV's AANHPI Heritage Month celebration announced more celebrities joining the star-studded  television event.

MTV's "See Us Unite for Change" event just announced a massive expansion to their roster. With additions of Olivia Munn, Henry Golding, the Black Eyed Peas, Steven Yeun, Mike Shinoda and Sesame Street's Elmo and Alan. Additional presenters also include Chloe Bennet, Cheryl Burke, Tim Chantarangsu, James Hong, Alan Kim, Michelle Kwan, Lisa Ling and Jeremy Lin. the celebration is set to kick off on May 21st at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will include performances from Jhene Aiko, Saweetie, and Sting.

"To truly shift perceptions on a larger scale, we must come together to take a stand against discrimination, slander and violence in all of its forms, utilizing every platform and tool that we have access to," said See Us Unite campaign Executive Producer Sheila Lirio Marcelo.

"But anti-Asian hate has had a long history in this country, and to truly shift perceptions on a larger scale, we must come together to take a stand against discrimination, slander and violence in all of its forms, utilizing every platform and tool that we have access to."

"Ultimately, our culture is our greatest asset in our effort to change hearts and minds," she added.

Featuring music, comedy performances, short films, and inspirational speakers, the event will spotlight notable Asian American Pacific Islander contributions to art and media and education.

Asian American public figures and those working to combat violence against the AAPI community will also speak. Other speakers include Amanda Ngoc Nguyen, Ai-Jen Poo, Prof. Karthick Ramakrishnan and John C. Yang.

The Asian American Foundation partnered with the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation to fund the event.

The goal of the event, which is a partnership between MTV Entertainment Studios and the Ford and MacArthur foundations, is to help educate its viewers about the powerful impact the AAPI community has had on American culture and help garner support against the hate and discrimination that continues to afflict the AAPI community in the wake of the pandemic, and beyond.

News of the celebration emerged amidst these ongoing acts of violence against the AAPI community. "We are outraged and deeply saddened by the escalation of hate crimes against AAPI communities and stand with them in the fight against xenophobia and bigotry," said MTV President Chris McCarthy. "Hate against one of us is hate against all of us and by working together on a global scale, we can help end this senseless violence."

"Despite these difficult times for our community, the formation of TAAF and their bold work on the See Us Unite campaign represent the best of what can emerge when we share a collective resolve for change," said actor Daniel Dae Kim, who is also on the TAAF board of directors. "They're both great signs for our future."

See Us Unite for Change will air Friday, May 21 at 8 PM EDT on MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, BET, and Nickelodeon. Click here for more information.

Anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill signed into law

SCREEN CAPTURE

President Biden signs the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law on Thursday, fulfilling a pledge he made when the bill was first introduced in Congress during the early stages of his administration.

"I believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans. One of them is standing together against hate, against racism — the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation," said Biden before the signing.

Stop AAPI Hate, a community-based organization, began collecting incidents of hate in March 2020 when the nation began implementing safety measures. In the year ending March 2021, the agency documented 6,603 hate incidents against AAPI.

The law will, among other initiatives, direct the Justice Department to more speedily review pandemic-related hate crimes and expand data collection resources for tracking such crimes.

The new law would also direct the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to work with community-based organizations to issue guidance raising awareness of hate crimes during the pandemic, and would require the US Attorney General to issue guidance to work with state and local law enforcement agencies to establish online reporting of them.


Democrats and AAPI partially attribute the rise in hate acts to Donald Trump,   when talking about the coronavirus, used terms such as the "China virus," "Wuhan Flu" or "Kung Flu" and blaming China for the United State's economic woes.

The bill, known in the AAPI community as the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Bill, was authored by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY, in response to the surge of racist hate attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives on Tuesday gave final passage to the bill with a 364-62 vote after the Senate passed the bill last month, 94-1.

“This violence, it did not come from nowhere and none of it is new,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, who introduced Biden.

“But after the president signs this bill today, we will not be done. Here’s the truth. Racism exists in America, xenophobia exists in America, antisemitism, Islamaphobia, homophobia, transphobia, it all exists. And so the work to address injustice wherever it exists remains the work ahead,” she added.

Stop AAPI Hate praised the new law but wants fine-tuning to divert more funding for community groups addressing root causes of the hate, such as "systemic racism and oppression."

"We are encouraged that the federal government has listened to the advice of community-based organizations and has committed to partnering with them further. To see additional change, we need legislation that addresses the root causes of systemic racism and oppression.

“Of all the good that the law can do, we have to change our hearts,” Biden said in his emotional speech. “We have to change the hearts of the American people. I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Hate can be given no safe harbor in America.”

With a rising voice, Biden continued, "Every time we’re silent, every time we let hate flourish, you make a lie of who we are as a nation."

Vice President Harris urges AAPI Unity Summit to 'transform' America

TWITTER

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the AAPI audience at the Unity Summit

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the keynote summit at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Unity Summit on Wednesday, calling on the country to unite around the community experiencing a sharp rise in violent hate crimes.

“In America, I do believe a harm against any one of us, is a harm against all of us,” said Harris, adding in part: “... Asian Americans have the right to be recognized as American, not as the other. Not as ‘them.’ But as ‘us.’”

Harris, who is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian American immigrants, continued, “I know this past year has been marked by pain … when we saw the targeting, when we saw the hate, when we saw the viciousness of it all. 

“As a member of this community, I share in that outrage and grief and I believe we have an opportunity now to turn that pain into action. To turn that pain, that righteous anger, because of the injustice of it, we have an opportunity to turn that into power.”

WATCH Vice President Harris' speech below.

She cited President Biden's intention to sign the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill that was passed by the House of Representatives Tuesday that was authored by Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY and Hawaii''s Sen. Mazie Hirono to combat the surging hate and violence directed at AAPI.

Harris called on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., to use their growing political influence to make America better.

Harris noted that Asian Americans used mail-in ballots and early voting in the 2020 elections to make a difference. She pointed out the Republicans have hundreds of bills making voting more difficult.

“We must fight against those attacks,” Harris said. “We must see these efforts for what they are … they are an attempt to suppress the right to vote.”

“While we must be vigilant in defending the voting rights that currently exist, we must also do that and work to expand the right of all Americans to vote,” Harris said. “That includes urging Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and urging the Senate to pass the For the People Act.”

The unity Summit was convened by the AAPI Victory Alliance, a PAC lobbying for AAPI issues and to get more AAPI involved in politics.

Harris spoke ahead of a slew of other high-profile lawmakers, ranging from Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Harris told her audience that Americans have a “unique opportunity now to shape our nation’s future, to transform how we live, how we work and how we vote for the better."

Jeremy Lin may just have retired; passes torch to next generation of AAPI players in the NBA

Jeremy Lin's dream of a return to the NBA may have just ended.

After a roller-coaster nine-year career in the National Basketball League, Jeremy Lin has left his future up in the air. In a long, heartbreaking social media post, the Asian American b-baller has given up on his dream to return to the NBA.

After a year in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playing for the Beijing Ducks, Lin took a tremendous pay cut and assured glory to play in the G-League, the NBA's minor league, to prove to coaches and managers that he still had the passion and skill to play with a pro-team.

Although he played well for the Santa Cruz Warriors, associated with the Golden State Warriors, he waited and waited for a call from and NBA team. He watched other players that he actually outplayed in the G-League get called up ... and he continued to wait. He never got the call.

The date he had called his final deadline, May 16, came and went.

Finally, the realization hit him, and he issued the following post Tuesday night on his social media accounts: 

May 16th. In my mind was an imaginary circle around this date for an NBA callup. The final deadline.

After a year in the CBA where I overcame mental barriers from my past, I KNEW I was still an NBA player. Teams all asked if I still had the hunger, health and skill to hang in the NBA. They wanted to see me hoop in-person.

So I gave up a season overseas to go down to the G League - a move few vets dare to make. Ive always known I need to jump through extra hoops to prove I belong so this was par for the course. Im really proud of what I accomplished - I killed it in the G League and objectively showed it being a league leader in all the categories a PG should and shooting career-highs across the board.

For months, I watched as others got contracts, chances, opportunities. I told myself I just need ONE ten-day contract, one chance to get back on the floor and I would blow it out the water. After all that's how my entire career started - off one chance to prove myself.

For reasons I'll never fully know, that chance never materialized. But I proved Im better than ever and an NBA player. But like I've said before... dream big dreams, risk big heartache.

I know I'm blessed - I've had an NBA career beyond my wildest dreams. I've had the luxury of taking a year to chase a dream w/o worrying about paying bills. My family, support team, business partners all waited on me as I gave up being a go-to player in China to go back to the G League.

To the next generation of Asian American ballers - Man, I so wish I could have done more on the NBA court to break more barriers - especially now - but you guys got next. When you get your opportunity, do NOT hesitate. Don't worry whether anyone else thinks you belong there. The world never will. When you get your foot in the door, KICK THAT DOOR DOWN. And then bring others up with you.

I didn't get it done this season, but I have no regrets and hold my head high. As for what's next, I trust what God has in store for me. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

Thanks to everyone whose rolled w me on this journey. I love you all.

 

 

USC Report: Lack of AAPI screen presence a factor for climate of anti-Asian hate

CREDIT: ANNENBERG - USC

Like it or not, Hollywood movies have undue influence on this country's values and perspectives. A new report suggests Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a lot of work to do to gain recognition, support and presence in the film making industry and in the United States.

It is the "soft power" of movies, television and literature, (and more recently, social media)  that moviegoers soak in, unaware that their views of the world and people, ie. AAPI, are being shaped by a Hollywood still stuck in the 20th Century.

"The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Across 1,300 Popular Films," a report from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released Tuesday, May 18, reveals how popular films perpetuate erasure and stereotyping of this group, a state of affairs that can lead to discrimination and psychological harm and eventually leads to the wave of racist violence and hate directed towards the AAPI communities.

Of the 1,300 films over a 13-year time span, 2006-2019, included in the study, 39% had no AAPI characters at all contributing to the invisibility, or erasure, of a major demographic that has been in this country for centuries.

“People often ask me whether representations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are improving,” said Dr. Nancy Wang Yuen, who co-authored the report with Dr. Stacy L. Smith. “Unfortunately, when representation looks like tokenism, Hollywood is doing the bare minimum for inclusion."

READ the full report, 'The Prevalence and Portrayal of Asian American and Pacific Islanders across 1,300 Popular Films" 

Dwayne Johnson accounts for almost a third of the lead roles for AAPI actors.

The Anneneberg initiative produces an annual report about inclusion and the diversity of the movie-making and television industries but this is the first time that a report has been focused solely on AAPIs. The study is full of loads of data that includes AAPI directors and behind-the-scene artists.

Out of 1,300 top-grossing movies, the report states, only 44 or 3.4% featured an AAPI lead or co lead. The 44 films with API leads/co leads were driven by 22 individual actors that worked one or more times as a protagonist. The wildly popular Samoan American actor Dwayne Johnson, by himself, is the lead protagonist in 14 of those films. Next in line is Keanu Reeves, who starred in five of those films.

"In 2019, 30% of API primary and secondary characters were either the only one or interacted with no other API characters on screen," said Yuen. "We need to see more than one API character on screen interacting with one another in meaningful ways.”

The USC study takes a look at Asian and Pacific Islander (API) leads and speaking characters across 1,300 top-grossing films over a 13-year span, from 2007 to 2019. 

Across 51,159 speaking characters in 1,300 top-grossing movies, 5.9% were API, the report finds. The number of films did not significantly change over the 13-year study period. This percentage falls far short of the 7.1% of the U.S. population that identifies as API. 

The USC report, released Tuesday, also found that of the 79 primary and secondary AAPI characters across the top films of 2019, “Portrayals of the API community range from invisible to fully human, with most portrayals falling into the categories of silenced, stereotyped, tokenized, isolated, and sidekicks/villains."

STEREOTYPES PERSIST

Hollywood studios and filmmakers find it all too easy to fall back to the old negative  stereotypes that have helped create the general public's images of AAPI men and women held by the general public.

"The stereotypes still present in top films include the persistent emasculation of API men – 58% were shown with no romantic partners compared to 37.5% of API women without partners – as well as that of the perpetual foreigner, evidenced by non-U.S. accents and use of non-English language. Most troublingly, portrayals of API characters still include violence, death, and disparagement.”

AAPI women, when they were seen at all, were hypersexualized or portrayed as submissive Lotus Blossoms.

Additionally, a closer look at films from 2019, the most recent year included in the study, shows that underrepresentation is only one facet of the bias facing the AAPI community in film.

DEATH & INVISIBILITY

“With the rise of anti-AAPI violence in the United States, on-screen deaths of Asians and Pacific Islander characters are particularly jarring,” Yuen said. “In the top 100 films of 2019, just over a quarter of Asian and Pacific Islander characters die by the end of the film and all but one death ended violently. This, along with 41.8% of API characters receiving on-screen disparagement – some of which are racial slurs – films can fuel anti-AAPI hate. 

"With over 6,603 hate incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate from March 19, 2020 to March 31, 2021, Hollywood needs to take responsibility for problematic representations of Asians and Pacific Islanders,” she said.

"These findings offer more evidence that the epidemic of invisibility continues to persist and with serious consequences,” Smith agreed. “Mass media is one factor that can contribute to aggression towards this community. When portrayals erase, dehumanize, or otherwise demean the API community, the consequences can be dire. Without intention and intervention, the trends we observed will continue.”

"I've died so many times on-screen that it became a real issue for my kids," actor Daniel Dae Kim said Tuesday in response to the report. "It's now one (of) the primary factors in deciding whether I take a role or not."

Based on the study, Hollywood's popular image of AAPI is predominantly East Asian (Chinese, Korean and Japanese) even though South Asians and Southeast Asians together make up the majority of today's AAPI population in the U.S.

East Asian characters made up 65.4% of the AAPI roles. Only 13.3% of the characters were Southeast Asian and South Asians made up 17.4% of the movie roles. 

"Looking to ethnic heritage, the majority of the 22 leads/co-leads were of Indian (31.8%) followed by Chinese (18.2%) and Korean (18.2%) descent. By region, East Asian (45.5%) outnumbered South Asian (36.4%), Polynesian (18.2%), and Southeast Asian (9.1%) actors as leads/co leads," the report states. 

"Focusing on ethnic heritage, Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Japanese actors were the most likely to work across the 200 top-grossing films. A full 65.4% of all API actors were East Asian, 17.4% were South Asian, 13.3% were Southeast Asian, and 6.5% were Polynesian," the study continued.

The report also delves into the advantages of having directors, writers, casting directors, producers and studio executives of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. Having these behind-the-camera decision makers enhances the chances of including actors and humanized characters in the movies.

CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS

Besides the increased hiring of actors and other artists in their productions, the study also suggests that one of the solutions is that Hollywood productions include AAPI actors in front the camera in all films. Period movies and focused storylines are not excuses to not cast AAPI actors giving the success and audience appeal of the productions of Hamilton and Bridgerton.

Among the report authors' conclusions: "There are consequences to invisibility. First, it limits the career opportunities of API actors by relegating them to secondary or tertiary roles -- if they are cast at all. This prevents talented creative voices from working and achieving career sustainability. Moreover, it communicates to the millions of API youth who spend time with these stories that they do not belong at the center of storytelling and in fact may not even merit inclusion at all."

“The numbers speak for themselves — again. They are a sobering look at how far the industry still has to go to counter the invisibility of our community onscreen," actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim told Variety. "If anything is to improve, the historic indifference on the part of decision-makers toward increased Asian American representation must go beyond the usual performative rhetoric to actual, demonstrable change.” 

President poised to sign bill to fight anti-Asian American hate

SCREEN CAPTURE / C-SPAN

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, 364-62, to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act Tuesday. 

The bill will help to address the alarming surge in anti-Asian violence that has occurred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by improving hate crime tracking and reporting and providing resources to victims of hate crimes. 

“House passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act on a strong bipartisan vote today sends a powerful, unified message that the United States Congress stands in solidarity with the AAPI community as we confront this epidemic of intolerance and hate,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, who sponsored the bill in the Senate.

President Biden said that he would sign the bill into law. When the Senate passed the bill 94-1 in April, Biden said, "This critical legislation will bring our nation one step closer to achieving justice and equality for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

"I look forward ... to signing this important legislation into law," said Biden.

The bill would improve the tracking hate crime tracking and reporting and providing resources to victims of hate crimes. The act also instructs the Justice Department to create a review process that expedites the processing of anti-Asian hate crimes related to COVID-19, designating an officer "whose responsibility during the applicable period shall be to facilitate the expedited review of hate crimes."

The bill, introduced by Senator Mazie Hirono, D-HI, and Rep. Grace Meng, NY-06, received bipartisan support but all the nay votes came from Republicans.

“I am truly heartened to see so many of my colleagues stand against this bigotry and discrimination," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. 

"Those of Asian descent have been blamed and scapegoated for the outbreak of COVID-19, and as a result Asian Americans have been beaten, slashed, spat on and even killed," she said. "The Asian American community is exhausted from being forced to endure this ongoing racism and prejudice. Asian Americans are tired of living in fear, and being frightened about their kids or elderly parents going outside."

"I commend my colleagues in the House for taking action to combat the despicable and sickening acts hate and violence against Asian Americans, and for having the Asian American community’s back as we fight this xenophobia and racist attacks.,” said co-author Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY.

Vice President Harris, Hillary Clinton to address AAPI 'unity summit'

Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Asian American to serve in that post, will be  the keynote speaker for a virtual unity summit for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Wednesday.

Harris, 56, will headline the virtual event hosted by the AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee which aims to mobilize voters in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, alongside a slate of other high-profile political figures and celebrities.

"The AAPI Victory Alliance couldn't be more thrilled that our favorite daughter, Vice President Kamala Harris, will deliver the keynote address for our first-ever unity summit," AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore said in a statement. "Vice President Harris is an inspiration for all of our AAPI children who now know the sky's the limit and you can be anything in this country that they strive for."

Harris' participation at the summit is her latest outreach to the AAPI community that is facing  a wave of racially motivated crimes during the pandemic and is growing as a voting bloc.

In addition to Harris, former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will speak at Wednesday's event, which is co-hosted by the AAPI Victory Alliance, and the AAPI Victory Fund. Several Democratic U.S. senators of color, including Cory Booker of New Jersey, Hawaii's Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, are also expected to appear.

The event is an attempt to harness the influence of the AAPI electorate, which proved to be influential in some key races, most notably helping President Biden win Georgia, which historically voted Republican. AAPI voters came out in huge numbers in favor of the Democrats, which also won the two U.S. Senate seats, which were held by GOP incumbents.

“It’s time we call our communities together to discuss strategies for engaging and mobilizing in the future,” said Nikore.

"AAPIs are rising. As the fastest growing group in the country, we witnessed a 46% increase in turnout from 2016 to 2020 despite a rise of hate and violence against our communities," Nikore said. "This isn't just a conference, it is a recognition of all that we have worked hard for and achieved. We are here, we are rising, and we are proud to be AAPI Americans."

The virtual summit will be 6 p.m. ET or 3 p.m. PT.  Wednesday, May 19. Sign up here to receive an invitation to this exclusive event.

Racist jokes about AAPIs are no laughing matter

SCREEN CAPTURE

Tony Hinchcliffe, left, schocked comedian Peng Dang, right, who introduced him.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe found out the hard way that it is not alright to  use racist slurs about an Asian stand-up comic who introduced him at a comedy club.

Chinese American comedian Peng Dang posted a video of the incident on Twitter on May 11, 2021. The video clip has sparked outrage on social media, including calls to “cancel Tony Hinchcliffe.”

After Dang introduced Hinchcliffe during a May show  at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin, Texas, Hinchcliffe took the stage and said, “How about one more time for the filthy little f****** ch**k that was just up here? All you f*****g race traitors are hooping and hollering, I was back there watching you puking in a f****g bucket.” 

Hinchcliffe then used an exaggerated Asian accent and said, “Oh, we make gunpowder. Oh, you want extra soy sauce. Oh, you borrow money from us.” Switching to his regular voice, Hinchcliffe said, “And you guys are just eating it up. You f*****g p******.” The clip then ends.

Hinchliffe, known for his live comedy podcast Kill Tony and appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience, has not addressed the controversy around his racist comments, but the controversy has already led to consequences for the comedian. Antone’s nightclub in Austin tweeted, “we are no longer working with Tony or hosting any of his shows. Antone’s is strongly against hateful speech and racism of any kind.” 

He was also scheduled to perform with Joe Rogan at The Creek and the Cave in Austin on May 12, but the owner said on Facebook he cancelled Hinchcliffe's appearance.  TMZ also reports the comic's talent agency, WME, will no longer be representing him.

During an Oscars award show in 2016, a year after the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag went viral and racial sensitivities were still raw, comedian/host Chris Rock thought it was OK to make controversial jokes about Asians, using Asian American youngsters posing as accountants as the butt of his jokes. He was quickly taken to task for his tasteless jokes and Asian Americans, including those in the entertainment industry, denounced his attempt at humor at the expense of Asians. 

At a time when Asian Americans are being attacked just for being Asians, Hinchcliffe's attempt at humor could have deadly consequences and perpetuates the impression shared by racists that AAPI are less than human and it is OK to joke about them, ... or stab them, or throw acid on their faces, or beat them to the ground.

Dang, an immigrant, waited a week to post the video after having an internal debate with himself, he explains, because he didn't want people to think he was seeking attention or looking to "destroy" a fellow comedian's career. But he eventually felt confident in his decision. 

"We always try to overlook racism and try to keep our heads down and be successful thinking eventually this is going to be over," he says. "But look at what that has gotten us, Asian people are still getting attacked in this country." 

Olivia Rodrigo wows fans with her performance on 'Saturday Night Live'

Right before our eyes, in Olivia Rodrigo, we are witnessing the birth of a star.

The Filipino American teenager from California was the musical guest star of Saturday Night Live last night and she did not disappoint

The star of Disney's High School Musical: The Musical: The Series wowed fans as she belted out "Drivers License," hitting the high-notes and slaying the emotional, heartbreaking tune.

She ended the SNL's season finale by performing her newest release "good 4 u."

The 18-year old songwriter/singer/actress touched teen heartstrings when she debuted her first hit "Driver's License." In the song's first week, it soared to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100, a position it held for a record-setting eight consecutive weeks.

Watch out for her debut album, "Sour." coming out May 21.

After her SNL performance, Rodrigo trended on Twitter with her fans gushing over their favorite. 

Pew Study: Some Asian Americans get more attention from Congress than others

Congress is more aware of the Asian American communities than past years, but if the lawmakers' social media accounts are reflections of that newfound recognition, some groups are getting more attention than others.

Halfway through Asian American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a new Pew Research Center analysis of more than five years of congressional social media activity finds that members of Congress are increasingly mentioning Asian Americans on Facebook and Twitter. 

The findings come as 32% of Asian adults in the U.S say they have feared that someone might threaten or physically attack them due to their race in the wake of violent incidents against Asian Americans during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Asian Americans are also the fastest growing demographic that futurists predict will  increase that group's political and cultural influence. 

Certain origin groups – most notably Korean and Japanese Americans – are mentioned disproportionately by lawmakers on social media relative to their share of the Asian American population. 

From Jan. 1, 2016, to April 5, 2021, Japanese Americans were mentioned in 20% of posts that referenced Asian American origin groups, more than three times their share of the Asian American population (6%). 

In that same time period, references to Korean Americans accounted for 23% of lawmaker mentions of Asian American origin groups, despite this group making up just 8% of the Asian American population. 

More recently, mentions of Chinese Americans have made up nearly one-third (34%) of lawmaker origin group references since the beginning of 2020.

However, in the attention given to these groups, other groups are being left by the wayside. Together, Korean, Japanese and Chinese subgroups make up only 36% of the Asian American population. 

Although the Indian, Filipino and Vietnamese subgroups are 47% of the Asian American population, they have actually seen their Congressional social media mentions drop this past year.

Indian Americans make up 20% of the Asian American population, the second largest group after the Chinese (22%). In the five years leading up to 2021, were mentioned in only 16% of the postings. This past year, despite having Indian American Kamala Harris as Vice President, mentions dropped even further to 10%.

Filipinos, which make up the third largest Asian American group at 18%, who were mentioned in social media  postings 10% between 2016 to 2020, saw their mentions drop to 7% in the past year.

For the Vietnamese community, which is 9% of the Asian American population, the five year social media mentions were 6%, dropping to 4% last year.

This analysis of every Facebook post and tweet created by every voting member of Congress between Jan. 1, 2016, and April 5, 2021, finds that members of Congress collectively mentioned Asian Americans fewer than 2,000 times yearly from 2016 through 2019. But the volume of these posts increased dramatically in 2020. And in the month of March 2021 alone (before the fatal shooting of six Asian women and two other people in the Atlanta area on March 16 and several other prominent incidents of anti-Asian violence), lawmakers posted over 2,500 references to Asian Americans, a figure that is larger than the yearly totals for any year prior to 2020.

Since early 2020, one area of topical focus has stood out over all others in lawmaker posts mentioning Asian Americans: 

Of the more than 7,000 posts that mentioned Asian Americans from Jan. 1, 2020, through April 5, 2021, 64% mentioned or expressed concern about racism, discrimination, xenophobia or violence toward Asian Americans. 

Of the posts that expressed concern, many were spurred by the Atlanta spa shootings and other acts of violence against Asian Americans in March 2021, while 33% of all posts mentioning concern about Asian Americans since the beginning of 2020 explicitly mentioned terms such as “COVID,” “pandemic” or “coronavirus.”

Other key findings from the report include:

• Democratic lawmakers have produced the majority of posts mentioning Asian Americans. Since January 2020, Democratic lawmakers have produced 6,872 of the 7,263 such posts from members of Congress. By comparison, Republican lawmakers have produced just 391. Democratic lawmakers have also produced the vast majority (97%) of posts expressing concern about violence, racism or discrimination towards Asian Americans over the same time period.

• Since early 2020, #StopAsianHate has been the most common hashtag used in lawmaker posts about Asian Americans. Some 35% of active lawmakers used this hashtag from Jan. 1, 2020, through April 5, 2021, while 14% used the similar #StopAAPIHate hashtag. The use of each hashtag increased dramatically in the wake of the fatal shooting of six Asian women and two other people in the Atlanta area on March 16, 2021. The vast majority of posts mentioning these two hashtags (99%) were produced by Democratic lawmakers.

• Members of Congress who are themselves Asian American or Pacific Islander American also produce an outsize share of posts about Asian Americans. This group has comprised just 4% of active lawmakers and have produced 6% of all congressional posts on Facebook and Twitter – on any topic – dating back to January 2020. But these members produced roughly one-third (36%) of all social media posts mentioning Asian Americans during that time period.

• Republican lawmakers' social media posts were more prone to mention the Asian countries of origin more frequently than Asian Americans. For example, since January 2020 Democratic members of Congress have created a similar number of posts on Facebook and Twitter mentioning Asian Americans (6,874) and mentioning Asian countries or origin groups (7,695). But in the same time period, Republican lawmakers have shared 58 times as many posts mentioning Asian countries and people (22,493) as have mentioned Asian Americans (391).