This Week in Asian Pacific Islander American News
Top news and media from across the web impacting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
As the ongoing destruction to families in and fleeing Afghanistan after decades of U.S. intervention (read imperialism) filled the headlines this week, our hearts are also with those affected by devastating fires in California to Oregon and fatal downpours from Queens to Hiroshima, and the recent earthquakes in Haiti. Rural workers are bearing the brunt of these worsening climate conditions and have always been more vulnerable to exploitation by employers. While a $15 minimum wage is nowhere near a living wage in most places (and wasn’t a decade ago when the Fight for Fifteen slogan came around), it’s an added protection for rural workers in right-to-work states where they’re more commonly concentrated.
Covid-19
Henry Herald: Asian American leaders fear Covid-19 origin report could fuel more bigotry and violence (August 24) “Asian American leaders are concerned that a report on the origins of the Covid-19 virus expected to be released this week by the Biden administration will be used to “legitimize racist language” and lead to more anti-Asian violence across the country.”
Brooklyn Eagle: After a rise in hate crimes, some Asian American students are nervous about returning to school (August 31) “It’s not just the Delta variant that makes Zhenghao Lin, a Chinese immigrant, nervous about returning to school next month.”
Oregon Live: Oregon COVID-19 vaccinations on rise with help from community groups (September 3) “Vaccination rates in Oregon are steadily trending upward, as the effort to vaccinate residents against COVID-19 increasingly turns to hyper-local community efforts.”
Politics
Honolulu Civil Beat: Vicky Cayetano Offers A ‘Humble Spirit’ In Run For Hawaii Governor (August 30) “The businesswoman says the state needs “fresh perspective” and “innovative ways of thinking” to recover from Covid.”
American Progress: Rural Workers of Color Need a $15 Federal Minimum Wage (September 1) “The fight for a $15 minimum wage and the right to a union has long been tied to racial justice. Perhaps nowhere is the importance of robust federal labor law to racial equity more evident than in rural America, where state policy has eroded job quality over the past several decades.”
PBS: As Afghan refugees arrive in the U.S., Southeast Asian American advocates urge more support (September 3) “When Detroit resident Caroline Vang Polly watched footage of Afghan refugees in Kabul boarding U.S. military airplanes, she immediately recalled stories of her own family’s resettlement from Laos.”
Social Justice
Hindustan Times: Avantika Vandanapu: Without the work, activism of colored artists, we would have no opportunities (August 31) “When it comes to Indian characters, we are used to see very stereotypical portrayals, but Avantika Vandanapu thinks it is changing now.”
Chapelboro: UNC’s Asian American Center Opens Building on Campus After Virtual Start (September 1) “After a year of virtual operations and looking for a physical place to call home, UNC’s first ever Asian American Center welcomed students and staff into its new building last week.”
UConn Today: New Faculty Bring Antiracism and the Environment to the Forefront (September 1) “New CLAS faculty will work across disciplines to advance Antiracism and Human Interactions with the Environment.”
Art, Culture, and Media
AP: Akhtar, Ehrenreich among winners of American Book Awards (August 23) “Ayad Akhtar’s acclaimed novel “Homeland Elegies,” Ben Ehrenreich’s environmental warning “Desert Notebooks,” and an illustrated edition of the late William Melvin Kelley’s postmodern narrative “Dunfords Travels Everywheres” are among this year’s winners of American Book Awards for works that highlight the country’s diversity.”
HyperAllergic: Southwest Asian and North African Artists and Their Barrier to Access (August 26) “To be seen is the imperative for artists, for all artists. For SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) artists, that visibility must include their complexity. This, however, is rarely the case, especially when it comes to established art institutions — the subject of an engaging new conversation series hosted by the Zamin Project and produced by the Aggregate Space Gallery (ASG).”
AP: Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ jabs, flips Asian American film cliches (September 2) “Like a lot of Asian actors, Simu Liu has played the nameless guy who can do martial arts but inevitably loses out to a more skilled white guy. It was one of his very first stunt jobs.”
See more news and content by, for and about APIAs at urbanitymag.com.
