“When we’re doing things with other people, that’s where hope is.”
“When we’re doing things with other people, that’s where hope is. That is the only way to keep ourselves going.” – Emily Ja-Ming Lee, Director of San Francisco Rising Interview by Eddie Wong. Posted Aug. 16, 2018. Emily Ja-Ming Lee is an energetic, bright woman who has earned a reputation as one of the leading…
The Forgotten Zine of 1960s Asian-American Radicals
Posted Aug. 16, 2018. East Wind ezine wishes to thank Topic.com and writer Jaeah J. Lee for allowing us to link to her article about Gidra, the groundbreaking Asian American community newspaper that debuted in April 1969 in Los Angeles. The article appeared online at Topic.com earlier this year. I asked Mike Murase, who is featured…
Write Back, Fight Back – essays from Reappropriate.com
Posted Aug. 9, 2018. “Write Back, Fight Back” is a weekly series of thought-provoking essays by Asian American and South Asian writers and activists at the Reappropriate.com, a blog founded by writer Jenn Fang. In her introduction to the series, she writes, “We – Asian American writers, thought leaders, and scholars -know that the political…
Why We All Lose With the Model Minority Myth
by Suzanne Lee and Lydia Lowe. Posted Aug. 9, 2018. Much is being made of a lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian American applicants to Harvard University in order to reinforce the narrative that race should no longer be a factor in the admissions process. Plaintiffs allege that Asian American applicants with top scores for academics,…
Seize the Moment: Building AAPI Power
by Timmy Lu. Posted Aug. 8, 2018. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Civic Empowerment Education Fund (AAPIs for CE EF) is a recently formed organization that has played a crucial role developing grassroots community organizations’ ability to build power inside and outside the electoral arena. This is a modified version of remarks prepared by…
Jazz Pianist Mahiru Coda aka Mappy
by Shionoe. Posted Aug. 8, 2018. Mahiru Koda 甲田まひる a.k.a. Mappy is a precocious 17 year old jazz pianist from Tokyo. She learned classical piano and jazz techniques during the start of her musical career and listened to Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell for many hours. Mappy has good technique and range and has a…
East Wind Rising
by Eddie Wong. Posted Aug. 8, 2018. Wind. Sometimes it’s a cool, gentle ocean breeze. Sometimes it’s a fierce blast of heat. Whether it is hot or cold, wind is simply energy moving through space and time. East Wind ezine is like the wind. We are a new energy gathering strength from our past to…
Roots and Resistance in Hakka Diaspora
Roots and Resistance in the Hakka Chinese Diaspora by Wayne Yeh. Posted July 23, 2018. 葉氏家族以客家人文精神為支柱 The Hakka Spirit is the Pillar of the Yap Clan 樹高千丈，葉落歸根 No matter how tall a tree grows, its leaves will fall back to their roots There is a Chinese saying: 「有陽光的地方就有華人，有華人的地方就有客家人」Wherever the sun shines, there are Chinese people.…
The Pledge of Black Asian Allegiance
By Eddie Wong. Posted July 23, 20918. The following seven minute video clip from Jon Jang’s four part musical composition “The Pledge of Black Asian Allegiance” features Dr. Amanda Kemp and the Jon Jangtet: Jon Jang (pianist/composer), Gary Brown (bass), Deszon X. Claiborne (drums), Hitomi Oba (saxophone), and Nick DePinna (trombone). The composition focuses on…
Water is Life – Standing with Standing Rock
by Leon Sun. Posted Aug. 16, 2018. Artist and activist Leon Sun journeyed to Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 2016 to join the water protectors at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Upon his return, he also photographed several spirited “No DAPL” rallies in San Francisco. In September 2016, I went with a primarily…