Category Archives: race

So you missed Fred T. Korematsu Day in California on Sunday? And you had the day off too. Here’s why all Americans should care: Have you been korematsued?

Who’s Fred T.Korematsu? If you know who Rosa Parks is, you should know Fred.

I’m coining a phrase to rival the Greek King Pyrrhus, who when prevailing after the Romans in 279 BC is said to have uttered, “Another such victory and we are surely undone.” Or something like that, my tape recorder wasn’t working that well in 279 BC.

So Pyrrhus had his victory. And so did Fred. I call it being “korematsued.”

As you may know, Fred is the man who stood up to the U.S. government’s internment order of Japanese Americans during WWII. He fought the order and had his conviction was overturned.  A victory? Not 100 percent. 

He was korematsued. And that’s why we all need to care about him and his story to this day.

Find out more by reading my Amok column at  www.aaldef.org/blog

Video: Rush Limbaugh’s ching-chong antics lead to death threats to Calif. State Senator Leland Yee

Blacks would be outraged if someone resorted so publicly to  a pickaninny-sambo slur in the 21st Century.  Pass the fried chicken and the watermelon while you’re at it.

But for Asian Americans, 18th Century racism still applies.

Rush Limbaugh seems to think that it’s still okay to mock Chinese speech, especially if it’s Chinese President Hu at a press conference with President Obama. But ching-chong jokes are so old school. And besides where’s the satire?  Was Limbaugh mocking policy, like  free trade and open corporate agreements with China?  Or was he just making an ad hominem attack disguised as humor going after not just Hu but all Asian people?

State Senator Leland Yee was not out of line to call for an apology.

But look at the nasty death threats that were faxed and voice-messaged to Yee.

They are a disgusting reminder that when icons like Limbaugh give the greenlight, his followers are ready to swing into action.

After Tucson, I thought we were trying to bury the poisonous rhetoric?  

So what’s Limbaugh doing trying to revive the Cold War? “The Chinese will bury us” ?

Check out the evolution of the story on this link through Media Matters:

Leland Yee on MSNBC\’S \”The Ed Show\”

Tiger Mom? Hu? What? Have you been living under a gigantic potsticker?

Maybe Tiger Mother Amy Chua is going to the state dinner tonight with President Hu? 

Don’t know if she’s on the list, but the way her PR has been handling it wouldn’t suprise me if she shows up. We know Speaker Boehner’s not showing up. Chua can get his spot. Or she can follow the Salahis. They’ll probably be there, naturally.

If Chua does meet Hu, that would make for an interesting Tiger Summit (Tiger Mom and Tiger Dad).

They can talk about human rights and parenting.

For more, go to http://www.aaldef.org/blog

The Fangless Revolution: The irony of Ed Lee’s rise to mayor of San Francisco, and just who the real winner in this whole thing might be

The irony was too much last Sunday when the San Francisco freebie, the Examiner, hailed on its cover the headline, “Asian Power.”  On one side the board president David Chiu, on the other the new interim Mayor Ed Lee. And then the subhed proclaiming how “the City’s strongest ethnic voting bloc finally claims City Hall.”

The irony is the bold pronouncement in the Examiner, once owned by the Fang family, who were at one time the Asian Kingmakers in San Francisco.  The Fangs, you’ll recall,  were originally the publishers of AsianWeek and the local shopper, the Independent. 

But they expanded their profile when they made the bold move to by the Ex from the Hearsts, taking with them what they thought was  a nice subsidy from the seller.

It wasn’t nearly enough,not at a time when newspapers were already 10 inches into an obit for the industry.

Let’s just say it didn’t work out–for anybody.  The Hearsts are still bleeding with the Chron.  The Fangs, not only had to sell to another mogul who has devised  a national chain of Examiner freebies, but the family’s power at City Hall, once thought to be formidable is all but gone.

If there was a revolution at City Hall it wasn’t because anyone consulted the Fangs on Ed Lee.

I think the big winner in all this, however, isn’t Lee.

Yes, it’s historical and he’s the guy. But he has to run in November to keep his seat and there’s no clear path to get back to his $250,000 administrator job if he loses.  In fact, he’ll face challenges from at least two other Asian Americans, Sen.Leland Yee and Assessor Phil Ting.

That should produce a lot of fireworks.

There may even be a fourth candidate, board president David Chiu.

Whether he runs or not,  I think Chiu’s already the big winner in this all. 

David was a civil rights attorney, but I’ve known David from a time ten years ago when we both worked at an internet startup. When the company changed direction, I left, but David, on the busienss side,  managed to not just survive, but to thrive. I thought it showed  incredible  acumen how he maneuvered and kept the company going. 

In politics, David has been no less impressive. He took a grassroots effort and won a seat on the board. Then,  as a neophyte member, he  became president. While he was allied with progressives at the start, his nimble dealing with moderates won him a second term last week.

The moves reek of ambition. But that’s what you want from a leader, no?

With Lee a possible short-timer, my money is on David to ultimately emerge if not in a run for November, then soon after.

In my AsianWeek columns of the past, I called him Obama-like. He’s a smart Harvard Law guy who is showing some real moves. His time in the board is his woodshed period.

If Lee faces Yee and Ting in November it’s hard to say what will happen with rank-choice voting in the mayor’s race.  Chiu, a fourth Asian American, could really make things interesting  if all the winner has to do is be named as one of the top 3 choices on a ballot.

It could be another Jean Quan situation. You don’t need all the first place votes, you just need to be mentioned.

 That could leave Chiu,  the young and still rising Asian American politico, as the one with  the biggest “upside.”

READ MORE IN MY AMOK COLUMN AT THE ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND SITE:

 http://aaldef.org/blog/san-franciscos-political-gold-mountain.html