The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
AlterNet has an interesting article written by a young Vietnamese woman on her struggles about what name she should go by — her given Vietnamese name or an “Americanized” one that is easier for Americans to pronounce. This article isn’t exactly a news item, but it is a common issue that many Asian Americans inevitably face at one time or Read More →
The Associated Press reports that after a six-month search to find a new Executive Chef at the White House, the winner is Cristeta “Cris” Comerford, who was an assistant chef at the White House under the previous executive chef:
A naturalized U.S. citizen from the Philippines, she will be the first woman and first minority to hold the post. . . . Read More →
A few recent articles in the news highlight the importance of voting among communities of color in general, and within the Asian American community specifically. First, several news organizations report that as the nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act that finally removed all the legalistic barriers to voting, there is debate in Congress about whether the Read More →
The New York Times reports that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is cutting back on Chinese food, apparently because he believes it is not good for his health. Needless to say, when news of this reached NYC’s Chinese community, they weren’t exactly smitten by the idea:
When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, 63, mentioned last week that he was cutting back Read More →
Earlier I had an entry about how Time Magazine (reflecting the sentiments of many observers and analysts) asked the question of whether the 21st century would be dominated not by the U.S. but by China, as it continues its economic, political, and cultural emergence as a true world superpower. Well, the Associated Press reports that China has just announced new Read More →
As the Associated Press is reporting, the U.S. Census Bureau has just announced that their latest population counts indicate that non-Hispanic Whites in Texas now comprise a minority in the state (they’re still the largest racial/ethnic group but they are now just 49.8% of the state):
Texas has become the fourth state to have a non-white majority population, the U.S. Census Read More →
The Associated Press reports that a federal appeals court just ruled that the private Kamehameha Schools, designed to educate Native Hawaiians, cannot bar non-Native Hawaiians from attending, even though the school does not receive any public funds:
Overturning a lower court, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the practice at the private Read More →
One of the regular participants on this site’s Discussion Forum, alias FEB, alerted me to a Washington Post article that describes the emergence of Viet Nam War reenactments in the U.S. Apparently, this strikes more than a few people as a little strange or even inappropriate, since unlike the War of American Independence, the Civil War, or World War II, Read More →
The New York Times reports that law enforcement officials recently arrested dozens of convenience store owners and clerks in northwest rural Georgia for selling materials and ingredients commonly used to make the drug methamphetamine. However, the article notes that almost all of the people arrested are Asian Indians and that cultural and languages differences may have played a part in Read More →
Salon.com reports that at least two New York State legislators are calling for New York police authorities to engage in racial profiling in their anti-terrorist activities, rather than inconveniencing “ordinary” citizens who “do not fit the profile”:
Middle Easterners should be targeted for searches on city subways, two elected officials said, contending that police have been wasting time with random checks in Read More →
CBS News reports that federal agencies, headed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (part of the Homeland Security Department) have recently conducted several raids against street gangs around the country, many of whom are comprised primarily of illegal immigrants:
Investigators targeted members in 27 states of what they considered to be the most violent street gangs, including Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13; Sureños; Read More →
AsianWeek Magazine has a very interesting article/commentary on the effect that Wal-Mart has on Asian American communities. Specifically, the article notes that several Asian American community leaders worry that Wal-Mart’s dominance of retailing can have negative consequences for Asian Americans by forcing many Asian-owned small businesses to close because, like many other small businesses in Wal-Mart towns, they simply can’t Read More →
