紙老虎. According to the Chinese, a “paper tiger” is that which appears dangerous or threatening as a tiger, but is in fact harmless. This concept is in one way, a variant conclusion to the “yellow peril” narrative. Here, Wesley Yang’s insightful essay harasses (and that’s truly the correct word here) many narratives—both social and self-told—that dominate the notion of Asian American achievement. Touching upon meritocracy, the Bamboo ceiling, Amy Chua’s “tiger mother parenting” and its flip-side, Yang hopscotches the personal, social, cultural, ethnic, and racial frays that conspire to obscure Asian Americans. It’s a must read piece which includes some jaw-dropping anecdotes, such as the following from Eddie Huang, owner of BaoHaus in the Lower East Side of Manhattan:

Huang had a rough twenties, bumping repeatedly against the Bamboo Ceiling. In college, editors at the Orlando Sentinel invited him to write about sports for the paper. But when he visited the offices, “the editor came in and goes, ‘Oh, no.’ And his exact words: ‘You can’t write with that face.’ ” Later, in film class at Columbia, he wrote a script about an Asian-American hot-dog vendor obsessed with his small penis. “The screenwriting teacher was like, ‘I love this. You have a lot of Woody Allen in you. But do you think you could change it to Jewish characters?’ ” Still later, after graduating from Cardozo School of Law, he took a corporate job, where other associates would frequently say, “You have a lot of opinions for an Asian guy.”

Read the full piece here.

Now here is something you’ve probably never read, put together, nor seen on Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary: Ruthanne Lum McCunn, a historian of Chinese American history, recounts the role of such Chinese Americans in the war.

Even though there were only about 200 Chinese-Americans living in the eastern United States at the time, 58 of them fought in the Civil War. Because of their previous experiences at sea, many of them served in the U.S. Navy.

Only one Chinese-American soldier was actually born on American soil. The rest had come to the U.S. through the Pacific slave trade, adoption by Americans, independent immigration or the influence of missionaries.

[…]

Corporal Joseph Pierce (above), who as a child was brought to the United States from China by his adoptive father, fought in several major campaigns of the war including Antietam and Gettysburg. He was honored by having his picture displayed at the Gettysburg Museum.

“It is also important to remember that not all the Chinese who fought in the Civil War fought for the Union,” McCunn said. “At least five have been identified as fighting for the Confederacy,” she pointed out.

Two of these, Christopher and Stephen Bunker, were children of Siamese twins Chang and Eng, who had been brought to the U.S. to appear in the Barnum and Bailey Circus. The twins, of Chinese heritage, became prosperous, slave-owning farmers in North Carolina. It was not surprising, therefore, that their sons should fight for the South.

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WATCH: asians in the library of the world: a persona poem in the voice of alexandra wallace

Slam poet Beau Sia’s persona poem that inhabits the voice of UCLA student Alexandra Wallace who went on YouTube to rant against Asians directly challenges notions of cultural myopia and hegemony, American-ness as white-ness, and xenophobia that underscores the kind of racialized lashing out exhibited by Wallace. In Sia’s words:

after watching “asians in the library,” and many subsequent postings in response, i wrote this. rather than attack alexandra wallace for her thoughts, i decided to write a persona piece in her voice, as a means to address some of the greater issues revealed in her rant. in the end, this poem isn’t really about her and what she said, but more the thoughts and beliefs people hold, without considering the entire history that may have led them to think and believe in the manner that they do. my hope is that we can all use this moment to recognize that we all need to improve our ability to understand and share this world with each other. this is just a small contribution to furthering that conversation.

WATCH: ‘The Happiest Man In America’ is a Chinese American Jew Who Lives in Hawaii

Alvin Wongbaum. Just kidding. It’s just Wong. Alvin Wong.

1909 – Sikh Workers on the Pacific & Eastern Railroad in Oregon

Many Asian Indians were first employed as railroad workers. Seven hundred were reportedly involved in the construction of the Three-Mile Spring Garden Tunnel of the Western Pacific Railroad. Increasingly Asian Indians found themselves driven from employment in the railroad and lumber industries by violent white workers. They moved south, riding the Southern Pacific Railroad into California, where they found employment in agriculture. Takaki, R. (1998). Strangers from a different shore: A history of Asian Americans. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

(Photo courtesy of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, Medford, Oregon)

[via:fuckyeahapihistory]

It’s not only about time, it’s way past time to have Asian American mayors in San Francisco and Oakland, considering how long these cities have boasted substantial Asian American populations. What took Asian Americans so long to get this far?

The answer lies in the darker side of California’s history. On the streets of San Francisco, Oakland and throughout California, vigilante lynch mobs stoked a xenophobic movement in the late 1800s with the stated goal of driving every “Asiatic” out of America. Federal laws turned all Asians into “persons ineligible for citizenship.” The disenfranchisement was so comprehensive that Asian Americans who were naturalized had their citizenships revoked; white American women who married Asian men were stripped of their citizenships; U.S.-born citizens of Asian descent were assumed to be illegal if they left the country and were subject to detention, interrogation and deportation upon returning. Immigration from Asia was limited to a trickle.

Such racist laws were slowly peeled back in the mid-1900s, but the damage was done…

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Like most clueless, right-wing pundits, he doesn’t know how he’s being racist, but instead deflects and says he was doing his listenership a favor:

“He was speaking and they weren’t translating,” Limbaugh said. “They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha.”

He then launched into a 20-second-long imitation of the Chinese leader’s dialect.

The next day, Limbaugh said he “did a remarkable job” of imitating China’s president for someone who doesn’t know a language spoken by more than 1 billion people.

“Back in the old days, Sid Caesar, for those of you old enough to remember, was called a comic genius for impersonating foreign languages that he couldn’t speak,” Limbaugh said. “But today the left says that was racism; it was bigotry; it was insulting. And it wasn’t. It was a service.”

A service? He wasn’t translating. He was mocking rooted in his deep xenophobia.

And to his sicko audience that keeps him going: grow up.

[Photo credit: J.Scott Applewhite/AP Images]

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco welcomed its first Asian-American leader Tuesday, as City Administrator Edwin Lee was sworn in as interim mayor before a crowd of hundreds.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Lee to fill the remainder of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s term. Newsom was sworn in Monday as California’s lieutenant governor.

Immediately following the vote, Lee took the oath of office before a packed audience of family members, current and former city leaders and supporters from the Chinese-American community who gathered in the City Hall rotunda.

“This is a big step we’re making as a city,” said Supervisor Eric Mar, one of four Asian-Americans serving on the 11-member board.

San Francisco’s population of 815,000 is nearly one-third Asian – the largest percentage of any county in the continental United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau.

With Lee serving as the city’s 43rd mayor, San Francisco is now the largest in the country with an Asian-American leader, said Don Nakanishi, director emeritus of the UCLA Asian Studies Center.

Earlier this month, neighboring Oakland inaugurated Mayor Jean Quan, the first Asian-American woman to helm a major U.S. city. Quan, a longtime acquaintance of Lee’s, also was present at Tuesday’s ceremony to show her support.

The 58-year-old will serve as interim mayor until next January, when the winner of November’s mayoral election will take over. Lee, a city employee for more than 20 years, has said he does not plan to run.

But he said Tuesday he sees the temporary job as a “tremendous, historic opportunity.”

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WATCH: “Cantonese Boy” by Larissa Lam featuring Only Won 

Hilarious! I need the “Cantonese Boy” t-shirt!

[via:ohmyasian]

(Source: youtube.com)

San Francisco Board Picks Edwin Lee as First Asian American Mayor

Historic! About time when 1 in 3 residents in San Francisco is of Asian descent. Congratulations, Mr. Lee!