Asian Pacific Americans During the Great Depression
December 31, 2008
As we begin 2009, economists tell us that we are officially in a recession. Some say we are heading into the worst economic conditions since the global Great Depression that lasted from 1929 until the Second World Read more
Spam Musubi
December 22, 2008
I can officially confirm that Barack Obama will be our first Asian Pacific American president. Not only does he have an Indonesian American half-sister, a Chinese Canadian brother-in-law, several APA staffers, many APA friends and years spent living in Hawai‘i and Indonesia, but he and his family also enjoy eating spam musubi. Read more
APA Person of the Year: Swati Dandekar
December 17, 2008
2008 was a year when Asian Pacific Americans came into their own politically. Barack Obama was elected with significant Asian Pacific American support, and each of the other top contenders also had APA supporters, staffers or both. Read more
Human Rights at 60
December 10, 2008
On Dec. 10, 1948, the United Nations ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was a unique moment in time because the horrors of World War II were still fresh, but the polarization of the Cold War was not yet an impediment to global standards of this kind. Read more
Calavera Highway
December 4, 2008
It is fitting that Renee Tajima-Peña released Calavera Highway, just months before the victory of Barack Obama, a multi-racial, multi-cultural man.
Every person is multi-cultural, a product of diverse influences that include race, religion, language, national origin, sexual orientation, social class and more. Read more
Celebrating Michi Weglyn
November 26, 2008
Author, researcher, costume designer, poet, painter and civil rights activist Michi Nishiura Weglyn died on April 25, 1999, at age 72, but her life continues to serve as an inspiration. As we approach the tenth Read more
Next Generation Leaders
November 19, 2008
Despite a decisive Democratic tidal wave on Nov. 4, the ninth annual Leadership Academy for Asian Pacific American Elected Officials that is run by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) continued its slow, steady, multi-partisan approach to growth this week.
Three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent met with prominent APA elected officials, leaders of Read more
Jobs, Parades and APA Studies
November 13, 2008
Here in Washington, the excitement surrounding the Obama win continues, with inauguration-related event tickets being snapped up, and Obama Administration jobs being pursued by applicants from across the nation.
A major gala by and for the Asian Pacific American community on Jan. 19, 2009, the eve of the inauguration, Read more
What It All Means
November 6, 2008
At a polling place in Bethesda, Md., just outside D.C., someone had placed a life-sized cardboard figure of Barack Obama near a table staffed by Democratic Party activists on Election Day.
As voters emerged from the polls, many of them stopped to have their picture taken with the Obama figure. Some joked, some smiled and a few got misty-eyed. Entire families crowded to get into pictures taken on Read more
Random Thoughts on the Election
October 29, 2008
Here are some random thoughts as the nation enters the final week before Election Day on Nov. 4:
* APA groups are conducting exit poll surveys in many states on Election Day. To help or find out more, contact the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund at (212) 966-5932 or visit aaldef.org.
* The APA community has seen an explosion of strong candidates for offices at all levels and in all parts of Read more
Veterans and Voting
October 23, 2008
As we approach Nov. 4, young Asian Pacific Americans are registering voters, raising money, and running for office as their way of changing the world.
Two generations ago, one in five Chinese Americans in the United States and almost two in five Chinese American New Yorkers fought in World War II. For many, racism and unfair exclusions from politics, Read more
The ‘Bradley Effect’ and APAs
October 16, 2008
In 1982, popular Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, an African American, was widely viewed as having a good chance to become the next governor of California. He led his white Republican opponent, George Deukmejian, in opinion polls before the election and in some exit polls on election day. Early editions of the San Francisco Chronicle contained headlines proclaiming “Bradley Win Projected.” Read more