it's spring babyyyyyyyy
Inspired by khaman dhokla
Jamie is GRADUATING SOON! (hope you have a lot of fun during these last days of college 🥺)
Re: :') Thank you - I couldn't have done it without you. HMU if you have any ideas for post-grad road trip! Also, if you wanna give a lil grad gift…share and subscribe ❤️
Love,
Jamie and Melinda ❤️
News
📊 Early data from the 2020 census have caused concern that Latino and Asian Americans may have been undercounted. The recently released state population totals from this census determine the number of House seats per state, and apparently "states with the largest Asian populations, California, New York and Texas, lost a House seat or gained fewer than had been projected" (source).
Although right now, it's "too soon to tell where any undercounts would fall," these concerns are merited - even the NAACP, AAPIAHF, and more sent a note to the Biden administration, asking "to make sure that the undercounted are not left behind and to 'deliver on the president's equity goals.'" (source.)
🏗️ In a lawsuit filed in NJ on Tuesday, lawyers on behalf of workers (mainly Dalit, the lowest rung in India’s caste system) said that BAPS, a Hindu sect with ties to India's ruling party, has "exploited possibly hundreds of low-caste men in the yearslong construction project" of a temple in Robbinsville, NJ. These workers were brought here on R-1 religious visas ("temporary visas used for clergy and lay religious workers such as missionaries"), but they were instead given 13 hours/day of manual labor with little pay. 😕
☪️ Eid al-Fitr in N. America has been declared to be tomorrow, May 13, 2021, according to CHC. It marks the end of Ramadan and is known as the "Festival of Breaking the Fast." The start of Eid al-Fitr, which varies across the globe every year, is "declared after another crescent new moon has been sighted or the completion of 30 days of fasting if no visual sighting is possible due to weather conditions," the Islamic Society of North America explains (Source).
Also, I only just discovered that Google Arts & Culture has a virtual coloring book of famous art to celebrate Ramadan and Eid!
📈 A new non-profit, LAAUNCH, or Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change, surveyed more than 2,766 Americans ages 18 and older across the U.S. It is "a comprehensive, national assessment of attitudes and stereotypes towards Asian Americans—one of the few such studies in the last 20 years." They highlight the top takeaways in the exec summary slide of the report, 2 of which include:
"While Asian Americans are significantly under-represented in senior positions in companies, politics, and media, nearly 50% of non-Asian Americans believe Asian Americans are fairly or over-represented."
"Americans struggle to name prominent Asian Americans"
The most commonly cited answer was “Don’t know” (42%), followed by "Jackie Chan (11%)" (who's not American omg), and "Bruce Lee" (9%), an Asian American actor and martial artist who died in 1973. Only 2% cited Kamala Harris.
You can read about the methods/intentions of the study here and see the full report here.
~ Love & Affection ~ (but next week)
An incoming piece on love and affection, but in the meantime, check out this video:
And this not so simp-y song (also on the playlist):
Or this mothers day poetry by our friend Margaret:
small feelings
feeling grateful and happy that the AAPIHM event I planned at work yesterday went well! we invited Vivek Shraya (whom I spotlighted last week) and she was incredible, as expected. we also had a community discussion afterwards, which went well too!
love that for you
✨ S P O T L I G H T ✨
Nicole Yamase
Image Source
Last week, we saw this article about Nicole Yamase being the first Pacific Islander and third woman to reach the deepest known part of the Mariana Trench, called Challenger Deep. I (as someone who is terrified of the ocean depths) was like "wow.... that’s so cool???" and wanted to know more about her. In doing so, I discovered that she is SO so cool and wanted to share this with all of you!
Nicole is currently a Ph.D. student in the UH Mānoa Marine Biology Graduate Program, where her research focuses on "the effects of climate change on the marine plant community". She identifies as Micronesian, grew up in Pohnpei, and is involved in Pacific Islander activism and culture.
In March 2021, she became the first Pacific Islander, "first marine botanist, youngest female and third woman" to journey to the Challenger Deep. “The 10-hour mission... took her nearly 11km below the ocean’s surface.” On the way down, this queen listened to ABBA and watched Blue Planet. She brought with her personal items that represented her personal and cultural beliefs and values.
In the future, she plans to finish her Ph.D. and continue the work of protecting reefs and ocean life from the effects of climate change.
"Yamase hopes her experience will inspire Pacific Islander women to pursue STEM and higher education. “If I can do it,” she said, “they can do it too.” And while women traditionally stayed near the shore, she called her experience a way to break gender boundaries and expectations." (Source)
👌 Chef's Specials 💋
🧘🏾 I'm so glad I found Divya Bala's YouTube channel - plenty of yoga videos from a South Asian person! I was reading this article about how white women have co-opted pandemic yoga (UGH) and saw her name it. Here's a list of 3 South Asian yoga instructors to follow (seems like they offer online classes).
🥘 Do you live in LA and/or love food and activism? A number of LA's AAPI organizations and restaurants are holding events (and specials) as part of AAPI Heritage Month. Proceeds from various places will be donated to AAPI non-profits. Check it out here!
💕 A Mothers day collection of articles from a newsletter that we like
😻 Wow... Check out Pakistani photographer Muhammad Baloch's work on Insta and Twitter.... beautiful... (this is not sponsored - we are just in awe)
Events
Today at 6:30pm ET: Queer Asian New Yorkers: Let's Talk About Andrew Yang (a conversation on the 2021 NYC mayoral candidates and what they mean for our community) - Zoom registration here.
Tomorrow May 13 at 6pm ET: "Quiet Before: Unearthing Anti-Asian Violence" Part 4: Future. You can stream it at this link. (the panelists look super cool! "This section is dedicated to the hopefulness of young leaders. How next-generation activists think about intersectionality is nuanced and a progression from how elders worked in solidarity. How can we learn from the younger generation, who are in this moment working across race, gender, sexuality, and class?")
‼️
Ongoing:
Sharing resources to help with COVID response and care in India. Please take a look!
OUR LINKS
🐥 Twitter: @around_thetable
🌶️ Insta: @around_thetable_
Anonymous Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/198r2Tgu9ZYfTbCj7
Spotlight Form: https://forms.gle/AD5vGqgNbSYWn5wJ7
AAPI Artists Spotify Playlist (no longer collaborative because random Italian DJs kept adding their own songs) :