Inspired by the eggplant video later on in this newsletter 🍆
Simply put, we are tired! No culture section for today (still unsure what to call this). No prompt either - take some time to just c h i l l and relax this week please :’)
<3 Jamie and Melinda
News
👨⚖️ While a judge temporarily lifted the Trump's ban, issued in June, on a large number of work permits (his ruling applied to members of organizations that sued the Trump administration), just yesterday, the Trump administration moved to tighten visa access even more for the H-1B visa program. In efforts to "protect American jobs" and reduce the number of foreigners employed in the U.S., the new rules include "raising the wages that U.S. companies must pay foreign hires and narrowing eligibility criteria for applicants."
This clearly affects tech companies and the many Asian immigrants they employ, and experts are critical and wary of the potential effects of these changes. These new rules will be published by the Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security, after which they will take effect immediately or within 60 days, respectively.
This follows an executive order Trump signed back in June that would freeze green cards for new immigrants and suspend any new H1B visas from being issued until December 31, 2020. For context: the government issues 85,000 H-1B visas each year.
👴 Biden just launched an initiative with lawmakers to reach Asian Americans in battleground states: what's happening is that lawmakers, like Grace Meng of New York, will join the official AAPIs for Biden group on a virtual bus tour to ~10 states. It just started on Friday in Milwaukee (on Sunday, for Raleigh/Charlotte, NC, the tour featured Michelle Kwan, in the below screenshot)
With a 2020 survey showing that 50% and 55% of Asian Americans saying they were not contacted by the Democratic Party and Republican Party, respectively, this effort might encourage people to vote.
Source: DiyaTVUSA
🦸 Iman Vellani cast as "Ms. Marvel" in the Disney+ production! I didn't know this before, but Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, is a Pakistani American teen from NJ with inhuman powers (plug to watch Agents of Shield). Super excited to see her in this role! Belgian-Muslim directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are tapped to run the show along with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon.
😢 Japanese designer Kenzo Takada dies at age 81 from COVID. A creative icon that blended traditional Japanese influences into his work, Kenzo was a beloved figure in Paris fashion for decades and inspired a generation of Asian artists and designers. His work, according to Olivier Gabet, director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, was "light and playful, with models more dancing and walking than presenting clothes, far away from the hierarchical vision of French couture.”
Source: AFP
🙋♀️ Taiwanese American Michelle Wu recently announced her run for Boston mayor. She's served on the city council for 7 years, including one term as president. It's unclear whether the current mayor, Walsh, would run for a third time. In her campaign video, she says, "I’m a mom, a daughter of immigrants, and I’ve lived my whole life knowing what it’s like to feel unseen and unheard, even when you most need help."
If she wins, she will be the first-ever woman to lead Boston, which has so far only elected white men as mayor (fact: among the 25 most populous cities in the country, only Boston and Indianapolis have not elected a woman or person of color to the city's highest office.)
This other section that still needs a name
No long written piece this week! In lieu of that, feel free to check out this relaxing video of a woman cooking eggplant
Small Feelings
no <3
✨ S P O T L I G H T ✨
Jen Rubio
Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer of Away
Source: Bay Street Bull, photo taken by Chris Loupos
Although traveling how we used to seems like a distant dream, we wanted to feature Jen Rubio, the co-founder of Away (it's the company that has all those really nice luggages).
She grew up in Quezon City in the Philippines, then moved to New Jersey (ayy) with her family when she was 7—she felt like they were the only Filipino folks there. Her family members pursued more traditional careers, like becoming doctors or lawyers, so she felt a bit pressured to go on the "same, safe path." But she realized she wanted to be in the creative/entrepreneurial space (heh quick plug for The Signal), and although she didn't have many people to look up to, she's been paying it forward by mentoring young founders from underrepresented backgrounds.
She first worked at Johnson & Johnson after graduation, and soon after she built her expertise in branding, digital marketing, and social media. She became Head of Social Media at Warby Parker (!!) then Global Head of Innovation at AllSaints (!!) Although now, Away seems to not be doing too well during coronavirus times 😢, I'm still impressed by how she has grown the brand and intends "to transform the travel experience." Away also partners with the nonprofit Peace Direct, which supports peacebuilders in 12 areas of conflict around the world. Please check out this awesome interview with Jen from How I Built This, or if you prefer something shorter, here's a shorter interview clip.
Chef's Specials
🧟 k o r e a n z o m b i e f i l m s - Train to Busan, Peninsula, Kingdom, #Alive, and the K-Horror genre
✍️ Reappropriate.co is one of our favorite AAPI blogs and is doing a profile on progressive AAPI candidates each week!
📰 A reading from an ASAM syllabus we came across “Comrade Carlos Bulosan”: U.S. State Surveillance And the Cold War Suppression of Filipino Radicals
🎭 The Asian American Performers Action Coalition discuss minority representation in New York theater. If you're ever interested in Broadway, plays, or musicals, it might be good to check out their latest report here.
Events
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 6pm EST: Reimagining Asian Solidarity panel - how can Asians be active in the struggle to create a just world for all? Organized by Womankind (formerly the New York Asian Women's Center)
Friday, Oct. 9, 10pm EST: Yellow Rose, a film about "an undocumented Filipina teen from a small Texas town who fights to pursue her dreams as a country music performer", is coming out on Friday! Join this Q&A with the cast and director.
Saturday, Oct. 10, 6pm EST: Letters to a Young Brown Girl - book launch and poetry reading! this looks awesome 🙂 It's in celebration of Filipinx American History Month: RSVP here
Saturday, Oct. 10, 6pm EST: online show celebrating Filipino American History Month organized by TFALpodcast