Latest news with #Asian-Americans
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sightlines' art exhibit highlights Asian-American influence in the DC experience
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — An exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum gives a new perspective on the rich history and influence of Asian-Americans in the District and beyond. Prominent pastor notified books loaned to African American museum may be returned amid review Moving through time, space and place, the 'Sightlines' exhibit sits just steps away from the iconic Friendship Archway in Chinatown, it's a reminder that Asian-American history in the DMV goes far beyond what can be seen from the street. 'It just seemed so perfect to mount an exhibition talking not just about Chinatown, but just the ways that Asian Americans have contributed to the built and cultural environment of our nation's capital,' said Yao-Fen You, the acting director of the Asian Pacific American Center. She helped bring the exhibit to life before its opening last fall. 'For us it's about unearthing those facts that, really, people haven't known about. I just like to think of it as telling a more fuller history,' said You. Sightlines is designed to give a different perspective and something new to look at from every angle, highlighting the intersectionality of the city experience and the impact of Asian-American culture in the District. The exhibit is home to three main stories: Making Place, Transforming Tradition and Visualizing Identity. A lot of the highlighted history is very recent, with some pieces from the 21st century, and others back to the 1960s and 1970s. 'I think what's great is that we had people come in and they're so excited, not only to see themselves, but to see their friends,' said You of some of the photographs included in the exhibit. It also celebrates artists like Alfred H. Liu, who designed the iconic Friendship Arch, and takes a closer look at what could have been. A sketch shows a design for an unrealized project called the Far East Trade Center. 'This is something that was never built,' said You, walking through the exhibit. 'He wanted it to be built on top of the Chinatown Metro station.' The drawings, sculptures and artwork highlighted in Sightlines go far beyond what's on display within the exhibit's walls. It includes a map of street art and murals by Javanese-American artist MISS CHELOVE, Cita Sadeli, and how to find them across the District. 'I think with each exhibition, you can never explore something to the depth that a curator ever wants to,' said You. 'There's only so much visitors can handle. The idea is that you are invited to explore more to whet your appetite. Right. We're just so excited that we have had this opportunity to introduce, not only the DMV audience, but also tourists coming from all over America to sort of just looking at DC in a very different way.' She and her team are also looking forward to another exhibit opening up at the American History Museum this fall, specifically highlighting the Filipino-American experience. 'Sightlines' is expected to stay on display through Nov. 30, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
South China Morning Post
04-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month's growth over 5 decades
It has been almost 50 years since the United States government established that Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and their accomplishments should be recognised annually across the nation. Advertisement What started as just one week in May has evolved over the decades into a month-long tribute in cities big and small. The nature of celebrations has also evolved. Asian-American and Pacific Islander or Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is not just about showcasing food and fashion, but hard subjects like grief and social justice. Drummers mark the start of the 2025 Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at an event organised by the Laotian American Society in Atlanta, in the US state of Georgia. Photo: Instagram/sabaideeatlanta 'I think the visibility and increased participation of organisations in Asian Pacific Heritage Month activities is also an indication of the increasing voice of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in civic life more generally,' said Karen Umemoto, director of the Asian-American Studies Centre at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Advertisement 'And also an indication of the spaces that we've come to collectively enter to be able to create those.'
The Star
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Poll finds quarter of non-Asian Americans consider Chinese-Americans a possible threat
One in four non-Asian Americans regard Chinese-Americans as a potential threat, especially related to national security, while four in 10 fear that Asian-Americans have greater allegiance to their countries of origin than to the United States, according to a poll released on Thursday. The results from an Asian American Foundation survey come as US-China relations plummet and add to concerns in the diverse community about the ability to assimilate at a time of growing social tension. 'The poll underscores a troubling and ongoing disconnect between how Asian-Americans are perceived and how we actually experience life,' said Norman Chen, the foundation's chief executive, citing a rising societal belief in the stereotype of the 'perpetual foreigner'. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. 'That has real consequences for our safety, sense of belonging and pathways to prosperity in this country,' Chen added. The foundation has conducted the 'Socially Tracking of Asian Americans in the United States' (Staatus) survey since 2021 in a bid to monitor American perceptions, blunt discrimination and expand outreach. The 4,909 survey respondents included 1,373 Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and the rest non-Asians from a range of ethnic, racial, educational and income backgrounds. Where relevant, respondents were not asked to weigh in on their own group. Among the survey's findings, some 63 per cent of Asian-Americans reported feeling unsafe in day-to-day situations and fearful they would be victims of discrimination through at least the end of this decade, twice the level for whites. The polling comes amid growing xenophobia and intolerance in American society as US President Donald Trump's administration and its supporters upend tradition and set new standards for national loyalty, migration, racial dynamics, education and citizenship – including rights enshrined in the constitution for those born in the US. 'The increased positioning of China as an enemy in political discourse clouds perceptions of all Chinese Americans,' the survey's authors wrote. 'This mistrust can lead to hate and violence.' The percentage of non-Asian respondents who believed that Asian-Americans are more loyal to their countries of origin than the US has doubled since 2021 – driven by a range of stated concerns over national security, different cultures and values, their impact on the job market, public health worries and their admission to elite universities. 'It's always easier to blame the 'other' when we don't know about it,' said Ophelia Chong, Los Angeles-based co-founder of Asian Americans for Cannabis Education, an advocacy group. 'Unfortunately, the present administration is not helping that. It's deflection, creating a fear of others.' There were some signs of progress. A majority of non-Asian Americans, for example, expressed support for learning more about Asian history, racism and discrimination in school. And 90 per cent signalled interest in spending more time in Chinatowns and other ethnic enclaves. But those views did not necessarily align with perceptions the community held, the survey found. More than six in 10 Asian-Americans reported feeling unsafe in some part of their daily lives over the past year, including half who said they had been insulted; more than a third who reported being harassed or threatened; and one in seven who told of physical attacks. Most saw little prospect of their situations improving any time soon. 'There's a perception that everything's fine,' said Sruthi Chandrasekaran, who helped lead the study. 'This obviously shows us that there's so much more that needs to be done.' The community also appears to have a branding problem as 'the model minority'. Non-Asian largely describe Asian-Americans as 'smart', 'hard-working' and 'good at maths', stereotypes that discount the group's enormous diversity; that have been used as a divisive cudgel against other minorities; and that create unrealistic expectations, even mental health problems, in individuals. The flip side of this is the stereotype that Asians are less likely to be leaders in US society and the workplace compared to whites – a situation that Asian-Americans refer to as the 'bamboo ceiling' – in sync with perceptions that Asian-Americans are highly competent but insular and not always likeable or socially adept. 'This combination of perceptions creates a complex mix of admiration, resentment and envy,' the survey's authors said. Another long-standing Asian-American concern has been their treatment as a 'perpetual foreigner' in American society, even if their families have lived in the US for generations, and a racist 'yellow peril' trope that those originating in East Asia represent a threat to Western civilisation. The survey also found that just 44 per cent of non-Asian Americans thought the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was wrong. 'Both the yellow peril and model minorities stereotypes have been used to cast suspicion on the loyalty of Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans during times of international tensions with Asian countries,' the report said. 'This has led to discrimination, hate and violence during World War II, the Vietnam war, after 9/11 and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic.' To the extent views of ethnic and racial communities are shaped by prominent individuals and media, the survey found that Asian-Americans left a pretty faint footprint. One in four non-Asian Americans said they had no personal relationship with an Asian-American, while four in 10 could not name a famous one Among those who could, martial artist film stars Jackie Chan – who is not American – and Bruce Lee, who died a half-century ago, led, followed by the 2024 presidential candidate, former US vice-president Kamala Harris, at just 11, 6 and 4 per cent respectively. Similarly, a like amount were unable to name a movie with an Asian-American character. Among younger Americans, however, Japanese anime and South Korean K-dramas and K-pop were influential. 'You have films like Crazy Rich Asians , so they're starting to break through,' said David Lei, a San Francisco-based board member of the Chinese Historical Society of America who moved to the US from Taiwan when he was seven. 'If you look at the credits at the end of movies, the Asians have moved into Hollywood,' Lei added. 'It will naturally change in the next decade.' Nor does the ill-fitting 'Asian-American' demographic, often shorthand for the Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community, accurately reflect the communities' expansive diversity, the survey found. Representing at least 20 different countries from Japan to Cambodia, the demographic accounts for more than 24 million people, some 7 per cent of the US population. And while Asian men are strongly represented in well-paid tech fields, the community also has the nation's widest income disparity, with below-average benchmarks for female Asian-Americans and huge numbers of low-wage workers in cooking, manicurist and healthcare jobs. 'The way the US-China relationship has been has really determined the American opinion of Chinese people,' said Casey Ly, Taiwanese-American co-founder of Bloom Brand, a Los Angeles-based vape company. Ly added that African-Americans and other minorities faced at least as much discrimination. 'The vast majority of non-Asians don't really have a lot of contact with Chinese people – or Chinese culture.' More from South China Morning Post: For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2025.
South China Morning Post
01-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Poll finds quarter of non-Asian Americans consider Chinese-Americans a possible threat
One in four non- Asian Americans regard Chinese-Americans as a potential threat, especially related to national security, while four in 10 fear that Asian-Americans have greater allegiance to their countries of origin than to the United States , according to a poll released on Thursday. Advertisement The results from an Asian American Foundation survey come as US-China relations plummet and add to concerns in the diverse community about the ability to assimilate at a time of growing social tension. 'The poll underscores a troubling and ongoing disconnect between how Asian-Americans are perceived and how we actually experience life,' said Norman Chen, the foundation's chief executive, citing a rising societal belief in the stereotype of the 'perpetual foreigner'. 'That has real consequences for our safety, sense of belonging and pathways to prosperity in this country,' Chen added. The foundation has conducted the 'Socially Tracking of Asian Americans in the United States' (Staatus) survey since 2021 in a bid to monitor American perceptions, blunt discrimination and expand outreach. Illustration: Asian American Foundation The 4,909 survey respondents included 1,373 Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and the rest non-Asians from a range of ethnic, racial, educational and income backgrounds. Where relevant, respondents were not asked to weigh in on their own group.
South China Morning Post
27-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
The Southeast Asians facing exile from the US to a land they've never known
They came to America as refugees, after losing everything in a CIA-led 'secret war' that ended in catastrophe. Now, decades later, members of the Laotian diaspora are facing another fight – this time against deportation. Advertisement Across the United States , Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have carried out a wave of detentions targeting communities who trace their roots back to Laos . For many, a knock at the door now carries a chilling undertone. 'ICE's tactics have become more aggressive, unethical and inhumane,' Chanida Phaengdara Potter, founder of advocacy group the Southeast Asian Diaspora Project, told This Week in Asia. 'People are being detained and deported under the radar – often within 48 hours – without due process, without legal representation, and without a chance to fight for their right to stay.' Federal law enforcement officers conduct an immigration raid in the US in February. Photo: The Denver Post/TNS While much of the spotlight has been on deportations of Venezuelans and Salvadorans suspected of gang activity, less attention has been paid to the plight of Asian-Americans – particularly the estimated 250,000 people of Laotian descent who were granted rights to stay in the 1980s. Among them is the Hmong minority, a hill tribe recruited to fight in a covert US war to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. Advertisement
