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Norman Mineta added to National Portrait Gallery

Congratulations to former Congressman and cabinet secretary Norman Mineta, who is now part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.Mineta was a pioneer and part of the first wave of Asian Americans politicians to make an impact on our country.

“It is with great pride that we see Secretary Mineta’s remarkable story of leadership and service honored in the Portrait Gallery,” said Konrad Ng, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, in a press release. “He represents the key roles that Asian Pacific Americans have played in US culture, history and politics.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Jeremy Lin takes shot at NBA

The NBA draft is tonight and Harvard’s Jeremy Lin probably won’t be picked, but could catch on with a team as a free agent.

The NBA draft only has two rounds, and most prognosticators don’t believe Lin will be chosen. He played against inferior competition in the Ivy League, and some scouts say that while he’s a great passer for a point guard, his offensive skills may not be ready for the NBA.

In this video, he discusses his workout with the Warriors, and here are some highlights of his college career.

If he hooks up with a team, Lin would be a rare Asian American pro athlete, which is why he has a lot of fans in the Asian American community. Lin wasn’t offered a scholarship from a big-time college program when he graduated from high school, and stereotypes about Asian Americans not being good athletes may have played a role, which he also discusses in this video. But he’s proven the detractors wrong with a nice career at Harvard and could make it to the pros.

This post is also on Hyphen magazine’s blog.

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Aly Morita calls for boycott of ‘Karate Kid’ remake

Karate Kid

Jackie Chan trains Jaden Smith in the remake of "The Karate Kid."

Aly Morita contacted me the other day about publicizing her call for a boycott of the remake of the Karate Kid, saying it’s another example of Hollywood perpetuating stereotypes about Asian Americans. Read the rest of this entry »

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7-Foot Bhullar brothers have NBA prospects

Sim and Tanveer Bhullar are 7-foot Indian brothers who are emerging as two of the top high school basketball players in the country.

There are few Asians or Asian Americans playing major college sports and even fewer South Asians at such a high level. And unlike Jeremy Lin, the brothers have recruiters at big-time college basketball programs salivating at the prospect of having one or both siblings on their teams. While Lin certainly has the skills, the Bhullars’ size sets them apart and makes them tantalizing NBA prospects.

Sim, 17, is 7-4 and 285 pounds. Tanveer, 15, is 7-2 and 265 pounds. Both grew up in Canada and now attend The Kiski School in Saltsburg, PA, near Pittsburgh. Their parents immigrated to Toronto from India and sent their sons to school in the United States to help them enhance their ball skills.

Wouldn’t it be cool if someday the Bhullar brothers and Lin were in the NBA together?

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Hawaii Five-0 features Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park

Daniel Dae Kim in Hawaii Five-0

Daniel Dae Kim moves from "Lost" to a role in the new "Hawaii Five-0."

The new “Hawaii Five-0,” with Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, will feature two of the most high-profile roles for Asian Americans on TV this fall. Read the rest of this entry »

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‘Flash Forward’ Canceled by ABC

John Cho

John Cho plays FBI agent Demetri Noh in "Flash Forward."

ABC has  canceled “Flash Forward,” the  sci-fi show that starred John Cho in one of the most visible televison roles for an Asian American actor in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »

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Goodwin Liu nomination moves forward

Goodwin Liu’s nomination to be a judge on the US Court Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has moved a step closer to fruition with the Senate Judiciary Committee vote to move it to the full-floor for debate. Read the rest of this entry »

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Racial undercurrent to attacks on Asian Americans

The death of Tian Sheng Yu after a senseless beating on an Oakland, CA, street has brought up the issue of racial tensions between Asian Americans and African Americans (the suspects in the attack are black).

Yu died Tuesday after he was knocked to the ground Friday and never regained consciousness. Read the rest of this entry »

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Korean American Studies Center to open at UC Riverside

Great news for all you Asian American studies scholars out there. The University of California, Riverside, is launching a  Korean American studies center with the help of a $2.7 million endowment from the Overseas Koreans Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »

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Food section debuts in Hyphen Inside/Out Issue

Food and Asian Americans are irrevocably linked. Much of this is due to  chop suey imagery forged by the likes of  TV chef Martin Yan or the perceived exoticness of Asian food and the explosion of fusion cuisine.

Because of this, many of the stereotypes about Asian Americans come from food. It’s one of the reasons Founding Editor Melissa Hung proclaimed Hyphen would  never publish a recipe or cover food in a way that doesn’t uphold Hyphen’s ideals.

Well, we broke her rule about recipes a few issues back with our story about  sustainable seafood practices. And, we have another for Afro-Asian jung in the new Food section that debuts in The Inside/Out Issue of Hyphen, which will be out soon.  Subscribe or look for it at a newsstand near you.

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