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— Edited by Mary Yang
Violence in Asian America
Less than a week after a gunman killed seven people, including five Chinese and two Mexican immigrant workers, in Half Moon Bay, California, workers returned to the site, sparking criticism and raising concerns over the possibility of new traumas.
- In her words: “They don’t want to go back to work, but they have to go back to work,” said Darlene Tenes, founder of Farmworker Caravan. “They have to [return] to survive,” Tenes told The Los Angeles Times.
Vigils honoring the 11 people who were killed by a gunman in Monterey Park last month were held across California. During one vigil in front of Monterey Park’s City Hall, people scattered large floral arrangements, wreaths, candles, balloons, and makeshift memorials across a small park, reports USA Today’s Tami Abdollah.
- “This was a horrific act of violence, not only against our community, but our humanity,” Amy Lee, newly elected treasurer of Monterey Park, told mourners. “I wish I had the words to comfort you, to make you feel safe. I wish I could tell you why. But we may never know.”
What we’re reading: Misconceptions about the experiences of Asian immigrants—particularly related to work—can undermine and reduce Asians to their ability to do a job, writes S. Mitra Kalita in a column for Charter and TIME.
- “Over and over, media reports of the California shootings called the suspects ‘Asian men of retirement age,’” Kalita writes, referring to the shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay last month.
- “But retirement is a privilege, often one that bypasses Asian workers both at home and abroad. If your stay in America is connected to working in America, what even is retirement? Where is home? What is your worth?”
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NUMBER OF THE WEEK — 11: That’s the number of Oscar nominations netted by the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, one of the ten films up for Best Picture in this year’s Academy Awards.
Michelle Yeoh is up for Best Actress for her role as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant mother who owns a laundromat with her husband, played by Ke Huy Quan, who nabbed a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis each received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
More Asian Americans in New York are relocating to East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or “El Barrio,” in search of more affordable public housing, Bloomberg’s Amy Yee reports. But some Asian newcomers say they have experienced difficulty finding cultural-specific food.
- “More social services are a good step, but it’s not enough for East Harlem’s neglected Asian community, " said Eva Chan, founder of the Upper Manhattan Asian Alliance, a group that supports the local Asian community. “There are just a few Chinese-speaking social workers at area nonprofits to serve thousands of Asian Americans.”
- In East Harlem, 44.5% of residents are Hispanic, 30.3% are Black, 14.1% are white, and 8.39% are Asian, according to public data.
- Some Asian New Yorkers are also concerned for safety, as anti-Asian violence has risen across the city. In 2021, Yao Pan Ma, a 61-year-old from China, was murdered while collecting cans in East Harlem, an attack that was later identified as a hate crime.
Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, the last of the three Native Hawaiian men who were wrongfully imprisoned for the murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of Dana Ireland, was released immediately after newly submitted evidence exonerated him, Associated Press’ Jennifer Sinco Kelleher reports.
ICYMI: Four immigrant drivers of color are suing New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, chaired by Commissioner David Do, for routinely engaging in tactics that manufactured violations of a law barring non-yellow cab drivers from making airport pickups, reports Documented’s Amir Khafagy.
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