Local
Coronavirus updates + Census outreach in Sacramento area + Filipino studies center: Your AAPI newsletter
If you value coverage of California’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community, please spread the word about our newsletter and send to a friend. Sign up here to receive this newsletter each week.
It is Wednesday, Feb. 26, and this is The Sacramento Bee’s AAPI weekly newsletter.
Here’s a recap on the stories I recently covered and issues I’m following:
It’s been a month since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States, a potentially deadly virus that causes the COVID-19 disease which broke out in China in December.
On Friday, Sacramento County confirmed its first case of coronavirus in a traveler who returned to the U.S. from China on Feb. 2. That person, who continues to be monitored by the county health department, is now asymptomatic, took precautionary measures during travel and has self-quarantined since returning.
Stay updated on this story as news around the world develops.
Sacramento County is ranked the eighth hardest-to-count county in California. Local community organizations are spreading the word about the upcoming 2020 Census in April through phone calls, going door-to-door, tabling and holding talks to make sure community members are informed.
The federal government is required to count each individual living in the U.S. every 10 years, regardless of citizenship. Census data is vital to determine the funding Sacramento County receives for schools, hospitals, transit and more. It also helps determine the number of seats California receives in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Trusted messengers, such as area youth, have more authentic relationships with the community and are crucial to dissuade hesitancy and debunk myths about the Census, as opposed to strangers knocking on doors, said Chris Mateo, board member of the Philippine National Day Association in Sacramento.
The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses United co-hosted a film premiere in Sacramento on Saturday to celebrate the launch of the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at University of California, Davis.
The Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies is named after Carlos Bulosan, a migrant worker, labor activist and writer who chronicled the struggles of low-income Filipino workers in the 1930s and ’40s in his book, “America is in the Heart.” The first Filipino studies center with links to the UC system, the center aims to carry on Bulosan’s legacy by supporting education, research and advocacy of the Filipino community and diaspora in the U.S.
The center received a $1 million funding last October to expand research on the Filipino community, one of the largest and fastest-growing Asian American groups in the U.S.
In other news
Mai Vang, daughter of Hmong refugees, will become the first millennial and first woman from the Asian American Pacific Islander community on the Sacramento City Council, if elected. Here’s how she rose from poverty to run for office carrying the hopes and dreams her parents had when fleeing the war. [The Bee]
Faiz Shakir is the first Pakistani and Muslim American to head up a major presidential campaign, as Bernie Sanders’ campaign chief [TRT World]
Bogus story of an immigration raid brings chaos to Hmong market in St. Paul, Minnesota, playing on the Trump administration’s proposal to deport some Hmong and Lao immigrants [MPR News]
Wall Street Journal reporters protest “sick man of Asia” headline to describe China and urge the newspaper to apologize [The Washington Post]
Lawmakers say the Customs and Border Protection admitted to inappropriately targeting Iranian Americans and breaching protocol last month when travelers were held at the north U.S. border [CNN]
Asian Americans making up a big part of the Nevada electorate enough to sway the caucuses [Vox]
A New York Korean shelter to shut down over housing violation spotlights the growing number of Asian American seniors, with the second-highest poverty rate in New York state [City Limits]
How an Iranian-American romantic comedy celebrates multiculturalism, feminism and breaks down stereotypes [Hollywood Reporter]
For things to do in Sacramento and beyond
The Filipino community is organizing a census outreach kickoff on Friday at Jose Rizal Community Center, where there will be performances, dinner and speakers talking about census.
Also on census outreach, the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association in Sacramento, is organizing a talk at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Korean School of Sacramento in Rosemont. David Banuelos Jr. from the Census Bureau will be talking with interpretation available for Korean speakers. The event is a refresher following a talk in October to reinforce the importance of completing the census form. Dinner will be provided.
In another Saturday event, the Hmong Youth and Parents United is organizing a Pho and Family Game Night at Sacramento’s HOPE Center.
Also Saturday, drawing from his experience interviewing Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II, Tom Ikeda, executive director of Densho, is hosting a workshop on the process and techniques to conduct oral history interviews at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.
Another event also hosted by the Buddhist Church of Sacramento is its annual Sakura Matsuri “Food and Shopping Faire” on March 15. It features handcrafted items, jewelry, clothing, as well as food such as teriyaki beef sandwiches, chicken bento boxes, Spam musubi and more.
What stories would you like to read about? Send your story to me at tyu@sacbee.com.
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Thank you for reading!
Comments