Maeley Tom releases book + California prisoner faces deportation + Relief concert: Your AAPI newsletter
It is Thursday, June 4, and this is The Sacramento Bee’s AAPI weekly newsletter.
Here’s a recap of the stories I recently covered and issues I’m following:
Maeley Tom is the first woman and first ethnic minority to serve at the highest level of California Legislature. Now she’s sharing her story. Her memoir – titled “I’m Not Who You Think I Am” – was published Sunday.
Now retired, Tom wanted to speak publicly beyond her public service and about the positive side of her struggles in climbing the political ladder, self-knowledge and sacrifices, as well as share heartfelt advice to the next generation of policymakers.
“I made mistakes, I wasn’t treated well, but I don’t want to be thought of as a victim,” Tom said. “I want people to know that you have to overcome hurdles, make mistakes, and have the motivation to plug in and move on to accomplish what you want to accomplish. There is no perfect path.”
A man who was recently granted parole faces the risk of being transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility and eventually deported. He is immunocompromised and worries about contracting the coronavirus.
Chanthon Bun, a 41-year-old refugee, faces the possibility of being transferred from state prison to ICE custody. The California Supreme Court has refused to order the state to halt the transfer of immigrant inmates to federal immigration facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Detention centers lack facilities for inmates to practice social distancing and could be life-threatening for medically vulnerable prisoners like Bun.
Sarah Lee, community advocate with the Asian Law Caucus, said it is hypocritical for the CDCR to hand Bun over to ICE for deportation after the state government granted him parole. She added that it is important to think about solutions that don’t perpetuate harm.
To celebrate Asian American Pacific Heritage Month, an eight-hour relief concert called “Identity: Project Blue Marble” live-streamed Saturday. The lineup featured musicians Far East Movement, Miyavi, Yuna, Phum Viphurit, and Jay Park, among others. Special guests, including former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Jeremy Lin, Ronny Chieng, poet Rupi Kaur and Wong Fu Productions, tuned for public service announcements.
Japanese American rapper Tom Shimura, better known by his stage name Lyrics Born, said representation is absolutely necessary.
“It’s also important that we are responsible to create our values in the world as artists,” he said. “It should not be dependent on a larger mainstream machine to create a ‘big break’. It is up to us to expose our talents to the world.”
In other news
“No Asians allowed.” Woman accused of posting hateful fliers, California cops say [The Sacramento Bee]
Asian-Americans join in support of protests after George Floyd’s death [South China Morning Post]
Officers who stood by as George Floyd died highlights complex Asian American, black relations [NBC News]
Bills on slavery reparations, affirmative action advance in California Assembly [San Francisco Chronicle]
- As Asian Minnesotans call for justice for George Floyd, some feel targeted for officer Thao’s role in death [Sahan Journal]
- Plan to demolish and rebuild historic Chinatown building divides community [NBC News]
Opinion: What coronavirus and the Vietnam War share: Homeschooling, distancing, fearing for your life [NBC News]
First-person essay: Asian Americans need to talk about anti-blackness in our communities [Vox]
Couple who met in Japanese incarceration camp die within days of each other at 90 [Los Angeles Times]
Essay: The disaster mindset helped Asian-Americans survive. But it’s a losing strategy [Refinery29]
Vietnamese Americans use art to tell their stories [KBIA]
Story ideas? Please reach out to me at tyu@sacbee.com. I’d love to do a story on you!
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading, stay safe and hang in there!
Theodora Yu covers Asian American issues for The Sacramento Bee through Report for America. To support her work, donate here.
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