4 Asian Americans among 8 killed in Texas mall shooting
'Sesame Street' debuts its first Filipino American muppet
“Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, study finds.”
While this statistic may seem optimistic, there’s more to the story. The growth of the Asian American population in the U.S. has occurred in tandem with increased reports of discrimination and violence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
As our community grows, we are getting louder, we are telling our authentic stories…and we are making news headlines.
📰 The Headlines
4 Asian Americans among 8 killed in Texas mall shooting — Three members of a Korean American family including a three-year-old boy and an Indian American woman are among the 8 people killed by a suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer in Allen, Texas.
Three members of a Korean American family including a three-year-old boy and an Indian American woman were among the 8 people killed by a suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer in Allen, Texas on May 8, 2023.
The Korean consulate confirmed the deaths of the family, according to the Yonhap News Agency. A GoFundMe post has identified the parents who were killed as Cindy and Kyu Cho. Their three-year-old son James was also killed, and their six-year-old son William remains in the hospital, but out of intensive care.
A family friend who reached out to AsAmNews said the mother may have died trying to protect her eldest son who she says is in stable, but critical condition.
NBC News identified a fourth victim as 27-year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda. She is a member of the Telugu community of India and was an engineer working in Dallas.
President Joe Biden said the shooter was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle, NBC reported. Investigators say he wore a bulletproof vest and also had a handgun. His social media accounts contained racially motivated extremist rhetoric. It is believed he acted alone.
'Sesame Street' debuts its first Filipino American muppet — The new character, named TJ, made his debut Sunday as part of a segment about showing confidence.
The PBS children’s show “Sesame Street” introduced its first Filipino American muppet on Sunday as part of a segment about showing confidence.
The new character, named TJ, was featured alongside actor Kal Penn and Ji-Young, the show’s first Asian American muppet. In his debut, TJ shared an example in which support from his family had boosted his confidence.
“I’m learning Tagalog. It’s a language my Filipino family speaks. And I have confidence because I can always ask my lola for help when I don’t know a word,” TJ says, using the Tagalog word for grandmother.
Asian Americans are over just being included — they're defining mainstream culture — Why Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are no longer chasing the opportunity to merely be represented.
Netflix’s “Beef” dives deep into the psyches of two people who happen to be Asian American as they’re entangled in a universal experience — road rage. But what the show doesn’t do is spend time with heavy-handed explanations about the cultural nuances of identity.
And it’s because Asian American and Pacific Islander creators have reached a point where they don’t necessarily feel they have to, critics say. Starring an all-Asian cast, “Beef” is an example of how Asian Americans are seeing pieces of themselves and their families comfortably integrated into on-screen stories like never before.
A proliferation of movies and television shows in recent years has made it clear Asian Americans are no longer chasing the opportunity to merely be included. Instead, diaspora storytellers are increasingly defining mainstream culture while creating their own spaces on their own terms — without feeling the need to contextualize their stories for the masses.
📌 New ___
Roles — Peter Do is now the Creative Director of Helmut Lang
Bill — Flordia Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that mandates the inclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in the state’s K-12 curriculum.
Cancellation - The CW will not continue with Kung Fu, its reboot of the classic series, which has run for three seasons.
🌟 AAPI Heritage Month Spotlight
Our community’s innovators — Check out these 10 AAPI inventors and innovators who helped improve the quality of everyone’s lives with their contributions, which include Peter Tsai, inventor of the N95 mask, and Min Chueh Chang, a reproductive biologist who helped revolutionize the birth control movement.
This month’s history — The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
The latest research on our community — Research released for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month reveals that anti-Asian sentiment has not abated with the end of the pandemic, and safety is a top concern.
📽️ representASIAN at the Gold Gala
✍️, Lea @ Crushing the Myth