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Asian American Year in Review

What were the top stories on Asian American Village in 2007?

By Asian American Village Editors

As we often do at this time each year, the editors recently gathered to rummage through our notes and archives to assess the stories and trends that we felt had a meaningful impact on our communities. In years past, we've asked Villagers to send in their own ideas as well, and this year, we want to encourage you to post your items on our new blog, too. Meanwhile, here are editors' picks for some of the more memorable stories that were covered on the Village in 2007.

The Nation's First (Two!) Indian American Governor(s)

U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal, the Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants, handily trounced a packed field of 11 opponents to become not only Louisiana's first non-white governor since the 1870s, but the first Indian American to be elected a state governor in U.S. history.  Although he lost in his 2003 bid for the seat against Kathleen Blanco, Jindal had impressed voters in the state and nationwide with a strong campaign. He built on this momentum to win a seat in the U.S. House, and quickly distinguished himself through his strong, no-nonsense advocacy for the state during the Hurricane Katrina crisis.  In 2007, Jindal commanded 54% of the votes cast for Governor, enough to avoid a November 17 runoff. Jindal's accomplishment was heralded by media here and abroad as a milestone for NRIs, although some observed that the title of "first NRI Governor of a U.S. state" technically belonged to Kris Kolluri, the New Jersey transportation commissioner who had officially served as the state's Governor for one day -- December 28, 2006.

House Resolution 121 on "Comfort Women"

On July 30, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.Res. 121. Popularly called the "Honda resolution" after its sponsor, Mike Honda, a Japanese American Democrat in CA-15, H.Res. 121 called on the government of Japan to deliver an apology for its sexual enslavement of "comfort women" during World War II.  The resolution not only enjoyed strong support in Congress, but was a focal point for pan-ethnic coalition-building throughout Asian America. Groups such as Coalition 121 actively promoted support for the resolution among Filipino, Korean and Chinese Americans, as well as in the larger community.  Also among the supporters were many Japanese Americans, including the Japanese American Citizens League in Chicago, which inspired some particularly nasty pan-Pacific flames from Japanese commentators, from the blogosphere to the cabinet.

Norman Hsu

For a time, it was looking like 1996 all over again when Norman Hsu, a major fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and other Democratic campaigns over the years, went fugitive following a fraud conviction in California early this year, and then went on to be indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges. The news sent campaigns scurrying to return tainted donations and distance themselves from Hsu, leading many APA organizations to fear a flashback to the scandals of the Nineties. The non-profit Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), cautioned media against indulging in ethnic generalizations while covering the allegations of campaign donations by individuals of Asian descent.

Slave Labor Lawsuits

Even as a larger national debate over immigration raged, a series of incidents involving Asian workers called into question the rights, protections and working conditions that should be available to immigrant and guest workers in the U.S.  In March, hundreds of guest workers from India accused a Pascagoula, Mississippi ship builder, Signal, of exploiting and treating them like slaves. Fired and threatened with deportation, the workers organized to confront the company, finding support through such organizations as the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (see PDF) and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The case achieved a high profile, coming on the heels of the widely publicized 2004 decision against the Tulsa-based John Pickle Company, which the U.S. EEOC had charged with "human trafficking" in its treatment of Indian skilled laborers. This year, the case saw renewed interest when the EEOC accused the company of avoiding paying the plaintiffs the award ordered by the judge, as well as the publication of a book about the case and an episode of the popular NPR program, This American Life.

In Central Islip, NY, a pair of Indonesian housekeepers allege they were starved, stabbed and beaten by a millionaire couple, who denied the charges. One woman, Enung, acknowledged in November that she had written what the AP called "malevolent letters" home about the couple, and had stolen money from their clothes, but argued that these were acts of desperation and to get needed medical care. If convicted, the couple could receive a prison sentence of 40 years. A sensational case in the media, it also highlights an often forgotten about population in the wider national debates over immigration: as estimated hundreds of thousands of immigrant women -- legal and illegal -- who work as nannies, cooks and housekeepers often under the radar and outside of any protection against abuse.

Meanwhile, in South Dakota, motel owners Robert and Angelita Farrell were convicted of forcing Filipino immigrants into nonstop, virtually unpaid servitude and "peonage," and face sentences that could add up to 125 years imprisonment and fines on each of 18 counts.

Virginia Tech Shootings

On April 16, a shooting rampage on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg sent waves of shock and anger throughout the country. The revelation that the killer, 23-year-old Seung Hui Cho, was a resident alien from South Korea, sent a particular chill -- and fears of backlash -- through the Korean American and wider APA community. In particular, community advocates were concerned about impressions created by the "Asian face" of evil portrayed on newspaper and TV reports.

However, in its aftermath, the emphasis of reportage fell less on the killer's ethnicity or national origins, and turned to his mental state, the safety procedures that possibly could have stopped him and protected the campus, and what the senseless killing of 33 people revealed about the trends of campus violence and deficiencies of the mental health safety net.

Ascendant Nooyi; Yang Steps Up

Hard on the heels of her appointment as CEO of PepsiCo in October 2006, the company's Board of Directors announced in February that Indra Nooyi, an Indian American and one of Fortune's Top 5 "Most Powerful Women in Business," had been elected to serve at the Chairman of the Board, replacing retiring Executive Chairman Steven S. Reinemund.

A flagging Yahoo! turned to cofounder Jerry Yang to change its fortunes after the second quarter, when he replaced Terry Semel as company CEO. Notwithstanding the continuing dominance of Google, investor confidence was eased by Yang's leadership by the third quarter, after revenues from online display ads increased during the summer.  While the company that Yang and fellow "Chief Yahoo!" David Filo created in the 1990s is not out of the woods, it ends on the year on a fairly good note; while issuing a cautious hold opinion on its shares, analysts at S&P offer cautiously positive reviews for Yang's changes.

Northwoods Shootings

The year 2007 saw an escalation of ethnic tensions in the northwoods of Wisconsin, near the Minnesota border, when a white hunter, James Nichols, was convicted of killing a Hmong man, Cha Vang.  According news reports, Nichols told police that Hmong people are bad, mean and “kill everything and that they go for anything that moves.”  The incident did not occur in a vacuum. For locals, it is seen as a continuation of long-simmering ethnic tensions in the region that had most recently erupted in another shooting and high-profile trial involving Hmong hunter Chai Vang (no relation). A refugee from Laos, the sharpshooter was convicted of killing six white hunters in what the defense claimed was a case of self-defense in response to their racial aggression.

Long under the radar as America's forgotten refugees and allies, the Hmong have been reluctantly catapulted into the national consciousness through such tragedies and other negative headlines, which also included this year's accusations that former general and war hero Vang Pao was involved in a plot to overthrow the Lao government.  However, one positive outcome of these high-profile cases has been the increased recognition of the Hmong's Vietnam-era alliances with the U.S., as well as their contributions to and social problems living in the U.S.  While many Hmong have expressed feeling shame and anguish over their recent notoriety, many are also taking up active leadership and advocacy roles to represent the community positively.  Public education and community dialogue initiatives in the Great Lakes region have attempted to ease the tensions by addressing stereotypes, promoting an understanding of the Hmong story, and becoming more active in local and pan-Asian American community organizations.

Asian American Reality

If APAs have struggled to see ourselves represented as important and central players in mainstream media -- especially in meaningful dramatic film and television roles -- over the past two years reality shows came to be seen as a venue where we could see the "real me" portrayed, and sometimes spotlighted in the starring role. In 2006, fashion designer Chloe Dao won the title of "top designer" in Project Runway, her victory followed by that of Yul Kwon on the controversially racialized Survivor: Cook Islands. Throughout that season, Kwon, a brainy yet muscled hunk with a political conscience, explicitly stated that his gameplay was informed by a desire to positively represent Asian Americans -- especially Asian American men.  The sentiment struck a powerful chord with APA viewers in particular, and it was bonus that he was joined in the final three by fellow Korean American Becky Lee. (Kwon and Lee have in fact gone on this year to lend their time and celebrity to support community causes including the adoption of HR 121, the Honda resolution on "Comfort Women".)

In 2007, Asian Americans continued to showed our ability to outplay, outwit, outlast and, in some cases, out-dumb our neighbors. Hung Huynh, a Vietnam-born cook and executive sous chef at Las Vegas' high-end Guy Savoy, emerged as the winner of Bravo TV's Top Chef Season 3. While deserving of the title and undoubtedly skilled in multiple culinary styles (especially his knifework), the polyglot, classically trained Hung also had a reputation for being jerky and a bit of a know-it-all. It may be that Asian American audiences could appreciate his frequent odes to the positive influences of parents and ancestors better than most viewers.

Reality show APAs took another big pop-cultural step forward this year -- or backward, depending on your view.  In A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, we showed that Asian Americans could not only win the top prize, but could be the prize...and be every bit as insipid as non-Asians on TV. In MTV's show, Internet pinup girl Tila Tequila (born Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen) is the object of a contest in which 16 lesbians and 16 straight men vie to woo -- and win "real love" from -- the diminutive, pole-dancing Tequila, a self-proclaimed bisexual and a new role model for slutty, vacuous Asian girls everywhere.

Milestones in Dramatic and Cinematic Arts

As special contributor Erin May-Ling Quill observes, 2007 saw major steps forward for serious Asian American performance and film, as well. In June, New York City hosted the first-ever National Asian American Theater Festival, spearheaded by a national coalition of theater companies that had participated in the 2006 "Next Big Bang" conference held by East West Players. Then, December saw the unveiling of the ImaginAsian Center, an ambitious new media complex housed in the historic Linda Lea Theater in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo.

Kenneth Eng Debacle

In February, the San Francisco-based newspaper, AsianWeek, was forced to issue an apology and a rejection of the "biased views" of one of its columnists, Kenneth Eng, following the uproar of his column piece, "Why I Hate Blacks".  The paper also canned the blogger/columnist, who had become known for his controversial views in what many feel were a pattern of racist rants, including "Proof That Whites Inherently Hate Us" and "Why I Hate Asians". For many angry observers, Eng's firing did not by itself absolve the paper of its responsibilities, and several critics within and outside the ethnic media (including many Asian Americans) demanded increased accountability from AsianWeek's editorial staff and owners.  In an effort to address the backlash against it, AsianWeek hold and participate in interethnic dialogues and media forums, and ultimately came forward to discuss and amend what editor-at-large Ted Fang called an “unacceptable breakdown” in the editorial processes that had provided a forum for Eng.

National Townhall on Hate Crimes

To mark the 25th anniversary of the murder of Detroit autoworker Vincent Chin -- a defining moment for Asian American community consciousness -- organizations nationwide convened a series of rolling "townhalls" exploring the problem of anti-Asian hate crimes. From coast to coast and north to south, political, legal, media and educational groups held discussion forums, presented statistics and position papers, created media materials, and held screenings of the documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin? by filmmakers Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Pena.