Vincent Who at MAPABA conference

Showing the movie Vincent Who today at MAPABA conference in Detroit with Curtis Chin and Roland Hwang.

Writers Against Racism: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang « Bowllan's Blog

got picked up by this blog about writers against racism. Amy Bowllan is collecting photos of people reading books by authors of color.

Writers Against Racism: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang « Bowllan's Blog

Spam Musubi class

taught 19 Japanese foreign exchange students and 1 haoli to make spam musubi at the University of Hawaii Hilo today--talk about cultural exchange! fun

angry reader of the week: frances kai-hwa wang | angry asian man

Hey look! i'm angry reader of the week: frances kai-hwa wang on angryasianman.com. feels good to be angry!

angry reader of the week: frances kai-hwa wang | angry asian man

Ann Arbor Schools Musings: The Long Tale: A Few Links I Missed

got picked up by blog about Ann Arbor Schools(calls me brave--ha)

Ann Arbor Schools Musings: The Long Tale: A Few Links I Missed

NEPAL: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too « The Himalayan Beacon

Neat! Just found my Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too article and photo reprinted last October 18, 2009 in The Himalayan Beacon, published by Barun Roy in Darjeeling, India:

NEPAL: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too « The Himalayan Beacon

Frances speaking at showing of Vincent Who?

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice former Executive Director and current Advisory Board Member, will be introducing the documentary film, "Vincent Who?" during the US Social Forum in Detroit.

Vincent Who?
Wed, Jun 23, 2010
10:00 am | AFSCME Building, Detroit

A Documentary film directed by Tony Lam and Karin Wang, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Producer Curtis Chin
New website: http://vincentwhofilm.com/

for more info http://organize.ussf2010.org/film-festival

Frances speaking at Center for Japanese Studies Workshop in Cultural Competence

Frances Wang will be a speaker at a University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies Workshop in Cultural Competence on Monday-Tuesday, June 21-22.

The Center for Japanese Studies in collaboration with the Centers for Chinese, Korean, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and the Program on Intergroup Relations present:

Understanding your Students: A Workshop in Cultural Competence

Michigan is home to a diversity of families from around the world, some of whom are here temporarily and whose children are enrolled in American schools with little or no knowledge of English language and American culture. This workshop will introduce the various cultures of these children, the challenges faced by these students—challenges that are distinct from their American counterparts— recommendations for accommodating such students in a typical school classroom, and resources available within the community for teachers and their students. The first day will focus on the culture of the Japanese and the differences that can create misunderstanding. The second day will introduce other cultures, topics applicable to all immigrant and expatriate groups, and allow participants the opportunity to listen to international voices. Participants may register for both sessions, or each session separately. International foods will be provided for lunch. (click on link for more)

Center for Japanese Studies

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Remembering Vincent Chin 28 years later - AnnArbor.com

Posted: Jun 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM AnnArbor.com
by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Before I came to Michigan for graduate school, the only thing I knew about Michigan was that it was where Vincent Chin was killed. My parents’ Japanese-American neighbors warned me to sell my father’s Toyota 4-Runner and buy a Ford Bronco. I asked about safety as much as I did about academics before I decided to come.

Saturday was the 28th anniversary of the baseball bat beating that caused the death of Vincent Chin. Unfortunately, with the recession and rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, the case is even more relevant than ever. (click on link for more)

Remembering Vincent Chin 28 years later - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: U of M Center for Japanese Studies hosts cultural competence workshop for teachers - AnnArbor.com

June 21-22, an interesting workshop for teachers entitled “Understanding your Students: A Workshop on Cultural Competence” will be sponsored by the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, in collaboration with the Centers for Chinese, Korean, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies and the Program on Intergroup Relations, and held at the University of Michigan. This workshop seeks to help teachers, school administrators, school counselors, and families celebrate diversity while seeking to better understand the international students that have become an increasing part of the classroom. (click on link for more)

U of M Center for Japanese Studies hosts cultural competence workshop for teachers - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: NAACP Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler Park Saturday - AnnArbor.com

I always thought that slavery ended after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation until a transplanted Texan first told me about Juneteenth, the celebration commemorating the day that news of freedom finally reached the slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The celebration started in Galveston, Texas but has now become a sort of African American Fourth of July celebration, spreading to communities across the country.

The Ann Arbor Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will be celebrating Juneteenth this Saturday, June 19, at Wheeler Park from noon to 6 p.m. with music, poetry, storytelling, games, children’s activities, vendors and food.(click on link for more)

NAACP Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler Park Saturday - AnnArbor.com

Graduation Season--coming home, heading out, and the Chinese School community - AnnArbor.com

At the Ann Arbor Chinese School graduation ceremony this year, all the students gathered together in the multipurpose room at Northside School to honor this year’s graduating seniors. The high school class told funny stories about them, their parents shared fat baby pictures, the school presented them with framed diplomas to mark the 15 years they have spent here (preschool to grade 12), and the two graduates took a moment to share their wise, old insights with all the little brothers and sisters about why they should study Chinese. Kevin talked about how he is going to continue to study Chinese this summer and in college. Daniel talked about how he will not know what to do with himself on Friday nights.

I was surprised to see several graduates from previous years who had gone off to college and then come home for the summer sitting at the back of the room. What were they doing at Chinese School again? The ones who used to teach the younger kids stepped right back into their old classes. Others visited their teachers and friends. Some had just come from their Chinese School class reunion for more Chinese School memories.

How important this place and this community and these friends must be to them that they gave up a Friday night to visit. (click on link for more)

Graduation Season--coming home, heading out, and the Chinese School community - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Wear Maize and Blue to the King School Ice Cream Social - AnnArbor.com

At Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School’s Leslie Science and Nature Center assembly Friday, Francie called on a boy to answer a question, then hesitated, “I was about to say the boy in the Michigan shirt, but that seems to be almost everyone today.”

King School was a sea of maize and blue Friday. It started long ago, at King School’s Silent Auction, but more recently, families received an email, phone call, and blog post from King School Principal Kevin Karr reminding families about the King School Ice Cream Social on Friday:

WEAR MAIZE AND BLUE!
As a result of the money donated at the silent auction fundraiser, please remember everyone must wear wear maize and blue at the ice cream social. This includes fans who root for Ohio State, Michigan State, and similar lesser universities.

I had a confused conversation with an earnest new parent and recent immigrant last week about “the requirement to wear blue and what color?”

I tried to explain that maize means yellow and what happened at the Silent Auction (see Up Front Section of the June Ann Arbor Observer), but quickly realized that I had to start at the beginning. (click on link for more)

Wear Maize and Blue to the King School Ice Cream Social - AnnArbor.com

Bidding War at King School - arborweb.com

Appears in June print edition of Ann Arbor Observer, also posted online at ArborWeb.com on 6/11/2010

At King School's ice cream social on June 11, principal Kevin Karr will be triumphantly wearing maize and blue. This may not seem out of the ordinary for a U-M alum who special-ordered a big block M on his parking space sign, except that this year, Item #325 at the King School Silent Auction to support student enrichment was "The Karr Jersey"--the chance to make Principal Karr wear another team's colors. A proud, well-organized OSU contingent pooled their resources, even going viral to fund-raise at an elementary school in Columbus. Karr was getting nervous about a possible scarlet and gray fate. In the end, though, U-M fans prevailed with a combined winning bid of $520, beating out Duke, Stanford, Michigan State, Purdue, Yale, Columbia, the University of Phoenix, in Karr's words, "last and least, the Ohio State University!" Now Karr is rallying everyone to join him in wearing the colors of Michigan at the social, even--no, especially--the OSU families.

Bidding War at King School - arborweb.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Khaled Mattawa poetry reading at Nicola's Books Wednesday - AnnArbor.com

Assistant Professor Khaled Mattawa, of the University of Michigan Masters in Fine Arts Creative Writing program, will be reading at 7 p.m. today at Nicola’s Books. Although last week’s Radius of Arab American Writers conference is over, we are fortunate to still be able to hear its writers. There is a short accessible article about his work in the Kalamazoo Gazette. (click on link for more)

Khaled Mattawa poetjavascript:void(0)ry reading at Nicola's Books Wednesday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Learning across ethnic lines from my Greek-American brother and Miss USA Rima Fakih - AnnArbor.com

I was once walking down South University with a tall, dark and handsome friend who remarked what it must look like, what would people say, what if my family found out.

We were just walking, but after we parted ways on the corner of South University and Forest, I realized that danger was much closer than he realized. My Greek American brother Evan worked right there, two doors down. (Of course, I confessed instantly the next time I saw my Greek American brother Evan, who guessed the restaurant we had had lunch and then explained in brotherly fashion what my friend’s real intentions had been. “Really?”)

My children are one-eighth Greek, and when I first met Evan and his family, I had a lot of questions about Greek culture and language. I was also trying to decide whether to enroll the children in Greek School in addition to Chinese School. Evan told me stories about how empowering it was to learn Greek dance at Greek School, and I told him stories about what a bad student I was at Chinese School. We quickly realized that our experiences at Greek School and Chinese School were basically the same, just a different language. We started joking that we were family, and it was always a good feeling when Evan would defend me anytime he caught anyone giving me grief, “Hey, that’s my sister.”

When I inadvertently gave my son the same name as Evan’s father, “You named him after my dad?” the bond was complete. (click on link for more)

Learning across ethnic lines from my Greek-American brother and Miss USA Rima Fakih - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Ya'ssoo Greek Festival this weekend at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - AnnArbor.com

My children and I attend a lot of cultural festivals, so my children are cultural festival connoisseurs the way other more normal people might be connoisseurs of gourmet food or fine art. It is a rare festival that holds the children’s attention year after year, even as they get older and begin to outgrow some of the things they used to love when they were younger.

The Ya’ssoo Greek Festival of Ann Arbor is one of those events that the children continue to cherish, in part because it is our chance to learn a little more about the children’s Greek heritage, in part to see their friends and classmates dance, and in part (ok, in large part) because of the food! As the blue and white signs have been popping up all over town these past few weeks, the anticipation (and salivation) has been steadily building, especially as we drive past St. Nick’s beautiful copper dome on Scio Church Road. (click on link for more)

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival this weekend at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - AnnArbor.com

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival - arborweb.com

Originally appeared in June print edition of Ann Arbor Observer. Also posted online 6/4/2010

I always smile when I drive down Scio Church Road and see the big copper dome topping St. Nick's Greek Orthodox Church. I remember when they built it and moved from their former Main Street location, how proud the children and I were to honor their Greek heritage by sending in our tiny little donation check to do our part. It feels like we have "always" gone to the Ya'ssoo Greek Festival, so I am surprised to discover that it was revived only in 2007 after a twenty-three-year hiatus.

As we enter the gate, we stop and ponder the directions: fourteen brightly painted arrows nailed to a post. To the east: Athens 5273 miles and Constantinople 5328 miles. To the west: Tijuana 1936 miles and Kathmandu 7566 miles. The Kouzina and Taverna are also to the east, so we head east first. (click on link for more)

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival - arborweb.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Indian classical music concert featuring Sugata Marjit Friday at University of Michigan - AnnArbor.com

The University of Michigan Center for South Asian Studies will present an Indian classical music concert titled, Sangeet Sandhya--An evening of enchanting Indian classical Raga music and spiritual bhajan compositions, at 8 p.m. Friday at Britton Recital Hall on North Campus.

The concert features Sugata Marjit, a renowned vocalist from India, who will be accompanied by John Churchville on tabla and Mandar Phadke on harmonium. (click on link for more)

Indian classical music concert featuring Sugata Marjit Friday at University of Michigan - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Why are people not more upset about the achievement gap than the field trip? - AnnArbor.com

When Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Costa Rican-American astronaut, came to the University of Michigan for Space Day many years ago, I took my children to hear him speak.

With a name like Chang-Diaz, I was pretty sure he must be part Chinese, and I wanted my children to meet a multiracial Chinese-American astronaut so that they could see with their own eyes that it was possible.

A little embarrassed to be asking something so personal, we waited until after the Q&A, but he smiled when we asked, and he told us the story of how his grandfather had come to Costa Rica from China. There was something very sweet and intimate about that moment and, not surprisingly, his message to my children—third-generation, multiracial, bilingual, and part-Chinese like himself—was different than his message to everyone else. He emphasized the importance of understanding different cultures and languages when one is in space working with astronauts from other countries.

When Dr. Sally Ride came to town for her great Sally Ride Science Festival for Girls, we also went to meet her. Again, simply to let the children see with their own eyes that women could be astronauts if they wished, to hear a woman talk about the importance of math and science—and then let their imaginations take it from there.

I have been slow to respond to the Dicken Elementary School field trip controversy because I have been so perplexed by the anger in people’s reactions. Reading through the comments after every article about it has been so painful, so personal, that I can only read a few at a time. (click on link for more)

Why are people not more upset about the achievement gap than the field trip? - AnnArbor.com

Avant-garde postwar public art in Japan on display at University of Michigan Museum of Art - AnnArbor.com

Our last opportunity to go on a docent guided tour of the Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art: Experimentations in the Public Sphere in Postwar Japan, 1950-1970 exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art is at 2 p.m. Sunday. The exhibit is only up until June 6, so we do not have much time left to see this fascinating exhibit of avant-garde postwar public art in Japan. (click on link for more)

Avant-garde postwar public art in Japan on display at University of Michigan Museum of Art - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: "Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think" documentary film Thursday at Michigan Theater - AnnArbor.com

"Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think", the last film of The University of Michigan’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies’ (CMENAS) weeklong Global Islam Film Series, will be shown from 7-8 p.m. tonight, at the Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor.

The week started with the hysterical Muslim-American stand-up comic concert film, "Allah Made Me Funny", then delved into American perceptions of Muslims with "The Letter: An American Town and “The Somali Invasion,” and Professor Akbar Ahmed’s cross-country ethnographic study, "Journey into America."

Tonight’s film is a documentary by Gallup researchers investigating how Muslims around the world view Americans. (click on link for more)

"Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think" documentary film Thursday at Michigan Theater - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Creating music and community together at Picnic Pops - AnnArbor.com

What is it about Picnic Pops that makes it so much fun?

I thought it was the sunshine, but even in pouring rain, it was still fun. I thought it was the carnival games, but the kids are now old enough to play the games by themselves, and it was still fun. It obviously must be the music, but I have heard all these bands play before, and this concert is a lot more fun.

The children and I have been going to Picnic Pops since my oldest were 1 and 2. My friend Susan’s daughter was playing in the Pioneer High School band that year. I remember pushing a big blue double stroller through the mud (some things do not change), not knowing anyone, yet enjoying the sunshine and feeling of community while being enveloped by the cheerful marches and big band sound.

This year, M not only had her first solo—which floated beautifully over the melody line—she also worked a shift in one of the game booths. She is growing up. H milled about with all her friends, and according to Facebook, bought $5 of cotton candy for them. She also is growing up. I sat with a friend whose high school daughter was so happy to be invited back to sit in with her old middle school band, the green Huron High shirts punctuating the white-clad Clague Middle School ranks. It was also neat to see the Huron High Schoolers all rush over to check out the Tappan Middle School band (and then mutter indignantly) when they recognized the music as a piece they were also playing. (click on link for more)

Creating music and community together at Picnic Pops - AnnArbor.com

AML: Buddah's Birthday celebration at Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple - AnnArbor.com

One of my fondest memories is singing songs all night with friends along the banks of the Bagmati River in southern Nepal on Buddah Jayanti (Buddah’s birthday) and sending small clay oil lamps with whispered prayers down the river to join the holiest river Ganges. I can still see the tiny flickering lights floating slowly down the wide dark river, then going around the bend and disappearing from sight.

Buddah’s birthday is celebrated in many ways by many different types of Buddhists. One long standing Ann Arbor tradition is the Buddah’s Birthday celebration at the Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple on 1214 Packard Street, which takes place this weekend. Celebrations include a children's service, bathing the baby Buddah, poetry, a peace parade, talks, chanting, meditation, song (Joe Reilly!), and a beautiful Korean lotus lantern lighting service. Drop in for part or all of the weekend. (click on link for more)

Buddah's Birthday celebration at Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple - AnnArbor.com

Speaking today at Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan

I will be speaking today at Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan's high school class, talking about Asian Pacific American History--Resistance and Heroes. With a side of pop culture. Will be showing the Falling for Grace trailer and the Soy Sauce clip from Joy Luck Club. Fun!

Speaking today at US Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit

I'll be speaking today on diversity in the workplace with Roland Hwang at an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Luncheon at the US Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit.

AML: Explore tradition, history of Shigaraki at ceramics demonstration at University of Michigan Museum of Art - AnnArbor.com

A few years ago, I helped a Shigaraki potter set up for a short demonstration at the University of Michigan, but all I could think about that day were tables and tarps. I did not notice the connection between Shigaraki and Shiga Prefecture, Michigan’s sister state in Japan, nor did I remember that Ann Arbor’s sister city, Hikone, is also in Shiga Prefecture. Shigaraki is renowned for its long, 1,250-year history of ceramics, and Shigaraki ware has been designated one of Japan’s traditional handicrafts.

This weekend, we have an opportunity to explore this art, history and tradition more deeply at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), in conjunction with the new exhibition, Turning Point: Japanese Studio Ceramics in the Mid-20th Century. From the UMMA: (click on link for more)

Explore tradition, history of Shigaraki at ceramics demonstration at University of Michigan Museum of Art - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Dexter High School student wins Michigan Japanese Speech Contest, heading to nationals - AnnArbor.com

The Japanese teachers were all abuzz at last month’s Michigan 2010 Japanese Language Speech Contest because two of the nine finalists were from Dexter High School.

When did Dexter High School start a Japanese Language Program? The truth is that Dexter does not have a Japanese Language Program, but two of its determined students have found a way to pursue Japanese as their foreign language anyways—one studies with Kaori Ohara of Ohara Language Institute and one studies with Kayo Nakamura at Emerson School. Both schools are in Ann Arbor.

The really funny thing is that the two students did not even know each other. They met at the competition in Novi. (click on link for more)

Dexter High School student wins Michigan Japanese Speech Contest, heading to nationals - AnnArbor.com

Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com: AML: A different kind of Mother's Day gift: watching kids compete at Chinese speech tournament

May 16, 2010/ Frances Kai-Hwa Wang/ Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com/ Adventures in Multicultural Living

My daughter Hao Hao was once a timid child who cried at every little thing. She even got kicked out of sports camp because she dissolved into a flood of tears every time she got "out" in softball or tag. Once when she was at Leslie Science Center, she cried on a hike through the woods because she was afraid of the spider webs on the trail. Instead of giving in to her tears as the teachers and moms at Chinese School tended to do, the Leslie Science Center instructor simply handed her a butterfly net to empower her to wave away the spider webs as she marched down the trail, head and butterfly net held up high.

In that transformative moment, I realized that I had to figure out how to select the best from each of the many cultures we had before us, rather than all of one or the other, and that I had to prepare my children for their future lives as adults in America, sometimes even mainstream America.

click on link for more: Adventures in Multicultural Living: A different kind of Mother's Day gift: watching kids compete at Chinese speech tournament

AML: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event showcases richness of cultures - AnnArbor.com

Asian Pacific American performing arts groups from across the state will be coming together Friday night to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Council of Asian Pacific Americans’ (CAPA’s) annual cultural show, Splendor of the East, at the Ford Community Center for the Performing Arts in Dearborn.

This year’s theme, Tales of the Enchanted Lands - Myths & Legends, showcases the richness of Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and other Asian and non-Asian cultures in America while exploring the diversity of myths, legends, fairy tales and folklore that bring us all together in a spirit of unity. Tickets are available for purchase online and at the door. The event starts at 7 p.m. (click on link for more)

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event showcases richness of cultures - AnnArbor.com

Speaking today at Brighton District Library

I will be speaking today at Brighton District Library on Asian Pacific American Identity in the Midwest--Identity, Culture, Community, and Food. Part of their Comfort Food Series. I'll be showing that clip from "Eat Drink Man Woman." Yum. There will be food.

AML: Learn about kimonos at University of Michigan Museum of Art demonstration, exhibit - AnnArbor.com

Every summer when the children and I attend the Japanese Obon Festival—where the little girls are so adorable in their curled and beribboned ringlets and seersucker Hello Kitty kimonos tied with big fluffy red bows, the older ladies so elegant in their matching dance school kimonos and elaborate obis and clacking getta, and the young men so funny with cool shades and many pagers and cell phones clipped to their kimono pockets while they dance—there are always three or four people who attend wearing bathrobes, with chopsticks in their hair.

I know that bathrobes are not kimonos, and that chopsticks are for eating, but it was not until I had the opportunity to watch a King School mom actually dress two second-grade girls in kimonos (a 20-minute process, and she was going fast) that I realized how complicated it was, with many unseen layers and conventions, and that I had no way to “read” the kimono because I did not understand the language of what the details meant. (click on link for more)

Learn about kimonos at University of Michigan Museum of Art demonstration, exhibit - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: A different kind of Mother's Day gift: watching kids compete at Chinese speech tournament - AnnArbor.com

My daughter Hao Hao was once a timid child who cried at every little thing. She even got kicked out of sports camp because she dissolved into a flood of tears every time she got "out" in softball or tag. Once when she was at Leslie Science Center, she cried on a hike through the woods because she was afraid of the spider webs on the trail. Instead of giving in to her tears as the teachers and moms at Chinese School tended to do, the Leslie Science Center instructor simply handed her a butterfly net to empower her to wave away the spider webs as she marched down the trail, head and butterfly net held up high.

In that transformative moment, I realized that I had to figure out how to select the best from each of the many cultures we had before us, rather than all of one or the other, and that I had to prepare my children for their future lives as adults in America, sometimes even mainstream America.

Many cultures, not just Asian ones, reward the “good girl” who is nice and quiet and obedient. As a parent, it can be a huge pain to have intelligent, articulate girls who question everything you say (I know, I have three), but in the long run, I know those are characteristics that are critical to their success in America. They need to be able to think independently, speak their mind, articulate their reasoning, and back it all up with research and evidence. So they are not really “talking back” (for which I used to be scolded), they are “practicing” or developing their public speaking skills. (When I cannot take it anymore, I try to get them to speak up more in school rather than home—just kidding, teachers!) (click on link for more)

A different kind of Mother's Day gift: watching kids compete at Chinese speech tournament - AnnArbor.com

AML: The Genesis of Chinese Writing and the Art of Chinese Calligraphy at UMMA Saturday - AnnArbor.com

On Valentine’s Day a year and a half ago, I heard Michigan State University (MSU) Emeritus Professor SuiWah Chan enchant a group of teachers by talking about the Chinese character for the word, ai or “love.” Most people who talk about how Chinese characters have meaning built into them will point out that the word “heart” is at the center of the word “love,” and leave it at that. However, Professor Chan went on to show how on either side of the word “heart” was a “hand”—one hand offering one’s heart and another hand receiving that gift. So in Chinese, the word “love” has the notion of relationship physically built into the word. Since it was Valentine’s Day, all the teachers swooned, of course.

All I could think was that this was so unlike Aristotle’s notion of love, which is strictly one way—with the lover who adores the beloved. Both words are translated into English as “love,” but the thinking behind each one is so radically different. I wonder how much of that background affects how we in the modern age think about these things? How much is transmitted when many of us no longer know the historical background to these words and concepts? What about those of us who are bilingual? (click on link for more)

The Genesis of Chinese Writing and the Art of Chinese Calligraphy at UMMA Saturday - AnnArbor.com

AML: Taiwanese artisans coming for MiTAI Taiwanese American Heritage Week Cultural Fair - AnnArbor.com

Michigan Taiwanese American Organization bringing Taiwanese artisans for Taiwanese American Heritage Week
The Michigan Taiwanese American Organization’s (MiTAI’s) amazing Tzywen Gong has once again brought an incredible cultural gift to our community. She and the folks at MiTAI have arranged for a team of renowned Taiwanese artisans to come to Michigan to share and teach traditional Taiwanese art forms. Many of these art forms are not commonly seen in Taiwan anymore, let alone America. Many of these artisans are starting to get a little bit older, too. The Taiwanese American community is really excited to meet and learn from these artisans. What a great opportunity for all of us in the community to join. Hands-on activities available for children and adults. A rare opportunity not to be missed. From MiTAI.org: (click on link for more)

Taiwanese artisans coming for MiTAI Taiwanese American Heritage Week Cultural Fair - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Believing in the election of President Obama and hope lost and found - AnnArbor.com

My parents always emphasized that although I was ethnically Chinese, my citizenship was American because I was born in America, “You can even be president someday—unlike us—because you are a natural-born citizen.”

In school, we learned the three requirements to become president of the United States were to be a natural-born citizen, at least thirty-five years old, and have resided in the United States for the past fourteen years. Although thirty-five seemed sooooo old, my friends Gregory, Tony, and I—dreamers and idealists—began to make plans for the 2000 presidential elections before we even graduated from high school. (click on link for more)

Believing in the election of President Obama and hope lost and found - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Obama in Ann Arbor, images from the campaign to reform immigration for America march - AnnArbor.com

The marchers in support of immigration reform were easy to spot, dressed in white shirts and carrying American flags. The procession of about 1000 marchers stretched out over a mile, from South Industrial Blvd., snaking up the hill and across the bridge, over to the University of Michigan Stadium, where inside, President Barack Obama was to address the graduating class of 2010.

At least fifteen busses were lined up around Frizinger Park, where an immigration reform rally was held in the morning. According to The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America, a national coalition of individuals and grassroots organizations to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform, these buses came filled with supporters from Detroit, Pontiac, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Lansing, East Lansing, Westland, Ypsilanti, and New Haven, to join the hundreds of Ann Arbor attendees. The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America also notes that after labor and faith leaders spoke, the "Avenue of Dreams" youth who walked from Detroit to Ann Arbor to publicize the DREAM Act were celebrated and given a DREAM Act graduation ceremony to honor those who cannot attend college due to immigration status.

Hundreds of marches were held across the country Saturday, but because of Obama's presence at the University of Michigan commencement, the Ann Arbor march took on additional significance. Chanting at times “Si se puede! Yes we can!” and “Hey Obama, don’t deport my mama!” the mood was light, festive, and fun as people of all generations and races walked together in what was planned as a positive and peaceful rally in support of immigration reform and the bipartisan DREAM Act to give undocumented students who have grown up in America a chance to go to college and a path to citizenship. These issues suddenly feel all the more pressing after the recent passage of Arizona’s controversial new immigration enforcement law SB1070, which dangerously opens the door to racial profiling and discrimination against all people of color, and which several states (including neighbor Ohio) are poised to copy. (click on link for more)

Obama in Ann Arbor, images from the campaign to reform immigration for America march - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Obama in Ann Arbor, rally for immigration reform Saturday - AnnArbor.com

On Saturday, May 1, tens of thousands of people are expected to attend hundreds of protest marches across the country in support of comprehensive immigration reform. These marches are being coordinated by The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America, a national coalition of individuals and grassroots organizations to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform. According to their Web site: “Our vision of reform includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections. That’s our vision for a stronger America - for families, for workers, for businesses, and for security.”

Because President Barack Obama will be giving the commencement address at the University of Michigan on May 1, the Ann Arbor rally is drawing special attention. Busloads of people will be coming from Detroit, Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, East Lansing, Kalamazoo. People will be gathering at Frisinger Park, located at East Stadium Boulevard and Woodbury in Ann Arbor, at 9 a.m., and marching peacefully to the University of Michigan Stadium.

The image of President Obama speaking inside the University of Michigan Stadium to thousands of students fulfilling their dreams of becoming educated professionals while thousands of immigrant students, workers, families and friends stand outside of the stadium calling out to the President to remember their dreams is a poignant one, especially following the recent passage of Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law SB1070 and while the bipartisan DREAM Act to give undocumented students a path to citizenship continues to linger in the House. (click on link for more)

Obama in Ann Arbor, rally for immigration reform Saturday - AnnArbor.com

American Citizens for Justice showing Vincent Who? for LaborNotes Conference

I will be speaking today at a special American Citizens for Justice showing of the documentary film, "Vincent Who?" for participants of the LaborNotes Conference.

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Deciphering and accessing the language and culture of American sports - AnnArbor.com

At Eastern Michigan University’s Chinese Week Gala Banquet, 6-year-old Little Brother snuck off with a group of Chinese American high school boys. I laughed when I found them in the lobby watching the Superbowl on TV. The Chinese organizers had scheduled this big gala event in the middle of the Superbowl, but that did not affect turnout because the Chinese participants did not even know about it. Sitting cozily in the middle of those older boys, Little Brother also did not know what he was watching or who was playing, but he learned it was important.

Sports are such an integral part of American culture that many take it for granted that everybody already knows how to play. When I was in eighth grade, the Physical Education teacher did not teach us how to play baseball, she just threw us out there with some bats and balls, and everyone else knew what to do and started playing. I did not even know how to hold the bat, let alone how or when to swing. I was terrified.

When my children started playing soccer in kindergarten, I always went to their practices at the park down the street, with the dog and their younger siblings. However, it was not until six years later that I suddenly realized that I was supposed to be going to their games every week, not their practices. Nobody ever told me. How was I supposed to know? (click on link for more)

Deciphering and accessing the language and culture of American sports - AnnArbor.com

AML: UM-OSU Rivalry fueling King School's Silent Auction: #325 The Karr Jersey - what colors will the principal wear? - AnnArbor.com

Sometimes those in the majority take their position for granted. Sometimes minorities have to really struggle to make their voices and perspectives heard. Occasionally, when a minority group organizes, they grow in strength, power, confidence, much to the chagrin of the majority group who has to adjust their heretofore unquestioned way of thinking. Race and culture are pretty charged topics in America, but we can see how some of these same themes play out in other, more gentle, less-charged territory. For example, in Ann Arbor, we are so used to seeing “our” colors, maize and blue, that we sometimes take it for granted that anyone else might prefer other colors, say scarlet and gray.

Oops, did I just call the U-M-OSU rivalry gentle and less-charged?

One of the auction items at this Friday’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School’s Silent Auction is #325 The Karr Jersey, or the chance to make Principal Kevin Karr, who wears only maize and blue, wear another team’s colors.

Parents from Ohio State University have been organizing for months to collect enough pledges to ensure the winning bid to force Principal Karr into scarlet and gray for one day. They have reached out to each other and organized, they have grown in size and confidence, they have even contacted an elementary school in Columbus, Ohio, to help collect pledges to help their cause. Apparently the cause has gone viral. Excitement over this movement has even given young OSU fans the courage to wear their colors proudly to the school’s Friday Wear Maize and Blue Day. (click on link for more)

UM-OSU Rivalry fueling King School's Silent Auction: #325 The Karr Jersey - what colors will the principal wear? - AnnArbor.com

Speaking today at National Guard

I will be speaking today at the National Guard in Lansing as part of a big diversity training. Will present "Becoming Asian Pacific American in the Midwest--Identity, Culture, Community," plus many tools from the "Multicultural Toolbox," and of course my favorite Grace Lee Project clip.

AML: El Dia de Los Ninos Cultural Celebration at Ann Arbor District Library Sunday - AnnArbor.com

If you Google “Children’s Day,” you find a huge list of countries that celebrate some sort of Children’s Day Festival, plus International Children’s Day and Universal Children’s Day. I always love the special dolls and kites on Japanese Children Day, originally known as Boy’s Day (kodomo no hi), and Girls’ Day or Doll Festival (hina matsuri). I am surprised to discover that the United States used to have a Children’s Day, too, before there was even Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, as far back as the 1860s, but it is no longer celebrated as such. We are lucky to be a multicultural community so we can celebrate Children’s Days in the context of many different family traditions throughout the year.

The Ann Arbor District Library, in conjunction with the Ypsilanti District Library, will be hosting an “El Dia de Los Ninos Cultural Celebration” Sunday, April 25, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the Downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library with Mariachi music, folkloric dancing, and traditional treats and crafts. According to the Ann Arbor District Library’s Web site, “On this traditional day of celebration, we will promote literacy for people of all cultural and language backgrounds.” (click on link for more)

El Dia de Los Ninos Cultural Celebration at Ann Arbor District Library Sunday - AnnArbor.com

AML: "American Daughters: Reflections On Being Muslim in America" Panel Discussion at Ann Arbor District Library Thursday - AnnArbor.com

Following Michigan Radio’s week-long series on being Muslim in America, the Ann Arbor District Library, in conjunction with the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and the University of Michigan Muslim Students Association, will be hosting a panel discussion about being a Muslim woman in America this Thursday, April 22, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library.

The panel of five women will discuss being Muslim in America from their own experiences and local perspectives. Discussion will center on the diversity of our community, how Muslims deal with the issues of multiculturalism, several tensions and barriers that exist in tackling this issue within the Muslim community as well as the broader community, and how these issues affect youth as well as adults. Discussion will follow. (click on link for more)

"American Daughters: Reflections On Being Muslim in America" Panel Discussion at Ann Arbor District Library Thursday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Holi, Hetalia, Songkran, and Festifools - playing in the spring sunshine - AnnArbor.com

I was walking down Liberty Street with about thirty singing and laughing and high-spirited high school girls dressed up as World War II Axis and Allied Powers (long story, do not worry, just Hetalia cosplay) when coming towards us from the other direction was a group of happy and tired-looking university students covered head to toe in colors. Deep purple smudged on one cheek, blue and red smudged on the other, hair dusty pink and green, white T-shirts never to be white again.

Oh! Holi! I knew it was coming, but I had not yet gotten around to checking an Indian calendar and so I missed it (again) this year. Oh, the disappointment.

Holi is a boisterous Hindu and Sikh festival celebrating the beginning of spring by throwing brightly colored tikka powders at others. Songkran or the Thai water-throwing festival is a similar Thai festival offering revelry and relief from the heat in Thailand’s hottest month, April. Both mark the new year in April (different calendars), and both offer a chance to play outdoors in lightness and in fun.

I dreaded both these festivals when I first encountered them in Nepal and Thailand years ago. Maybe I was too serious then. Maybe I felt more vulnerable as an outsider. Maybe I was a bad sport.

Now I think we all could use more opportunities to play. (click on link for more)

Holi, Hetalia, Songkran, and Festifools - playing in the spring sunshine - AnnArbor.com

AML: CAECC Chinese Spring Festival Saturday at WCC - AnnArbor.com

This Saturday, April 17, 4 p.m., at Washtenaw Community College's Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, the Chinese American Educational and Cultural Center (CAECC) of Michigan will be presenting its Chinese Spring Festival performance to celebrate the Year of the Tiger. Tickets are tax-deductible donations and cost $10 for adults, $5 for students and $90 for a group of 10 tickets.

One of Ann Arbor’s oldest Chinese cultural associations, CAECC is back on the scene after several years of quiet. Founded in 1976, CAECC is a 501c3 nonprofit and offers educational outreach and Chinese cultural classes like dance and martial arts to the community. Dr. Chen-Oi Chin is Executive Director.

In the same way that the Nutcracker ballet tells a story while showcasing different styles of dance, this show will weave a story about Chinese New Year’s rites, beliefs, customs and traditions through performances of dance, music and martial arts. (click on link for more)

CAECC Chinese Spring Festival Saturday at WCC - AnnArbor.com

AML: Muslims in Michigan Community Conversation Thursday on North Campus - AnnArbor.com

Michigan Radio, in partnership with the University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and sponsored by a grant from the Social Science Research Council, has been airing a fascinating series of radio programs every day this week during Morning Edition and All Things Considered as part of their “Muslims in Michigan” project which examines the religious, cultural, political, ethnic and social lives of our state’s diverse Muslim population.

Tonight, April 15, 7 p.m., at the Arthur Miller Theater on the University of Michigan’s North Campus, 1226 Murfin Ave., there will be a special Muslims in Michigan Community Conversation to supplement this radio series. This community conversation offers a unique opportunity for listeners and members of the community to learn more about Michigan’s Muslim population. There will be a moderated panel discussion and an opportunity for audience members to submit questions. Questions can be submitted in advance. (click on link for more)

Muslims in Michigan Community Conversation Thursday on North Campus - AnnArbor.com

Friendship and Faith by the Women of WISDOM Book Launch

Friendship and Faith by the Women of WISDOM Book Launch today.

Speaking today at Purdue University's Asian Pacific American New Communities Symposium

I will be speaking today at Purdue University's Asian Pacific American New Communities Symposium as keynote speaker, thanks to super grad student, Kate Agathon. Also coming are Angry Asian Man, Blacklava T-shirts, Dawen, Kelly Tsai, Turtlist Media. So cool!

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Unearthing our town's hidden cross-cultural treasures with the spring - AnnArbor.com

No school today, so I spend the day walking around town in the sunshine with my boy, Little Brother, unearthing so many hidden cross-cultural treasures with the spring.

First we go swimming at the YMCA. As we walk down Washington Street, he spots a (plastic) owl sitting on a second floor porch across the street. Leslie Science Center just visited his school, so he immediately identifies the specimen as “A Great Horned Owl” (rather than simply “an owl”) and he begins to hoot at it the way he just heard a real Great Horned Owl hoot in school. When it does not respond, his brow furrows, troubled. Then he concludes that it must be asleep “because owls are nocturnal.”

We stop in at Downtown Home and Garden to try on all the hats and visit with Louis. Like explorers on safari, we hunt through all the stacks of soil and seeds until we finally find Louis sunning himself in the front window by the porch swings. After only five minutes of Little Brother’s vigorous petting, Louis the cat escapes to an upstairs office.

Then Little Brother and I play with all the retro wooden toys. Ah, Americana...

...even though one of those simple wooden toys is a Buddhist prayer drum that my own little brother used to play with when he was a child, now mainstream. (click on link for more)

Unearthing our town's hidden cross-cultural treasures with the spring - AnnArbor.com

AML: Grace Lee Boggs Lounge dedication at U of M Baits II Housing on North Campus Sunday - AnnArbor.com

At 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 11, a lounge at University of Michigan Baits II Housing on North Campus will be named for legendary civil rights activist and author Grace Lee Boggs.

According to an email from Emily Lawsin of the University of Michigan Program in Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies, “This will be the second lounge at U-M named after an Asian American woman activist (the first being the Yuri Kochiyama Lounge in South Quad)."

Boggs has spent the past 70 years working in labor, civil rights, the environment and African American and Asian American issues. She founded Detroit Summer, and is active at the Boggs Center in Detroit. She was the Keynote Speaker at the 2003 University of Michigan Martin Luther King Day Symposium. Last month, she was the Keynote Speaker at the University of Michigan Center for African American Studies’ 40th Anniversary celebration. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan in December 2009.

Additional Note: Grace Lee Boggs will be speaking at the dedication program, which is open to the public and will be followed by a reception at the upper Coleman Lounge of Baits II Housing, 1440 Hubbard Road, North Campus, Ann Arbor. (click on link for more)

Grace Lee Boggs Lounge dedication at U of M Baits II Housing on North Campus Sunday - AnnArbor.com

AML: "They call me Muslim" documentary film at U of M's Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies Monday - AnnArbor.com

In 2004, the French government instituted a ban on all obvious religious symbols and apparel in public schools, including Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses. However, most of the controversy and impact of the law focused on the banning of Muslim headscarves or hijab. I often wondered how French teenagers felt about not being allowed to wear hijab to school, if they really felt more free as the government asserted, or less free as their parents insisted. At issue is more than dress, but also cultural, religious and personal identity and expression.

The University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) will be presenting the documentary film, They Call Me Muslim, that answers that question and more, on Monday, April 5 from noon to 12:40 p.m. at the International Institute or School of Social Work Building, Room 1636, 1080 South University, Ann Arbor. From a CMENAS email:

In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil - or hijab - is a symbol of Islamic oppression. But what does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In this provocative documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women - one in France and one in Iran - to express themselves freely. (click on link for more)

"They call me Muslim" documentary film at U of M's Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies Monday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Sorting through the varied hues of Easter - cultural or religious holiday? - AnnArbor.com

My father and I always sang in the church and school choirs, so every year we celebrated Easter by putting on our choir robes, singing joyously at Easter sunrise mass, and then going out for a Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s. After weeks of preparation, we were happy and stuffed and done with Easter by 9am.

Because I went to Catholic Schools, I always had Good Friday and the week after Easter off of school, while the public schools in California had a different week off, so I thought Easter was a straight-forward religious holiday.

I had no idea that there was more to Easter than Easter mass.

Years later, I was surprised when the mother of one of my Japanese American Buddhist friends mentioned that she always makes sure her family has a proper Easter dinner, with a big glazed ham. (I recently talked with another Japanese American friend who recalls not only always having a ham for Easter, but also corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day.) (click on link for more)

Sorting through the varied hues of Easter - cultural or religious holiday? - AnnArbor.com

Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com: AML: Reading, sharing, curating and subverting books to expand the definition of normal

April 04, 2010/ Frances Kai-Hwa Wang/ Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com/ Adventures in Multicultural Living

I just finished reading Lac Su’s memoir, "I Love Yous are for White People," a story about growing up poor and Vietnamese American in Los Angeles dodging gangs, alcohol and an abusive father. It was a tough read but a sobering reminder that many Asian Americans do not fit neatly into the model minority stereotype.

Now I am reading Bich Minh Nguyen’s memoir, "Stealing Buddah’s Dinner," this year’s Michigan Humanities Council’s Great Michigan Read, about growing up Vietnamese American in suburban Grand Rapids and her fixation on American food.

Both writers ache to belong to the world around them.

click on link for more: Adventures in Multicultural Living: Reading, sharing, curating and subverting books to expand the definition of normal - In celebration of both National Reading Month and National Women’s History Month _ books, reading, women, girls, asian, frances kai-hwa wang, adventures in multicultural living, multicultural, cultural, culture

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Hidden Treasures - PacificCitizen.org

No school today, so I spend the day walking around town in the sunshine with my five-year-old boy, Little Brother, uncovering so many hidden treasures in our city.

First we go swimming at the YMCA. As we walk down Washington Street, he spots a (plastic) owl sitting on a second floor porch across the street. Leslie Science Center just visited his preschool, so he immediately identifies the specimen as “A Great Horned Owl” (rather than simply “an owl”) and he begins to hoot at it the way he just heard a real great horned owl hoot in school. When it does not respond, his brow furrows, troubled. Then he concludes that it must be asleep “because owls are nocturnal.” (click on link for more)

Hidden Treasures

AML: GenAPA Asian Pacific American Cultural Show at Power Center - AnnArbor.com

The 2010 GenAPA Cultural Show, Continuum, will be this Friday, April 2, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Power Center. The GenAPA Cultural Show is touted as one of the largest student-run Asian Pacific American (APA) cultural shows in the nation, showcasing the incredible talents of our University of Michigan students and featuring a wide variety of Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Korean, Indian, fusion, hip-hop and contemporary dance; step; hula; martial arts; music (traditional Asian, contemporary, and a cappella); Chinese Yo-Yo; and much more. Power Center offers a spectacular backdrop to this annual event and Asian Pacific American students come from all over the Midwest in order to watch.

The students quite naturally and skillfully traverse the traditional and the contemporary to create something new. Many of the performing groups are multiethnic and multiracial, brought together by an interest in the art form and the community. Recurring themes are unity, strength, cultural diversity, tradition, history, the future. (click on link for more)

GenAPA Asian Pacific American Cultural Show at Power Center - AnnArbor.com

AML: AOKI documentary film Monday on a Japanese American founding member of the Black Panther Party - AnnArbor.com

It's so sad to see the Ann Arbor Film Festival wind up for another year, but before we have a chance to even lose momentum, here comes a film straight from the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival that is not to be missed—AOKI.

From the University of Michigan Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month Committee, in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA), comes a screening of one of this year’s most talked-about Asian American documentaries, plus a discussion with filmmaker Ben Wang:

"Monday, March 29 at the 236 Hutchins Hall from 7 to 9 p.m. AOKI is a documentary film chronicling the life of Richard Aoki, a third-generation Japanese American who became one of the founding members of the Black Panther Party....(click on link for more)

AOKI documentary film Monday on a Japanese American founding member of the Black Panther Party - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: A tale of three tea parties--gestures of concern, respect, graciousness - AnnArbor.com

A girlfriend was recently reminiscing about the Friday afternoon high teas at Smith College, a tradition held over from a previous era, although by the time she was there, most of the young women came to high tea wearing jeans rather than dresses and white gloves. Still, there was something warm and reassuring about coming home at the end of a long week and finding pots of tea and loads of cookies (especially the cookies) prepared and waiting for you, welcoming you home.

At the Japan Cultural Festival last weekend, I slowed down (for once) long enough to watch a Japanese tea ceremony. A younger kimono-clad woman carefully and meticulously prepared and presented a bowl of tea to an older woman. She brewed the water on an old fashioned brazier, scooped the water out with a long-handled bamboo ladle, stirred the tea with a little bamboo whisk, and poured the tea into a wide-mouthed bowl. Her body movements were disciplined and deliberate. The older woman sat silently and waited patiently for her tea. The relationship between the women could be read like a dance, the care and respect with which the younger woman made and served the tea to the older woman was moving. Everything was in the details, details that nobody has time for anymore. (And so nice to see during Women’s History Month.) Off to the side of the tatami stage, several kimono-clad women made more of the bitter green tea for the audience members and offered each cup with both hands raised. (click on link for more)

A tale of three tea parties--gestures of concern, respect, graciousness - AnnArbor.com

Photo courtesy of University of Michigan's Center for Japanese Studies

ImaginAsian Art Exhibit at Purdue University

So now I'm an artist--and part of the ImaginAsian Art Exhibit at Purdue University. I like it. :)

American Citizens for Justice Census and the Community event

American Citizens for Justice Census and the Community event March 27, 1 to 4 pm, Chinese Community Center in Madison Heights. Dwight Dean, Census Regional Director, Kurt Metzer, Demographer with Data Driven Detroit, and Tom Costello of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, speaking. Census Bureau plans to have assistants there to help with forms. Free, with food and entertainment.

AML: Ann Arbor students shine in Michigan Japanese Quiz Bowl competition - AnnArbor.com

Congratulations to our Ann Arbor students who reached the finals of the 17th annual Michigan Japanese Quiz Bowl competition this past Saturday at the University of Michigan. These students rose to the top of the 380 students from 26 elementary and secondary schools from across the state in a competition showcasing their knowledge of Japanese language and culture. The teams were divided into six different divisions, depending on the number of hours of Japanese language instruction they have received. (click on link for more)

Ann Arbor students shine in Michigan Japanese Quiz Bowl competition - AnnArbor.com

AML: U of M's Maize Mirchi concert and Taal Dance Team performance Saturday - AnnArbor.com

The University of Michigan's premier South Asian a cappella group, Maize Mirchi will be holding its sophomore concert, "Mirchi Reloaded" this Saturday, March 27, 7 p.m. in the Michigan Union Ballroom.

Maize Mirchi sings a blend of Indian, Western and fusion music in the a capella tradition, without instruments, and all of their arrangements are student-written. They have performed at the University of Michigan Indian American Student Association Show (the largest Indian American student-run production in the nation), Dandia Dhamaka (an intercollegiate Raas-Garba competition), Michigan A Cappella Council’s MACFest and more. They recently placed second in Gathe Raho, the nationwide South Asian a cappella contest held at the University of Iowa.

Maize Mirchi writes in an email: “Join us as our superhero alter egos save the world on the big screen, while we sing live Bollywood and American fusion music.” (click on link for more)

U of M's Maize Mirchi concert and Taal Dance Team performance Saturday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Contrasting colors of Japanese Quiz Bowl and Japan Cultural Festival - AnnArbor.com

For the past few weeks, my kids have been doing nothing but getting ready for Japanese Quiz Bowl! Extra classes, extra homework, extra studying, extra emails from teachers, extra study sessions with classmates—and I do not have to say a thing. Japanese Quiz Bowl is serious business.

According to the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, this 17th annual competition, which took place Saturday, March 20, at the University of Michigan, had approximately 375 students from 26 elementary and secondary schools from across the state competing in six different divisions.

Bet you did not know that 26 elementary and secondary schools in Michigan teach Japanese as a foreign language. (click on link for more)

Photo: Last year’s team from Ohara Language School

Contrasting colors of Japanese Quiz Bowl and Japan Cultural Festival - AnnArbor.com

AML: "Reel Bad Arabs" and "Journey into America" documentaries look at Arab and Arab American stereotypes - AnnArbor.com

My last year in college, I saw the documentary film, “Slaying the Dragon,” about stereotyped portrayals of Asian American women in the media, and I cried all the way home. So that is how people see me. So that is why they sometimes act so strangely around me. So that is where much of it originates. Seeing the history of how Asian American women have been portrayed in the media, one clip after another, from Anna Mae Wong to Connie Chung, let me see what I look like through other eyes. That was how even I had been brainwashed by Hollywood and the media.

How else can we feel so certain that we know all about a people when in real life we have met very few of "those people"? How else can we know what people really think of us (since most nice people do not intentionally make racist or stereotyped comments to one's face)? (click on link for more)

"Reel Bad Arabs" and "Journey into America" documentaries look at Arab and Arab American stereotypes - AnnArbor.com

AML: Kiss Me I'm Irish. Kiss Me I'm Italian! Kiss Me I'm Chinese? - NAM EthnoBlog

I used to think that St. Patrick’s Day was a national holiday.

I attended Catholic schools in Los Angeles, and all the Bishops at the time, the ones who set the calendars for all the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, were Irish. Thus St. Patrick’s Day was always a school holiday. Always. Along with Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday and All Saint’s Day.

Then our school got a young new principal, Sister Nathaniel. She was Italian American, with dark brown bangs peeking out of her white habit, a matter-of-fact way of speaking and a brisk, efficient stride. She declared that since St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) was about the same time as St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), we would celebrate both saints’ days together. I have often thought of this story as one which shows the difference one person can make. Because she was Italian American, she understood the importance of St. Joseph’s Day to our many Italian-American families; no one else even knew.(click on link for more)

Kiss Me I'm Irish. Kiss Me I'm Italian! Kiss Me I'm Chinese? - NAM EthnoBlog

AML: Prom Night In Mississippi at AADL Thursday - AnnArbor.com

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 desegregated our public schools and workplaces. In 1967, with the Loving v. Virginia case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.

However, it was not until 2008 that Charleston High School had its first integrated prom, paid for by Academy-Award winning actor and Charleston native Morgan Freeman and documented by Emmy-award winning director Paul Saltzman in the documentary film, Prom Night in Mississippi. This film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. (click on link for more)

Prom Night In Mississippi at AADL Thursday - AnnArbor.com

Eastern Michigan University: Center for Multicultural Affairs

I'll be speaking at a panel discussion of Hapa Issues at Eastern Michigan
University Monday, March 15, 11 am, 310A Student Center, as part of their Taste of Asia event. (click on link for more)

Eastern Michigan University: Center for Multicultural Affairs

AML: Kiss Me I'm Irish. Kiss Me I'm Italian! Kiss Me I'm Chinese? Wearing our cultural pride on St. Patrick's Day - AnnArbor.com

I used to think that St. Patrick’s Day was a national holiday.

I attended Catholic schools in Los Angeles, and all the Bishops at the time, the ones who set the calendars for all the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, were Irish. Thus St. Patrick’s Day was always a school holiday. Always. Along with Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, and All Saint’s Day.

Then our school got a young new principal, Sister Nathaniel. She was Italian American, with dark brown bangs peeking out of her white habit, a matter-of-fact way of speaking, and a brisk efficient stride. She declared that since St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) was about the same time as St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), we would celebrate both saints’ days together.

I have often thought of this story as one which shows the difference one person can make. Because she was Italian American, she understood the importance of St. Joseph’s Day to our many Italian-American families; no one else even knew. (click on link for more)

Kiss Me I'm Irish. Kiss Me I'm Italian! Kiss Me I'm Chinese? Wearing our cultural pride on St. Patrick's Day - AnnArbor.com

AML: U-M Zell Writers Series this month at UMMA Thursdays - AnnArbor.com

I recently met a new young professor named Tung-Hui Hu from the English department who just graduated from UC Berkeley’s film studies program. It turns out that he is a very talented poet too. The Los Angeles Times describes his work as a "contained surreal style that deftly shapes a philosophical argument." Check out this review of his second book of poetry, Mine, in Raintaxi Review of Books. Two poems from his forthcoming collection, Greenhouses, Lighthouses, can be found at the University of Mississippi, where he was poet-in-residence. He is also doing a really interesting sound installation called The Last Time You Cried on exhibit at the Michigan League and U-M Art and Architecture Building March 24 to April 6.

It is spring in Ann Arbor, time for poetry. (click on link for more)

U-M Zell Writers Series this month at UMMA Thursdays - AnnArbor.com

AML: Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival March 10-13 - AnnArbor.com

I was talking to a Palestinian American woman once about dabke dance when she suddenly wished out loud that people could see the beauty of her culture instead of automatically and only thinking about war and political conflict whenever they heard the word, “Palestine” - that there is more to her people than that. (click on link for more)

Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival March 10-13 - AnnArbor.com

AML: What's On Your Reading List This Month? - NAM EthnoBlog

I just finished reading Lac Su’s memoir, "I Love Yous are for White People," a story about growing up poor and Vietnamese American in Los Angeles dodging gangs, alcohol and an abusive father. It was a tough read but a sobering reminder that many Asian Americans do not fit neatly into the model minority stereotype.

Now I am reading Bich Minh Nguyen’s memoir, "Stealing Buddah’s Dinner," this year’s Michigan Humanities Council’s Great Michigan Read, about growing up Vietnamese American in suburban Grand Rapids and her fixation on American food.

Both writers ache to belong to the world around them. (click on link for more)

What's On Your Reading List This Month? - NAM EthnoBlog

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Reading, sharing, curating, and subverting books to expand the definition of normal - AnnArbor.com

I just finished reading Lac Su’s memoir, I Love Yous are for White People, a story about growing up poor and Vietnamese American in Los Angeles dodging gangs, alcohol, and an abusive father. It was a tough read, but a sobering reminder that many Asian Americans do not fit neatly into the model minority stereotype.

Now I am reading Bich Minh Nguyen’s memoir, Stealing Buddah’s Dinner, this year’s Michigan Humanities Council’s Great Michigan Read, about growing up Vietnamese American in suburban Grand Rapids and her fixation on American food.

Both writers ache to belong to the world around them. (click on link for more)

Reading, sharing, curating, and subverting books to expand the definition of normal - AnnArbor.com

Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com: AML: Winter Olympians of color - American like us

March 07, 2010/ Frances Kai-Hwa Wang/ Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com/ Adventures in Multicultural Living

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold.

C was planning to invite Michelle to her upcoming seventh birthday party, an ice skating party at Buhr Park. M loved the video clip of Michelle eating dinner with her family—using the same bowls and chopsticks that we did. For them, Michelle was an admired “older sister” that they looked up to. None of the other first-grade girls really knew who Michelle Kwan even was, but after two weeks of hearing about Michelle Kwan every day in class and at soccer, every girl in that class stayed up late that final night of the Olympics to watch Michelle Kwan’s bittersweet final performance.

click on link for more: Adventures in Multicultural Living Winter Olympians of color - American like us

Adventures in Multicultural Living at JACL's Pacific Citizen: Who You Callin’ Uncle?

“I’m not your ‘mom!’” my girlfriend finally exploded at her kids.

The teenagers looked puzzled, “Then, whose mom are you?”

I know what she means, though. She does not want her children to call her the English word, “Mom,” but to call her by the Chinese term, “Ma Ma.” The dictionary may give the same meaning for both terms, but “mom” does not have the same feel, the same nuance, as “Ma Ma.” My children are not allowed to call me “Mom,” either. (click on link for more)

Who You Callin’ Uncle?

Voices of Adoption RainbowKids.com: AML: Winter Olympians of color - American like us - RainbowKids.com Voices of Adoption

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold. (click on link for more, including thoughts on adult adoptee Toby Dawson and Korean Heritage Camps)

Adventures in Multicultural Living Winter Olympians of color - American like us Rainbow Kids Voices of Adoption

ImaginAsian Art Exhibition for Purdue

I was really excited to be able to contribute a piece to Kate Agathon's ImaginAsian Art Fundraising Exhibition for Purdue University Asian American Studies Program last week. If only so that I can officially call myself an artist now?

AML: "The Garden" documentary film at AADL Tuesday - AnnArbor.com

The Ann Arbor District Library will be showing the documentary film, The Garden, at the downtown branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave., at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. The film has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. (click on link for more)

"The Garden" documentary film at AADL Tuesday - AnnArbor.com

AML: Putting Islamic Finance in a Western Perspective at AADL Thursday - AnnArbor.com

My father once told me that although it was nice to learn about other cultures’ festivals and foods, it was a bit quaint. He said that if one really wants to understand another culture, one should look at how they deal with money — how they save, how they spend, how much they invest, how hard they work, what is considered a necessity versus a luxury, etc. — all their values will show up clearly when you follow the money.

Wait, isn’t that a line from a movie? (click on link for more)

Putting Islamic Finance in a Western Perspective at AADL Thursday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Winter Olympians of color: American Like Us - NAM EthnoBlog

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold. (click on link for more)

Winter Olympians of color: American Like Us - NAM EthnoBlog

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Winter Olympians of color - American like us - AnnArbor.com

During the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, my daughter M and her friend C, the only two Chinese-American girls in Mrs. Schroeder’s first-grade class, were excited about watching Michelle Kwan compete for the gold.

C was planning to invite Michelle to her upcoming 7th birthday party, an ice skating party at Buhr Park. M loved the video clip of Michelle eating dinner with her family—using the same bowls and chopsticks that we did. For them, Michelle was an admired “older sister” that they looked up to. None of the other first-grade girls really knew who Michelle Kwan even was, but after two weeks of hearing about Michelle Kwan every day in class and at soccer, every girl in that class stayed up late that final night of the Olympics to watch Michelle Kwan’s bittersweet final performance. (click on link for more)

Winter Olympians of color - American like us AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: A Star Trek to Purim, Black and White Purim Masquerade, and more - AnnArbor.com

“The Star Ship Enterprise, with Captain Kirk, has been marooned in the past over Planet Earth, circling above the Persian Empire. A plot to kill the king is revealed, and then a plot to destroy an entire people is uncovered. Did Captain Kirk violate the non interference prime directive and interfere in history? Attend his Court Martial and find out. Exhibit A - The Reading of the Entire Scroll of Esther.”

What? Did I read that correctly? A Star Trek to Purim?

In one episode of the television show, Big Bang Theory, a group of nerds are playing Klingon Boggle, when Howard suggests the word, “Kreplach.” Raj stops him, “That isn’t Kingon, it’s Yiddish for a meat-filled dumpling!” I wonder if there is a deeper Klingon-Kreplach connection. Hmmm, now that I think about it, hamentaschen are shaped strikingly similar to Star Fleet badges. (click on link for more)

A Star Trek to Purim, Black and White Purim Masquerade, and more - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Our Own Thing Chorale spirituals at Ann Arbor District Library Sunday - AnnArbor.com

King School’s International Night was launched in grand style this year by its Gospel Choir singing “This Little Light of Mine.” Somebody’s little sister snuck onto stage with them and — with pacifier in mouth — clapped and cheered and danced right along with the older elementary school students. Sometimes she faced forward, sometimes she faced backwards, she got most of the hand motions right, and then she shoutedout “Yay!” before the song was even done. Gospel is infectious like that. (click on link for more)

Our Own Thing Chorale spirituals at Ann Arbor District Library Sunday - AnnArbor.com

Watermelon Sushi World interviews Frances

Interview by Yayoi Lena Winfrey, on her Watermelon Sushi World Blog for her Hip Hapa Homeez:

Speaking of info, Your Hip Hapa can think of few people who are more informative than Frances Kai-Hwa Wang. We originally met many moons ago as Contributing Editors at IMDiversity.com, Asian American Village. These days, Frances is still with the site, but now she’s an Asian American Village Editor. Frances also writes for numerous other publications. Check out the links below that appear in her standard email signature. Above is Frances smiling despite dozens of deadlines piling up on her. (click on link for more)

Watermelon Sushi World

YouTube - Jen Kwok - Date An Asian

This is too funny. Not for the faint of heart!

"Feeling out of Place" and APA Identity in the Midwest

Speaking tonight Tuesday February 23, 2010, 6-8pm, UM Ecumenical Center International Residence's (ECIR's) Global Village Dinner, 921 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI, on "Feeling out of Place" and APA Identity in the Midwest

AML: Chinese Lunar New Year Feasting and Family - NAM EthnoBlog

The focal point of Chinese Lunar New Year celebration is gathering the whole extended family together for a big feast on New Year’s Eve. (click here for more)

Chinese Lunar New Year Feasting and Family - NAM EthnoBlog

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Chinese Lunar New Year feasting and family - AnnArbor.com

The focal point of Chinese Lunar New Year celebration is gathering the whole extended family together for a big feast on New Year’s Eve.

Just as Thanksgiving has certain special foods that must be eaten like turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes with marshmallows, Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve also features special food that must be eaten, each dish imbued with meaning and good wishes for the new year. A whole fish is served because the Chinese word for fish sounds like “more than enough” (and one must leave leftovers so there will be “plenty” “left over” in the new year). (click on link for more)

Chinese Lunar New Year feasting and family - AnnArbor.com

Celebrating the Chinese New Year - AnnArbor.com

Photos from the Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan's Chinese Lunar New Year's Celebration by Mark Bialek at AnnArbor.com. (click on link for photos)

Celebrating the Chinese New Year - AnnArbor.com

AML: 'Vertical Speech' African American art exhibit at Kerrytown Concert House - AnnArbor.com

In honor of African American History Month, there is a wonderful African American art exhibit up at Kerrytown Concert House called “Vertical Speech.” Curated by Darnell Ishmel, the exhibition features the work of local and international African American artists Alonzo Edwards, Christopher Batten, Malcolm Rowry, Marcus Wilson, Mario Moore and Rod Gailes. This is a great opportunity to see and better understand the African American experience through the eyes of the community’s own artists.

Darnell Ishmel emails:

“Why buy Black Art? Seven reasons why...
(1) Investment in community
(2) Preserve cultural legacy
(3) Support local African American artist
(4) Contribute to a worthy cause will make a difference
(5) 'Black IS beautiful'
(6) February only comes once a year
(7) If you don't....who will?”

click on link for more: 'Vertical Speech' African American art exhibit at Kerrytown Concert House - AnnArbor.com

AML: Huaren Chinese Culture Show Saturday at Power Center - AnnArbor.com

Huaren means people of Chinese ethnicity or descent, irrespective of language, politics, or geography. It is a word that speaks to the Chinese diaspora, that links Chinese people regardless of whether they were born in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Germany, Australia, America, etc. and where they might live.

The annual Huaren Culture Show, put on by University of Michigan students, celebrates the Chinese New Year with a cultural show that traverses Chinese culture old and new. Performances include traditional Chinese dance, contemporary dance, traditional Chinese music on the pipa (Chinese lute), contemporary Chinese American music, Chinese wu shu martial arts, Chinese Yo-Yo, hip-hop and more! (click on link for more)

Huaren Chinese Culture Show Saturday at Power Center - AnnArbor.com

AML: "Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story" at AADL - AnnArbor.com

During World War II, 120,000 Japanese Americans, almost two-thirds of whom were American citizens, were forcibly relocated and interned in concentration camps by the United States government. The official reason was military necessity, but in reality it was a combination of racism, xenophobia, economic competition, frenzied public opinion, and fear. Fred Korematsu challenged the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. He lost his case at the time, but the US Supreme Court decision was later reversed when it was discovered that the US government deliberately suppressed information and misled the US Supreme Court in 1944. This second decision paved the way to eventual apology and reparations for all internees. Fred Korematsu later won the US Congressional Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

After 65 years, the Korematsu case and the experience of the Japanese American internment is still relevant today because after 9/11, many people called for interning Arab Americans, again out of fear, racism, and xenophobia. The Japanese American community was the first to stand up for Arab Americans and say never again. (click on link for more)

"Of Civil Wrongs and Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story" at AADL - AnnArbor.com

AML: Discovering the meaning in Chinese New Year's celebrations - NAM EthnoBlog

I never even heard of Chinese New Year until I was already 12 years old. We had recently moved from Los Angeles to San Jose, and I had just started attending Saturday morning Chinese School for the first time. One of our lessons was about Chinese New Year stories and customs. Of course, being only 12, I was most interested in the tradition of red envelopes, which contain gifts of money. I went home demanding to know why my brother and I had never before received red envelopes, and insisted on years of back pay. (click on link for more)

Discovering the meaning in Chinese New Year's celebrations - NAM EthnoBlog

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Discovering the meaning in Chinese New Year's celebrations - AnnArbor.com

I never even heard of Chinese New Year until I was already 12 years old. We had recently moved from Los Angeles to San Jose, and I had just started attending Saturday morning Chinese School for the first time. One of our lessons was about Chinese New Year stories and customs. Of course, being only 12, I was most interested in the tradition of red envelopes, which contain gifts of money. I went home demanding to know why my brother and I had never before received red envelopes, and insisted on years of back pay.

My brother and I forced our parents to celebrate Chinese New Year that year. We invited all our relatives over for a big dinner of Mongolian hot pot and we made a special trip to the really far Chinese butcher’s for the extra-thin cuts of meat needed. Aunts No. 3 and 6 came with all our cousins, and we had so much fun with the house full of relatives, warm with gossip and food, that we did not even notice until everyone had left that we still did not get any red envelopes.

Every year after that, I would ask my parents what they were planning for Chinese New Year, and the usual response was, "Oh, I don’t even know when it is. I’ll have to check the Chinese calendar." If I was home, and insistent, then they would cook a meal and invite some relatives over; if not, then they would forget. They were modern Chinese who did not need these old world superstitions. But I did. (click on link for more)

Discovering the meaning in Chinese New Year's celebrations - AnnArbor.com

photo courtesy of Andrew Fang photasa.com

AML: Losar Services at Jewel Heart this Sunday - AnnArbor.com

The first time I took my daughter to Losar services, she was very little and very cute, and she caught the eye of Rimpoche, who leaned over and whispered something in someone’s ear. Suddenly, a handful of chocolate appeared before us. Awhile later, she caught his eye again, and another lean, another whisper, another handful of chocolate.

When we offered Rimpoche a white kata scarf at the end of services, he gave us yet another handful of chocolate. She loved Tibetan New Year. She thought it had something to do with getting lots and lots of chocolate. She also remembered the bread that we took home as prasad. Now that she is older, she will better understand the meanings behind the offerings and the gratitude, but there is something to be said for being able to feel it directly, as a child.

Losar is Tibetan New Year. Jewel Heart will be having special Losar services on Sunday, February 14, 10am.

Losar Services at Jewel Heart this Sunday - AnnArbor.com

AML: Wild Swan Theater celebrates African American History Month - AnnArbor.com

When Gwen Ifill was here as the keynote speaker for the University of Michigan’s MLK Day Symposium, she joked that anyone who missed the “I Have a Dream” speech on MLK Day would have another chance in February during African American History Month, a slightly cynical reminder that for some, these are the only two times of the year many suddenly remember to cursorily think about African American history.

Luckily, not everyone is like that. (click on link for more)

Wild Swan Theater celebrates African American History Month - AnnArbor.com

AML: Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan's Chinese New Year's celebration - AnnArbor.com

The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan’s Chinese Lunar New Year’s Celebration will be held Feb. 13 at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor. There will be Children’s Performances (1-3 p.m.) including a colorful lion dance; traditional Chinese orchestra; dangerous kung fu (martial arts) demonstration; graceful Chinese dancers; spectacular Chinese Yo-Yo stunts; and Chinese New Year’s stories, songs, rhymes, skits and films. There will also be a “Market Festival” with children’s games and crafts and delicious Taiwanese snacks (3-5 p.m.).

Tickets will be available in advance and at the door, $5 for 25 tokens. Tokens may be exchanged for games and snacks at the Market Festival. For more information check out www.aaccom.org.

Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day will be Feb. 14 this year. It signifies the beginning of spring and is celebrated by ethnic Chinese in many countries around the world. It is also celebrated by ethnic Taiwanese, Koreans (Sol), Vietnamese (Tet), Tibetans (Losar) and others; and after being celebrated in America for over 150 years, it has become woven into the fabric of American culture. Every year is represented by one of 12 animal zodiac signs, and this will be the Year of the Tiger. (click on link for more)

Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan's Chinese New Year's celebration - AnnArbor.com

Chinese Week Celebration gala at EMU kicks off The Year of The Tiger - AnnArbor.com

Photos from Eastern Michigan University's Chinese Week Celebration Gala by Melanie Maxwell at AnnArbor.com. Look at that handsome boy!(click on link for photos)

Chinese Week Celebration gala at EMU kicks off The Year of The Tiger - AnnArbor.com

AML: Raising confident daughters of color while not forgetting Obama is black - NAM EthnoBlog

Years ago, I took a seminar called, "Raising Strong and Confident Daughters." My husband laughed at me, "Could our daughters be any stronger or more confident?" (click on link for more)

Raising confident daughters of color while not forgetting Obama is black - NAM EthnoBlog

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang keynote at Eastern Michigan University

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang will be speaking on (Raising) Women in the 21st Century at Eastern Michigan University for Chinese Week 2010 on Monday, February 8, 2010, 1:00 pm, 300 Halle Library.

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Raising confident daughters of color while not forgetting Obama is black - AnnArbor.com

Years ago, I took a seminar called, "Raising Strong and Confident Daughters." My husband laughed at me, "Could our daughters be any stronger or more confident?"

The class was an eye-opener, not just in how to raise my girls, but also in understanding my own Chinese American childhood. I had no memory of dealing with a lot of the issues the instructor talked about as being so important to preadolescent girls, such as friendships and physical appearances.

At first I thought that I must have been just so low on the social totem pole, because of race and nerdiness, that I had given up hope of competing in those arenas. Then I found a Wellesley study of Boston middle-school girls’ self-esteem along racial and ethnic lines and discovered that girls of different ethnic backgrounds based their sense of self-esteem on different factors. It made perfect sense once somebody said it out loud. (click on link for more)

Raising confident daughters of color while not forgetting Obama is black - AnnArbor.com