On Sunday, May 2nd, please join Asian Pacific Americans for Progress as we host our annual State of Asian Pacific America House Party. Last year, attendees at house parties all across the country got to hear from such noted guests as Barack Obama's brother-in-law, Konrad Ng; the White House's Tina Tchen; Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth and Congressmembers Judy Chu and Joe Sestak.

Abruptly stopped by a hard jolt this morning while online, I dropped a conversation and took cover. Immediately after the shake, I turned on the tv for the news. ABC eyewitness came on, reporting an earthquake in Pico Rivera, about 10 miles from me. Said it was a 4.4 magnitude at 4:04a.m. Rude awakening the 4.4 at 4:04 or merely a coincidence?

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) supporting Comprehensive Immigration Reform, where you at?

If you haven't already, RSVP for the 3/21 March for America (M4A) in Washington DC, here: http://bit.ly/9JYtpB

If you are tweeting about M4A, please use the hashtag #m4a and #ri4a. See more details for the AAPI Contingency below.

If you cannot make it, there will be a more extensive list of solidarity events to be posted soon, San Francisco currently has an event on 3/24. 

On March 14th, 2010, YouTube/Google banned my spoken poetry piece "To Seung-Hui Cho" because it violated their guidelines for inciting violence and hate speech. I will not be quiet, I will stand up and fight. But today, another major corporation shuts down another Asian American voice.

During the past few months, several friends have started dating someone they met online. Sure, they’ve experienced some excruciating false-starts with people they weren’t that into, but they eventually found someone with similar interests (you’re a vegetarian, dog-loving Democrat addicted to Law and Order? Me, too!).

In addition to rainy weather and college basketball, March is notable for being Women's History Month.  In an ideal world, the contributions and accomplishments of women and girls would be recognized day after day, month after month.  Unfortunately, as most of us know, that is not the case.  Pay inequity, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and work/life balance are among the many barriers that women must overcome on a daily basis. Women of color often face the double burden of sex and race discrimination.  But through it all, wom

Am I Asian Pacific American? The question I asked myself before sitting down to write this blog. How would I properly address the issues that affect my ethnicity if I’m not even sure how I identify myself? Before I begin figuring out where I fit I must go wash my hands. There is still some residual muruku (chakri) on them from my midmorning snack. Before I continue I must turn over my aloo samosas that are baking in the oven. Before I continue I should remove my shoes and place them next to the door. Wait! My kettle is whistling it’s time for afternoon tea.

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Two weeks ago, I uploaded a spoken word piece on YouTube that pertained to finding love within myself and my racial identity, self-hatred as a Korean-American, and my unfathomable connection with the VA tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho. The poem was titled: "To Seung-Hui Cho". The poem was not about condoning or glorifying Seung-Hui but rather how his life and mental health issues found a connection with my own troubled young life. The poem also touched upon mental health issues within Asian Americans, issues that are often ignored by society and their own families.

Finding direction and passion about something in this world is a dilemma that troubles many people around the world and more often than not, people wander aimlessly in frustration and resignation. For me, I found my passion in activism and what it took to get me on this path has made me recently wonder if this applies to others who are passionate activists as well.