Stand with Asian Americans

Please join KALAGNY on LinkedIn and the Asian American Bar Association of New York on July 30th at the New York Supreme Court for the sentencing of Assamad Nash, who pleaded guilty to murdering #ChristinaYunaLee. Please RSVP by scanning the QR code in the flyer. If you cannot attend, please repost and share with others. #stopasianhate #fightasianhate #standwithasianamericans

Standard General Founder Soo Kim is suing the FCC claiming that they derailed an $8.6 billion purchase of Tegna, Inc. because he wasn't the “right type of minority.” "I am suing the FCC because they need to be held accountable for racially discriminating against me. The disparate and unfair treatment in my case is undeniable and unnecessarily divisive. Every person appearing before the FCC deserves to be treated equitably.” In 2022 Standard General won a public bid to buy Tegna, which owns over 60 televisions stations. Soo said the “transaction was poised to be a historic leap forward for both minority ownership and female leadership of broadcast stations,” with Standard General ready to hire a female chief executive. The purchase would have also offered Tegna shareholders $24-per-share-premium, after having traded as low as $10 per share. However, the FCC nixed the deal in favor of Black media tycoon Byron Allen, who Soo says is unfairly favored by the FCC, which has called advancing equity a core of their policymaking processes. "The FCC killed the deal … motivated by the belief that Mr. Allen’s black-owned company deserved greater solicitude than Mr. Kim’s Asian American-owned company," the filed complaint said, claiming the FCC’s diversity policies excluded Asians, using Soo’s race against him “with pernicious stereotypes.” Soo also claims those who objected parroted Byron’s publicized views that #AsianAmerican diversity was sham diversity. In killing the deal, Soo said, the FCC cost Standard General a loss of $85 million based on its 10.6 million shares owned. "The FCC chairwoman and her personal staffer blocked the deal at the behest of Mr. Allen, who used business allies and six-figure political donations to destroy Mr. Kim’s chances of acquiring TEGNA – to the tune of over $200 million in losses to Standard General and Mr. Kim and nearly $2 billion in losses to TEGNA shareholders." #RepresentationMatters #AsianRepresentationMatters Source: Fox Business Network Read more: https://lnkd.in/gvD-B9N5

🚀 Big news! Stand with Asian Americans is taking a giant leap forward in our fight against workplace discrimination. We're thrilled to announce: 1️⃣ New Leadership: Welcome Michelle Lee as President, GC and Board Chair; Brian Pang, PMP (he/him) as COO and Head of Partnerships; and 朱浩然 Justin Zhu and April Moh as our Board Directors! 2️⃣ $1 Million Workplace Justice Fund: A first-of-its-kind initiative to provide comprehensive legal support and education for Asians facing workplace discrimination. This fund aims to be accessible to every member of our Asian American community, regardless of their individual resources or circumstances. 🔑Key features of our Workplace Justice Fund: - Pro bono and affordable legal representation for landmark cases - Education and training programs - Policy research to drive systemic change - Online platform for community support and incident reporting Together, we can create lasting change. Are you with us? #StandWithAsianAmericans #WorkplaceEquality #StopAsianHate

Olympic All-Star Suni Lee trailblazes her way to the world’s biggest stage for the second time, despite being told she would never compete again. The Minnesota-native turned heads at the 2021 Tokyo Games taking home a gold medal. However, in late 2023 her world was shaken by the news that she had two rare incurable kidney diseases. "I could not bend my legs the slightest, I couldn't squeeze my fingers, my face was swollen,” The 21-year-old said she started swelling from her ankles to her face, hands and legs, leaving her unable to train, unable to properly flip or grab onto the bar. She began experiencing constant pain, nausea and lightheadedness. She would eventually announce her early retirement from college gymnastics. This is not Suni's first health battle. Early on the young gymnast developed eczema which would swell and inflame her legs, arms and neck, often triggered by high stress, like that of before a major competition. “It has definitely taken a hit to my security levels when I’m competing, because it feels like people are looking at me." Suni has also spoken out about her #mentalhealth—of feelings of inadequacy, feelings of not being enough or not deserving of the wins. “I feel like after the Olympics, there’s just been so much doubt in like, ‘Oh, she shouldn’t have won Olympics, blah, blah, blah,’ and it really hits my soul.” Slowly Suni’s condition began to ease up and eventually, she would be able to return to training with adjustments, finding herself weaker from the hiatus. Then in June came the Xfinity U.S. Championships, competing all-around for the first time in 15 months and cement her path to join Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “It feels absolutely insane,” she said. “There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick … We didn’t think I would be here. So getting through all of those events and ... everything that we had to go through this week to get to where we are right now, it was just such a hard, incredible journey." #GoForTheGold #SuniLee #AsianAmericans #RiseUp #Representation Sources: Today, The Sporting News Read more: https://ow.ly/lKkL50SzTOE https://ow.ly/LW4G50SzTOF

Asian elders of Westlake Christian Terrace in Oakland, California fear for their safety following a string of at least 13 brutal robberies in a span of one week. “It was happening every hour on the hour," said resident council president Sister Marie Taylor. By her count, she estimated there were 30 violent attacks and robberies in a single week targeting elderly #AsianAmericans living at the assisted living facility home to over 700 elders. The average age of their residents is 85. "Not only do you grab their purse but you beat them brutally. We had several who had to be taken to the emergency, one broke the wrist. We had police here almost 7 hours filing reports. Then it continued on Sunday with more. Multiple residents being attacked." Residents will often walk along Valdez from their 28th Street block north of Lake Merritt to run daily errands, and among those targeted include an Alzheimer’s patient that one resident said didn’t understand what was happening as the assault occurred. Several key arrests have been made thanks in large part to people reporting these attacks. "Reporting ... that's what really made a difference. On Monday, sent my special resource section out my crime reduction teams to conduct operations. I haven't had any robberies in 2 days in that area which is huge.” Residents say amidst the fear they remain committed to being allies for one another. A group of 50 gathered on a Wednesday in a show of support for each other and to demand accountability from the city, saying they had #enough. "We are here we are paying taxes, we vote and we need to be recognized." The Oakland Police report a citywide spike in robberies with 83 occurring between June 25th and July 1st, 2024. They urge elders to move in groups and only in the daytime. #ProtectOurElders #FightAsianHate #StandwithAsianAmericans Read more: https://ow.ly/XOGj50Sz4JO Source: ABC7 News Bay Area

Golfing superstar Lilia Vu makes her way to the 2024 Paris Games, and she reflects on her family's legacy as Vietnamese boat people and on her grandfather Dinh, whose bravery secured the future of 82 people and her own. Lilia Vu is a certified #AsianAmerican #trailblazer. She went from ranking 1,330th in the world in 2020 to number one. In the past 15 months alone, she earned three wins, two major victories and nearly $5 million. Following her AIG Women’s Open victory, she became the first American woman to win multiple majors in a single year since 1999. All this from a woman who nearly gave up, if it wasn’t for her grandfather, Dinh Du. “I told him that it was all too much, and I just — I didn’t have it … I couldn’t figure out how to have fun anymore," said the 26-year-old professional golfer. The once college All-American and the No. 1-ranked women’s amateur in the world faced a toughed 2020. One after another, she lost her legacy status and stacked up miss cuts and eventually, #impostersyndrome crept in. Then before a low-level tournament in Florida, she visited her “ông ngoại” (grandfather in Vietnamese), who was in the hospital with heart issues. He saw the pain in her eyes and told her to stop worrying and just play, to ignore everything and seek out the joy again. Grandfather Dinh would later die on March 9, 2020. Four years later, Lilia, Kha-Tu Du Vu to her family, is on her way to Paris to represent Team USA, a feat only made possible by the bravery of her mechanic grandfather who, decades earlier, created a 32-foot boat that would help 82 people escape the harsh conditions of Vietnam following the Fall of Saigon. Known as the Vietnamese boat people, an estimated 2 million fled Vietnam by rowboat, flatboats or fishing boats following the aftermath of the war. 200,000 to 600,000 would die along the way. Today, their children and grandchildren are learning to reclaim their identity as boat people, a stigma inherited of “being inherently desperate” in a culture of saving face. Dinh would spend two years to create the boat, faced with the threat of being accused of plotting defection, going back and forth from their home in Cần Giuộc to the coastline of Vũng Tàu. A total of 83 would cross the 1.4 million square miles of the disputed South China Sea until 400 miles south of Ho Chi Minh City, the leak began. Daughter Kieu Thuy watched the painful acceptance of death crawl across her father’s face. They would later be rescued by the USS Brewton, and the family would make their way to Southern California. “It’s just mind-blowing to me that all this had to happen for me to have the chance to be here today … I’ve learned that if you want something, you have to go.” #GoForTheGold #NotYourModelMinority Read more: https://ow.ly/bMF450Sz0uv Source: The New York Times

Seven San Francisco Subway franchises are accused of exploiting immigrant labor, low pay and poor working conditions. When Khadengra Subedi, a Nepalese father of two, immigrated to the United States, he had no knowledge of the workplace rights the laws afforded him. He just knew he had to grab the first job given to him so can get on his feet and survive. “I am first time in the U.S. … I did not know about the minimum wage, overtime, sick pay. … I came here with my family. I must work any job.” Khadengra says nine months in he never received a pay stub, only $14 an hour in cash, well below the City’s $18.67 an hour minimum and in some months, he didn’t get paid at all. But he endured, despite struggling to pay his bills on time and needing to provide for his children, running the restaurant largely on his own for 10-hour days, often unable to take breaks to use the bathroom. The franchise he worked for is among seven owned by Christopher Van Buren and Marta Gebreslasie that are accused of illegal labor practices. Former employees have also named Shila Acharya Thapa, a manager whose hiring practices seemed to target newly arrived immigrants with limited English-speaking abilities. “The manager wants to hire the maximum Nepalese people and Burma people … They do not understand the English language, the minimum wage or the overtime, sick time like me.” Khadengra says Thapa instructed him to lie and tell people he earned minimum if asked about his earnings. Another employee, Monica Ramirez, said she caught Thapa on multiple occasions editing her time sheet to show she clocked out earlier than she had. San Francisco-based worker center Trabajadores Unidos and nonprofit Legal Aid at Work filed a joint complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, which has been investigating the accusations. The franchise owners are accused of violating wage laws on three counts: paying less than the state wage of $16 and hour, less than the San Francisco minimum and less than the new state fast food worker minimum of $20 an hour. So far ten of the estimated 25 affected employees have come forward. Subway has been accused on multiple counts of patterns of abuse, affecting both immigrant employees and immigrant owners, who comprise 30 to 50 percent of franchise owners across 20,605 franchises. A 2021 lawsuit accused the chain of preying on Asian immigrants, encouraging them to open franchise and then targeting them with unnecessary fees, forcing their business to go under. #WorkplaceJustice #SpeakUp #NeverSilent #NotYourModelMinority Read more: https://ow.ly/T2et50Syj8u Source: NBC News

The Xu sisters have beaten the odds and are on their way to Paris to represent Team USA after a four-year hiatus. “Very hard to see someone that can comeback after you quit three or four years and not touching your racket at all,” said their coach, Harry Tan. “And come back and make it happen in two years time — it’s really hard.” Kerry and Annie Xu picked up badminton at eight years old, strictly as a hobby to begin with, but by their teens, they learned that they were pretty good, beating out older athletes and picking up trophies along the way. Trophies then turned into mileage, the Xu twins picking up opportunities to compete in Taiwan, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Canada, long before they were bit by the Olympic dream. But then came a ticket to U.C. Berkeley and the cost was their rackets. “In the end because we didn’t have enough time to continuously play badminton or train,” Kerry said. “We decided to focus on our academic careers first.” Their hard work would pay off and they would live every Asian American parent’s dream—landing corporate accounting jobs. But like before, little by little, they would once again heed the sweet calls of their rackets until it was too hard to resist going all in. “We decided it would be best to put one-hundred-and-ten-percent of our effort and time onto like chasing this Olympic dream.” They would earn silver medals at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile and qualify to compete in the duos category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, swapping out their daily desk jobs for daily practice at the Bay Badminton Club in Milpitas, California. However, they would learn that the Olympic pursuit wasn’t just one of physical and mental endurance, but also a financial one. Badminton isn’t like basketball or football in the United States. And so, without a national team that can fund their journey, the Xu sisters must rely on their own pockets. They’ve since launched a GoFundMe page and have gotten support from their home club. Now that they can check off competing at the Olympics off of their bucket list, they’ve quickly added another endeavor—growing the sport here at home. “Next one might be like to try and promote the sport and grow the sport in the United States,” Annie said. “Because it’s not real well known right now.” #AsianAmerican #Trailblazers #GofortheGold #XuSisters #StandwithAsianAmericans Read more: https://ow.ly/8eTZ50Sy8sV Support their journey: https://ow.ly/zYff50Sy8sW Source: NBC News

🚀 We need you! Ascend is launching a unique survey that takes a comprehensive look into API workforce issues. If you're an API professional, we’d love to hear from you. 🌟 Take just a few minutes to participate and help us make workforces more equitable for everyone. Your input matters! 🙌 https://hubs.li/Q02FKfdL0

An investigation is underway following an unprompted assault of a Columbia University spokesman. On June 17th, 52-year-old Ben Chang was approached by a man just a few blocks from campus, when, without provocation, the man began slinging xenophobic remarks, “go back to your f------ country,” and hitting him with a metal water bottle. A passenger and driver of a passing bus helped Ben to get on board in an attempt to escape, but two blocks uptown when he got off, the man spotted him again and attempted to re-engage only to walk away after Ben alerted a school public safety officer. The New York City Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the case. No arrest has been made. Ben has lived in NYC for two years, and the unprompted nature of the attack has him in shock; however, he still noted the importance of speaking up to prevent another attack. “It’s important to report what happened both in my own case, but also for overall, trying to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the future … I’m born and raised in the D.C. area. My mom grew up in West Virginia. We don’t get much more American and apple pie. And that’s jarring.” Read more: https://ow.ly/RXFM50Ssc1B #StandwithBenChang #SpeakUp #FightAsianHate #StandwithAsianAmericans Sources: NBC News