Race in America 🌎

Although there has been a lot of news about SCOTUS in the past few weeks, there continue to be more victories for Black, Indigenous, and women of color in law.

Last Friday in Vermont, 61-year-old Chinese judge Nancy Waples became the first woman of color to sit on the Vermont Supreme Court. Vermont is a 95% white state, but that did not stop Waples’ accomplishments and qualifications as a judge to shine. She was voted in unanimously by the Vermont State Senate.

Like other women before and presently working with her, Waples hopes that her appointment “inspires other people of color to reach outside of their comfort zone and climb the same ladder.” She will be right there to lend her hand.

At Rutgers University, students who pushed for an Asian American Studies minor have succeeded. 

Jillian Cuzzolino, a student at the College of Arts and Sciences, decided to set the groundwork for a minor, to take back “our narrative,” to transform it “into something positive, productive, and long-term.”

Other students got the news and jumped in, scouring the internet and other colleges for guidelines, course direction, programming, and more. This semester, their hard work paid off.

“Rutgers–New Brunswick undergraduates can now minor in Asian American studies,” and it all came from student initiative and passion.



 

In Other Asian News 🗞

In Kabul, Afghanistan, a boy’s school in Dasht-e-Barchi, a primarily Shia Hazara neighborhood, was hit by explosions that killed at least 6 boys and injured 17 others.

Two IEDs were set off inside the Abdul Rahim Shaheed High School when students were traveling between their morning classes. Saeed Rahmatullah Haidari, a fellow student at the high school recounts how “there were pieces of broken glass and pools of blood.” Some students were reported to have lost their hands due to the explosions.

Taliban fighters were seen outside the hospital beating back families and women trying to ascertain whether their children were harmed. Currently, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The protests in Sri Lanka continue.

Today the curfew continues as an anti-government protester was killed yesterday during a protest. On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan government promised to investigate the police brutality and excessive force allegations to disperse protesters.

According to police statements, “a crowd of people was about to set a diesel tanker alight when officers opened fire to disperse them in Rambukkana, 95km (60 miles) east of the capital.” As a result, at least 29 people, 17 of whom were policemen, were wounded. This was the first fatal confrontation since the anti-government protests that broke out this month. 

Entertainment 📺

BTS has been announcing album returns and new projects left and right. Still, they haven’t forgotten about their cooking show. 

The K-pop band is returning with their second season of the Korean show “The BTS RECIPE.” After their initial first season success, BTS’s management company HYBE will be releasing more foodie content to share more Korean cultural aspects with ARMY and the rest of the world. 

ARMY can follow along with traditional Korean recipes including japchae and dalgona, which was popularized by Netflix’s “Squid Game,” on YouTube.
 

Speaking of huge K-pop announcements, Stray Kids have announced their dates for a North American tour.

Kicking off on June 29 in Newark, New Jersey, the band will go to cities including Chicago, Atlanta, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle.

After finishing their tours in Korea and Japan, Stray Kids will bring “Maniac” to U.S. shores.
 

What else is on our minds? 🧠