Race in America 🌎

In Brooklyn, NY, Jalana Weldon credits her Chinese culture and upbringing for her recent promotion at the NYC Transit Authority.

As one of the 11 people who identify as AAPI in the entire organization, Weldon was tremendously excited when she heard that she passed the test. Her hard work paid off.

That work ethic came from her mother and grandmother, who Weldon recalls being a significant influence. For Weldon, that came from her family background: “this goal to keep moving up, keep working hard.”

Weldon says that every AAPI New Yorker has that drive inside them, explaining that “it's what's inside, it's your heart, your soul is what pushes you forward.”

 

In Other Asian News 🗞

Meanwhile, Pope Francis aims to increase the Catholic Church’s reach and influence across Asia by appointing 21 new cardinals. 

As cardinals hold a high rank, being right below the pope and acting as his counsel, having more across the continent gives the Church more prestige. On Sunday, Pope Francis announced that he would be appointing cardinals in areas such as Mongolia, East Timor, India, and Singapore. While some of these countries may have fewer Christians than others, these appointment decisions serve more than just their constituents.

The appointment of a Mongolian cardinal proves strategic as it allows the Vatican to slowly improve its relations with the nation’s neighbor, China. While these electors may not all be Asian themselves, with some from Europe, namely France, Italy, Britain, and Spain, many also come from Nigeria, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Brazil, the U.S., Paraguay, and Ghana. 

Asian Activism ❣️

Ultimately, the meeting does not aim to consult the members on the Asian American experience. Instead, it aims to use BTS’ platform to promote activism and advocacy on relevant and pressing Asian American issues because of the success of the June 2020 #MatchaMillion campaign, where BTS stans called ARMY were able to raise $1 million in funds for BLM.
 

Entertainment 📺

In a roundtable interview with the Hollywood Reporter, several stars, including Sandra Oh and Jung Ho-yeon, revealed career strategies while bonding over similar struggles and transformations.

The stars revealed their intense self-criticism over their multiple performances and their journeys in discovering themselves through their acting careers. Jung expressed her disappointment when seeing her performance on screen, profusely apologizing to the director at its initial screening.

As the questions moved forward, Oh talked about the relationship between actors, directors, screenwriters, and the script itself. For Oh, the script was No.1. “It’s always No. 1, because that’s the thing we work with.”

What else is on our minds? 🧠

• Tobacco is harmful, but not just to our lungs. The entire industry is causing huge environmental damage, including “widespread deforestation, pollution, and emitting millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide.” 
• Indonesian fishermen are raking in bigger returns because of an innovative start-up, Aruna, which gives “fishermen direct access to global consumers, fetching fair prices for their catch.” 
• New self-made Asian American billionaire Alexandr Wang is a college drop-out, but his company, Scale AI, uses artificial intelligence to analyze satellite imagery faster than human analysts, drawing in “three contracts worth some $350 million or more.”
• Being paid less than your professional peers? More likely than you think. Arden Cho talks about her experience dropping out of Teen Wolf despite her co-stars having been kept and not cut. 
• Search teams recently found the black box of the Tara Air plane that crashed on Sunday in Nepal, along with the remains of all 22 passengers.