SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Hello, everyone!

A federal judge in southern New York dismissed a case that claimed selective high school admissions in New York City discriminated against Asian Americans, stating that the 2018 policy actually admitted more Asian students into the school system.

The lawsuit accused local leaders of gerrymandering NYC’s high school admissions process in 2018, and the two Asian civil rights groups plaintiffs argued that the plan aiming to increase disadvantaged students at these schools discriminated against Asian American students.

Judge Edgardo Ramos made his decision after citing that after the policy took place in 2019 and 2020, Asian American student enrollment actually increased.

Spotlight 💡

To honor the Asian American heroes that sacrificed everything on 9/11, here are a few of their stories:

Betty Ong, a Chinese American flight attendant on the American Airlines’ flight that was hijacked, played an integral role in communicating essential information and giving a detailed account of what was happening on board to authorities on the ground. Ong and her colleagues provided vital information that helped government officials investigate and identify the hijackers.

Zack Zeng, a Chinese American treasurer who worked for the Bank of New York only blocks away from the World Trade Center, chose to jump back into danger and assist other rescue workers after his building was evacuated that day. Zeng was a former certified emergency medical technician and was last seen helping firefighters and others before the towers collapsed.

Wesley J. Yoo, a Korean American FBI Special Agent, risked his life to sift through classified material in the rubble after American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. As he was doing so, he was exposed, as many first responders were, to toxic fumes and other contaminants in the air, which sickened many in the aftermath. Yoo was diagnosed with multiple myeloma from the event, and passed away in 2015. 

Race in America 🌎
 

• The Department of Health in Hawai’i was recently awarded almost $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The money will be distributed over the next five years to fund the creation of a national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, the first of its kind.

• Despite the hate and violence in the aftermath of 9/11 against Muslim Americans in the U.S., data shows that 20 years later, there are 1.5 million registered Muslim American voters, and of those voters, 71% cast their ballots in 2020. Political participation and policy change continued in the face of a 500% spike in violence against their community between 2000 to 2009. 

In Other Asian News 🗞
 

• The Harvest Moon made a unique appearance from Thursday to Sunday, aligning with Mid-Autumn festival celebrations and lighting up the sky with its reddish orange glow.

• In India, a court agreed to hear a case from Hindu worshippers wanting to use a mosque that sits on contested land despite Muslim worshippers urging the court to throw out their petition.

TV 📺
 

• Disney’s “Loki” is returning for a season two with actor Ke Huy Quan as a member of the cast. 

• “American Born Chinese,” a new TV series produced by Disney+, will detail the comic book stories that narrated Jin Wang’s adventures as a teenager tangled up with ancient Chinese gods. Michelle Yeoh, in the newest featurette, is seen playing a mythological goddess in the series. 

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• Tesco is releasing a new line of snacks inspired by traditional sweets shared during the Diwali holiday.

• To preserve Hong Kong’s grassroots culinary culture, Chef Edgard Sanuy photographed 50 chefs and restaurants ranging from Japanese to West Asian food.

• In Japan, a Wagyu beef vending machine will dispense random packages of meat after receiving your money.

• Sexual harassment is a continued problem, but a train conductor in Tokyo faced criticism when he told riders to gather at the back of the train if they did not want to be groped, leading passengers and citizens to feel ignored by authorities. 

• Haruka Kawasaki, 19, became the youngest winner of the JLPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup, smashing the previous record made by then-20-year-old Ai Suzuki in 2014.