A double-header issue for April and May. We wish the SAPAAC membership a Happy Earth Day (April 22) and a great start to Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May). We will continue coverage of AANHPI month on social media and in the next SAPAAC newsletter.

California State Senator Aisha Wahab introduced legislation to ban caste-based discrimination. Image source: California State Senate

1. President Biden’s nominee for Labor Secretary, Julie Su ‘91, advanced out of committee in the Senate. She now faces a vote by the full chamber. Both labor and business leaders are backing Su, calling her a “trailblazer whose track record speaks for itself.”

2. On the heels of Seattle’s recent municipal law, California state senator Aisha Wahab has introduced legislation that, if passed, would make California the first state to ban caste-based discrimination.

3. The pandemic may be over, but anti-Asian sentiments stirred up during COVID have not subsided. A new study finds that one in three Asian and Asian American professionals have experienced racial prejudice, suggesting that many employers care more about Asian work than Asian lives

4. As we celebrate Earth Day, Sierra magazine offers an inspiring look at AAPI folks involved in the environmental movement. Meanwhile, the Sikh American nominated to lead the World Bank, Ajay Banga, says that separating climate change and inequality won’t work. “We don't have the time to play in silos,” he said, “The scale of these challenges require trillions, not billions” of dollars.

5. The show “Beef” took the streaming world by storm at the beginning of April, with viewers glued to Netflix to see how the 10-episode series starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong would resolve its road rage-fueled feud. Weeks later, video footage resurfaced of actor David Choe talking about sexually assaulting a woman. Yeun and Wong defended their co-star despite outcries from fans and put a damper on a show that had otherwise received sterling reviews.

6. In March, Nancy Yao, the former president of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York, was announced as the founding director of the new American Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C. However, as reported in The Washington Post, Yao is now being investigated for retaliating against MOCA employees who made claims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

7. FiveThirtyEight unpacks the debate over affirmative action in the Asian American community and the case involving Asian American students at the center of the controversy.

8. Ashwin Ramaswami ‘21 moderated an event with the South Asian Bar Association of DC examining the legacy of Bhagat Singh Thind, who petitioned the Supreme Court in a case over Indians’ right to obtain U.S. citizenship (event recording).

9. The Tatung Electric Cooker, a rice cooker manufactured in Taiwan, has taken the US by storm. For many home cooks, this pot is far more than just a way to cook rice; some consider it the precursor to the Instant Pot. While we’re on this topic, here’s a short history of the electric rice cooker’s rise in Japan.

10: Just in time for AANHPI Heritage Month, MIT’s Cello++ ensemble performs“I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Disney’s Mulan. Can you spot SAPAAC board member Kevin Hsu among the cellists?

— Prepared by Kevin Fan Hsu and Katie Gee Salisbury. If you are interested in covering AAPI issues with the SAPAAC Advocacy & Education team, please reach out to khsu@alumni.stanford.edu