Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda: How You Can Help

Photo: Noel Cells

As many of us are aware by now, Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda has completely ravaged and devastated the Philippines. Coastal areas of Northern Vietnam suffered losses as well, but was spared the brunt of the storm due to significant weakening by the time it hit landfall. There's been a shocking lack of reactions and news on my various social media outlets outside of those who have family in the affected countries despite the facts: an estimated 2,500 death toll, hundreds of thousands of people evacuated and displaced, the difficulty of aid reaching those in need. Photo after photo, article after article, video after video, the desperation and panic is heartbreaking.

And now the rebuilding process begins. For me, the options on which charities to donate to were a bit overwhelming. Although most of us are well-meaning, it's easy to overlook how charities allocate their funds (some more than others) or the incredible amount of inappropriate donations (ie: old clothing, toys, used medication, etc). It's easy to donate to orgs such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Unicef, and other well known names, but I think it's crucial to also give thought and funds to the local organizations who know the area, who know the people, who have been a part of the community from the beginning. 

I've compiled a short list below of both local and well known organizations who are accepting donations and mobilizing. If you are interested in the transparency of whichever group you are donating to, most sites have public finances page for potential donators. Please feel free to leave any additional resources in the comments section and I will promptly add them to this post!

CSFI (Community & Family Services International) - "a humanitarian organization committed to peace and social development, with a particular interest in the psychosocial dimension. The purpose of CFSI is rebuilding lives. Based in the Philippines, CFSI works internationally, primarily but not exclusively in the Asia and Pacific Region."

NAFCON (National Alliance For Filipino Concerns) - "a national multi-issue alliance of Filipino organizations and individuals in the United States serving to protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos by fighting for social, economic, and racial justice and equality / relief and support work for Filipinos facing crisis’ while in the midst of chronically impoverished situations."

MORE: Oxfam America // Asia America Initiative // World Food USA // World Vision

Things You Might Have Missed: Asian(American) Edition, Part II

In this week's edition, we talk about the changing face of the "girl next door," how nerds can be of color, too, and if it's time to retire Apu.

As always, what are some cool things you have read lately?

 Image courtesy of Wall Street Journal

1. "Miss America Nina Davuluri Reveals Her Secret Life As a Nerd"

I think the title of this piece is misleading as she doesn't talk about her "nerdy" qualities until an afterthought of the piece and as someone who is in the public spotlight, it's not very secret is it?

But aside from the nitpicking, here are some gems:

“I grew up watching Miss America for years and years, and as the daughter of immigrants, I always thought to myself that I could never be that — because I didn’t look a certain way; I didn’t fit the model of what was up there on that screen,” she says. “And it shouldn’t be about race, it shouldn’t — but it is. To be able to stand up there, and be an example for other little girls that America is now a very different place, that’s everything to me.”

and:

There’s something else that Davuluri, Lee and Yeh have in common as well: They’re all Asian American, the first time in history that three out of the top five Miss America finishers were of Asian descent, in a year that saw more Asian American contestants than ever.

“Isn’t that a pretty good example of where we are as a country?” says Davuluri. “We’re not just a nation of black and white anymore. People need to see the amazing variety of cultures we have in America — and to learn a more inclusive respect for everyone’s traditions and beliefs.”

Interesting Things You Might Have Missed: The Asian(American) Edition

Since I only post every other week, I try to alternate between outfit posts and more serious, thought-provoking (I hope) cultural posts. Today's post is of the latter-variety.

Sometimes I feel really helpless when I'm inundated by thoughtful critiques of how Asian(Americans) have been marginalized today/in history/overall. I like to give myself a 1-2 day media breather just so I can try to remind myself that 1. I'm lucky to be alive; 2. There are still a lot of really great people and I'm so glad to be surrounded by them; 3. There is a lot to be done and I need to be more involved. If you are like me and need a little catch-up on your news, critique, and interesting tidbits, here is what you missed in the Asian(American) world:

1. From Race Files: Why Are Asians So Racist?

Image courtesy of Race Files

I thought this was such an interesting read and has given me some really good food for thought. I get asked a lot this question and the other question that Racefiles answers (using historical information no less!): why do Asians stick with other Asians? This answer is much easier to answer (similar struggles/easier to relate, etc) but the former always stumped me. My favorite paragraph (but I urge you to read the entire thing):

Newly arrived immigrants assimilate a culture in which it is business as usual for American authority figures to arbitrarily pick out black people and treat them like criminals. It’s not that hard to see why many reach the conclusion that black people are prone to criminality, a racist impression that will be reinforced by TV, conservative politicians, movies, and popular music. But we all consume these same messages. So are Asians more racist? I doubt it. Instead, I argue we are less subtle because we often don’t understand the accepted racial etiquette. And keep in mind, that etiquette tends to make racism more rather than less difficult to combat by forcing it underground.

What's In A Name?

Source: Business Insider

A few weeks ago, an aircraft went down in San Francisco. It was a tragedy, no one can argue, but when I found out it was Asiana, I held my breath. I knew there was going to be trouble.

Anytime a tragedy is in any way racial, i.e. not about a white person, the tragedy becomes ABOUT how non-white it is. First there were the jokes: Asians can’t drive, therefore they crashed the plane. Asians have small eyes, therefore they crashed the plane. Did you hear about the one where Korean-Americans live in a culture of deference and that’s why the plane crashed?

The sad thing is I’m not surprised. What ended up being surprising was what followed: releasing fake, obviously racist “names” of the Asiana pilots on TV. Sum Ting Wong? Ho Lee Fuk? This was shit I got in 5th grade when white kids would pull their eyes back, bow at me, and say with an “Asian” accent that my name was Ho Lee Fuk because, get it? My last name is Lee.

Many people have debated whether or not this was a simple tasteless joke or something racist, more serious. You don’t see anyone else fucking up Zach Galifianakis’s name or thinking Zsa Zsa Gabor is a weird name. So why is it okay to mimic Asian names?

Featured in a CNN article, Paul Cheung and Bobby Calvan of the Asian American Journalists Association wrote: "Making up Asian names or mimicking foreign accents are not innocent forms of satire. Doing so demeans and hurts."

My parents gave me a Chinese name and an English name. Vivian means lively. 李慧文 means many things. Separately 慧 means intelligence; 文 means literature, the written language. 李 has so much legacy behind it that it has its own Wikipedia page! Needless to say, my mom basically dictated my personality and interests before I even knew it. But in all seriousness, by making fun of Chinese names (or Asian names and any “ethnic” name for that matter) is to Other me, is to erase my history, my culture, my language. Not only is it my history, but it’s the sad history of Asian-American immigration.

According to Gary Okihiro, the founding director of the Center for Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University, the mocking of Asian names dates back to when immigrants started arriving in the United States. "In the 19th century, many immigration officials who first greeted Asian migrants demeaned them, by first of all, making fun of their names because they couldn't pronounce them properly, or assigning them names like John Chinaman or China Mary," he said.

"Anything foreign seems to be open season or free game," continues Okihiro. When even a professional television news broadcast is airing shit like this, well ain’t that the truth.

For Trayvon Martin

Photo courtesy of Krista Kennell/Zuma Press/Corbis at The Guardian

On Saturday, George Zimmerman was acquitted in killing Trayvon Martin.

There have been protests because of outrage and grief, even though to most the verdict came as no surprise.  After some time, vocalizing your anger can only get you so far.  You feel obligated to do something, and there is certainly strength in coming together to achieve a greater purpose.

"We are all Trayvon Martin."

But to claim so is to turn him into an idea, rather than a person.  We have every right to feel disappointed, frustrated, or upset.  But for most of us, to say we understand the plight of Trayvon Martin is to cheapen the very experience we are protesting.

To pretend for a moment that I can understand what it's like to be a black male growing up in America would be tremendously naive, insensitive, and misguided.  As a person of color, I might better understand the implications of Zimmerman's verdict than my white peers: both the consequences of institutionalized racism and the deep-seated microaggressions built into all of us.  But I will never understand what it's like to be black.

To say, "We are all Trayvon Martin" is to ignore the privilege that we are not.  We are alive.  We were not dubbed threatening because of our race and then killed as a result.

In that regard, perhaps the Tumblr post that has been finding its way around the internet touched on the right idea: We are all George Zimmerman - at least in the sense that we are a part of a society where George Zimmermans can thrive.  If white and non-black people wish to help, we must be self critical before we are self righteous.  And we certainly have no right to be self congratulatory, no matter how "aware" of our privilege we may be.

This is not to say we shouldn't feel anger, or sadness, or frustration about the case.  We can, and should, let ourselves feel the weight of this tragedy: not just for the verdict, but for the loss of a seventeen year old boy's life.

Trayvon Martin was not worthless.  His life had value.

Sometimes, injustice fuels our anger: It makes us want to fight.  But sometimes injustice makes us tired.  To be a person of color in moments like these is to be reminded that we are still considered less than, and that there is much to be done.

Here at Within Color we are keeping Trayvon Martin in our thoughts and sending all our best wishes to his family.

From the Rotunda: SB5 Legislation

I asked our guest poster Jackie to write up a blog about her experience at the Texas State Capital during Wendy Davis' filibusters and floor vote. I wish I could have been standing by your side!

Last night I joined thousands of protesters at the Texas State Capitol gathered to voice our opposition to SB 5, a bill aiming to ban abortions after 20 weeks and placing new, severe restrictions on clinics and providers. I had been listening to the filibuster all day and wanted so badly to be there to show my support. After work, I headed over to the Capitol, not knowing what to expect.

I was surrounded by a sea of orange. Pizza was being delivered, volunteers were passing out peanut butter sandwiches, apples, and bottled water, and the atmosphere, though serious and determined, was overall friendly and united. We were there, and we weren't leaving. It was time to take back our house.

The line to be admitted into the Senate Gallery wound down 3 levels of the building. We had to decide whether to join the groups in the auditorium watching the debate, or wait in line, not always knowing what was going on in the gallery.

I started in the auditorium. Hundreds of seats were filled with people watching intently, booing attempts to silence Senator Davis, and erupting in cheers when she shut her silencers down. I only wish she could have seen how hard we were rooting for her. After a couple of hours in the auditorium, I headed up to the 3^rd floor rotunda, just outside the Senate Gallery, to meet friends in line waiting to be admitted. The line lurched slowly, and most of us were getting our information from Twitter, Facebook, and friends watching the streaming. A rumor started going around that the Capitol shut its Wi-Fi off, though I can’t say for certain if that’s what happened. I do know that I and many others had Wi-Fi at one point and lost it later. It’s possible it got overloaded.

Things started riling up around 11PM, and the building began to fill with more people. Another rumor started, this time stating that the Capitol was on lockdown. I talked to a State Trooper about that, and he gave a wishy-washy response.

Around that time a podium was wheeled in, and Cecile Richards stood in the middle of the first floor, working with her team, meeting protestors, and encouraging us to keep standing with Senator Davis. We still had little information about what was going on inside, but we passed along all the information we had to each other as our phones started dying.

We erupted when the filibuster got killed. The senate gallery was rushed, and those of us who couldn't get inside started chanting. First, “Wendy.” Next, “We won’t go back.” Later, we sang The Eyes of Texas, letting legislators know we were watching them and we wouldn't forget what they were trying to do. More State Troopers entered the rotunda, and the doors were locked to keep us out.

We became unified as we started to understand that, if we made enough noise at the right times, we could stall the vote. Organizers helped us stay quiet when our legislators were speaking, and encouraged us to cheer and chant when we needed to. We were making our voices heard.

Standing on the first floor, Cecile Richards looked up on the rotunda, screaming with us, waving her hands to get us to cheer louder, and we stomped our feet and banged on whatever we could. The feeling was electric as we counted down to midnight. Cecile held up 3 fingers for 3 minutes, 2 fingers for 2, and 1 for the last minute.

Midnight came and we were still cheering as loud as ever. But then news started to spread that they voted, and it passed. We were confused, upset, and trying to find out any information we could. After 20 minutes, the shouts and chants subdued as we tried to understand what was happening.

I couldn't help but feel defeated. After hours of state legislators combing through rules to silence Senator Davis, it felt like we had been silenced too. Our voices were shut out. I went home feeling like I hadn't done enough.

As I walked through the Capitol grounds to get back to my car,  I thought about when I used to work at the Capitol as a senior in college in 2008. My boss at the time, the Legislative Director for a Texas State Representative, told me on my first day: this is your building. You decide what happens in here. Don’t ever forget that.

I knew then that we weren't defeated, we were silenced. Every dirty trick in the book was used to keep us out of OUR house. I knew then that we were going to keep fighting, and if another session got called, we would be back, and we would be louder than ever.

I woke up this morning to amazing news. I am still saddened by the extent the GOP went to keep us from exercising our rights and traditions.  I am upset that the media has aired Lt. Gov. Dewhurst referring to us as an unruly mob. I am aware that this is probably just the beginning of a long fight to make our legislators hear our voices. I am proud that my Senator, Senator Kirk Watson, stood by Senator Davis and supported her in every way that he could. And I am ready to return to the Capitol and keep standing with Senator Wendy Davis and every other woman whose rights are being controlled, manipulated and denied by a legislature that no longer reflects the wants and needs of its people.

It’s time to take back our house.

Eastern Womanism: Sampat Pal Devi and the Gulabi Gang

It is funny how the older I become, the harder it is for me to become inspired. Maybe it has something to do with loosing my imagination. Or my hope. Maybe it has to do with not being exposed to people who share common identifiers. Whatever it is, I am always looking for inspiration.

Taken from Sampat Pal Devi's Facebook Page

When I found out about Sampat Pal Devi and her Gulabi Gang, I was initially delighted. I had only read a snippet about their mission and promised to revisit their website again. After catching some of Kim Longinotto's documentary "Pink Sari", I began researching the group. I tried to steer clear of articles from white feminists and looked towards their website, Sampat Pal's Facebook, and other publications.

Working with NGO's I have read several mission statements, some bad, some good. Never have I seen a "Vision" (different than their mission). Simple and sincere, it stirred something inside me.

"Protect the powerless from abuse and fight corruption to ensure basic rights of the poor in rural areas and discourage traditions like child-marriages."

Taken from the Gulabi Gang Website

Sampat Pal is really an extraordinary women.  According to the Indian Express article she is a "barely educated, impoverished grandmother [who] has emerged as a messianic figure in the region." But they don't talk about her empathy. She's a tough lady (I would never want to be on the receiving end of her fiery), but she is gentle and compassionate. She is a practitioner of tough love, but also tenderly wipes the tears from the faces of scared, oppressed women. She cries with them, she shares her home with them, she protects them.

What is more powerful than that?

She is quoted in the Gulf News article saying:

"When I’d confronted him alone, he refused to listen to me,” she says. “But when I approached him with a group of women, he admitted his mistake. It was then that I realized the power of unity."

I cannot agree more with this statement. I think it is so important for women to stand together. Still, I sometimes find it hard when women who are "progressives" or "feminists" do not include, or even acknowledge, the women who are fighting for their rights as women of color. Those who choose to not see race are, in reality, erasing us and our struggles from the conversation. As if we are already not invisible enough.

Though, I can't put 100% of the blame on white America. I know my community and I know the problems we face. Those who chose to help their community should also spend time focusing their efforts in fixing the problem within it. That is something I think Sampat Pal has not only realized, but executed bravely.

It is time to stand up, together. "Only if you stay together can you fight such crimes in society". 

English Only!

Just this past week, I was venting to a fellow contributor about the sorts of demands my mom regularly receives as a Vietnamese nail technician, more specifically - the demand for beauty sessions to be a strict English Only zone as a means of comfort for paranoid white customers. And then a few days ago,  I learned that Whole Foods suspended two employees at a New Mexico location for speaking Spanish during work hours, which is laughable and ironic in itself considering NM has the highest percentage of Spanish speakers in the country as well as constitutional laws and regulations that protect the language. Whole Foods has since aggressively responded to the uproar on social media with the predictable justification for their actions with reasons such as, "for consistent communication, inclusion, and especially for safety and emergency situations". Shameful! In light of this situation, my mom, and the multitude of other speakers who are continuously reprimanded for the use of their native languages in professional settings, this post serves as my own personal rebuttal to the same xenophobic bullshit reasons I so often hear.

Everyone Needs Pink Pants

On my way home from the Bay Area this weekend, I stopped by a little river town by the name of Locke on Highway 160 just for the hell of it. Locke is especially a little gem to me because it was built exclusively for the Chinese, by the Chinese. The original buildings from the early 1900's still stand today, including a gambling hall, boarding house, and medicinal shop. Ironically, most of its present day residents are predominately white and only a few Chinese people still reside there, but it's still one of my favorite spots (and Toni's!) in the Sacramento County.

While there, I noticed a flyer for an Asian Pacific Spring Festival happening this upcoming weekend and it brought forward some thoughts about community involvement. In my area, we have South Sac aka Little Vietnam/Little Saigon - a Viet/Chinese community filled with boba houses, banh mi shops, and more pho restaurants than you could ever imagine. My dad and I always talk about the resources Asian immigrants now have access to in Sacramento compared to those who immigrated before the 2000's. Job placement programs, free English workshops, low income legal and financial help, etc. These programs are especially dear to me as an first gen immigrant and I feel really proud to live near such a culturally rich area with such an abundance of resources.

When it comes to my own community involvement, I feel hindered because I don't read or write Vietnamese fluently, despite it being my first language. I have this irrational thought in my head that involves Viet activists judging me for somehow not being in tune enough with Viet culture and language. Completely irrational - I know, but this comes from years of backhanded compliments from white people regarding my "whitewashed" characteristics (another post for another time). If you're involved in your community, tell me about how you got started and your current projects!

top: forever 21 // bottoms: joe fresh // sandals: contributor by rachel comey  for UO // bag: vintage coach 

I've been loving the idea of loose pants for the upcoming summer months and have been looking for a black pair similar to Val's in this post, but came across this coral pink pair instead. They're definitely one of the most ridiculous items in my closet, which probably says a lot about my wardrobe (I am not a risk taker), but they are amazing and I now need/want a black pair more than ever. I wish the color of these pants translated better over the computer screen, but it was reeeeally bright out and my phone was just Not Having It when it came to photos. 

And to wrap up this post, here are some links and material goods I'm loving this week:

1) Short little article on David Tran, founder of the beloved Srirarcha hot sauce. So proud!!!
2) One of my favorite fashion bloggers, Faintly Masculine, looking flawless as usual in a leather jacket and stripes.
3) Angela Davis and Assata Shakur's (first woman on FBI's Most Wanted List) lawyers' commentary about the events surrounding this exiled activist and the sudden declaration of her as a "terrorist".
4) Journalist Kathryn Joyce dwells deeper on the trend of contagious adoption culture in the Christian Right community. This seems relevant in the blogging world, where every other blog seems to consist of young 20 something year old White Christians and their picturesque adopted children/lives.
5) Really loving these floral shorts here (only $18 bucks!) and here. 

Don't Tell Me I'm Beautiful

I had a lot of things to say about that Dove ad that you and your mama have already seen but since I don't post until now, it's probably old news because the Internet travels at lightning speed. The one thing I will say is--besides the obvious glaring omission of any WOC getting camera time and/or physical beauty is not the only thing that should define you--is that when this ad meant "beauty," they meant the Western notion of what physical beauty is. And this is definitely something I struggle with--not so much now but definitely when I was growing up/hitting puberty.

A lot of what Western beauty means is, and it's reiterated time and time again in that Dove ad, is "you should be skinny," as you can see when they describe the women in a "positive" light (she is described as having a thin chin, for example). This notion of BEING SKINNY, a very Western concept, has permeated Eastern consciousness that in cities like Hong Kong (where my parents were born and raised and where I spent a lot of my childhood years), it's been getting a little out of hand.

 

CASS Fundraiser [Photos Included]

On Thursday, I volunteered at "Lights Camera, [Collective] Action" fundraiser for Collective Action for Safe Spaces.

Founded in 2009 as Holla Back DC!, CASS has "evolved from a blog to a dynamic organization that mobilizes the community to end public sexual harassment and assault in the DC metropolitan area [and] strives for a community in which people of all backgrounds, gender expressions or identities, and experiences can feel safe occupying public spaces."

Right: Stefanie Jamison; Left: Danielle Vu

Follow Vu @ledaniellevu on Instagram

Michelle (aka @paidprogramming on IG) looking dewy and flawless even after working 9 hours.

HOW?!

Board members, staff and volunteers behind CASS

Ruby Corado, founder of Casa Ruby in Washington, DC

I want to do an entire post on Casa Ruby and those AMAZING nails.
Here is the bio from their site:

"My name is Ruby Corado, I am a Latina transgender woman immigrant from El Salvador, I left fleeing a civil war. Since 1986 DC has been my home. Back then there were few resources for Latino immigrants and absolutely NONE for Latino LGBT. Something told me in my heart that one day I would provide those resources.

Casa Ruby, is a Multicultural Latino LGBT Community Center, A Resource Center A Recreation Center, A Place You Can Call Home.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

No matter where you are in your life, if you have nothing or maybe have all the material things but something is lacking, We Want You Here."

:')

Live Your Life Project

Hey all,

I've been voted as a finalist in American Eagle's Live Your Life Project! Basically, I've shown AE small glimpses of how I live my life as a student, dancer and aspiring Fashionista. If I win this contest, I'll star in a national modeling campaign for American Eagle this fall, so please vote! You can vote once a day as well. Feel free to tell all your friends and such too. Thank you for the support!

Click here to cast your vote for me in AE's Live Your Life Project!

Standing Out, Standing Up

Tonight I went to the National Latina Institute of Reproductive Health “Somos Poderosas” award ceremony. Since moving away from Texas, I have asked myself "Where are we?", "Where are all the Latin@s?" I see us in neighborhoods, I see us commuting, but I don't see us represented in the work place. Not in NGOs, not in law offices, not in the government. I see us pop up in campaign commercials and the occasional advertisement, but for the most part we are this huge group of invisible people. This is much too common of an occurrence with minority women.

Meet the women who refuse to be invisible.

We are not passive; we are powerful. We are not victims; we are victorious. We not are invisible; we are invincible

-Miriam Yeung, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum

↓↓↓ CLICK HERE TO

Monday Blues

Sweater: American Apparel // Skirt: Target // Shoes: Zara // Bag: Vintage Coach // 

Accessories: Michael Kors Watch & Urban Outfitters Earrings

I can break out sandals and drink copious amounts of iced coffee again; life is good sometimes. I regret not buying multiple pairs of the above sandals because I've worn them into the ground in the past year. That was a perk of Jersey/east coast living, Zara stores were in close proximity. Although their online web store offers free shipping, sizes are often gone before I can budget for the item! Also budget related, I'm currently obsessed with this tulip maxi skirt from Target and can't wait to pair it with strappy tanks and loose t's in the summer. It's dangerous though; I've nearly flashed many strangers while wearing it. I'm still on the lookout for a couple more maxi skirts for the warmer days ahead so if any of you have any links to affordable ones, please let me know below! 

On another note, there's been a frenzy of well deserved backlash regarding CNN's (as well as other news outlets) undeniable sympathy of the rapists in the Steubenville case. The case is being described in articles and social media as a Friday Night Lights-esque tragedy and primarily shifts attention on how the verdict effects the RAPISTS instead of the victim, a 16 year old girl taken advantage of at her most vulnerable state. Truly horrifying. The inevitable cesspool of rape apologists in the comment sections of these articles aren't comforting either. I am so tired of the fact that the well being of rape victims always seem to be some sort of afterthought. This is rape culture at it's finest.