Like everyone else, I charge my phone on my nightstand. Within minutes of waking, I reach for it and from the cozy warmth of my bed, I check my personal emails, respond to texts, look through my news alerts, dawdle over Instagram, and scroll through Facebook to see what’s been going on in my sphere […]

Early and absentee voting among Asian America and Pacific Islanders in swing states increased significantly this year thanks to in-person, online and text message efforts. In the 13 most contested presidential battleground states, AAPI early and absentee voting rose nearly 300 percent from 2016 — the fastest growth rate among all racial groups — according to the […]

On Friday afternoon, without much fanfare, the White House revealed a surprise: an Isamu Noguchi sculpture had been acquired for its Rose Garden, making the work the first piece of art by an Asian American artist to enter the White House’s art holdings. The sculpture, titled Floor Frame (1962), features an angular abstract geometric form that appears to jut out of […]

Longtime Sacramento community organizer Nkauj Iab Yang was sworn in Monday as the first executive director of the California Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs. Born in Del Paso Heights to Hmong refugee parents, Yang has more than 10 years of experience in community organizing and policy advocacy for Sacramento’s AAPI community. Yang most […]

If there is a single state that embodies opportunity, it would be California. It was the first state to have two women U.S. senators at one time and also the first state to elect Asian American and Latino members to Congress. Now, California lays claim to the first vice president of the United States who […]

For years, Sharad Acharya’s frequent hikes in the mountains outside Denver would leave him short of breath. But a real wake-up call came three years ago when he suddenly struggled to breathe while walking through an airport. An electrocardiogram revealed that Acharya, a Nepali American from Broomfield, Colo., had an irregular heartbeat on top of […]

Asian Americans — one of the deciding groups in key battleground states this cycle — voted predominately for President-elect Joe Biden, according to early exit polls. In a CNN survey, 61 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters backed Biden compared to 34 percent who supported President Donald Trump. In the critical swing […]

The Miami Marlins have hired Kim Ng to be the team’s new general manager, making her the first woman GM and first Asian American GM in Major League Baseball history. The organization says Ng is now the highest-ranking woman in MLB team operations and is believed to be the first woman hired as a GM to lead a professional […]

South Korean Oscar sensation Parasite was the big winner at this year’s Asian Film Awards, which were held today in an online format due to continued pandemic challenges. The movie won Best Film, Best Screenplay for co-writers Han Jin Won and director Bong Joon Ho, Best Production Design and Best Editing. Bong Joon Ho was pipped to the […]

Like many people, Donald Trump’s election to high office four years ago set me on a path of political redemption, penance for previously having been so apolitical. I wanted to be more engaged, not only on the volunteering front, but also in starting productive conversations about politics with my family members and close friends. Specifically, […]

Kristi Yamaguchi has been busy during the pandemic. The Olympic-figure-skater-turned-philanthropist has been adapting to California’s remote-learning mandate in both her nonprofit work and her personal life. Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation has been working to help increase the time kids spend reading during the coronavirus pandemic. The group provides tablets stocked with digital books, as well as internet access […]

The experiences of Asian Americans in the United States have been marked by a basic contradiction.1 At 20 million strong—nearly 6 percent of the US population—they are a powerful economic force: nearly two million Asian American–owned small businesses generate $700 billion in annual GDP and employ around 3.5 million people.2 Asian Americans have been part of the country’s […]