The 44th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is taking place online/hybrid between August 11th – 22nd, 2021. See https://www.aaiff.org for more information. Many films are available online for pay as you wish. Lidiya Kan of LaGuardia’s Photo Program has her short documentary, Morkovcha (морковча), as one of the featured films at the AAIFF44. Her documentary film tells the story of Lidiya’s Korean family’s nearly century-long journey from the Russian Far East to their new home in the United States.

Bowen Yang, the first Asian American to become the main cast of Saturday Night Live, was nominated for an Emmy’s acting award.

Illinois becomes first U.S. state to require Asian-American history in schools.

Sesame Street recently released a video focused on the experiences of Asian American children as part of an ongoing initiative to help families have honest conversations about race.

Please join the Asian American / Asian Research Institute for a lecture on, Small Business, Big Losses: The Impact of the Covid Crisis on Asian Small Business in New York City, by Ahyoung Kim, on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 5:30pm to 7pm. This will be a live online workshop, open to the general public via Zoom and RSVP is required to attend. Title: Small Business, Big Losses: The Impact of the Covid Crisis on Asian Small Business in New York City Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2021 Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm Place: Zoom URL: https://aaari.info/21-06-29kim/ Description: Asian American small businesses made up …

AAF’s statement on celebrating the first Juneteenth National Independence Day. “On this first Juneteenth National Independence Day, we stand in solidarity with our Black siblings to commemorate this historic occasion, but also to reflect on the sad legacy of slavery in our country. We appreciate the hard fought gains in civil rights that benefitted our own Asian American community, and pledge to fight for racial equity alongside our Black brothers and sisters to achieve an America that recognizes justice and equality as our paramount shared goal.”

John Oliver discusses social invisibility of Asian Americans, the history of the model minority stereotype, and why the U.S. public should be better informed of this fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. As usual, his presentation is highly entertaining.

This NYT special article features invisibility (or interchangeability) of Asians in workplace. It also discusses the Asian glass ceiling as both social and cultural constructs (as exemplified by Japanese proverb “The quacking duck gets shot.” and the Western idiom “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”) Quote: “At some top companies, Asian Americans are overrepresented in midlevel roles and underrepresented in leadership. The root of this workplace inequality could stem from the all-too-common experience of being confused for someone else.”