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It’s May, which means it’s also Asian American & Pacific Island Heritage Month. This is the @TwitterMoments I compiled from my tweets last May. #AAPIHM #AAPI twitter.com/i/moments/9945…
Another May, another daily thread to celebrate #AAPIHM. Sessue Hayakawa, silent film star & Hollywood’s first sex symbol, partied with Fairbanks, launched Valentino’s career, fought in the French Resistance, & played COL Saito in Bridge on the River Kwai. thevintagenews.com/2017/11/30/ses… 
Screaming this on day 4 of my annual #AAPIHM thread, bc too many focus on NE-Asian heritage: South-Asian Americans & Southeast-Asian Americans are also #AAPI! With that, I give you @RepJayapal, the first Indian American woman elected to Congress. people.com/politics/prami…
In today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread, meet Francis Wai of Hawaii. Rare for being an AsAm soldier in a white unit. Rarer still, the only Chinese American recipient of the Medal of Honor. ”Toujours en Avant.” His posthumous MOH citation: themedalofhonor.com/medal-of-honor…
Today’s #AAPIHM entry: “Manilamen,” Filipinos who’d deserted from Spanish galleons & established St. Malo, Louisiana, became the very first Asian Americans to defend their country when they fought with Andrew Jackson in New Orleans in 1815. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mal…
Today's #AAPIHM - ever hear of the Asian Marie Curie? Chien-Shiung Wu discovered a way to separate U-235 & U-238 while working on the Manhattan Project, & was denied a Nobel awarded to 2 peers, even though she'd been an equal on their work. #WomenInSTEM scientificwomen.net/women/wu-chien…
Today’s #AAPIHM entry comes from @NotMyNameWhoU. Ernie Tabata served in the Army for 30 years, mostly in Special Forces, then served as a civilian instructor at the Special Warfare School for 26. The new SF engineer center at Ft. Bragg is named for him. fayobserver.com/news/20180907/…
Today’s #AAPIHM entry is an astronaut - everyone knows where they were during a major tragedy. I was in 7th grade English class when I learned that Ellison Onizuka, former USAF test pilot & the first Asian American in space, had died on the Challenger.
Not just a comedienne for this #AAPIHM thread, but an activist & pioneer. I remember how thrilled I felt to hear that @margaretcho was going to star in the first-ever Asian American sitcom. I also remember how she slayed in this Pride dress on #DWTS. pridesource.com/article/rec-ho…
A special entry for this #AAPIHM thread. Bogyong Kim emigrated from Korea in 1971 & started programming punch cards for a company’s pension database. She taught herself COBOL & C++, & became a SysAdmin. She taught me how to cook. My kids call her Grandma.
Today for the #AAPIHM thread: Salvador Roldan sued for the right to marry his wife, who was white. He won, but the CA legislature later changed the anti-miscegenation law to cover “Malays” (incl. Filipinos), not just “Mongolians” (e.g., Chinese, Japanese). revolvy.com/page/Roldan-v.…
Sad entry for the #AAPIHM thread. Uday Singh emigrated from Chandigarh in 2000 & enlisted as a tanker shortly after. On 1 Dec 03, at age 21, he became the first American soldier of Indian descent to die in combat. He posthumously received US citizenship. www2.illinois.gov/news/release?R…
Awesome food for the #AAPIHM thread. I discovered Vietnamese food at Mai’s, which was established by 2 refugees in 1978. It quickly became an institution, THE place for VN food in H-town, & my monthly pilgrimage all through high school in the late 1980s. maishouston.com/history.php
Any thread or post celebrating #AAPIHM would be incomplete without Anna May Wong, the first Asian American actress. She broke the ground for Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, but wasn’t allowed to leave her hand & footprints. buzzfeed.com/annehelenpeter…
Today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread is Tony Taguba, the second Filipino American to be promoted to general. His report on abuse at Abu Ghraib caused such a stir that he was asked to retire. “One hell of a tanker,” is how @JohnBuc08179594 described him. newyorker.com/magazine/2007/…
Today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread is is a trio of talented chefs. Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, & Sam Choy helped establish Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, which features Hawaii’s ethnically diverse food & locally sourced ingredients. saltandwind.com/stories/371-in…
Today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread is Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind. He emigrated from Punjab for grad school. After WW1, he fought the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals & SCOTUS, which both rescinded his naturalized citizenship because “Hindus” were ineligible. pbs.org/rootsinthesand…
Another doctor for the #AAPIHM thread. Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga of UMass was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in 2013, for helping develop treatments for infants born with HIV that is hailed as a “functional cure.” #WomenInSTEM umassmed.edu/news/news-arch…
Today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread is another woman who nevertheless persisted. Noriko Sawada Bridges Flynn, along with her husband, successfully fought Nevada’s anti-miscegenation law & married 8 years before Loving v. Virginia. encyclopedia.densho.org/Nikki_Sawada_B…
Today for the #AAPIHM thread. Some boys who want to be fighter pilots idolize Yeager or Olds. I wanted to be Fred Ohr. A son of Korean immigrants, he flew 241 missions in WW2, shot down 6 German planes, & was the first AAPI to command a fighter squadron. …hwestterritory.northwestquarterly.com/2014/10/rememb…
Another of my idols for the #AAPIHM thread. Jack Soo was the first AAPI that I saw on tv speaking without an affected accent. After learning about his career-long refusal to accept roles that demeaned AAPI, I reconsidered going to certain auditions. encyclopedia.densho.org/Jack_Soo/
Another brilliant author for the #AAPIHM thread. I admit, I bought “Native Speaker” in 1995 because Chang-rae Lee was the first Korean name I saw in a bookstore, but his novels truly spoke to my own experiences as a Korean American. humsci.stanford.edu/feature/writin…
Today’s entry for the #AAPIHM thread. Jacqueline Nguyen went from being a war refugee, to 1st Vietnamese American in LA Coubty Superior Court, to 1st AAPI to serve as an appellate judge, for the US Court of Appeals’ 9th Circuit. splinternews.com/how-jacqueline…
A different sort of pioneer for the #AAPIHM thread. Mike Murase established Gidra while a UCLA student, a newspaper for AAPI written by AAPI. Articles ranged from the Vietnam War, to racial identity in a country that still didn't see them as Americans. topic.com/the-forgotten-…
#MemorialDay entry for the #AAPIHM thread. Harry Lew joined the Marines to serve his country. He screwed up, & members of his squad hazed him until he felt he had no option besides suicide. None of the Marines charged served more than 1 month confinement. latimes.com/politics/la-po…
We go in the water for the #AAPIHM thread. If you’ve ever surfed or even thought of surfing, you can thank Duke Kahanamoku: Olympic swimming gold & silver medalist, actor, sheriff, entrepreneur, ambassador of Aloha, & the father of modern surfing. surfsimply.com/surf-culture/c…
Today for the #AAPIHM thread, imagine you’re a 21 year old architecture undergrad whose design was chosen over 1500 other submissions. Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been hailed as visionary, stark, spiritual, & cathartic. art21.org/artist/maya-li…
A lion of the community for today’s #AAPIHM entry. When Norman Mineta was elected mayor of San Jose, he was the 1st AsAm mayor in the country’s history. As if that weren’t enough, he later served in Congress, & as Cabinet secretary to 2 Presidents. minetalegacyproject.com/timeline/
Desegregation for the #AAPIHM thread. In 1884, Joe & Mary Tape sued the principal of an all-white school for denying admission to their daughter. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tapes, but didn’t opine on the separate-but-equal policy. history.com/news/chinese-a…
And with that, I close my now-annual daily thread for #AAPIHM. I’ve learned a lot, & hope readers have as well. If there’s any lesson to be learned, it’s simply that we are Americans, & the wonderful diversity reflected in the Asian American diaspora strengthens our country. Fin.
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