Happy Fred Korematsu Day!
(to those who observe)

Op-ed wasn't accepted, so here it is, edited for twitter:

January 30 is date that several states commemorate Fred Korematsu Day. In CA, this date is known as the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.

1/21 2/ It is meant to honor his legacy as a civil rights icon and to serve as a reminder of what happens when this country fails to hold true to its commitments to ensure equal justice for all.

364 days ago, I posted the thread below, which showed conclusively that @Westlaw @thomsonreuters had altered case names and text in case opinions in a way that Asian American and Asian litigants sound more "foreign." 1/6

https://twitter.com/KorematsuCtr/status/1278103174868398082

I was pleased that they responded quickly, correcting several cases to delete the foreign-sounding names they had inserted. They also said they would develop an appropriate notation of the changes. 2/6

Short series on differential racialization as way to understand racial subordination in non-binary terms.

I write to counter conservative attempt to blame anti-Asian hate crimes on Black persons.

Binary, racial dyads:

White - non-White OR Black - non-Black 1/ As we think about additional racial groups, sometimes, race relations is thought of as race hierarchies, with White on top, Black on bottom, and other groups situated somewhere in-between.

The fetishization of Asian women is what drew the killer to his targets.

In a prior thread, I explored historical roots of anti-Asian racism, but did not get to the intersection of gender and race. Here’s my attempt to do this succinctly. 1/

https://twitter.com/KorematsuCtr/status/1372964939900485632

Before I begin, I am indebted to the scholarship that explores race and gender (@mari_matsuda, @sandylocks, Sumi Cho) and the construction of Asian female bodies (Gina Marchetti, @celineshimizu) and countless others I’ve learned from. 2/

Some profiles: nytimes.com/live/2021/03/1…

"Xiaojie Tan, the hardworking owner of Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, Ga., made her patrons feel at home and treated her friends like family, one longtime customer said on Thursday."

https://twitter.com/KorematsuCtr/status/1372552190691221504

"Ms. Feng, 44, had just started working at the spa in the past few months, Mr. Hynson said.

'They welcomed you,' he said. 'If you were a friend of Emily’s, you were a friend of theirs.'"

"These are not moments in Asian American history. They are moments in American history."

Daniel Dae Kim [I think I'm quoting correctly]

House Judiciary Committee Hearing - Discrimination and Violence Against Asian Americans. Paraphrasing him:

I know your voting records. But I am "speaking to those to whom humanity still matters."

Daniel Dae Kim for the win.

I am, today, emotionally wrought.

I'll be posting periodically throughout the day about historical roots of anti-Asian racism in US.

I know that some are deeply familiar with this history. I know that many are not. Because people learn in different ways, here's a link to talk I gave a year ago that connected what I called "The Moment" to historical antecedents. Skip the fulsome introduction of speaker - go to minute 6:30.

2/

WA Bar - latest argument I've heard against diploma privilege - it's not fair to currently practicing lawyers. I looked at WSBA Bylaws, and #7 in screenshot is relevant as to @WAStateBar and Board of Governors (BOG). 1/6 They are to "[a]dminister admissions . . . in a manner that protects the public and respects the rights of the applicant or member." I've tweeted already about why I don't think UBE is a good tool to protect the public. But note the second part - rights of applicant or member.2/6

National Conference of Bar Examiners @ncbex has come out strongly against diploma privilege. Much has been made of fact that its Pres/CEO got licensure through Wisc. diploma privilege. But I'm not here to do an ad hominem attack. Instead, let's look at what NCBE says. 1/ They distinguish Wisc. DP by saying (1) extensive required curriculum; and (2) character and fitness investigation. The second is a red herring. NO state supreme court that is considering DP would ditch that. And no ad

I had planned to spend today reflecting on Juneteenth and race in America, intending only to re-tweet and like tweets relating to these topics. But a new development regarding diploma privilege in WA has emerged. Only read this long thread if this is of interest to you. Someone on the WSBA Board of Governors (BOG) posted a message on the Snohomish County Bar Association webpage. SnoBar is not on twitter but on FB facebook.com/Snohomish-Coun…. Screenshot of message. This BOG Gov communicates initial BOG position. Great - I'm all for transparency.

I've been trying to understand resistance to diploma privilege among lawyers who, in other contexts, criticize the bar. 2 themes emerge. (1) empathy gap; (2) cycle of abuse - abuse perpetuates abuse. 1/4 Empathy gap: I don't know how many times I've heard from people who say I did it; tough for me when I took it; why should we cut people break now; they don't deserve it more than I did, and I didn't get it, so why should they (last is often quiet part not spoken out loud). 2/4

Diploma privilege, temporary, granted by @WACourts is granted to ALL graduates from ABA accredited law schools who have registered to take WA Bar exam. Goes further than Utah that is granted diploma privilege this summer but only if the law school had 86% first time bar passage. It's temporary, unlike Wisconsin's long-standing practice of granting diploma privilege - though WI dipl. priv. limited only to graduates of Wisconsin law schools - the public state school and the private Marquette Law School.