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Texas students should know more about the contributions and history of Asian Americans, advocates say.
A woman at Monday’s State Board of Education meeting asked everyone in the room to think of just one prominent Asian American.
“I would have had difficulty with this question just a few short years ago, and I have been an Asian American for 37 years now,” she said. “But can you really blame me because I grew up in Texas?”
A stand-alone elective course covering Asian-American figures, history and culture will help fill the gaps in current social studies standards, advocates urged, which is especially needed as that racial group is the fastest growing in the country.
Texas approved its first ethnic studies course to recognize the contributions of Mexican Americans in 2018. Since then, the SBOE has approved state standards for an African-American studies. Grand Prairie ISD piloted an American Indian/Native Studies course as advocates for that course explore state approval.
Dozens of speakers urged the board members to consider how many diverse students want to learn about the ways their lives and family stories fit into the American narrative. They want lessons that break down stereotypes and show role models.
“Texas students deserve to see a more inclusive and accurate account of the ways Asian Americans have made an impact throughout our country’s history,” said Lily Trieu, interim executive director of Asian Texans for Justice.
Several Asian-American students and recent graduates waited hours to speak as the discussion came amid a wider debate over what Texas students learn about history. The SBOE is engaged in a once-in-a-decade rewrite of social studies standards that will dictate what students learn at each grade level.
Included this year in the debate are standards for each of the ethnic studies courses. The drafts posted online show a new Asian American Studies course would include lessons on the factors that led to the arrival of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and South Asian immigrants to the United States; the effects of the Vietnam War on migration; and an exploration into the “model minority myth and the perpetual foreigner idea.”
Such lessons are important because current history lessons rarely mention Asian Americans outside of atrocities, several students said.
One remarked that she never learned in school about positive contributions, such those of civil rights activist Fred Korematsu, who defied government orders to be sent to incarceration camps for Japanese Americans and appealed his case to the Supreme Court, or Anna May Wong, who is considered the first Chinese-American Hollywood star.
Board members expressed support for an Asian-American Studies class but wondered about the best way to get it approved. Existing ethnic studies classes started off as innovative courses, piloted in districts before they received approved state standards from SBOE.
The American Indian/Native and Asian American classes don’t have that approval yet, but the SBOE may give it to them at their next meeting. The board plans to meet in a month to continue discussions over the social studies curriculum.
“I’d like for those courses to be available as soon as possible for our students,” said Marisa Perez-Diaz, D-Converse.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Todd A. Williams Family Foundation and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
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A man wearing a protective face mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, walks past a screen showing Shanghai Composite index, Nikkei index and Dow Jones Industrial Average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Asia stocks continued a decline from Wall Street on Tuesday, and U.S. long-term Treasury yields sank to a four-month low, pulling the U.S. dollar down against the yen and other currencies as investors worried about the risk of global recession.
There were also jitters about an escalation in Sino-U.S. tension with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi set to begin a visit to Taiwan against the objections of China, which regards the self-governed island as a breakaway province. read more
Australian equities declined amid an uncertain outlook for commodity demand - which also weighed on crude oil prices - while the local dollar hovered near its highest versus its U.S. counterpart since mid-June with the central bank widely expected to deliver a third consecutive half-point interest rate hike later in the day.
The Australian (.AXJO) and South Korean (.KS11) equity benchmarks suffered losses of about 0.3% each, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) tumbled 1.17%.
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) dropped 1.06% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) lost 1.1%.
Taiwan's stock index (.TWII) slid 1.68%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) retreated 0.8%.
U.S. e-mini stock futures pointed to a 0.31% lower restart for the S&P 500 (.SPX), which stumbled 0.28% overnight.
The week began with China, Europe and the United States reporting weakening factory activity, with that in the U.S. decelerating to its lowest level since August 2020. read more
That sank crude, with Brent futures edging down to $99.74 on Tuesday after losing almost $4 overnight. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also eased to $93.67, extending Monday's almost $5 slide.
"Data releases over the past 24 hours have provided further evidence the global economy is slowing," National Australia Bank strategist Rodrigo Catril wrote in a note to clients.
"Signs of a slowdown are building" in the United States, while "China's reopening activity burst is over," he said.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell as low as 2.53% in Tokyo trade, the lowest since April 5, amid wagers the slowdown could spur the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease its foot off the policy-tightening pedal. The bonds also benefited from safety-seeking demand before Pelosi's Taiwan visit, analysts said.
That helped the U.S. dollar slide as low as 130.595 yen for the first time since June 6. The euro jumped as high as $1.0294, a level not seen since July 5.
The Taiwan dollar slipped to its lowest level in more than two years on the weaker side of 30 per U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, the Aussie was more subdued, retreating 0.26% to $0.7009, but after hitting the highest since June 17 at $0.7048 in the previous session.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to hike by 50 basis points both on Tuesday and again at its next meeting in September as it races to rein in inflation. read more
Market participants also see a half-point bump later as a certainty, and have priced an additional 37 basis points of tightening for the September decision.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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White House decries China rhetoric over Pelosi Taiwan visit Raleigh News & Observer
An Asian employee has raised both praise and concern for trailing a man while he allegedly stole from a Walgreens in San Francisco.
The incident, which was caught on cellphone video, reportedly occurred at the Walgreens on Geary and Taylor and went viral on Sunday night.
In the video, the hooded man can be seen taking several products off their shelves and stuffing them into his pants.
The employee, identified only as Mary, is seen following the man and calling him out.
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“Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doing?” Mary yells. “Don’t stuff your pants! Take that out!”
Mary also appeared to ask someone to call the police. However, the man was undeterred despite the staff’s attempts to stop him.
Darren Mark Stallcup, who posted the video, recognized Mary for her bravery.
More from NextShark: After police inaction, Thai man begs thieves to stop robbing him as he has nothing left to steal
“Was getting some groceries at my local Walgreens when a barbarian ransacked the store. Asian American frontline worker (Mary) is NOT afraid,” wrote Stallcup, who is also the founder of The World Peace Movement. “This is not her first rodeo!”
A second video reportedly showed Mary actively following the alleged thief while he was leaving the store. Another worker was heard telling him to “pull them drawers up.”
“Barbarian really showing his ass,” Stallcup said, according to KTVU. “Asian American worker Mary STILL ain’t scared. Going above and beyond the call of duty.”
More from NextShark: Ex-officer Tou Thao ignored bystanders' pleas to help George Floyd, prosecutors claim
Twitter users both praised Mary and expressed concerns for her safety.
“I feel so bad for those workers. They’re putting themselves at risk of being assaulted. This is a lack of enforcement problem instituted by people who never have to deal with it directly,” one user wrote.
Another commented, “Mary you are a saint but it’s not worth it.”
“Sad. Time to start sending the bill to the supervisors and hold them accountable. And if the worker sustains injuries, time to prosecute people in the SF board who support lawlessness,” another noted.
It’s unclear when law enforcement authorities arrived to address the incident. NextShark has reached out to the San Francisco Police Department for more information.
Featured Image via Darren Mark Stallcup
Shares are mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies
BANGKOK (AP) - Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Monday after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies.
Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney advanced while Hong Kong and Seoul slipped. U.S. futures declined and oil prices lost more than $1 a barrel.
On Friday, Wall Street closed out its best month since November 2020. The S&P 500 index, a benchmark for many stock funds, rose 1.4% and finished 9.1% higher for July.
A rebound in technology stocks, big retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending helped drive broad gains in July, though the index is still down 13.3% for the year.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.5% to 27,948.50 while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,258.46. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% to 6,972.80. The Kospi in Seoul shed 0.1% to 2,448.47 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave up 0.3% to 20,091.11.
Chinese manufacturing's recovery from anti-virus shutdowns faltered in July as activity sank, a survey showed Sunday, adding to pressure on the struggling economy in a politically sensitive year when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to extend his time in power.
Factory activity was depressed by weak global demand and anti-virus controls that are weighing on domestic consumer spending, according to the national statistics agency and an official industry group, the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing.
A similar survey of purchasing managers, the au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI, slipped to 52.1 in July from 52.7 in June, the slowest growth in the sector in 10 months, as costs of energy and labor rose. The survey measures various components on a scale up to 100, with readings above 50 indicating expansion.
Investors in the region will be getting a new installment of updates on corporate results this week. Wall Street's latest rally came as investors weighed a mix of company earnings reports and new data showing inflation jumped by the most in four decades last month.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.9%, ending the month 12.4% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% and notched a 6.7% gain for the month. The Russell 2000 rose 0.7%, ending July with a 10.4% gain.
Weak economic data, including a report Thursday showing that the U.S. economy contracted last quarter and could be in a recession, have also spurred stocks higher by giving some investors confidence that the Federal Reserve will be able to dial back its aggressive pace of rate hikes sooner than expected.
The central bank raised its key short-term interest rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday, lifting it to the highest level since 2018. The Fed is raising rates in a bid to slow the U.S. economy and quell inflation.
An inflation gauge that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the biggest increase in four decades, leaving Americans with no relief from surging prices. On a month-to-month basis, inflation accelerated to 1% in June from May's 0.6% monthly increase, the Commerce Department said Friday.
In Europe, inflation surged in July, hitting 8.9% in the 19 European countries that use the euro currency.
In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.31 to $97.31 per barrel. It jumped $2.20 to $98.62 on Friday. Brent crude oil, the basis for pricing international oils, lost $1.04 to $102.93 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 132.48 Japanese yen from 133.25 yen. The euro rose to $1.0228 from $1.0223.
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A person wearing a protective mask rides a bicycle by an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person wearing a protective mask rides a bicycle past in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People wearing protective masks walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person wearing a protective mask stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Pedestrians wait for traffic signal to change near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person wearing a protective mask walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Tokyo. Shares were mostly higher in Asia after a strong close on Wall Street last week, though the latest manufacturing surveys showed weakening factory activity in the region's biggest economies. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Amazon Prime Video has announced its first slate of Southeast Asian local-language originals, including a trio of situational comedy improv shows, Comedy Island, across Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, and projects from local talents including Joko Anwar, Kamila Andini and Banjong Pisanthanakun.
The trio of comedy shows – Comedy Island: Indonesia, Comedy Island: Thailand and Comedy Island: Philippines – all involve famous comedians and other celebrities being stranded on a paradise island and are expected to start streaming in 2023.
In Thailand, the comedians must escape from a mysterious scientist who is trying to reprogram them; in Indonesia, they’re forced to take part in bizarre, role-playing games to amuse the local inhabitants; and in the Philippines, they’re trapped on a lost island that has reappeared and are competing for a life-changing prize. Indonesia’s Base Entertainment is producing the Indonesian and Filipino versions, while Liminal Productions is producing the Thai version.
Amazon has also started developing a slate of other local-language originals, including two Indonesian films – Siege At Thorn High, directed by Anwar (Satan’s Slaves) and produced by Come & See Pictures, and 4 Seasons In Java, produced by Four Colour Films and written by Andini (Before, Now & Then).
Thai projects in development include Three Idiots And A Ghost, a film based on the novel by Sal Kim and published by Wattpad with Jungka Bangkok producing; scripted series Metal Casket from writer/director Banjong (Pee Mak), as well as How To Fake It In Bangkok, from Halo Productions with Ananda Everingham executive producing.
The originals will be supported by local-language licensed content including Perfect Strangers, the Indonesian version of the Italian hit, which launches October 17; Ashiap Man, directed by Atta Halilintar (November 14) and horror movie Kuntilanak 3, directed by Rizal Mantovani and starring Julie Estelle (October 10).
The Thai slate includes pandemic thriller The 100 (December 12), coming-of-age thriller The Up Rank, starring Krit Jeerapattananuwong (November 14), and action drama My True Friends: The Beginning, starring Ryu Vachirawich and Nak Charlie Trairat, which starts streaming today (August 1).
Content from the Philippines includes comedy drama Big Night, starring Christian Bables and directed by Jun Lana, which also streams from today; romance How To Love Mr. Heartless, starring Sue Ramirez (August 15), and surreal drama Whether The Weather Is Fine, starring Daniel Padilla (October 10).
Amazon is also launching local pricing and marketing campaigns across the three territories, backed by stars including Iqbaal Ramadhan, Chicco Kurniawan and Kiky Saputri in Indonesia, Mario Maurer in Thailand and Anne Curtis in the Philippines. Local pricing is around $4 a month in Indonesia and Thailand (IDR59,000 and THB149) and $3 a month in the Philippines (PHP149), following a seven-day free trial.
The local offering will also include Korean, Japanese and English-language films and series, including Korean romantic film Nothing Serious and hit Japanese animation Demon Slayer, which both stream from today, and Ron Howard’s Thai cave rescue film, Thirteen Lives, which streams from August 5.
“We’re delighted to be increasing our investment in Prime Video for customers in Southeast Asia, making it a truly localized experience – from local content specifically sourced for our customers, to a localized user experience, and the first full-scale local marketing campaign,” said Josh McIvor, director of International Expansion, Prime Video.
Erika North, head of Asia-Pacific Originals, Prime Video, said: “Southeast Asia is a tapestry of cultures, languages, and histories, and there has truly never been a better time to be a content creator or a content consumer in this part of the world. We are thrilled to be bringing our first three local Amazon Originals, the hilarious world of Comedy Island to customers in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and worldwide.”
Amazon Prime Video has been available across Southeast Asia since 2016, but this is the first time the service has had a localized user experience and offered local-language shows. North announced plans to ramp up investment in Southeast Asia at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) last December, since when the streamer has been building out a local production and marketing team in Singapore.
It is the first major art museum in New York to close within recent memory. The museum had financial challenges and has faced accusations o...
