WHAT'S NEW - in the month of July 2001!

Entering July 2001, we have seen the furor surrounding Pearl Harbor dwindle (in light of its disappoint sales), the struggle for diversity intensifying and the growing influence of Asian/Asian Pacific Americans within the general public.

These just-mentioned situations provide greater evidence that correct and positive information contained within this website is important.

FEATURED ARTISTS & LEADERS

BOND
Though these girls hail from the U.K., they are focused on breaking into the American marketplace and the reinvention of the classical string quartet through their debut c.d.

They were hailed the Spice Girls of classical music, but Eos (violin), Haylie Ecker (violin), Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello), and Tania Davis (viola) composed a vibrant worldbeat sound all their own.

All are well-educated, having played their specific instruments since early childhood, later accompanying some of the U.K.'s pop acts like the Divine Comedy, Primal Scream, Embrace, and Mark Knopfler. Signed to Decca Records, Bond issued their debut Born in early 2001, which showcased the band's mix of salsa, house, and European folk stylings.

Gay-Yee Westerhoff attended Trinity College Of Music in London and performed with Gay-Yee has played cello with artists such as Primal Scream, Spice Girls, Talvin Singh, Embrace, Sting, Bryan Adams and Barry Manilow as well as being an accomplished bass player.

THE GRAND COALITION
"Grand Coalition" ("National Coalition of organizations advocating greater diversity in the media and entertainment industries")

The National Coalition is comprised of four groups: NAACP, National Latino Media Council (itself comprised of a number of Latino/Hispanic organizations), APA Media Coalition (itself comprised of a number of APA organizations) and American Indians in Film and Television.

Each of the overall coalition members listed above are represented by a Chair. The Chair of the NAACP is Kweisi Mfume; for National Latino Media Council it is Esteban Torres; for the American Indians in Film and Television it's Sonny Skyhawk. For the APA Media Coalition it was Norm Mineta (presently Karen Narasaki). Mfume, Torres and Mineta are all former Congressmen. This gives the Coalition unusual clout.

Because of Mineta being appointed by President.Clinton to be Commerce Secretary and then appointed by President Bush to be Transportation Secretary, Karen Narasaki was chosen as the replacement. The reasons include the following:

her experience and effectiveness as an advocate

her established relationships with NAACP

she's based in Washington D.C (a location of political power)

she has an available staff and

she has the resources to pay for conference calls and travel.

"We are here 20 years later and it is still not routine to have Asian Americans depicted as doctors in shows set in Los Angeles or San Francisco hospitals," said Karen Narasaki, a spokeswoman for the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. "To me, that is a discouraging indication that we as Asian Americans are generally seen as foreigners and not as a part of everyday American families."

The APA Media Coalition is an ad hoc group of people who are interested in advocating for greater diversity in network television and other media. Groups include MANAA, East West Players, Visual Communications, NAATA, Asian American Coalition for Total Inclusion On the Networks (AACTION), OCA and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC).

NAPALC, in turn, is a consortium that includes the major APA legal aid organizations such as Los Angeles-based Asian Pacific American Legal Center (which Stewart Kwoh heads), San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus and New York-based Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. NAPALC also administers a coalition of APA groups under an umbrella called National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans -- NCAPA includes groups representing JAs, CAs, KAs, VAs, Pilipino Americans, South Asians, probably Thai Americans and others.

Individuals who have been active include the APA Media Coalition Chair, Karen Narasaki (who is the executive director of NAPALC), Sharon Scanlon (NAPALC), Guy Aoki (MANAA), Ken Narasaki (EWP), Tim Dang (EWP), George Takei, Jack Ong (AACTION), Sumi Haru (SAG), Eddie Wong (NAATA), Daphne Kwok (OCA), Christine Chen (OCA), Linda Mabalot (Visual Communications) and Dan Mayeda (East West Players).

Source: Daniel M. Mayeda, Co-President of the Board of East West Players, and one of the leaders of the APA Media Coalition. Mr. Mayeda has participated in meetings with the major networks and publicly addressed the diversity issue at EWP's recent 35th Anniversary Dinner at which the four networks bought tables.

CHRIS LEE

He was the first person to break the color line and run a Hollywood studio. As head of production, he was responsible for the acquisition, development, and production of Sony Pictures/Tri-Star/Columbia's projects such as As Good As It Gets, Jerry Maguire, Philadelphia, My Best Friend's Wedding, Starship Troopers, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Legends of the Fall, the Fisher King and The Big Hit.

Presently, Chris Lee is the founder of Chris Lee Productions Inc. He has formed Supermega Entertainment with partner Joseph Kahn, a media content and management company involved in the production of motion pictures, television programming, internet content, animation, computer gaming, comic books, and writing, director and acting clients.

NEW SERVICES
Marketing

Our programs provide specialized internet promotion actions that brings a high level of awareness to the fast-growing and influential Asian Pacific American communities to your company and/or your events. Despite the ever-changing Internet landscape, the needs of these consumers still remains a great constant.

In the past, the companies that have worked with our events have included Pacific Bell, L.A. Dodgers, The Gas Company, Denny's Restaurants and AT&T Wireless.

For further info, contact us by clicking HERE.

TIMELINE

IN 1830's
- Chinese workers arrives in Hawaii

IN 1869
- Memphis TN conference of plantation owners proposed substituting Chinese labor for black slaves.

IN 1871
- Nineteen Chinese were massacred in Los Angeles. October 24 marked the worst incident of Anti-Chinese violence in America up to that time.

IN 1879
- the Arizona Weekly Star ran an editorial in 1879 portraying Chinese Americans as "an ignorant, filthy, leprous horde" and "the most pernicious and degraded race on the globe." Chinese workers were attacked in railroad camps and mining towns and driven out of Arizona's mines and railroads.

IN 1898
- Hawaii is the United States' 50th state.

IN 1903
- Korean workers are brought to Hawaii

IN 1908
- Filipinos were greatly recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association as cheap contract labor when the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 cut off the Japanese supply.

IN 1909
- Japanese plantation workers in Hawaii go on strike

IN 1912
- Duke Kahanamoku won his first Olympic gold medal and set a world record in the 100-meter free-style and won a silver medal as a participant in the 200-meter relay in Stockholm. He represented the United States in the Olympics for the next 20 years.

IN 1920
- Asian Indians owned about 123,000 acres in California's Imperial and Sacramento Valleys.

IN 1923
- Justice Sutherland, speaking for the Supreme Court in 1923, said that Bhagat Singh Thind and other Asian Indians were aliens ineligible to citizenship because they were not white, as only whites and blacks could become citizens.

IN 1924
- In the Hanapepe Massacre, police attack union headquarters in Hanapepe, HI where 16 sugar plantation workers and 4 policemen are killed.

IN 1947
- Truman grants full pardon to the Japanese Americans who had been convicted for resisting the draft while they and their families were held in concentration camps.

IN 1944
- These 85 interned Japanese Americans were prosecuted and incarcerated because they refused to be drafted into the U.S. military unless their rights as citizens were restored.

IN 1949
- FBI arrests the Hawaii Seven for communist activity. Their fines and jail terms are overturned in January 1958.

IN 1973
- Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc. was founded. (OCA) is a national non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization of concerned Chinese Americans. dedicated to securing the rights of Chinese American and Asian American citizens and permanent residents.

IN 1978
- National convention of the Japanese American Citizens League adopts resolution calling for redress and reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans.

IN 1980
- First Philippine Festival of the Arts begins in New York City.

IN 1991
- National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization was formed to advance the legal and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans.

IN 2000
- Ellery J. Chun, creator of the "Aloha Shirt" dies.

IN 2001
- Maya Lin is honored by the NAACP as someone who has excelled in the face of overwhelming odds.

IN 2001
- Patrick Oliphant's racist cartoon was an offshoot of the recent stand off between the U.S. and China over the U.S. spy plane incident.


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