By Raymond Douglas Chong, AsAmNews Staff Writer
During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AsAmNews proudly pays tribute to these five trailblazers. They have enriched American history by their lofty endeavors. They have blazed the trail for future generations to succeed in our America.
From left to right: Yosh “Bill” Watanabe, Dalip Singh Saund, Susan Ahn Cuddy (pictured with her brothers), Tram Nguyen and CC Yin.
CC Yin: Longtime Chinese American Civic Leader and Entrepreneur
CC Yin, a Chinese American, was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, in 1937. He and his family fled to Taiwan after Communists took over China from the Nationalists in 1949. He arrived at America in 1964. With $100 in his pocket and little English, Yin followed a career as a civil engineer. In 1984, he brought a failing McDonald’s restaurant in Oakland and successfully made a profit. Now Yin operates a fast-food empire with 30 McDonald’s restaurants in Northern California. He and
By Raymond Douglas Chong, AsAmNews Staff Writer
A few miles from Monterey Bay on the Central Coast of California, Watsonville is the heart of Pajaro Valley, a lush farmland. But for five days in 1930, Watsonville was engulfed by an Anti-Filipino Race Riot.
Roy Recio, son a Filipino farmworker, will present a webinar, on Saturday, January 23, 2021:
Watsonville Talk Story: 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots.
Please join this community Talk Story presentation and discussion to learn about the events and neglected history of the 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots, which took place from January 19 to January 24. This year will mark the 91st anniversary of this fateful event where White mobs terrorized Filipino immigrants on the Central Coast.You can register here for this free event.
By Raymond Douglas Chong, AsAmNews Staff Writer
Since 2017, retired U.S. Army Major General William Chen, with other leaders and advisors, has promoted the national campaign to honor and recognize Chinese American World War II veterans.
Congress officially unveiled and presented the Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal, on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Chen was involved in the program.
AsAmNews chatted with the retired 81-year-old general about the campaign and the historical significance of Chinese American soldiers fighting in World War II.
About the Campaign
The Chinese American Citizens Alliance, in San Francisco, California, spearheaded the
Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project. The national campaign aims to identify, honor and recognize the efforts and accomplishments of all Chinese Americans who served in the United States Armed Services during World War II.
January 10, 2021
Bengali men with their Puerto Rican and African American wives, at a New York City banquet in 1952.
By Raymond Douglas Chong, AsAmNews Staff Writer
Aladdin Ullah is living a Bengali American journey, as a trailblazing comedian and a rising playwright on the American cultural mosaic. His new documentary In Search of Bengali Harlem is set to premiere on PBS during the 2021-2022 season. The film uncovers the story of South Asian Muslim men classified as “illegal” by Asian Exclusion laws, but who blended in with existing community of colors in Harlem and the Lower East Side.
Background
Ullah grew up in Spanish Harlem, aka EL Barrio, a Hispanic community on Manhattan Island during the 1970s. He rejected his Bangladeshi Muslim and South Asian heritages early in life. While living in the neighborhood’s George Washington Carver Houses, he wildly thrived in New York City through hip-hop and graffiti art. Ullah attended public school and graduated from Richman H