Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage! ✨
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Episode 85 Description
In today’s episode: 🇺🇸 May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month! 🌐 Hear about important figures past and present from the AAPI Community. 💖 Learn how to be a good ally to those around you. 📰Catch up on the latest headlines and see if you know the answer to the Trivia on the Ten! 🧐
Links:
✍️ Visit our website for a list of sources used for this episode and a full episode transcript
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Sources for this episode:
https://www.seventeen.com/life/a36332749/asian-american-pacific-islander-meaning/
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2020/aian.html
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/646189/asian-american-and-pacific-islander-heritage-month-facts
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/style/bowen-yang-snl.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kamala-Harris
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/sports/basketball/jeremy-lin-asian-attacks-racism.html
http://www.waikikiaquarium.org/experience/animal-guide/fishes/triggerfishes/reef-riggerfish/
Headlines:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/05/18/world/israel-gaza-updates
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/science/china-mars.html
https://apnews.com/article/chicago-fires-cats-oddities-ace1e27da9f6d6c642feb7238da6ce5
TRANSCRIPT:
Sound Bit 0:00
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:06
It's May 20th. I'm Bethany Van Delft. And this is The Ten News! Where we get the lowdown on what's up in the world. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It's a month that's dedicated to honoring generations of AAPI people who are a very important part of America's past, present, and future. This community is enduring a rise of violence and hate directed at people of Asian descent right now. So, today on The Ten, not only are we celebrating the contributions of AAPI people, but we're also going to talk about how if you are not part of the AAPI community, you can speak up, use your voice, and be an ally to support others. Let's get to The Ten! In case you've heard the term AAPI and aren't sure what it means we got you covered. AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and they're two different groups of people. They can come from or trace their family history to many different countries, regions, and communities. People who identify as Asian American can be from all over Asia from China to Cambodia, Pakistan to the Philippines. Pacific Islanders may hail from Polynesia, Micronesia, or Melanesia, and include Native Hawaiians, people from Fiji, Samoa, and many other places. The AAPI community is large and incredibly diverse with many different languages, religious practices, histories, and experiences. In fact, there are more than 24 million AAPI residents in the United States. AAPI Heritage was started to highlight two very important events in history. One was the arrival of the first immigrants from Japan to the United States in 1843, and the other was the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. What does the railroad have to do with AAPI history? A lot. Most of the construction was done by Chinese laborers who worked in extremely hazardous conditions to lay tracks for this massive project that connected the nation. The AAPI community is an essential part of the fabric of America, there is no doubt about that. We only have 10 minutes here at the Ten News, not enough time to talk about 24 million people. So for now, here are five AAPI people past and present to get to know. Number one Hawaii's last queen, before Hawaii, was made the 50th state it was ruled by kings and queens. Queen Liliuokalani was Hawaii's first and last woman to lead the nation. But even after the kingdom of Hawaii was gone Liliuokalani his legacy lives on. She spent her life fighting for her people's rights and traditions. Yes. Number two, late-night laughs, Bowen Yang has been serving up laughs on the sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live since 2019 when he became the first Chinese American to ever become a cast member for the popular late-night show. Oh my god, they're gonna make a movie about this. Number three, AAPI in the office. Kamala Harris has had lots of firsts in her career. Today, she's the first Indian American, the first black person, and the first woman to hold the office of Vice President. Who knows what other first till accomplished next? Number four, sports superstar. When Taiwanese American Jeremy Lin played for the New York Knicks back in 2012, his epic plays and rise to stardom came with a catchy nickname Linsanity. In 2019, Lin became the first Asian American to ever win an NBA championship. Number five, smart science, infectious disease expert Dr. Monica Gandhi has been working to spread the science behind COVID-19 and help people protect themselves. Instead of scaring or shaming people during the pandemic, she's been working to spread positive and helpful messages about how people can stay safe, saving lives along the way. Now that is a pretty cool list of people for starters. Who do you think we should know about in the AAPI community? Send us a note at hello@thetennews.com.
Bethany Van Delft 5:24
Recently, there's been a lot of peaceful protests and powerful activism in support of the AAPI community. Harassment, hate, and outright violence against Asian Americans have been on the rise, especially during the pandemic. Now, more than ever, it's important to be an ally. Being an ally isn't always easy, and you may not know where to start. But we have some tips to share with you and how to support friends and other members of the AAPI community who may be feeling upset, angry, or afraid. Allyship is the practice of showing up, speaking up, and standing in support of marginalized communities, and groups of people who are excluded by society and kept from the power that you do not belong to. It's a process that involves lots of listening and learning. Everyone can be an ally. It's a lot like being a good friend. It means listening to people when they speak, hearing and believing their experiences, and supporting them the best way you can. An allyship is a tool for ending bigotry. Bigotry is having and expressing a strong dislike for cultures, beliefs, and lifestyles that are different than your own. Allyship helps change this harmful way of thinking through community building and personal relationships. There are lots of things you can do to be an ally. If you see someone mistreating someone speak up, let them know it's not okay, or get a grown-up to help. Listen and learn from the people you want to support. Educate yourself about cultures and communities outside of your own. Believe people of color when they say that something is racist. Talking about race can be uncomfortable, but being uncomfortable is necessary to grow and move forward. Talk with people from your own community about what you're learning so they can become aware and help make change too. As a teen activist, Ashlyn So wrote in an Instagram post responding to recent events, "If people in your circle are not talking about this today, you need a new circle." If this all comes as a surprise to you, wake up, enough is enough. Ashlyn is right. If we don't talk about what's happening, we can't change it. Being an ally takes practice, and we will make mistakes along the way. But that's okay. Ally ship is a daily lifelong practice. We'll continue this conversation. And we want to know how you are feeling and what questions you may have. Send us an email at hello@thetennews.com and visit our website for more resources to learn how to be an ally for those around you.
Bethany Van Delft 8:22
Time for some headlines from around the globe. Last week, the Israel-Palestinian conflict erupted into major violence between Israel's military and militants in Gaza. World leaders are calling for a ceasefire. And this past Tuesday, Palestinian workers from all over Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip united in a worker’s strike to protest the violence against their people. This is a long-standing and complicated conflict and the strike was a significant sign of political unity across the Palestinian community. Kobe Bryant was officially inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The legendary basketball player won five championships and was an 18-time NBA All-Star and even won two Olympic gold medals. He tragically died in a helicopter accident last year. And another robot has landed on Mars! China touchdown with its rover called Jurong, named after a god of fire in Chinese folktales. Its mission is to study Martian Ice. It may be tough to be so far away from home, but at least perseverance is there to keep it company. Juju and Percy, are interplanetary besties. And finally, think black cats are unlucky? Think again! After a Chicago apartment building caught fire, a black cat jumped five stories to the ground landed, and walked away totally fine. What a purr-fect landing. Lucky, you, it's...
Sound Bit 10:12
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 10:15
Trivia on The Ten. Heading back to Hawaii. Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa is special to the Aloha state. What is it? Is it a) a beach with pink sand, b) a type of fish, or c) the perfect surfing wave? Did you guess it? The answer is b) a fish. Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa has another name in the Hawaiian language. In English, it's called a Reef Triggerfish and it's actually Hawaii's State Fish. The name partially translates to "snout like a pig." When this fish faces a predator underwater, the fish grunts to try and scare away its attacker. But when it makes the same noise at the water's surface, it sounds more like a snort, or me laughing at one of the funny jokes you share with us.
Bethany Van Delft 11:28
Time is up. But, before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thank you for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. You can go deeper into today's episode by visiting thetennews.com. The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team likes catching big waves and includes Kate Hill, Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto Jenner Pasqua, and Sarah O'Linzer. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft. Thanks for listening to The Ten News!
