Here is the intro video for Glenn Lau-Kee when he was honored back in April during the Museum of Chinese in America’s Celebration of Community Heroes. The video mentions Glenn’s leadership as AABANY President (1997-98) and as the first Asian American President of the New York State Bar Association (2014-15). AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen appears in the video, along with other community leaders, to salute Glenn and his contributions to not just the Asian American community but the larger community as well. Thank you, Glenn, for all that you do. You are truly an inspiration to us all and a genuine Community Hero. Congratulations, again!

Super Lawyers – The Top Women Attorneys New York Metro 2017 – 1

Super Lawyers – The Top Women Attorneys New York Metro 2017 – 1

Press Release: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and AABANY to Host Panel Discussion with Acting US Attorney Joon Kim, Judge Denny Chin, and Congresswoman Grace Meng

Press Release: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and AABANY to Host Panel Discussion with Acting US Attorney Joon Kim, Judge Denny Chin, and Congresswoman Grace Meng

Press Release: AABANY Congratulates Justice Jeffrey Oing and Justice Anil Singh on Their Historic Appointment to New York’s Appellate Division First Department

Press Release: AABANY Congratulates Justice Jeffrey Oing and Justice Anil Singh on Their Historic Appointment to New York’s Appellate Division First Department

Press Release: NAPABA Celebrates Confirmation of Judge Amul Thapar to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Press Release: NAPABA Celebrates Confirmation of Judge Amul Thapar to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

PRESS RELEASE | NAPABA Applauds Fourth Circuit Decision Upholding Block on Revised Muslim Ban

PRESS RELEASE | NAPABA Applauds Fourth Circuit Decision Upholding Block on Revised Muslim Ban

Letter from AABANY President Dwight Yoo

Earlier this month in a podcast, Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin shared the many stereotypes he had to overcome and racial slurs he heard while playing basketball, particularly during college.  

In the podcast Outside Shot with Randy Foye, Lin detailed how he was called “ch–k” openly by players and “that Oriental” by an opposing coach, heckled by a fan screaming Chinese food names at him, and taunted by crowds about his eyes.  

The reaction?  Largely indifference.  Referees looked the other way, and we can infer security and the schools themselves didn’t respond meaningfully, if at all.

In speaking with other Asian Pacific Americans, I am struck by how familiar the experience Lin describes is to many in their own life experiences.  To many, having preconceived notions imposed on them and being the recipient of racially tinged offensive remarks are commonplace, including at the workplace (even if the remarks may be without malice), and the indifferent response is unsurprising.

But the reaction needs to change.  One of the principal missions of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) this year is to bring greater attention to these matters.

Whether it is being loud when a television personality like Steve Harvey makes offensive jokes about Asians or Fox News airs a “Watters’ World” segment mocking New York City’s Chinatown residents with the correspondent self-proclaiming it was “all in good fun.”

Or highlighting APA talents deserving of promotion while bringing attention to the disproportionate underrepresentation of APAs in the senior ranks of in-house law departments, law firms, the judiciary, public service, and political office.

Or focusing attention on news stories affecting the APA community, such as the shootings of two Indian engineers in Kansas earlier this year by a gunman who allegedly yelled “Get out of my country” before firing, and the subsequent increase of other violent acts against South Asians.

In 2012, at the height of “Linsanity,” ESPN ran an unconscionably derogatory headline “Chink in the Armor” tied to a story about the end of the Knicks’ winning streak which had been fueled by Lin’s play.  

We at AABANY hope to speak out, educate and advocate so that people think twice, with the goal that such headlines become a thing of the past.

Respectfully,

Dwight S. Yoo


This article originally appeared in the 2017 Spring Edition of The AABANY Advocate. You can find that issue here.