Miss Congeniality–1965 San Francisco Chinatown Pageant

I first met Felicia Lowe at the AAAM Retreat back in October 2021. Since then, I worked with her closely in our AAPI Film Series Committee planning and selecting films to show at our Film Series. I know that she is an award-winning independent filmmaker and have made several films including “Carved in Silence“, and that she is well known in the Chinese American community for her contributions and tireless work in preserving Chinese American history on film.

However, it is a little known fact that she also competed in the 1965 Miss Chinatown USA pageant, an amazing story that she is gracious enough to share with us all. I’d like to acknowledge Ben SB’s post on Facebook Chinese North American History Network that alerted me to this story. 

Felicia in her own words:

As I dusted off the box of mementos from the 1965 Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant, memories of the whirlwind couple of weeks spent in San Francisco as a contestant came alive again. It was a lifetime ago! I was 19 years old, a junior at San Jose State, majoring in journalism. Inside the box was my badge number, Miss Congeniality sash, program book, and the tattered remnants of the scrape book I had put together. The photos and yellowed newspaper articles documented visits to family associations, photo spreads with politicians, modelling fashions, the Pageant at the Masonic Auditorium (including a shot of me singing), the Coronation Ceremony, and of course, the New Year’s Parade. The coverage was non-stop, our images appeared in both the Chinese and mainstream press. The experience was exhausting and exhilarating. I enjoyed meeting my fellow contestants who came from different parts of the country. It was the first time I’d met Chinese American girls with a southern drawl, and a Philly accent. There was also lots of laughter to get us through each day’s grueling schedule. We bonded as a group and were happy for everyone’s success. It never felt competitive to me.

My new found friends voted me Miss Congeniality, which took me by surprise (far left in the photo). Revisiting the experience now 57 years later, I realize it had a greater impact on my 19 year old self than I had previously understood. I gained a greater respect and broader perspective about the Chinese community, its leadership, pride in being Chinese in America, being American. It laid the ground work for my future career in media and the subjects I would cover.

My then interest in journalism had morphed into broadcast journalism which I found more dynamic and could reach larger audiences. I moved to New York to study film and television production, while working on the children’s program, “The Electric Company.” Upon completion of a Broadcast Journalism Program at Columbia University, I was

hired as a news writer at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. I moved back to San Francisco to work at KGO-TV, becoming its first Asian female reporter. I also hosted the public affairs program, “Perspectives” and co-hosted two live broadcasts of the Chinese New Year’s Parade with David Louie. I learned a great deal working in breaking news, but I was eager to tell longer stories and the opportunity arrived with an offer to work on the PBS series, “Turnabout” as a field producer. The work prepared me well to make my first documentary in 1979, “China: Land of My Father” in which I went to China to meet my father’s mother for the first time.

The overwhelming positive response to seeing “our Roots story” inspired me to make other documentaries. “Carved in Silence” reveals the stories of Chinese immigrants detained at Angel Island Immigration Station during the Chinese Exclusion era and the poetry carved into the walls. For KQED, I produced “Chinatown” for their Neighborhood series, and “Chinese Couplets” traces my mother’s journey from China to America as a paper daughter. All my documentaries have been broadcast on PBS and used in classrooms across the country. I’m gratified that I’ve been able to share what I have learned about our unique histories and common humanity through my films.

I’m even more pleased that work I’ve been a part of through the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation these past 40 years has resulted in the preservation and restoration of the Immigration Station, a National Historic Landmark.

I’ll end with a short clip from “Chinese Couplets.” It’d been a long, long time since I last stood on that stage in the Masonic Auditorium! Click here to watch the clip.

For information about Felicia and all her films, please visit her website at https://www.lowedownproductions.com. Also, several of her films are available on Kanopy.com which is accessible for free through your library card at the Sonoma County Library.

to the young asian girl
who is struggling with how
to process your pain right now

i want to tell you that it’s okay
that the anger or hurt you may feel
is valid and that you deserve
to be acknowledged and seen.

to the young Asian girl
who wants to speak up
but finds that your voice
gets lodged in your throat,
and you feel as though
you can’t breathe.

i am sorry.
i am sorry for the pain you are in right now
and i know that you hate crying
but it’s okay if you have to.

crying will not make you weak
and you will not be playing
into that sick stereotype of a
submissive asian woman.

so allow yourself to feel,
to scream,
to rant.
allow yourself to heal
because you deserve it.

to the young asian girl
who feels fetishized
and sexualized,

you are human.
you serve to feel safe in your own skin

and I’m sorry that that sense of security was stolen from you
but know that you can take it back
because you are stronger
than what you may think
right now.

to the young asian girl
who feels ignored,
who feels like people
won’t listen to your warnings
or protests unless
someone gets hurt or ends up
murdered,

your voice matters,
it always has and always will
and people will eventually
be forced to listen to what you
have to say
so do not silence yourself
for the comfort of others.

to the young asian girl
who knows that this type of violence
isn’t new,

who knows the history of yellow peril,
the model minority myth,
the chinese exclusion act,
and the countless other times
asian bodies have been brutalized
and beaten throughout history

please stay strong.
it may feel like you want to give up,
that people will forever choose to
stay ignorant
but in that case,
please put yourself first.

It is not your job
to educate others on
your pain or your history.

you are not a resource.
you are a human being and deserve
to be treated as such.

to the young asian girl
who feels exhausted,
and drained,
and can’t help but feel like,
you’re drowning
in the news of the daily
hate crimes you see online,

it is okay to unplug.
to log off.
to return to yourself
and find peace with your loved ones.

to the young asian girl
writing this poem
as a form of healing
and processing,

know that you are loved.
that you are appreciated.
that you are not a model minority.
or a scapegoat.
or a fetish.

know that feeling pain doesn’t make
you weak.
know that you are allowed to rest
and heal for however long you need.

Natalie Nong is a Youth Fellow at AAAM (Asian American Alliance of Marin) and an incoming freshman at San Jose State where she will be majoring in Animation/Illustration. She creates artwork and writes poetry that explores and discusses her identity as a Vietnamese-American woman. Her goal as an artist is to create a more positive and inclusive representation of Vietnamese perspectives through storytelling.

Photo Credit: City of Sonoma. Representing AAPIC are Co-Chair Elizabeth Escalante (holding the Proclamation) and Phyllis Tajii, member of Board of Directors (far right). Mayor Jack Ding, holding the Proclamation with Elizabeth, is a member and strong supporter of AAPIC.

On May 18, 2022 at the City of Sonoma council meeting, an AAPI Heritage Month proclamation was adopted to acknowledge the contribution of the Asian community to the development of the City of Sonoma particularly in its wine industry. Several members of AAPIC contributed to the draft, and in our research, we uncovered a lot of history about the role the Asian community played. We thank Mayor Jack Ding for helping make this happen. Jack is the first Chinese American serving the city, and now as the mayor. We also acknowledge the invaluable wealth of information provided by Sonoma State University 2015 Master thesis written by Gordon C. Phillips (1929-2018)-The Chinese in Sonoma County, California, 1900-1930: The Aftermath of Exclusion.

In his address to the Sonoma City Council as the newly elected Mayor in December 2021, Jack Ding said, “[Sonoma] was built over 180 years ago, but what many people don’t know is that during the early development time 25% of Sonoma’s population were Chinese laborers.

“They were forgotten for many years and were not highlighted in our history because of racism and the Chinese Exclusion Act. But they lived here, worked here, and died here. Sadly, you cannot find any graves simply because they were not white and Christian. They were not allowed to be buried in the cemetery.”

“Still, they were great builders of Sonoma, we see their vineyards, wine cellars and walls allover our community. Very few had English names; you will see the same name on the Census, listed for all of the Chinese immigrants. It says: John Chinaman, John Chinaman, John Chinaman …”

“Today, Sonoma is a great city with inclusiveness and love and is making history again! I am a first-generation immigrant and also the first Chinese American serving the City of Sonoma. I fully understand both challenges and contributions of all our community-people whose families have been here for generations and newcomers who just settled down here.

“We are blessed to live and work here in Sonoma. It’s our responsibility to protect Sonoma and make sure that someday in the future, when we pass it on to our younger generation, the city of Sonoma will be stronger, more vibrant and still beautiful.”

In honor of the AAPI Heritage Month in the month of May, the City of Sonoma and Mayor Jack Ding have accepted AAPIC’s request to present a proclamation to highlight the contribution of the AAPI community at its City Council meeting.

See a copy of the Proclamation and attachment.

Huffpost Personal, by Stacey Fargnoli

“As a child, I assumed my Koreanness just fell away like a snake shedding its skin. I thought, ‘That must be what happens when you’re adopted.'”

“Growing up, I never thought about being adopted. It’s something that happened a long time ago and explains why I don’t look like my white parents, but that’s about it. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle that puts others at ease. It’s the fact I have stashed in my back pocket for those group icebreakers.”

My ethnicity was nothing more than a parlor trick until March 16, 2021, when news of six Asian American women gunned down in Atlanta pierced through my veneer of indifference. I knew about the increase in violence against Asian Americans in recent years, but this time, the fear tore into the heart of my being. It forced me to look at my own Asianness and the reality that I am a target of hatred toward Asian Americans whether I feel like a “real Asian” or not. Read more.

This is a slide presentation of Stop AAPI Hate by Manjusha P, Kullkarni, Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance on March 17, 2022.

Key Takeaways

• Racial discrimination affects all Asians and Pacific Islanders.
• Intersectionality matters.
• Most hate incidents are not hate crimes
• No one-size-fits-all solutions.
• There is no one profile of perpetrators and contrary to popular belief Blacks do not make up the majority of those causing harm
• Racism: Not only interpersonal attacks, but also structural decisions and policies

Read the slide presentation.

Stop AAPI Hate is an initiative of:

• Chinese for Affirmative Action
• AAPI Equity Alliance
• San Francisco State University

From March 19, 2020 to December 31, 2021, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons were reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Of the hate incidents reflected in this report, 4,632 occurred in 2020 (42.5%) and 6,273occurred in 2021 (57.5%).

This national report features:

(1) the overall descriptions of 10,905 hate incidents from Stop AAPI Hate data; and

(2) the gender-specific descriptions of hate incidents.

It also highlight policies and recommendations to address experiences with hate, including policies from Stop AAPI Hate’s recently released California State Policy Recommendations to Address AAPI Hate report, which can be adopted in states around the country. Information about our standard data cleaning procedures and more detailed tables can be found in the Technical Appendix at the end of this report.

According to Stop AAPI Hate data, verbal harassment (63.0%) continues to make up the biggest share of total incidents reported.

Overall Key Findings:

• AAPI women report more harassment (69.8%) than AAPI men (63.0%) and AAPInon-binary people (56.3%).
• AAPI non-binary people report more deliberate avoidance or shunning (21.4%), being coughed at or spat on (13.9%), denial of service (8.3%) and online harassment (12.1%) than AAPI women and men.
• A higher percentage of hate incidents experienced by AAPI women occurred inpublic streets (34.5%) compared to AAPI men (32.1%) and AAPI non-binarypeople (29.5%).
• Higher percentages of hate incidents experienced by AAPI non-binary peopleoccurred online (13.9%), at school (11.8%) and at university or college (7.8%).
• Higher percentages of AAPI women (19.1%) and AAPI non-binary people(23.1%) identified gender/gender identity as one reason for discrimination compared to AAPI men (5.5%).

Read the report.

Stop AAPI Hate is a national coalition addressing anti-Asian racism across the United States. The coalition was founded by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council(A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies Department

Background

The City of Santa Rosa Public Art Program issued a Request for Qualifications seeking an artist or team of artists to design, fabricate, and install site-specific public art at the north end of Old Courthouse Square in Downtown Santa Rosa. The deadline to submit qualifications was in January 2020.

The Goal

The goal of this completed project is to provide the entire Santa Rosa community with a prominent artistic symbol that reflects the uniquely Santa Rosa values of innovation and cultural inclusivity. This art installation should inspire people living in, and visiting, our city to reflect on what is special about our community and encourage them to gather downtown to experience it first-hand.

Selection Process

A selection panel was formed representing arts professionals, downtown business and property owners, downtown residents, and the Art in Public Places Committee (APPC). After narrowing down from 140 submissions from artists across the country to 5 finalists, Blessing Hancock of Tucson, Arizona’s sculpture Unum was selected as the winner.

Words and Languages to be Included:

At the meeting of the APPC on January 10, 2022, the words in 17 languages on the Unum sculpture were recommended and adopted. This list was selected based on census data that identified the most commonly spoken household languages in the community, and added Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok as suggested by the advisory board.

Languages originally approved for the sculpture at the January 10 APPC meeting included:

1. English
2. Spanish
3. Chinese
4. Tagalog
5. Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian
6. Vietnamese
7. Thai
8. Khmer
9. Amharic, Somali
10. French
11. Swahili
12. German
13. Korean
14. Italian
15. Persian
16. Southern Pomo
17. Coast Miwok

Outcry Over Hebrew and Japanese Languages Omission

The omission of Japanese and Hebrew in list of languages triggered an outcry from the Jewish and Japanese communities. See Press Democrat article on January 21, 2022.

The different languages are meant to represent the diversity in the community. There is roomfor more languages and adding a few additional languages will not displace any of thelanguages already approved. It will only add to the diversity.

Phyllis Tajii of Sonoma County JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) and a core member our AAPI Coalition of the North Bay, alerted us to the omission. She wrote, “While JACL is grateful that many different Asian languages are included (as too often distinctions are not made between the different Asian ethnic groups), there seemed to bean omission of the Japanese American population who have been in Santa Rosa since the 1800’s, and the same with the Jewish community (as represented by the Hebrew language).

“It is admirable that the APP Committee recognized the different populations that are so often overlooked, but if languages are meant to represent the diversity of the community, JACL would like them to go a step further and look at populations who speak English in the household and do not need translation assistance but who still identify with a specific ethnic group and have had a long history in the area.”

Several community organizations have already expressed support to re-examine the languages to be used. They include Sonoma County Interfaith Council, United in Kindness, the Jewish community. A request to add Hebrew and Arabic were also voiced.

APPC Meeting Decision Nullified

Public outcry over the omission of Japanese and Hebrew from the languages to be featured on the sculpture prompted inquiries by the Santa Rosa’s Economic Development Director about how the public could appeal the committee’s decision. At subsequent meetings with the city attorney and clerk’s office determined that the three affirmative votes cast on Jan. 10 were insufficient to pass the motion.

A press release was issued on February 1 that the City will revisit languages for the Unum sculpture which stated “Given this new information, the item will again be placed on an upcoming agenda for consideration…

“As the original motion for this item was invalid, there is also the opportunity to provide as lightly modified staff recommendation. After careful consideration of then process through which the original languages were identified, it is now recommended that the list from which the original 15 languages were identified be expanded to include the top 30 languages spoken in Santa Rosa, based on US Census Bureau data. This allows for more inclusivity while respecting the original process recommended by the community advisory group. The recommendation will incorporate the original selection of words as previously included.”

Words to be considered include the following out of 400 total responses from public engagement processes:

1. Unity
2. Community
3. People
4. Diversity
5. Kindness
6. Neighborhood
7. City
8. Safety
9. Respect
10. Love
11. Peace
12. Care
13. Resilience
14. Family
15. Equality
16. Equity
17. Belonging
18. Friendship

Recommended Languages now expand to the 30 most commonly spoken languages in Santa Rosa, plus Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok to acknowledge and respect he Southern Pomo and Miwok land and existing communities in Santa Rosa:

1. English
2. Spanish
3. Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)
4. Tagalog (incl. Filipino)
5. Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian
6. Vietnamese
7. Thai
8. Khmer
9. Amharic, Somali
10. French
11. Swahili
12. German
13. Korean
14. Italian
15. Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari)
16. Laotian
17. Cambodian
18. Russian
19. Swedish
20. Japanese
21. Portuguese
22. Gujarati
23. Hungarian
24. Hindi
25. Miao, Hmong
26. Arabic
27. Tigrinya
28. Hebrew
29. Polish
30. Greek
31. Southern Pomo
32. Coast Miwok

The new recommendations were considered and adopted at the Art in Public Places Committee on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

Increased efforts by the U.S. government to racially target and profile Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have incited fear among the Asian American and immigrant community across the country. Mass surveillance and unjust investigations and prosecutions of scientists, researchers, and scholars of Asian and Chinese descent have increased at an alarming rate.

This webinar with OCA-Asian Pacific Americans consists of a two-part panel with the first section providing a comprehensive overview of the anti-racial profiling movement and the current state of play, including the end of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s security unit Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) and the upcoming trial of Dr. Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao, the most recent case under the “China Initiative“. The latter half of the panel looks into ways you can be involved with Advancing Justice | AAJC’s and OCA’s week of action.

Speakers highlight important policy and advocacy priorities, community-led grassroots organizing efforts, and outline how to build narratives with the media to lift up the voices of impacted people and increase public awareness

10 Key Moments in this Video: (Watch Webinar)

1. Overview of the Anti-Racial Profiling-from00:49 mins
2. John C Yang President and Executive Director,AAJC-from 01:19 mins
3. Anti-Racial Profiling Project-from 05:04 mins
4. Where Are We Now-from 10:10 mins
5. Historical Racial Profiling-from 14:25 mins
6. Issues with Media Coverage-from 15:14 mins
7. Impact on the Academic Community-from 31:29 mins
8. The Tennessee Chinese American Alliance-from 34:44 mins
9. Asian Pacific American “Advocates-from 54:43mins
10. Additional Resources-from 01:16:10 hrs

Jon M. Chu is known for his visually stunning blockbuster films, as well as his kinetic work across various genres, from groundbreaking series to commercials and films. Chu directed the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which has earned more than $175 million in the United States alone. The film is the first non-period studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast, and it represents a new chapter in Chu’s 10-year career.

On the heels of the breakout success of his film Crazy Rich Asians, director Jon M. Chu reflects on what drives him to create-and makes a resounding case for the power of connection and on-screen representation. Watch video.

California Poets in the Schools, a nonprofit that amplifies young creative voices in California, has named Ella Wen as Sonoma County’s new 2021 youth poet laureate. Ella, 16, a sophomore at Maria Carrillo High School, developed a passion in poetry growing up with her Grandpa reading and writing Chinese poems with him. One of three poems she submitted was “Written in Words” which explores racism, prejudice, and bias.

Written in Words

By Ella Wen

And the more I feel this array of alphabetical assault seeping deep within my skin, aimed at me like antagonistic arrows

telling me to say less

and then to say more

to dress less

and then to dress more

to be less

and then to be more

it’s then I begin to realize that words are powerful

and they hurt

but they can heal too

and I, we

I know words too

I too have a pen

my pen is infinite

the ink seeping within pages

I know how to write, I just didn’t know until now

My body, my mind, my soul is so much more than what you wrote your narrative

so clothed with ignorance and facades of apologies

I, experience, am experiencing all the pain there is

don’t write my story

for me.

Read more in the Press Democrat..