She starts with a very apt personal anecdote and then launches into the tale of a horribly executed PR event.

I asked with a genuine curiosity that had struck me from the moment I received the email invitation, “Why the name ‘Wanderers?’”

Pham gave a nervous laugh and explained that he originally had wanted to name the restaurant, “Wondrous Azian Kitchen” to invoke a sense of awe and wonderment while also playfully invoking connotations of the “wondrous Wanderers punch” cocktail beverage. A woman who seemed to be friends with Pham made a joke about how I was probably too young to know about wondrous Wanderers punch (Hey, lady, I’m very much over the legal drinking age and have had a few less-than-fortunate encounters with the punch at the Red Dragon).*

Nick, from Twincy, jumped into the explanation and said, “We thought that Thom was saying Wanderers!” – alluding to Pham’s Vietnamese accented English. Nick went on to say that the misunderstanding was not discovered until after all the PR materials had been printed. There was awkward laughter. My friend – a fellow Asian American – and I looked over at each other, our straight faces mirroring each other’s thoughts of, “Is this really happening?”

Read the whole thing. Steph lays it out pretty well.

I found it cringe-worthy just reading about it. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to be there. Or what it must have been like in the moment that Pham himself realized what had happened.

In my opinion, this reflects horribly on Twincy as an agency. Getting past the part where they co-opted the local internet meme that birthed the word “Twincy” as a reference to the Twin Cities (h/t to Matt Albiniak) (I think it was Matt), it’s not just the crapitude of the event, but a serious screw up – racist or not – in their marketing/PR process.

UPDATE: I edited the quote to reflect updates Steph made to the original article. Make sure you click through to read about those and to read through the comments; it’s even more insight as to the issue at hand.

Photo courtesy of Steph Pituc.

Wing Young Huie made his mark in the 1990s with his groundbreaking photo documentary of St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood. Several years later, he took on the entirety of Minneapolis’ Lake Street. Now he’s winding up his work on a six-mile stretch of University Avenue. Wing gives 3-Minute Egg a preview and invites the Egg along on a shoot at a small business along University. Wing is opening his studio to the public from noon to 10 pm Saturday to showcase his University Avenue Project photos for a preview sale. The exhibition goes up to the broader public in May along storefronts, the sides of buildings and giant projection screens along University.

Visit 3-Minute Egg to view the video.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination to be U.S. marshal for the District of Minnesota by voice vote, suggesting her nomination won’t face strident opposition when it goes to the Senate floor.

UPDATE 12/28/09: Confirmed!

Saurday, October 10th – 3:00-5:00pm
Minneapolis Urban League – 2220 16th Ave N, Minneapolis
[facebook event]

This should be a really interesting event. I know marriage equality is not the be all and end all of civil rights issues for anyone, but I think this will be a really good discussion for three reasons.

1. The path to marriage equality is different from state to state depending on their respective constitutions and existing laws, so it’ll be good to shed some light on the specifics of the situation in our own state.
2. Minnesota has this weird political environment where you often times can’t tell which way the population is going to swing on an issue.
3. Mandy Carter is awesome.

For more info contact OutFront Minnesota Community Organizer Kelly Lewis at 612-822-0127 x110 or klewis@outfront.org.

Co-sponsored by:
COLOR CoordiNATION, Minneapolis Urban League, OutFront Minnesota & Shades of Yellow

[x-posted at Cinna.MN]

What happened:

Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly “green jobs” with the White House Council on Environmental Quality was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

His reason:

“What Van Jones decided was that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual,” said Gibbs. The president thanks Jones for his work and accepted his resignation, Gibbs said, adding that Jones “understood he was going to get in the way,” by becoming a liability to the administration.

Ridiculousness:

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana said in a statement, “His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration or the public debate.” Missouri Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond said Congress should investigate Jones’s fitness for the job.

Why it really happened:

Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck repeatedly denounced Jones after a group the adviser co-founded, ColorofChange.org, led an advertising boycott against Beck’s show to protest his claim that Obama is a racist.

James Rucker, the organization’s executive director, has said Jones had nothing to do with ColorofChange.org now and didn’t even know about the campaign before it started.

Van Jones was absolutely the right guy for that job. This is terribly disappointing. His appointment was announced in March.

Further reading: New Yorker profile of Van Jones.

Peggy McIntosh is the author of White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (pdf), a groundbreaking essay which is perhaps best known for the list of 50 observations McIntosh made as described in the following paragraph:

I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.

Peggy McIntosh has partnered with the Saint Paul Foundation to write two updates to that essay, “White Privilege: An Account to Spend” and “White People Facing Race: Uncovering the Myths that Keep Racism in Place” which you can get here.

The Facing Race Ambassador Celebration starts at 6:45pm (Central) at the Prom Center in Oakdale (directions). The liveblogging will start sometime shortly before that. Visit facingrace.org for more details about the event, to see the list of the 2009 award winners, and to RSVP.

Check back here tomorrow evening for the liveblog. You can read along and chat along as well. Follow @twofoundations and @cinnamn for tweets from and about the event, and follow the hashtag #facingrace.

I’ve got a few minutes with Dr. McIntosh as well. What would you ask her? Leave a comment here or tweet (reply to @cinnamn).

By Deb Pleasants, TC Daily Planet
April 22, 2009

On the day MayKao Hang married, her father told her she was no longer part of their [the Yang] clan. She now belonged to the Hang clan–her husband’s clan. She recalls her father saying, your mother’s womb is what you borrowed. Then he told Hang that her new mother-in-law was now her mother. Hang remembers his words made her cry.

When a girl marries, she ceases to be part of her birth family and becomes part of her husband’s family and his clan. Hmong women have very little power within the clan structure and if a woman is in an abusive relationship, she usually has nowhere to turn for help. It is that sense of powerlessness Hang has made it her mission to change.

“The pressures felt by Hmong girls and women are tremendous,” said Hang.

Hang, 36, knows she is not like most Hmong women. Rather than abide by the staunchly patriarchal belief system prevalent in Hmong culture, she chose to follow her dreams. She received a full scholarship to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and earned a BA in Psychology. After returning to Saint Paul, she received a Masters of Arts in Public Affairs from the Humphrey Institute. Now she is a student in Hamline University’s Public Administration Program, in pursuit of her doctoral degree. In the Hmong community, this makes her atypical.

“Girls are not encouraged to pursue education… They aren’t even told they can have dreams,” Hang said.

Hang is the Director of Children and Family Services at Wilder Foundation, where she works with troubled families on St. Paul’s East Metro area–the hub of the Hmong community in Minnesota. In addition, she is one of the co-founders of Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together; an organization working to end the sexism and violence that subjugates Hmong women and girls. Confronting deeply entrenched attitudes is challenging; however, Hang believes valuing Hmong women as individuals will strengthen the entire Hmong community.

Both personally and professionally, Hang strives to show Hmong girls and women that they do have a voice and it deserves to be heard. Because of her dedication, Hang will be honored with the Ann Bancroft Foundation’s prestigious Dream Maker Award later this month.

Just as Ann Bancroft’s Antarctic explorations have inspired many women to take risks in pursuit of their dreams, the Ann Bancroft Foundation recognizes others who “encourage and support the achievements of girls and women” with their Dream Maker award. Each year, ABF selects four Minnesotans who help girls and women reach their full potential as the recipients of the Dream Maker Award. The foundation has bestowed this honor on behalf of Ann Bancroft for the past 12 years.

Hang will join the three other Minnesotans as the honored guests at ABF’s annual Gala on April 29. She sees the award as confirmation of her life’s work. She also feels receiving an award of this caliber to be a humbling experience.

“It’s a big award… It meant a lot to be recognized by friends and colleagues,” said Hang.

This recognition also affords Hang with the opportunity to share with the larger community why she is determined to change the Hmong patriarchal system.

Hang arrived in Minnesota when she was six years old, after first spending two years in Milwaukee. She has memories of her family running for their lives from the soldiers in Laos. Terrified they would be captured or killed, the only way they avoided the soldiers was by hiding in a village of lepers.

As horrific as her life was in Laos, Hang says her experiences are not unlike most refugees and does not believe it is the motivation behind her need to help women. That desire comes from witnessing how the Hmong clan system uniformly relegates girls to second-class status.

Within the Hmong community, people are beholden to both their immediate family and their clan. A clan is anyone who shares a common ancestry; that ancestry is traced through the father’s lineage. Thus, anyone with the same last name is part of the same clan.

In the Hmong community, male leaders have the power to arrange marriage, settle disputes and address social justice issues. Girls leave their birth family and join their husband’s clan; boys remain within their birth clan. Because of this, Hmong families believe it is a waste of financial resources to educate their girls; however, educating the boys is considered a wise investment.

“It shouldn’t be that you should ration your investment,” said Hang.

One member of her clan did invest in her. Hang’s aunt from California sent her $20 to help her as she struggled financially at college. Her aunt, who had never attended college herself, understood Hang deserved recognition.

Hang never forgot her aunt’s generous act. Years later Hang flew her aunt’s three daughters from California to live with her in Saint Paul while her aunt recovered from a stroke. During their stay, Hang opened their eyes to a world with endless possibilities. Apparently, her investment paid off because now one of the girls is a sophomore in college.

Hang’s goal is not to dismantle the Hmong culture; she actually holds the clan structure in high regard. However, she hopes over time the clan structure will adapt to become more inclusive for women because women need to have a voice at the table. Hang believes seeing women as peers rather than subordinates will enhance the Hmong community.

“It doesn’t mean going against Hmong culture. It could mean embracing culture. We living today have the power to redefine culture everyday,” said Hang.

Deb Pleasants worked as a probation officer for 15 years prior to becoming a stay-at-home-mom. In addition to caring for her son, she is a freelance writer and citizen journalist. She resides in St. Paul with her family.

(Rainbow Families is the Midwest office of Family Equality Council.)

Why is family equality important to you?

All families deserve access to the same legal protections and rights, and to be valued, respected, affirmed, and appreciated. We must redefine what it means to be a family in this country because so many families have never and continue not to fit into this rigid definition.

What is your favorite Rainbow Families memory?

My favorite memory is definitely the first Annual Rainbow Families Conference I attended in 2006. It was such a powerful experience to be surrounded by over 1000 LGBTQ parents, their children, prospective parents, and allies and to feel part of a community.

I have had the good fortune of meeting Abby recently. Her commitment to the cause is undeniable. And she’s super nice.

“You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life,” Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“Everybody that knows me personally they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live their lives,” she said.

“Now, I gotta get in their face,” she said. “I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be a black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”

Anti-racism activist Tim Wise guest posts at Racialicious.

I hope you find some value in what I have to offer here. My hope is that anyone who reads is willing to share their thoughts, opinions, and experience, either by commenting or by submitting an item for posting.

You know your experience, I know mine. Let’s each tell it in our own way.

And if you’re just passing through, feel free to say hello. Leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

This weekend’s lineup includes: Pramila Vasudevan, kim thompson, Katie Ka Vang, and Tou Saiko Lee.

[complete details on the series and on this weekend's event]
[purchase tickets]

Beyond the Pure: Readings by Writers of Color
Thursday, October 9, 2008
7:00 PM at Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis
Admission by donation; wine & beer reception to follow

Curated by Julie Bates & Carolyn Holbrook; hosted by Carolyn Holbrook

Featuring:
IBé was born in Guinea, and grew up between Sierra Leone, Chicago, St. Cloud, and the Twin Cities. Quite naturally, he lives in the Middle of the Atlantic…with a mailing address in Minneapolis, MN. Among others, he writes about the African Experience, both in Africa and in America. Bridge Across Atlantic, his first collection of poems, is a small dose of these stories.

BAO PHI has been a performance poet since 1991. A two-time Minnesota Grand Slam champion and a National Poetry Slam finalist, Bao Phi has appeared on HBO Presents Russell Simmons Def Poetry, and a poem of his appeared in the 2006 Best American Poetry anthology. He has performed in venues and schools across the country, from the Nuyorican Poets Café to the University of California, Berkeley. Currently he continues to perform across the country, remains active as an Asian American community organizer, and works at the Loft, where he creates and operates programs for artists and audiences of color.

SUN YUNG SHIN is a 2007 Bush Artist Fellow for Literature and author of the collection of poems Skirt Full of Black (Coffee House Press 2007); co-editor of Outsiders Within: Writings on Transracial Adoption; (South End Press 2006) and author of Cooper’s Lesson (Children’s Book Press 2004), a bilingual Korean/English illustrated book for children. She’s currently working on her second book of poems with the working title The Invisible Choir and a memoir of her immigration and naturalization. Her website is www.sunyungshin.com.

Funds for this activity are provided by the COMPAS Community Art Program through a grant from the McKnight Foundation. The Carol Connolly Reading Series is sponsored in part by The Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, DreamHaven Books, Patrick’s Cabaret, SF Minnesota, and the University Club of Saint Paul.

Intermedia Arts on: [web] [facebook]

“Alexs and I have talked about what it means to be writers of colors in Minneapolis as opposed to New York or Los Angeles. You’re more obscure, less connected to networks of writers. It also allows you a certain amount of freedom to work on your own, in your own way,” says Mura, who grew up in Chicago. “That forced me to look at myself and my work differently. When I first started writing, I didn’t think of myself as a writer of color. Then when I came here, I went through a re-envisioning and understanding of who I was, and I fought certain battles over issues about race. I fought pretty much alone.”

Mura’s website includes his interview with Pate on the topic of his latest book, Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire.

I find it unsurprising that he didn’t frame himself as being a minority until he moved here and was really in the minority. Many of us transplants struggle with that. Working in a creative field in which your identity informs your work is an interesting added dimension.