October 18, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 1

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2 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

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October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 3

OPINION

Fo’ Real: Internalized Racial Oppression then and now

By Bob Shimabukuro IE Columnist Seattle, 1994 Alice: “I think APAC (Asian Pacific AIDS Council) should go to this workshop we’re putting together.”

Bob: “About what?”

A: Race. For people of color (POC) and those working in POC communities.

B: Why? A: Because your group would benefit greatly by it.

B: Went to one already. People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Eugene. 1983.

A: What did you think about it?

B: Okay. Was president Portland JACL. Thought it would be good for Portland JACL. But after, I thought it wouldn’t work out too well. Mostly Asian attendees. Was interesting but I didn’t think the trainers knew much about Asian Americans.

A: Well, this one will be different. I’ll be doing parts of it.

B: Who else?

A: Kenneth Jones & Guadalupe Guajardo.

Western States.

B: Still can’t. Don’t have any money.

A: Well, I’ll get you some passes.

Seabrooke, 1994 “I-R-O, I-R-O, I-R-O, Internalized Racial Oppression,” he shouted. “Join me, I-R-O, I-R0 ... as the crowd followed. Kenneth Jones was leading the charge. “I want you to remember this, because you need to be aware of it, if you want to be an effective worker in communities of color.”

This was a little livelier than the People’s Institute, no doubt, and his explanation of IRO, which I interpreted as an inferiority complex based upon treatment by the dominant culture, was okay, but I thought it should have been a lot stronger. I was drifting away from him, my mind wandering when I heard, “knowledge of your I-R-O will keep you from getting stupid, then angry. You have to throw away your own personal feelings of being not as good as white folks, because you are as good as, maybe even better than, white folks.”

And again, he caught my attention. Dad’s admonition throughout his lifetime, “Bob, don’t get angry. You always lose when you get angry.” One of Dad’s favorite “Do-as-I say, not-what-I-do” lines. And Dad had always emphasized “you have to talk like haoles, talk like Tom & Toki (my older brother and sister).”

Kenneth did not remain talking about IRO for all of his time. It was my mind that was wandering. But I connected with him again as

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he had more practical advice also, admonishing the executive directors in the attendance that employees need a good pay and benefits plan, because they would have to go up against folks who didn’t have to worry about their kids getting three square meals or whether they are sick and need a baby sitter.

I was drawn into this discussion because Alice and I had learned about two-three weeks earlier that she was pregnant. I was thinking about needing a (steady) paying job myself.

San Francisco, 1985 Hawaiian style “Who you?” after being introduced to each other by Baishakunin (matchmaker) Lia Shigemura.

“What you do? You know, your job,” I ask.

“I’m a consultant,” says Alice.

“What’s that? What consultants do?”

“I tell people what to do.”

“People pay you to tell them what to do?”

“Yes. I ask questions. I listen to what is said and not said,” she said thoughtfully. “Then I tell them what to do. I like telling people what to do. Perfect job for me.” She paused, smiled, then asked, “What do you do?”

Knowing that she was going to listen to what I said and didn’t say, I answered, “People pay me to do what they want me to do. For them.”

“Is that working out for you?”

“Not so good. Think your way bettah. You tell them what to do, and they pay you too?

“Yes.” “You must be pretty good, then.”

“I am.”

(So cool. A non-profit organization consultant. Good fun. No giggling, shrinking violet; I think to myself, this lady one Nesan fo’ sure.

And pretty damn smart. Thank you, Lia) Seabrook, 1994 Alice takes her turn after the short morning break and says in her bright but serious tone, “How to deal with yourself in a world of crap is a major part of coming to terms with internalized racial oppression.” I had a good laugh, as did a lot of others in the group.

And it started me thinking of all sorts of stuff that happened in Portland when I entered Reed College.

Portland, 1963 A serious threat with a straight razor in a Woodstock barber shop, a “just keep your Jap hands off of her,” while I was helping a little girl get back on her tricycle, got my attention.

The way they were talking to me signaled something totally different, that they had a cultural pass to say whatever they wanted to with impunity. And at Reed, even minor com-

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ments like “What language do they speak in Hawai‘i,” “I never heard that accent before” or “You talk English funny” comments bugged me. You know, just enough to make you think you not good enough. Language is very important.

Sometimes, embarrassing. The worst: Humanities 110, a glorified Western Civ class.

Lecture and small group conferences. Listen to one lecture, then break up into conferences to discuss reading and lecture materials. In freshmen orientation, we were counseled to contribute in conferences early on, because most who don’t, carry that on till the end of the term.

Conference leaders (professors) were supposed to encourage students to participate.

We were discussing Plato and Socrates, when I heard: “Mr. Shimabukuro, what do you think about that?”

“Anything,” I said to myself, “that’s what they said. ‘Just to break your silence. You’ll feel better, break the ice.’ “ So I blurted out, “Socrates, he’s a pretty horny man.”

Everyone w’en burst out laughing. Even the professor. “That’s a good one,” he said, continuing to laugh.

In the Hawai‘i of my youth, “horny” meant “conceited,” as in, “Bob so horny, he t’ink he smahter than everybody else,” or “vain,” as in “You’re so horny, you probly t’ink dis song is about you,” (with apologies to Carly Simon).

I wanted to crawl under the table, hide somewhere. Found out later what “horny” in mainland English was. Guess Socrates really was a horny man. Like a friend once told me, “Socrates and Alcibiades, I wrote that on a lot of bus depots across the country.” That’s one Reed College kine joke.

Back to Seabrook 1994 I was still partially connecting with what Alice was saying about IRO, but felt it was not addressing the concerns that I had about my personal situation. The Portland stuff did, but the Hawai‘i part seemed different. I decided that IRO was not my problem. What I had was more like Internalized Colonial Oppression. Thankfully, neither Alice nor the rest of the folks laughed when I said that. We had a brief discussion about that. After this session was over, a woman from Africa, came up and said that’s the way she felt too, so we formed an ICO caucus.

After pau college, I thought about the following “small kid time” incident often.

In Portland. In Los Angeles. And in Seabrook.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Travis Quezon editor@iexaminer.org

ASSISTANT EDITOR Chetanya Robinson news@iexaminer.org

ARTS EDITOR Alan Chong Lau arts@iexaminer.org

CONTRIBUTORS Bob Shimabukuro Joseph Lachman Roxanne Ray Bharti Kirchner David Chesanow Jacqueline Wu Chris Juergens Tracy Lai

Velma Veloria Yayoi Winfrey DISTRIBUTORS Joshua Kelso Makayla Dorn Maryross Olanday Antonia Dorn Kristen Navaluna Kat Punzalan Eli Savitt Stephany Hernandez Vincent Dy Raleigh Haavig FELLOWSHIP STAFF Bif Brigman Mitsue Cook

I was in the third grade, Sam was in fourth, and Roy was at R. L. Stevenson Intermediate.

Ann was in first grade. I have no idea where Ned was, he was not with Mom. We didn’t have enough food for Mom to make our lunches. Maybe she thought Toki and Roy could fend for themselves, but Mom told me that it was pay day, and she would pick up Dad’s check, cash it and buy us some hamburgers, and bring them to school for us.

At school, started to cry. No lunch. No money to buy lunch. Standing in line waiting for Mom. Mom sees me in line, hands me one of those hamburgers (Wikiburger, cheapie ones that all the kids like, but no adult would eat). I was so relieved, the only time other kids were jealous of what I had for lunch.

Mom said she had to take Sam his lunch, so she hurried off.

Talking with Sam later in Seattle, I asked him if he remembered that day that Mom brought us hamburgers and he said, “Yes, I cried because I was so upset and embarrassed about being so poor I couldn’t have lunch, and then I cried again because I was so relieved that Mom had brought me lunch.”

When I told him, “Me, too,” we both started laughing and crying at the same time. Both of us wondered what Mom must have thought.

Seabrook, 1994 After Lunch Sister Guadalupe Guajardo tries to get everybody seated for her session. I thought APAC was the rowdiest group there so I was about to get everybody to quiet down, when R starts yelling, “Oh, oh, here comes the Sister with a ruler in her hand! Sit down everybody! And keep your hands off the table!“ “WHAP!” goes the ruler.

“That’s right,” orders the Sister! And she had everyone’s attention.

We all had a laugh and quieted down.

And listened.

I don’t remember how she framed IRO but I know I listened. And carefully kept my eye on the ruler.

Seattle, 2017 Bob Shimabukuro: “Zenwa, you ever hear about IRO?” Zenwa Shimabukuro: “Not the Oppression part. But the ‘Internalized Racism,’ part, yeah.”

“Well, what does it mean?” I was trying to get a sense of what it means now.

“Internalizing our own racial stereotypes.”

(To Be Continued ...)

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4 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

COMMUNITY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Announcements In 1996, Rachel was recognized Vote to help preserve ghost signs in by the International Examiner with a Community Voice Award. Seattle Mayor the CID Highline College Library in the Greater Norm Rice proclaimed May 22, 1996 as The Chinatown-International District Seattle Area is partnering with the “Rachel Hidaka Day” in her honor.

Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA) is Japanese Cultural and Community Center Funds raised will go toward establishing hoping to secure funding to preserve ghost of Washington to host the traveling exhibit, the Rachel Hidaka Scholarship Fund, signs in the Chinatown-International DisUnsettled/Resettled: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel, which will provide scholarships to Adult trict (CID). These are old, hand-painted this fall. This exhibit shares the memories Basic Education (ABE) and English as advertisements on buildings, many of of Japanese Americans who returned a Second Language students at Seattle which are still visible in the neighborto Seattle after their forced removal and Central. hood. According to the CIDBIA: “The incarceration in U.S. concentration camps ghost signs in Chinatown-International The event happens Friday, October 27, District reflect the neighborhood’s unique during World War II. After the war, many Japanese Americans returned homeless 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Seattle history, and tell a story about the culture, and jobless to their former communities Central College, One World Dining Room, population, and industry during the early in Seattle. Unsettled/Resettled recalls the 1701 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122. 1900s. With funding, CIDBIA hopes to resettlement experience of the families Tickets are $50 per person. Appetizers restore and preserve as many ghost signs who found temporary lodging at the and beverages will be provided. in the neighborhood as it can.”

Seattle Japanese Language School, then The CIDBIA is one of 25 historic Main known as the Hunt Hotel, from 1945 to Ruth Woo Fellow selected to work in Street districts around the country vying 1959. the Governor’s office for preservation funding, and the public has

New Exhibit at Highline College Library: Seattle’s Hunt Hotel

Unsettled/Resettled features a collection The Washington State Commission on of photographs, personal interviews, and Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) original kirie (papercutting) works from has selected Reyleen Gogo as the 2017 Seattle artist, Aki Sogabe.

Ruth Woo Fellow. The fellowship is an The exhibit will be on display from opportunity for currently enrolled students September 2017 through December 15, to learn about state government and to 2017 at Highline College Library (2400 gain experience working in the Governor’s S. 240th St., Building 25, 4th Floor, Des Office. The Commission will work with Reyleen during her fellowship and connect Moines, WA 98198). Free admission. her with mentors in the community.

Seattle Central to celebrate the legacy of Rachel Hidaka

Seattle Central College is holding an event to honor the legacy of Rachel Hidaka, founding administrator for Basic & Transitional Studies at Seattle Central.

Hidaka, who passed away on June 28, 2016 at age 85, was a longtime advocate for immigrants and refugees, and for 20 years led the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at Seattle Central, eventually becoming Associate Dean of Basic Studies.

November Mahjong Night at Kin On Kin On invites the community to its fall-themed Mahjong Night, on Thursday, November 2, from 6:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Kin On Health Care Center (4416 S Brandon St, Seattle WA 98118), co-hosted

by AT&T APCA-WA (Asian Pacific Islanders for Professional & Community Advancement—Washington).

If you are unfamiliar with the game of Mahjong, there will be teachers to help you learn, and instructional pamphlets will be provided. All ages and levels of experience are welcome. Please note that the event starts at 6:45 pm. to allow extra time to enjoy the refreshments and networking opportunities before the games begin.

The event is free. To RSVP, visit www. facebook.com/events/1442681169184846.

until October 31 to vote on which site they want to receive the $2 million in funding.

To vote, visit www.nationalgeographic. com/voteyourmainstreet.

The funding in Preservation the importance places and their communities.

comes from Partners to raise awareness of of preserving historic role in sustaining local

Reyleen attended Foster High School and graduated with the class of 2016 with honors.

She had hopes of joining the military after graduation, but her leadership involvement and experiences as the president of the Polynesian Club and board member of Our Future Matters (OFM) had stirred her interest to stay local, serve her community, and pursue a career in education. She is currently attending South Seattle College in preparation to transfer to a teacher’s preparation program to achieve her teaching credentials.

Monthly Health Tip from Amerigroup Tip: Boost Your Nutrition

• Eat more whole grains (e.g., oats, brown • Serve food in smaller portions. Don’t derice, rye, crackers, whole-wheat pasta). Try mand or reward “a clean plate.” Let your child Your health matters! The International to eat at least 3 ounces of whole grains every ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Examiner and Amerigroup are partner- day.

• Read nutrition labels for serving size and ing to bring you monthly health tips from • Drink plenty of fluids. Choose water, low- calorie information. The information on the Dr. Shawn Akavan. fat or nonfat milk and low calorie or diet bev- labels can help you select foods that best fit Start the day with a healthy breakfast. erages. into your family’s meal and snack plans.

It refuels your body and gives you energy • Serve a variety of foods.

• Bake, broil or grill foods to reduce fat. for the day.

Rather than cooking with butter or vegetable • Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for For Parents: oil, try healthier versions like olive, canola or your brain to register that you are full. sunflower oil.

• Let kids help plan one meal each week • Eat more vegetables and fresh fruits. and eat together as often as possible.

• Snacks should provide nutrients and enAim for a total of 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 ergy, which are essential for active, growing • Reward children with praise rather than children. cups of vegetables every day. with food.

Amerigroup recommends you write down all of your health questions. Be sure to ask your doctor for the best nutrition advice for you and your family.

Thank you for being an Amerigroup Washington, Inc. member.

Shawn Akavan, MD, MBA, CPE Medical Director Amerigroup Washington

COMMUNITY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Announcements OUBT IT training kick-off at Tacoma Community House on November 4

Performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali. • Courtesy Photo

Artist Anida Yoeu Ali performs as ‘The Buddhist Bug’ in Tacoma Performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali, a first generation Muslim Khmer American (born in Cambodia and raised in Chicago), performed as “The Buddhist Bug” all day on Saturday, October 14 as part of Tacoma Arts Month.

“I have never been able to quietly create works inside a studio space,” said performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali. “That is a luxury I have never had. Instead my works are performances taken into the streets and rice fields, classrooms, and hawker stands— energetic sites where everyday people and daily life occur.”

As the Bug, Ali playfully wears a sinuous, caterpillar-like garment; the color references the robes of Buddhist monks while following the strict modest attire of orthodox Muslim women. It is an exploration of diasporic identities particularly inspired by her fascination with Buddhism as a ChamMuslim American.

In 2009 Ali began the Buddhist Bug project conceptually in the United States, realizing it fully in Cambodia from 2011-2015 during her residency there. She has taken it around the world to Singapore, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Lyon, Dakar, Lithuania, and more.

“It makes perfect sense for the work to complete its journey [here in the US,]” Ali said, “where religious tolerance and the complication of hybrid identities are needed now more than ever.”

An exhibit of Ali’s work (www.anidaali. com) will be at Feast Arts Center through November 11.

The Olympia University of Business and Technology (OUBT) has opened a new training session and location on .NET programming beginning Saturday, November 4. This culminates discussions and collaboration with the Tacoma Community House in Tacoma, WA. OUBT is a non-profit organization offering a training program to individuals who want to evolve their careers and grow as part of the high paying IT industry. The program is targeted to people who otherwise would not consider a career in the technology field. This is a quick way to gain entry to a technology career.

Tacoma Community House is a nationally-respected, community-based service center for immigrants, refugees, and longtime South Sound residents seeking enrichment and pathways to self-sufficiency. Since the early 1930s, TCH has been offering employment assistance and job training with a goal to help job seekers in both attaining and retaining a job or new skills.

“Tacoma Community House has a long history of partnerships and collaborations and we are pleased to enter into a wonderful partnership with OUBT for tech industry training. At TCH, we are committed to working with immigrants, refugees and others seeking living wage jobs. This training is a great opportunity for those persons to get access to good jobs in a growing field”, says Liz Berget Dunbar, the Executive Director of the Tacoma Community House.

Currently, OUBT also offers its learning and training programs in Olympia and Bellevue. The Seattle campus will be added to the list in the early next year. Visit www. oubt.org for more details on the current and upcoming programs and campuses.

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 5

6 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

COMMUNITY VOICES

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Why I protested Betsy DeVos

By Velma Veloria Guest Columnist On Friday, October 13, I was in the streets protesting Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, because I believe in freedom and equal opportunity for all students, regardless of skin color. I also have experience with fascist leaders relentlessly targeting minorities, and believe DeVos’ Education Department is part and parcel of Trump’s fascist agenda.

In the Philippines, we had a President, a man who rose to power democratically, who held his seat for more than 20 years by persecuting those who disagreed with him, silencing the press, and attacking the rights of his citizens. When I was 11, I moved from the Philippines to America, narrowly escaping the 21 years Ferdinand Marcos spent as “President.”

In America, I learned about our freedoms of the press, speech, and assembly. I learned that liberty was inherent in human life. Starting in 1972, I also learned that tens of thousands of Filipinos were abducted, tortured, and killed. Though every person is born with inalienable rights, Marcos denied those rights to the Filipino people.

He was a force of evil, power hungry, violent, and unwavering. But I was

A rally to protest Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was held in Bellevue on October 13.

pretty stubborn myself. I knew what was happening in the Philippines was wrong.

So I did what I was best at: I called my friends, neighbors, and community leaders. I organized and protested. I spoke out about the murders of two anti-Marcos activists, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, and called for an end to the U.S.Marcos Dictatorship on the streets of New York and Seattle.

I used the freedoms of America to fight fascism in the Philippines: the freedom of public assembly, the freedom to criticize the government—freedoms Marcos had stolen from Filipinos and replaced with oppression. These freedoms enable regular people to make real change. They were crucial to free the Philippines from tyranny.

On Friday, October 13, I intended to use these freedoms to do the same.

America, my home of 45 years, has a President who attacks protesters, the media, and the rights of citizens. It is a familiar story to me and millions of my fellow Filipino Americans.

We have a lot to lose. Trump issued a racist immigration ban based on religion and skin color. He continues to imperil undocumented students and their families.

He threatens to cut critical services that many Americans need to live. The AAPI community needs to be worried—Trump’s agenda makes clear that the rights of people of color are secondary to those of his white constituents. Our fundamental freedoms are at risk.

After years of working to stop Marcos, fighting for unions, and serving as Washington State Representative, I now continue to fight for the rights of Americans. This includes the right to a world-class education for all students, regardless of ethnicity.

Washington’s education system doesn’t serve our community equally. 50-70% of Southeast Asian Americans don’t have a college degree. Most teachers lack an understanding of API cultures and languages. They struggle to communicate

with AAPI parents. And too often, grouping all “Asians” together in one broad, unequal racial category blurs the data that dictates public education services.

Together we’ve fought for real victories: disaggregating data, pushing for more bilingual teachers, and growing ELL programs. But there still remain significant concerns.

President Trump appointed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. DeVos is a billionaire who believes schools are for profit and not for students. Trump and DeVos have proposed a budget that cuts $9 billion from public education and gives hundreds of millions to for-profit schools. DeVos’ plan funnels taxpayer dollars from the schools our kids attend to predominantly white institutions.

Under DeVos, public schools will be even more underfunded. The programs we’ve fought so hard for, the ones that protect our AAPI students will be first on the chopping block.

That’s why on Friday October 13, I joined thousands in protesting Betsy DeVos as she speaks to the Washington Policy Center in Bellevue. I fought fascism in the Philippines and now I will fight it in America, standing up for the rights of AAPI everywhere.

Sam Wan honored at Kin On Gala IE News Services

Filipino World War II veterans who will receive the Congressional Gold Medal were recognized by the King County Council on October 16, 2017. • Photo by Chetanya Robinson

King County Council recognizes World War II Filipino veterans

By Chetanya Robinson IE Assistant Editor At a ceremony on Monday, October 16, attended by family members of Filipino World War II veterans, Councilmember Larry Gossett read a proclamation and gave brief remarks paying recognition to the Filipino “forgotten warriors of freedom” who fought in World War II. “This year we celebrate those WWII soldiers who are finally being honored for their service to a country that didn’t recognize their sacrifice for over a half century,” Gossett said.

Some 260,000 Filipino and Filipino Americans fought on the side of the United States during World War II. Over 57,000 were killed in action. Many endured horrific wartime events such as the Bataan Death March. Between 2,000 and 6,000 Filipino WWII veterans survive in the United States, 12 of them in the King County region.

These soldiers were promised military benefits after the war, but this promise was quickly broken by Congress in 1946. Gossett noted that in 2005, the Council encouraged King County residents to recognize the Filipino veterans and pressure the federal government to honor them.

“There’s nothing more joyful, after 75 years, to receive this proclamation,” said Brigadier General Oscar Hilman, an Iraq War veteran and Director of Region 8 of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project. Hilman and Cindy Domingo— Legislative Aide to Councilmember Gossett and longtime Seattle Asian American and Filipino civil rights activist—will be attending the recognition ceremony in Washington D.C. on October 25.

“This means a great deal to the Filipino community,” said activist Annie Galarosa.

Her father, a Filipino World War II veteran, will be 101 years old when he receives recognition.

Seattle’s Kin On raised nearly $250,000 at its 32nd Anniversary Gala. Over 450 people attended “Future Forward Festival” Auction Dinner event on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at Hyatt Regency Bellevue. This year’s event raised funds to help complete the Kin On Expansion Project to construct a brand new assisted living facility and adult family home.

Successfully completing this project will enable Kin On to transform from a standalone nursing facility into an agingfriendly campus.

Sam Wan was recognized at Kin On’s Anniversary Gala. • Courtesy Photo

32nd

“It was gratifying to see old and new Kin On friends join together with the community to celebrate and rally around one common goal ... and that purpose was to come support the elderly Asian community,” said Sam Wan, Kin On CEO, in a statement.

able to work with hundreds of committed and tireless board members and loyal volunteers,” Wan said. “Although some of them are no longer with us, their legacies continue in our community and are always in my heart. I am forever grateful to all of Wan received a special recognition you for your guidance and support.” during the event. Wan led the organization Additionally, the City of Seattle has from a small rented facility in First Hill to proclaimed September 30, 2017 as “Sam a multi-million dollar organization with Wan Day” in honor of Sam’s years of offices in the Chinatown-International service to the community.

District, Columbia City, and Bellevue.

As Kin On’s physical campus and For nearly three decades, he has provided service capacity grows, a new brand has leadership in growing the organization to officially launched to better represent the meet the needs of the community. Through new Kin On. A new vermillion red square his financial prudence and guidance, Kin logo, inspired by the traditional Chinese On continues to provide quality care for seal signifies our Asian roots. Kin On our elders despite healthcare reforms and aims to take a true whole-team approach other challenges. to helping our Asian community age well “Kin On is an organization established at home or thrive in our care with the new by volunteers and I am very grateful to be “Care Navigator” model.

OPINION

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 7

Latest Navigation Center meeting shows a pattern of failure to engage our communities

By Joseph Lachman Guest Columnist

On Tuesday, September 26, the City of Seattle convened the latest in a series of overdue, yet meaningless efforts at community engagement regarding the Navigation Center homeless shelter. Once again, people have come to and left a meeting without feeling that the city is listening or responding to their concerns. For many of us who attended, it wasn’t much of a surprise. The City’s lack of concern for Little Saigon fits a pattern. At this point, considering what has happened at the past several meetings, it wasn’t a surprise that so few Little Saigon locals and business owners attended this one.

Looking back to previous meetings, we can see the pattern. At the June 9 meeting, many attendees with limited English ability were confused, because they had expected an opportunity to voice their concerns and have their questions answered. Instead, no one from the city was present. CID Public Safety Coordinator Sonny Nguyen and Friends of Little Saigon Executive Director Quynh Pham did their best to answer questions and present a contingency plan for dealing with the opening of the new Navigation Center, but it was clear that the local community was not ready to accept the fact that the City had gone ahead with this plan without answering their questions.

As if this were not enough, the June 29 meeting left the community even more upset. The City posted flyers around the area inviting us to a “Navigation Center Community Meeting,” which they also promoted as an “information forum regarding the new Navigation Center.” But when community members arrived they discovered that the event was actually a celebration of the opening of the center.

Staff from the homeless services organization the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) were prepared to thank partner organizations, but were unable to answer questions regarding public safety from community members. The City essentially threw DESC under the bus and let them deal with the anger and frustration that has been building up.

For many of us, this last meeting felt like the last straw. The City arranged the meeting, but after all the build-up to it, the meeting landed with a resounding thud.

When I was preparing to write this article I went back to review my notes from that evening, but I had barely written half a page, mostly noting a few things about the attendees, since the meeting itself was so devoid of meaningful content.

Part of the problem was the format. The meeting was conducted using a circle style.

I have seen this style used very effectively for conflict resolution in small groups. And I mean no offense to any Native American tribe or culture that uses this format when I say that it was just not appropriate for this particular meeting. This was a public meeting with more than 60 people. Even when everyone had just one or two minutes to introduce themselves, that section still ate up more than an hour of our time.

We didn’t need every single person in the room to introduce themselves. We needed a small group of individuals from the community to present collective grievances, and we needed to hear an actual response from the city government, including concrete and actionable promises for future engagement. Catherine Lester, Director of the Human Services Department for the City of Seattle, spoke on behalf of Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, but her presence provided little reassurance for the attendees.

The Navigation Center is a 24-hour, low-barrier shelter designed to connect homeless individuals to services and transition them to permanent housing • Photo by Cathy You

I actually had a chance to speak with Deputy Mayor Kim at the Seattle JACL leadership seminar at Keiro Northwest the following Saturday, and I asked her about this issue. I really did want to hear her perspective on the issue before I wrote this, because I do have a great deal of respect for her. To me, she seemed to feel that there really was no value in having a real community forum on the Navigation Center, and the funny thing is, I do agree in some ways.

It’s too late now, considering that the center is already running at capacity at this point.

The time to hold that forum was a year ago.

Deputy Mayor Kim tried not to imply that she was thinking purely in terms of benefit to the city, but in the end, I could not help feeling that this was what she meant.

A larger community forum, she worried, would turn into a session of simply bashing the City, without much of a meaningful exchange of information. But perhaps this is also something the community needs—an opportunity to express its anger directly to its government. Maybe it would motivate

the City to actually change its attitude, and do more to work with the local community.

Something else to note is that Quynh Pham and others at Friends of Little Saigon have been doing their utmost to maintain ongoing conversations with the City, but have been frustrated by a lack of reciprocation. The City’s response to FLS announcing the Navigation Center Community Response Plan was lacking, to say the least. (The plan is available here: www.thestranger.com/images/ blogimages/2017/07/12/1499895215-nav._ center_community _response_ plan_6.30.17.pdf) Having a homeless shelter is not the problem. In fact, we need innovative solutions to Seattle’s growing problem of homelessness, but the process of implementing those solutions needs to involve local community. Perhaps it’s an issue of government bureaucracy. Or perhaps it’s that our community, as always, is not really a priority.

Some financial tips for when you’re working for tips

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor

wages to get an accurate picture of your annual income. This task may sound like a burden, but it’s an easy daily habit that Many Asian Americans work in the will become addictive. service industry and earn a large portion 2) Consider the Day. By tracking of their income in tips. According to your tips each day, you may begin to the Economic Policy Institute, Asian see patterns.

Maybe Wednesday brings Americans make up 7.3% of the total workforce, but constitute 8.9% of servers the highest tips of the week, or maybe and bartenders, and even more noticeably, Saturday isn’t as reliable for tips as you 12.3% of all tipped workers. So the thought. This can help you plan more current debates on the minimum wage and strategically, if you have to take a day off. whether that wage can be reduced when 3) Compare the Months. Once you workers are also tipped are particularly have several months of tips recorded, you relevant to Asian Americans, and so are can see how they compare. Is January money management strategies related to slow, but June is lucrative? Is October the earning and managing tip income. best month of the year? This information Because tips can be irregular and can help you make decisions next time unpredictable, it can be challenging to you want to plan an extended vacation. manage your money. And because tips are 4) Put Yourself on an Allowance. often paid in cash, it can be too easy to let Don’t allow all your tips cash to float that cash just fritter away … in your wallet where it can be spent too If you or someone in your household easily. Deposit your tip cash regularly, or earns tips, consider these “tips” on stash it at home in a safe place until you can make a weekly deposit. And watch managing your money: those after-work temptations—it’s too 1) Get a Calendar. Each day that you easy to drink away your tips at the bar earn tips, write down the tip money that instead of going home for a healthy meal. you earn. If you earn tips at two different 5) Track Your Spending. Whether you jobs, list each job’s tips separately. At the make purchases in cash or on a debit or end of the month, add up the month’s tips credit card, bring home the receipt and for each job. At the end of the year, add track your spending for the month. This up the monthly totals, and then add your includes any spending on after-work

refreshments before you get home from own. In 2013, you can stash $5,500 in a work. You may be surprised to see where Roth IRA if you’re under 50, and $6,500 your money is going, and you may find if you’re over 50. yourself motivated to make changes.

9) Try an Experiment. Find the month in 6) Plan for Emergencies. Because your the past year with the lowest tip income, and income will vary from month to month, imagine that income will be your typical make it a priority to have an emergency income every month. Create a spending fund stashed away for when a lean month plan (including lots of savings) based on that or big emergency strikes. A great month income. You’ll likely have to trim spending for tips is not the time to blow all your in several areas to make this work, but you spare cash—make sure a big chunk goes probably won’t miss most of what you cut back on. Next consider which of these cuts into savings. How about half? you’ll actually make in the coming year, to 7) Consider the Averages. Once boost your savings and debt repayment. you have more information about your 10) Think Long-Term. Employees in the spending, you can more easily plan for expenses that only come once or twice a service industry often retire due to health year (such as vacations, holiday spending, concerns earlier than white-collar workers an annual insurance premium, or a big who sit at a desk all day. And yet, service repair). You can divide your annual industry staff tend to have fewer resources income by 12, to get your average monthly saved for retirement. Don’t let this be you! income, and also divide your annual Take charge, and plan to balance a fun life expenses by 12, to get your average now and a good life in the future. monthly expenses, letting you know how Thinking long-term especially makes much you should set aside per month for sense in the context of larger American those big annual expenditures. industry trends. With the restaurant 8) Pay Yourself First. While you’re industry projected to remain the nation’s setting aside money each month for those second-largest private-sector employer big annual expenses, don’t neglect to set during 2016, according to the National aside savings. Because service industry Restaurant Association, with a workforce employees may have less access to 401k of 14.4 million workers, managing tip or other retirement plans, it’s especially income is expected to remain increasingly important to save in a Roth IRA on your relevant as the current decade progresses.

8 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

NEWS/ARTS

Tommy Le was shot twice in back, APDC meets with King County Sheriff IE News Services King County Sheriff John Urquhart met with two dozen leaders from the Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC) on October 11 to answer questions about the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Burien resident Tommy Le on June 13 and to announce that King County Executive Dow Constantine had decided to seek an inquest into Le’s death.

Le, a high school senior, was shot by King County police who responded to several 911 calls from Burien residents who reported that a man had been threatening people and wielding a sharp object. According to police, Le refused commands to drop the object. He was shot three times by a deputy before being transported to Harborview where he died.

The shooting has sparked community outrage after it was revealed that Le was holding a pen, not a knife as earlier reports had indicated. Last month, Le’s family announced they would be pursuing a $20 million civil rights claim against the County.

Le’s attorney noted that an autopsy did not reveal the presence of drugs or alcohol in Le’s body. The autopsy also confirmed that Le had been shot twice in the back and once in the wrist.

“I can’t tell you why the officer didn’t wrestle him to the ground and take that pen out of his hand,”’ Urquhart told the APDC members last week. “That’s what I would have done. But we still need to hear from the officer about what was going through his mind. That will take place during the inquest.”

Last Thursday, Constantine ordered an inquest after the Prosecutor’s office reviewed “investigative materials” from the Sheriff’s office. Inquests are routinely

Tommy Le

convened for any deaths involving a member of law enforcement.

At the October 11 meeting, held at the Nisei Veterans Committee Hall, Urquhart faced a barrage of questions from skeptical API community members who asked why fatal force was needed to subdue Le and whether responding officers had received adequate police training.

APDC chair Dorothy Wong said, “I’m tired of hearing cops saying, ‘I fear for my life.’”

Others echoed her sentiment, recommending that officers receive more extensive crisis intervention training that is thorough, cultural sensitive and up-to-date.

Urquhart said he agreed with the recommendation for more training. “I can’t change the system,” he said. “It takes the community to push for this requirement.”

Urquhart confirmed that the first toxicology report did not reveal evidence of drugs in Le’s body, “but we’re still waiting for the final report.”

On Sept. 22, ICHS Holly Park Clinic and ICHS CEO Teresita Batayola hosted a press conference for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell as she spoke out against the Graham Cassidy bill, the latest attack on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. The bill would block grants supporting Medicaid and redistributes funds to all states, hurting Washington state and the many who have benefited Medicaid expansion. The bill will also eliminate insurance subsidies for working individuals and families who are low income but don’t qualify for Medicaid.

In illustrating the bill’s harmful effects, Sen. Cantwell was joined by two patients—a mom who spoke of her 7-year-old child with a rare medical condition and a woman who is a four-time survivor of different cancers.

“Our state is fortunate to have Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray lead the fight for affordable, quality health care. We all need to contact our friends, families, and networks in other states, especially Alaska, to contact their own U.S. senators to defeat the Graham Cassidy proposal and to focus on bipartisan solutions to stabilize community health centers before our funding expires on September 30,” said Batayola. • Photo Courtesy of ICHS

The past is present in Amy Tan’s latest book

By Bharti Kirchner IE Contributor Amy Tan, author of such best-selling titles as The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement is a popular author in the Seattle area, widely celebrated for her fictional work. She’s made frequent visits to the area’s bookstores for promotional purposes and also spoken at Seattle Arts and Lectures. What some of her fans might not be aware of is the fact that Tan also excels in nonfiction writing, that she has composed numerous essays for magazines, anthologies, and collections.

With her most recent offering, Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir, Tan takes the opportunity not only to share her life’s journey but also to exhibit her nonfiction father is an electrical engineer and also an prowess to a wider audience. evangelical minister. Her mother has left Although billed as a memoir, this book an abusive marriage and three daughters is not a straightforward, single-threaded in Shanghai and married Tan’s father. narrative. Rather it is a collage of essays, Somehow these two people manage to letters, e-mails, journal entries, and other raise their children and also help their memorabilia, delivered with a certain relatives in China; but the going isn’t easy. exuberance.

Among the many battles Tan has to fight As the book opens Tan transports us to in her early years is one her family thrusts her childhood in San Francisco, where her

on her. She’s unfavorably compared to her brother Peter, who is considered a genius. Not long after that, the family is traumatized when both Tan’s father and Peter die within six months of each other.

Now Tan has to contend with her moody, suicidal mother, with whom she already has a difficult relationship and who in later years will develop Alzheimer’s disease.

These struggles, however, don’t thwart Tan from pursuing her dreams. “From an early age, I believed I had an extra amount of imagination,” she said. At first she gravitates toward visual art and draws pictures from the stories in her head. But lacking encouragement from her teacher, she turns away from it and eventually dedicates herself to writing.

Despite her success, Tan doesn’t find it easy to craft a novel. In fact, each proves to be more difficult than the previous one.

Music helps keep her settled at her desk.

She might use a particular piece of music to construct a scene, although it does so much more. “By allowing my imagination to run with the music, it acts as a purgative in clearing my mind of cluttered thoughts,” Tan said.

When The Joy Luck Club hits the bestseller lists, Tan also experiences the negative aspects of success. “Praise, I had learned, was temporary, what someone else controlled and doled out to you, and if you accepted it and depended on it for happiness, you would become an emotional beggar and suffer later when it was withdrawn,” she said.

At present, with more than 10 titles under her belt, Tan lives an eventful life.

Yet her past continues to haunt her. Well into the narrative, she laments the passing away of her mother and wishes she was alive. “I would know all the ways I had misunderstood her, all the ways I wish I could have known her, all the ways I could have told her that I knew what she had endured,” she said.

Amy Tan discusses her new book with Laurie Frankel on Oct. 25 at 7pm.

Central Seattle Public Library’s Microsoft Auditorium. 1000 Fourth Ave. (206) 3864636. Co-presented by the Library and Elliott Bay Book Company.

Bharti Kirchner’s seventh novel, Season of Sacrifice: A Maya Mallick Mystery is now out in hardcover and as Kindle edition.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 9

KeyBank’s Carol K. Nelson stewards community focus Guest Contributor As part of the partnership between the International Examiner and KeyBank to highlight the ways we can work toward financial empowerment for all communities, we caught up with KeyBank’s Carol K. Nelson, Pacific Region Executive, Market President Seattle, who has been a steward in her work in the community.

Tell us about yourself.

that Seafirst was a great bank to grow up in. There are many leaders across our industry who cut their teeth at Seafirst, and I met my husband there. That’s where I learned the adage that “Success is a team sport.” Over the years I have found it to be true that there is nothing that will contribute more to your success than building strong teams and partnerships.

How do you differentiate KeyBank from other big banks?

Nelson: KeyBank is among the top 20 largest banks in the country with a local presence in 15 states and a network of more than 1,200 branches. We’ve been in business for 190 years, growing responsibly by delivering great service and building I lead KeyBank’s resources across enduring client relationships. the Pacific Region, which includes Our purpose is simple: to help clients Washington, Oregon and Alaska, while and communities thrive. Our strategy is to directing KeyBank’s sales efforts to drive preserve and protect each client’s financial revenue and growth within our commercial wellness. This benefits clients because our and private banking businesses. community banking structure allows local I am also responsible for creating and bankers decision-making authority to build sustaining a strong KeyBank community and manage client relationships. We draw in the Pacific Region—building on the experience and the resources of a big employee engagement and fulfilling our national bank to deliver superior service and philanthropic mission by supporting ensure peace of mind for each client. programs and organizations that create We are proud to be the only bank among real and lasting change. These programs the 25 largest to hold an “Outstanding” work to ensure safe and sustainable Community Investment Act (CRA) rating neighborhoods, affordable housing, a for eight consecutive review periods. strong education and good jobs for the residents of this region.

Carol K. Nelson: It is my privilege to be the face and voice of KeyBank, enabling our team to bring the full capabilities of a large bank, delivered with local decision making.

How did you get started in banking?

Nelson: I joined Seafirst Bank and spent nearly 23 years there. I like to say

As a woman in banking, it’s clear that you value diversity. How does KeyBank encourage a culture of diversity?

Nelson: It starts at the top: Our CEO Beth Mooney places priority status on this core value, and three of the four market presidents in the Pacific region are women.

We recognize that diverse individuals bring with them unique backgrounds, experiences, and ideas, which make KeyBank stronger.

Nelson: Your core values define who you are and should guide your career journey. When your core values match up with your company’s, that’s where the magic happens. For me at Keybank these include the value of diversity and inclusion, the importance of family and the role that health and fitness, both In fact, we believe diversity and inclusion physical and financial, play in keeping is a business imperative. Here in Seattle we you at your best. have established eight professional groups to engage and attract a diverse workforce, Who are two people who have been which include Key Executive Women’s instrumental in your career advanceNetwork, Young Professionals, Military ment? Tell us what it was about them Inclusion, African American, Asian/ Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latino, Jewish that affected you.

Cultural, and LGBTQ. Nelson: David Friedenberg, a mentor at Seafirst who went on to found the What do you see as the future of Commerce Bank: His legacy included an intense focus on customer relationships consumer banking? and business development that left a Nelson: Unquestionably digital bank- lasting impression on my career. ing is where we are seeing incredKeyCorp Chairman and CEO, Beth ible advances. The next level of digital Mooney: We are proud to be the first of banking will include personalized, realtime advice and streamlined, easy-to- the top 20 U.S. banks with a woman CEO. use apps and sites. The goal will be to You could not ask for a more genuine and meet customers where they are, rather authentic leader. than expecting them to come to us. To up our game in this space, Keybank re- What advice can you give to our cently acquired HelloWallet, a web and readers? mobile-based platform that helps clients I think it’s important to remember link, track and analyze online financial not to let barriers hold you back; you accounts. HelloWallet allows customers have to know your worth and go for to calculate a Financial Wellness Score, it by believing in yourself. One of the which creates recommendations for furbest parts of my job is helping nurture thering financial health. young talent at KeyBank, and to me it’s important to share these messages often What’s the most important lesson with the employees I have the pleasure of you’ve learned as a leader? working with.

10 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Financial Empowerment Network responds to local needs

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor In 2007, Harvard Law School professor and current U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed that the United States federal government set up a new agency to protect the financial interests of average Americans, particularly lowand moderate-income individuals and families. After the financial crisis of 200708 and the subsequent Great Recession, Warren’s proposal was authorized as part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This new agency was called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and its aim was to empower average Americans with greater financial information and protection. CFPB created a toolkit called, “Your Money, Your Goals,” in order better share their on the financial stability of low- and definition and philosophy of financial moderate-income residents: the Seattle Department of Human Services, the empowerment.

As CFPB describes it: “Financial em- Seattle and King County Housing powerment goes beyond acquiring knowl- Authorities, El Centro de la Raza, the edge. Financial empowerment includes Seattle Jobs Initiative, Washington financial education and financial literacy, Appleseed, the Federal Reserve Bank of but it focuses both on building people’s San Francisco, HomeSight, Hopelink, ability to manage money and use financial the Seattle-King County Workforce services and on helping to access products Development Council, United Way of that work for them.”

King County, Neighborhood House, CFPB was very specific on the expect- and the International District Housing ed outcomes of financial empowerment: Alliance (now Interim CDA).

“When you are financially empowered, FEN’s primary focus is a “train the you are both informed and skilled. You trainer” model, according to Coday. know where to get help with your finan- “FEN’s initiatives are designed to assist cial challenges and can access and choose nonprofits, financial institutions, and mufinancial products and services that meet nicipalities to move your needs. This sense of empowerment low and moderate can build confidence that people can ef- income households fectively use their financial knowledge, along a financial skills, and resources to reach their goals.” continuum to greater empowBut the distance between a federal financial erment,” she said. agency and average Americans, especially “FEN provides rethose who struggle financially, can be sources to ensure great. CFPB relies on local networks and associations to share resources with those professionals in the who can most benefit, and for the past field integrate access dozen years in the Puget Sound region, to mainstream bankthe Financial Empowerment Network ing, financial education and coaching, (FEN) has featured prominently. credit management, The Financial Empowerment Network free tax preparation, For the past decade, FEN has grown workforce readiness, microenterprise deand changed to respond to local needs, velopment, and homeownership and foreaccording to Alice Coday, FEN’s closure prevention resources into their executive director. “In 2005, the Seattle- service delivery process.” FEN adheres to King County region had many of the CFPB’s philosophy of financial empowercomponents of an asset building system, ment, and offers CFPB’s “Your Money, but programs and agencies largely Your Goals” train-the-trainer workshops operated in isolation of each other,” locally on a quarterly schedule.

Coday said. “On the premise that people who access these services when they Bank On Seattle-King County need them are more likely to achieve their Of FEN’s five major initiatives, the most financial goals, the City of Seattle formed an interdepartmental-community team, well-known may be Bank On, a program which in 2006 became the Seattle-King to serve those who lack a bank account.

County Asset Building Collaborative.” “Bank On Seattle-King County was To more clearly communicate its mission, launched in 2008, the second in a national that Collaborative later changed its name movement and a major public-private inito the Financial Empowerment Network. tiative of FEN to connect people without FEN’s initial Steering Committee bank accounts to affordable mainstream included many organizations focused financial services, including checking,

savings, credit, and financial education opportunities,” Coday said. “Bank On’s 15 participating banks and credit unions, in conjunction with local nonprofits and municipal staff, provide individuals and households with alternatives to paying more than they need to for financial services, to help them on a pathway to financial empowerment.”

Coday reports that KeyBank was a key partner in promoting the Bank On initiative. “‘Get Banked!’ was a pilot project of FEN that took an innovative approach to addressing the needs of low and moderate-income unbanked and underbanked households,” Coday said. “The pilot project launched in late 2014 with KeyBank, and married the products and services of the bank with the services and tracking of a nonprofit agency who provided financial education and coaching. KeyBank’s loan and new account declinations referred for financial coaching played an important role in building the long-term household financial capability of their current and prospective customers.”

“Connecting the unbanked to these services diminishes poverty, provides housing stability for families, school success for children, and helps ensure consumers save enough to provide an adequate income in retirement while avoiding high levels of debt.”

KeyBank considered the Bank On initiative to be an important priority, according to Michael Fait, KeyBank’s Corporate Responsibility Officer.

“Without a bank account people are using alternate banking services like Payday Loans to cash checks, send money, and pay bills. These services are very costly,” Fait said. “Opening a bank account is also a gateway to other services and products like check cashing, savings accounts, checkless bank cards used to pay bills, and small dollar loans. Having a bank account also enables one to have employment income and tax refunds, for example, directly deposited into your checking account.”

The Bank On program has worked to lower the barriers to obtaining a bank account. “A $500 minimum balance may not seem unreasonable to many affluent customers, but it’s a daunting monthly sum to maintain for a hard-working house cleaner,” Coday said, sharing an anecdote of a recent client. “When Carmen’s hours were reduced, she could no longer even afford minimal fees on her bank account and cancelled it. For more than a year, she struggled without a checking account, asking employers to pay in cash. She had no opportunities for saving her money in a secure place, but saw no other options.”

But then, Coday reports, Carmen learned about Bank On and identified banks and credit unions who offered accounts with no minimum balance.

“Most significantly,” Coday said, “when she went to the Bank On website, she learned that the bank would accept an ITIN, instead of a social security number.”

It’s the seemingly small things that can make a huge difference, according to Coday.

“Carmen reported that she found a very welcoming branch of this major national bank that provided her with a debit card and a second free account that encouraged her to start saving,” Coday said. “She began saving 10 percent of each check, even if it’s just $10, to begin saving for emergencies.

She reported that she had saved $200 in her second account, and declared, ‘It’s wonderful to have the freedom to be independent with my own account.’”

Coday’s example reflects KeyBank’s goals for the Bank On initiative.

“Connecting the unbanked to safe products and free or low cost one on one support helps the unbanked understand more about their money, make good financial decisions, and have choices for savings and loans with no hidden fees or agendas,” Fait said. “Connecting the unbanked to these services diminishes poverty, provides housing stability for families, school success for children, and helps ensure consumers save enough to provide an adequate income in retirement while avoiding high levels of debt.”

FEN: Continued on page 11 . . .

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

. . . FEN: Continued from page 10

Fait envisions a continuing role for KeyBank in FEN’s outreach work. “KeyBank is proud to be a part of the Financial Empowerment Network,” he said. “Financial institutions clearly have a role in providing support to organizations like FEN.”

FEN’s Four Other Initiatives Two other FEN initiatives focus on key building blocks of financial stability: informed tax preparation and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and homeownership combined with foreclosure prevention.

Coday reports success stories from these initiatives, as well. “A veteran hoping to move and buy a home was referred to a nonprofit who provided financial education and coaching,” she said. “He was assisted in establishing a payment plan on his outstanding debt and several erroneously reported debts were removed from his credit report.”

FEN’s final two initiatives promote more widespread financial education among its community partners. FEN spearheads the Financial Education Partners Network (FEPN), and strives to integrate financial empowerment into other service systems through its teaching of CFPB’s “Your Money, Your Goals” toolkit, as well as through its “Your Money Helpline Resource Guide for Case Managers, Counselors, and Advocates.”

Coday emphasizes the community-focused nature of FEPN. “Quarterly meetings and workshops for professionals in the field offer continuing financial education that illustrates how together nonprofits, financial institutions, and municipalities can assist their staff in practically implementing financial empowerment strategies and resources in the context of their own organizations and programs,” she said. “It also provides an opportunity to promote FEN’s other four initiatives and a platform for outreach for United Way of King County’s EITC Free Tax Campaign.”

FEPN’s reach has been broad. “FEN has facilitated trainings for over 1,000 case managers and financial coaches, representing over 60 public, private, and non-profit agencies and other stakeholders,” Coday said.

FEN seeks to continuously improve its offerings. “FEN collects a pre- and postsurvey, as well as inquiring how they use their knowledge with clients,” Coday said.

“FEN also conducts an annual survey to measure the effectiveness and learn about organizational financial education needs.”

Northwest Access Fund FEN also aims to advance financial empowerment through partnerships that support access to financial coaching, products and resources. One of these key partners is the Northwest Access Fund, which provides funding to Washingtonians and Oregonians with disabilities to purchase Assistive Technology (AT) to achieve greater independence.

“The majority of our clients have low to moderate incomes and have credit profiles, such as medical debt, which can make a loan from a traditional financial institution difficult to fund their AT needs,” said Em-

erson Sekins, the Northwest Access Fund’s Deputy Director. “The majority of our clients access some sort of disability benefit, either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These fixed income streams can often also make it difficult to fund our clients’ AT needs.”

NWAF has been most engaged in FEN’s Financial Inclusion and Disability Awareness initiative. “This workgroup aims to bolster the capacity of social service agencies, financial institutions to better serve the disability community, and aims to bolster the disability community’s understanding of financial resources that can benefit from and common financial barriers that the disability community experiences,” Sekins said. “We are currently in the process of developing a speakers bureau to connect financial institutions, community organizations, and disability organizations are connected to the training and resources that the need to better serve people with a variety of disabilities.”

But NWAF and its clients have also benefited from all five of the Network’s initiatives. “Many of our low-income clients with disabilities are unbanked or underbanked,” Sekins said. “NWAF uses the Bank On matrix to refer our clients needing access to information on where and how they can open a safe and affordable bank account.”

NWAF also emphasizes the importance of tax information related to FEN’s Earned Income Tax Credit initiative. “The EITC and the free tax preparation services are a great resource to ensure that our low-income clients can maximize their refunds,” Sekins said.

With these building blocks in place, NWAF then helps clients look toward successful homeownership, through FEN’s Homeownership and Foreclosure Intervention initiative. “NWAF refers our clients to the Network’s homeownership resources, as needed, to help increase and preserve homeownership for our low and moderateincome individuals and families,” Sekins said.

He cites concrete accomplishments as a result of NWAF’s partnership with FEN. “We recently helped a client remove all of their medical debts from their credit report and have these billed through their insurance,” he said, “thereby increasing their credit report and decreasing their debt.”

Other examples of NWAF’s successes are more long-range. “We recently directed a grandmother, who is the primary caregiver for her daughter with a developmental disability, to the Network’s homeownership resources so that she can move further towards the path of homeownership,” Sekins said. “She is also exploring taking out a credit-building loan with NWAF to improve her credit score, a necessity to get the best rate on a future mortgage.”

Coday has appreciated NWAF’s continued leadership in the Financial Inclusion and Disability Awareness work group.

“FEN’s diverse, multi-disciplinary, countywide partnerhips includes multiple area professionals in the fields of local and state government, banking, social services, housing, community development, law, technology, health, workforce development, marketing, public policy, and advocacy,” Coday said. “We continue to expand direct access

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 11

to this larger group of experts to ensure a structure that permits us to maintain flexibility by making mid-course adjustments, as needs change and opportunities arise.”

Coday said. “FEN publishes a monthly newsletter with training opportunities and community announcements for professionals in the field.”

Community Support

Coday said that FEN is also working to connect with the community through new technology and local corporations. “FEN is looking forward to releasing mobile app in early 2018 that will provide information on community resources for King County low- and moderate-income residents in multiple languages,” she said. “FEN was also selected to participate in the 2017 Seattle GiveCamp on Microsoft campus this past weekend. GiveCamp is a weekendlong event where technology professionals donate their time to provide solutions for non-profit organizations.”

But working with such a broad base of partners and clients is not without challenges. “Ongoing government support in the development of agencies to build financial empowerment services is an ongoing challenge,” Coday said. “With each new incoming elected official, we look for support in integrating financial empowerment into agency and municipal delivery systems.”

FEN’s work relies of necessity upon persuasion. “Another challenge is the model of voluntary collaboration,” Coday said.

“With limited exceptions, we do not provide financial resources to participating organizations to undertake the projects that we work on together. Since we rely completely upon their goodwill and cooperation, we cannot move forward on any strategies that do not have significant support and willing peoplepower behind them from the start.”

To address these challenges, FEN invites community support in a variety of forms.

“Outreach is mostly by word of mouth,”

FEN’s fiscal sponsor is The Seattle Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.

According to Coday, all contributions are tax-deductible and will be used to develop, assist, and strengthen FEN’s mission. Contributions to FEN should be made to The Seattle Foundation, at 1601 5th Ave, Suite 1900, Seattle, WA, 98101, noting “BOSK” on the check memo line. More information about financial empowerment can be found at FEN’s website at www.everyoneiswelcome.org.

12 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

BankWork$ program is intended to have long-term benefits for people of color

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor Some industries can seem difficult to break into, and banking is often seen as one of those elusive career paths. But the BankWork$ program can help: the program is aimed at low-income people of color on public assistance, who have some customer service background but limited work histories.

BankWork$ is an educational program focusing on the practical aspects of launching a career in banking, including digital banking, customer service, loan and line of credit products, and credit financial education. “We have also customized the program,” said Mike Schwartz, YWCA’s Regional Director for King County Economic Empowerment, “to ensure students are ‘dressing for success,’ to enhance our digital literacy curriculum and incorporate social media, and to fine-tune telephone etiquette.”

The BankWork$ program was founded in Los Angeles by the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation almost a dozen years ago, and in 2011, it expanded into its second city, Seattle. “We have since expanded the program to South and East King County and to Pierce County,” Schwartz said. “The YWCA and the Biller Family Foundation assumed that the industry-specific training provided would apply equally to other communities and connected with the Seattle Foundation to help determine the needs in our community.”

The BankWork$ program seemed like a good match for the local community, according to Schwartz: “The SeattlePuget Sound Region has over 2,000 entry-level bank openings every year.

Our focus groups revealed a strong desire for banking careers among the people we serve, and an interest in customer service and sales focused training.”

BankWork$ trains young adults from low income and minority communities for lasting careers in the financial services industry. BankWork$ classes are free for participants. • Courtesy Photo

One of YWCA’s main partners in the BankWork$ initiative has been KeyBank.

“KeyBank was already partnering with the YWCA through our board of directors, our YWCA Employer Advisory Committee, through business networking events, and through hiring events that we offered at the WorkSource office in downtown Seattle, which is managed by the YWCA,” Schwartz said. “As one of the banks in our region which most values diversity, we knew that KeyBank would be a natural partner.”

Derek Pender, KeyBank’s local Area Retail Leader and Vice President, agrees.

“I have a banker who came out of the Bankwork$ program and very quickly rose from a top performing teller to now a top 10% banker in the company,” Pender said. “To see her grow professionally and to see her personal confidence grow is what I believe this program is all about.”

The BankWork$ program is intended to have long-term benefits. “I tell the

BankWork$ candidates, when I meet with them, that I am not here to hire my next teller, I am here to hire my next Branch Manager,” Pender said. “Many of the BankWork$ hires have been promoted within a year and have moved on to higher level positions within Key. I think this is a direct reflection of what is instilled in these candidates while going through the program.”

Schwartz lauds KeyBank for its strong role in the program. “KeyBank participates in our graduation hiring event, providing speakers during the graduation ceremony, and recruiters and hiring managers who interview each student at the job fair,” he said. “After hire, KeyBank provides continuing education and coaching to our graduates, and often grooms hires for promotional opportunities. KeyBank also nominates BankWork$ hires for awards and publicizes this partnership and its graduates in their internal newsletter.”

Becoming Financially Well, One Step at a Time Do you know how financially fit you are? Many people don’t, because often it’s not as easy to measure as a number on the scale or how long you can run. Until now.

That’s because KeyBank has created an innovative financial wellness initiative that combines high-tech and high-touch to help clients understand their finances and make more confident financial decisions.

Financial wellness is achieved when an individual’s daily financial system functions well and increases the likelihood of financial resiliency and opportunity. It’s the result of conscious and consistent financial decisions, based on individual understanding of financial goals and how to attain them.

KeyBank uses an innovative personal finance tool, called HelloWallet, which helps clients to understand their finances.

The personal finance tool helps users to track spending, establish budgets and then monitor their progress toward their financial goals. The tool provides a Financial Wellness Score based on factors including spending less than you earn, building emergency savings, retirement savings,

credit card debt, health coverage, other loan balances, insurance coverage and home equity.

But more than a score, the Financial Wellness Tool provides alerts to keep you on track such as an alert that lets users know when monthly spending exceeds budget or income. These alerts can help keep you fo-

cused on making proactive personal finance changes rather than cleaning up money messes.

Just as important as helping you to track spending, KeyBank’s Financial Wellness Tool helps bankers to better understand each client’s individual personal financial circumstances and goals. That personalized approach is what sets the KeyBank program apart from other personal finance tools. A

recent KeyBank client survey found that KeyBank clients who participate in the financial wellness initiative report having more confidence in their financial decisions.

“At KeyBank, we believe the best way to help our clients boost financial wellness is to combine easy-to-use technology with personal conversations with their banker,” says KeyBank Region Executive and Seattle Market President Carol Nelson.

More than 80 percent of those surveyed said they benefit from having regular financial wellness reviews with their personal banker.

“These survey results confirm the value of relationship banking,” Nelson says.

“High-tech personal finance programs are helpful, but the key to becoming financially well is to talk to a banker who knows your personal financial goals and habits, and who can draw on his or her expertise to help you find the right banking solutions.”

HelloWallet is an affiliation of KeyBank National Association. ©2017 KeyCorp. Member FDIC Sponsored

All this success may seem formidable for those applicants facing personal and family barriers, including housing issues, domestic violence, lack of resources, lack of income, transportation, limited English proficiency, disability, and child care challenges.

“Our participants also experience a lack of 21st-century job search skills, need help with ‘soft skills’ or ‘performance skills,’ and sometimes lack confidence,” Schwartz said. “YWCA BankWork$ employs Banking Career Navigators whose primary responsibility is to provide employment preparation, career navigation, job placement, soft skills, and retention support to BankWork$ program participants.”

This support begins from the moment that an applicant is accepted into the program. “The navigator provides case management and support and job readiness assistance to ensure that students will be able to graduate from the class,” Schwartz said. “Upon and after graduation, the navigator assists students and graduates to obtain employment at banks and financial institutions through job search assistance, interview preparation, career coaching, and job matching. The Navigator works one on one with each and every student, creating a career and education plan that will follow them through training and the first six months on the job.”

BankWork$ strives to encourage interested individuals to apply by keeping entry barriers low. Basic requirements include a minimum age of 18, a high school diploma or GED, basic English proficiency, basic computer skills, and an absence of adult felony convictions.

The program is also flexible about the experience that it seeks in its applicants.

Participants should have recent cash handling experience, either through previous retail positions, volunteer work, or other positions, along with a sincere interest in working within the banking industry and a commitment to class attendance. “Our assessment process includes further questions on employment history, computer skills, and ethics,” Schwartz said, “and also includes an interview with program staff to gauge interest and commitment in the program.”

The program is selective, but those who are not immediately admitted can apply again. “We work with all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications but are not accepted to improve their abilities in order to be accepted into the following session,” Schwartz said. “This may include working on ESL, basic computing skills, or obtaining cash handling experience.”

But, for YWCA and KeyBank, BankWork$ service to the Puget Sound community will only be the beginning.

“My hope is that this program continues to grow across the country,” Pender said, “because banking is a critical piece to the success of our economy and can provide these graduates with a life-long career.”

For more information or to apply to the BankWork$ program, call (206) 4368674 or (253) 736-2301.

NEWS/ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 13

API community members stand up for immigrants, DACA recipients

By Chetanya Robinson IE Assistant Editor Ji Soo Kim came to the United States from South Korea with her parents when she was two years old. Now 21, she recently graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Public Health. Since 2012, she’s benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows children who were brought here illegally to get jobs and drivers licenses and go to college without having to worry about being deported.

In September, the Trump administration announced it was ending DACA, a move that put the future of some 800,000 undocumented youth at risk. “It was heartbreaking,” said Kim. “All of my opportunities are in the hands of someone that doesn’t know my story, doesn’t who I am, doesn’t know anything about the undocumented community.”

Unless something changes for DACA recipients, Kim now has about a year before she loses her job. “In one year, I’ll have to live in the shadows and live in constant fear of being detained and deported,” Kim said at a rally for Asian Pacific Islander immigrants on Monday, October 9. “Everything I worked so hard for would be for nothing.”

The belief she was taught from an early age, Kim said, that anything is possible with hard work, “will turn out to be a lie.”

Most DACA recipients came from Latin America, but the sixth largest source of these young immigrants is from South Korea.

Kim shared her story at a rally supporting Asian Pacific Islander (API) immigrants at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) near Beacon Hill. ACRS hosted the event as part of the Asian American and Pa-

cific Islander National Week of Action on Immigration. The Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) of Washington participated, with representatives from chapters in King, Snohomish, Spokane, and Yakima Valley counties driving for hours to attend.

Dozens of seniors attended the rally. People held signs saying, “No Muslim ban ever,” “We belong,” and “Counteract hate.”

The rally was intended to stand against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and show how API communities will be impacted, according to ACRS executive director Diane Narasaki.

“The stakes are so high for our community when it comes to immigration,” Narasaki said, adding that the growth of the API community has been “defined” by immigration.

Narasaki said that it’s important to have API voices in conversations about immigration: “Although our community is the largest immigrant community in the nation proportionally, we are almost never discussed when it comes to the immigration debate.”

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle), the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Immigration Task Force, said she works to elevate API voices in the immigration debate. At the rally, she said Trump’s “horrible proposals”—the Muslim ban, the repeal of DACA, limits on legal immigration and family immigration, and increased immigration enforcement—give APIs reason to organize. “We know what it means to be singled out, attacked, or excluded, and we will not allow that to happen to our communities or to any communities,” she said.

Jayapal spoke about recent struggles over immigration at the White House, including

Photo by Dean Wong, courtesy of ACRS

a new plan orchestrated by Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller, that would tear apart Trump’s previous deal with top Democrats in September to protect DACA recipients.

Miller’s plan would protect some DACA recipients (although it would not give them a path to citizenship) in exchange for hardline immigration policies including a border wall, hiring 10,000 immigration agents, limiting legal immigration, cutting funds for sanctuary cities, and arresting and deporting children who come to the U.S. border fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America.

It would also restrict the family immigration system that allows citizens or green card holders to more easily bring their family members to the United States, something Jayapal noted has been important for API communities.

In breaking his original promise to make a deal, Trump is “using the Dreamers as a political football to advance anti-immigrant legislation that would kill this country on every level—economically, politically, and socially, and that is unacceptable,” Jayapal said.

Jayapal called on Republican Congressional leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to bring a clean Dream Act to the floor, a measure Jayapal said would pass if it was brought to a vote.

Several speakers drew on their personal stories of immigration to oppose the White House’s hardline immigration policies.

Hyeok Kim, who served for four years as deputy mayor of Seattle and formerly worked as executive director of InterIm CDA, came to the United States with her family when she was five years old. “When I think about my privileged status now as a naturalized citizen, I have to think that all of us who have had the privilege of citizenship, or who have had the privilege of being born here in the United States owe a duty to our undocumented brothers and sisters,” she said.

The rally included speakers representing a wide range of perspectives.

Harshwinder Singh of the Sikh Coalition noted that tech workers from Asia like himself will also be impacted by immigration policies.

He has been waiting for his green card for 10 years. His son doesn’t have a green card, and so his future in the United States is uncertain once he turns 21.

Rod Kawakami, who co-led counsel for the coram nobis team in the Gordon Hirabayashi case—and successfully defended Hirabayashi after he refused to follow orders for incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II—drew connections between the Muslim ban and Japanese incarceration. Henry Liu from OCA Greater Seattle noted similarities between the racist Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the proposed RAISE Act, which limits legal immigration.

Although she faces an uncertain future, DACA recipient Kim felt more hopeful after attending the rally. “A lot of people are unaware that this affects so many [APIs] and I wish there was more exposure, more awareness of this issue,” she said.

Museum exhibition honors first Japanese to live in U.S.

By David Chesanow IE Contributor In 1841, a 14-year-old Japanese fisherman and four older friends were caught in a squall and left stranded on a remote desert island in the Izu chain. They were rescued months later by an American whaleship, the John Howland, out of Fairhaven, Mass. The ship’s captain, William H. Whitfield, couldn’t repatriate the five castaways—Japan’s isolationist policy prohibited foreign ships from landing and Japanese from returning from abroad—so he left the four older boys in Honolulu. The youngest, Nakahama Manjiro—known as John Manjiro (John Mung to the whalemen)—asked to go to New England with the John Howland, becoming the first Japanese to live in the U.S. Manjiro became proficient in English; shipped aboard another whaleship, eventually becoming a harpooner; joined the California gold rush; served as interpreter for Commodore Perry’s 1853 mission to open Japan to Western trade; and again interpreted for Japan’s first diplomatic mission to the U.S., in 1860. His odyssey is featured in “Enlightened Encounters: The Two Nations of Manjiro Nakahama,” an exhibition that opened at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Mass., on October 8 and is expected to run two to five years.

“The Manjiro section of the exhibit is embedded within a larger discussion of Japanese nineteenth-century culture, which is in turn embedded within a discussion of American whaling in the Pacific and maritime trade with East Asia,” according to Michael P. Dyer, curator of maritime history at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. “Our goal is to contextualize Manjiro’s experience both within the

John Manjiro. • Photo courtesy of WhitfieldManjiro Friendship Society)

culture of his homeland and within the burgeoning spread of American influence in the Pacific via the whale fishery.”

John Manjiro was not the first known Japanese to land in the New World. In the early 17th century, Hasekura Tsunenaga led a Japanese diplomatic mission to Spain that visited parts of Mexico, including Spanish California.

And in 1834 a Japanese coastal vessel carrying rice to Edo lost its mast and rudder in a storm, drifted across the Pacific and washed up on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula; the three surviving crew members were held prisoner by the Makah tribe and later sent by the Hudson’s Bay Company to London in the hope of using them to open Japan to the West. (The British government declined the

suggestion and the three Japanese were sent to Macao instead.) Manjiro, however, voluntarily went to the U.S. and became an invaluable resource in cultivating U.S.-Japanese relations.

“When Commodore Perry landed at Edo (Tokyo) in 1853, he pled with the Tokugawa shogun to open some Japanese ports to foreign ships in order to resupply. He said he would return in a year for the answer,” explained Gerald P. Rooney, president of the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society in Fairhaven, Mass.

“When he left, the shogun was almost in panic, as none of his staff knew anything about these weird seaman from the U.S. The only one identified as having any of that knowledge was Manjiro, and he was brought to Edo eight days later. When Perry returned in 1854, Manjiro was there to assist in the proceedings. As a result he was later elevated to a higher, samurai rank, at which time he was allowed to take a family name. He took Nakahama from the name of his village of Nakanohama.”

“He was pretty much the only man in Japan who had practical knowledge of the U.S. when Commodore Perry arrived,” noted Hayato Sakurai, curator of historical archives at the Taiji Whale Museum in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. “Yes, he played an important and unique role. But the modern Japanese are so fascinated by John Mung because he was courageous, free, and self-reliant. He became that kind of man by being in the middle of the American whaling industry during its golden age. He spent most of his time outside of Japan—10 years—on two American whaling voyages and in Fairhaven and New Bedford, the capital of the whaling industry.”

Whaling was a highly profitable business for New Englanders from colonial times to

the late 1850s. Whale oil was widely used for lighting, and the highly prized sperm whale oil, or spermaceti, was an essential machine lubricant during the Industrial Revolution.

American whaling’s so-called golden age lasted from the early 19th century to the Civil War, when various factors—including the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1859—led to the industry’s slow decline through the early 20th century.

Asked about residents’ reactions to Manjiro in Fairhaven, Gerald Rooney replied: “He was generally well received, given that he was the guest of Captain Whitfield, a well-respected sea captain. However, there was one particular incident which involved the captain’s Congregational church. When the family went there and sat in the captain’s pew, it caused the higher-ups in the church to suggest to the captain that this boy might properly sit in the balcony with the other people of color. Captain Whitfield’s reaction was to leave that church and ultimately join the Unitarian Church, which welcomed Manjiro as an equal.”

John Manjiro died in Tokyo in 1898.

Michael Dyer said of “Enlightened Encounters,” “There are a number of objects on display that directly represent Manjiro’s experience, including correspondence, crew lists, account books, a first edition of his Record of Drifting (Manjiro’s own 1852 account of his rescue) and a painting of the ship John Howland.” Most of the material is from New Bedford Whaling Museum collection, although some letters are on loan from private sources.

For more information, visit www.WhalingMuseum.org and www.Whitfield-Manjiro.org.

14 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY/ARTS

Noodles of Longevity: Tsue Chong Company celebrates 100th anniversary

By Grace Madigan UW News Lab

The odds that you’ve eaten one of the Tsue Chong Company’s products are the same as the odds of you getting a fortune cookie at the end of your meal at a Chinese restaurant.

The International District has changed a lot over the years, but the Tsue Chong Company remains a staple of the community.

Gar Hip Louie came to Seattle in the late 1800s in search of a better life. It was around this time that the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place, making Chinese immigration to the states very difficult. In 1886, about 1,500 citizens banded together to force their Chinese neighbors out of Seattle. It left the city devoid of a strong Chinese community for a while.

Fast forward more than a century and the Tsue Chong Company has just celebrated 100 years of business. The company is now run

by Tim Louie, the great grandson of Gar Hip Louie.

Tim Louie has grown older with the company. Louie said that it’s funny that he is now hiring employees younger than him, whereas when he started out everyone was older.

“This was my daycare,” Louie says. “When I was growing up I started working part time, in high school I was doing deliveries for my dad.”

Louie devoted himself full time in 1984 after studying business and graduating from the University of Washington.

Tsue Chong Company products are bought by everyone from small mom and pop shops in the Chinatown International District to large distributors who distribute to the greater Pacific Northwest. Along the way, competitors have popped up, but Tsue Chong has endured.

Louie credits much of the success of the company to his predecessors who were able to establish such a solid business that had the legs to last so long.

“I don’t take them for granted, I really appreciate their hard work,” Louie said.

The Tsue Chong Company employs 36 people; 30 working production, five customer service, and one maintenance man. The majority of them emigrated from Toishan, the

same Chinese province that the Louie family is from and most of them got their jobs through word of mouth, according to Louie.

Louie recalls one particular employee— who just retired after 50 years with the company—who started when Louie was just 4 years old.

“This was his life; this was his family. He said, ‘Don’t let me retire, let me do something. Let me come down here to stay active.’ That’s exceptional isn’t it?” Louie said.

This story of that particular employee is not so uncommon in the company. Louie says many of the employees start at the company when they’re young and stay for many years.

Two of these employees are Yee Ng— who has been working at the company since 1985 when she came to the U.S. from Toishan—and Mei Weng, who has been with the company for 22 years. Together they oversee the fresh noodles through the steaming process.

Ng explains that it’s hard work, but she enjoys it because it’s active and allows her to be on her feet.

The Tsue Chong Company relies on their reputation they’ve built over the years providing products to what Louie estimates to be nearly all of the Chinatown International District restaurants.

“We’re very blessed. I don’t have a sales or marketing team. It’s all word by mouth.

The history and legacy, people are just so

The Tsue Chong Company on 8th and Weller Street.

• Photo by Grace Madigan

Yee Ng (right) stands with Mei Weng (left) in front of the machines that steam the noodles • Photo by Grace Madigan

loyal that by word of mouth they come to us asking for business,” Louie said.

Harry Chan, the owner of Tai Tung, is one of the loyal customers of the Tsue Chong Company’s products.

“It’s consistent and the customers are happy about it,” Chan says.

The two families and businesses go way back. Tai Tung opened in 1935 and is one of the older restaurants that still exists from its era. Louie fondly refers to Harry Chan as “Uncle Harry.”

Louie points out that their family was lucky in that having a business in manufacturing allowed them to have 9-to-5 jobs. For those who have worked in the industry, restaurant hours are much harder and unforgiving.

Ron Chew, the former director of the Wing Luke Museum, adds that many families that started restaurants were able to see future generations become more upwardly mobile and take higher skilled jobs thus, leading to the closure of many restaurants.

One of the company’s best selling products, according to Louie, wasn’t added to their repertoire until the ’50s. The recipe

that they use today has not changed since its inception. Louie’s grandmother Eng Shee Louie was the driving force behind the fortune cookies, noticing their rising popularity and then developing the recipe.

Chew recalls working as a busboy at the popular Hong Kong restaurant on Maynard Avenue in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

“We would eat piles of fortune cookies in the back,” Chew reminisces. His father was the head waiter at the restaurant which has since gone out of business.

One of the favorite items at the company’s retail store are the huge bags of the “unfortunate cookies,” fortune cookies that did not come out to standard that are available to the public.

Recent recognition for their 100th anniversary has made Louie reflect on what the community means to him and the company. Louie described the small chop suey restaurants started by families that provided his own great grandfather a business opportunity and how thankful he is for that.

“This is our neighborhood and we want to help. I just call it my community family and you’re always there to help family.”

Sharath Patel works his sound design magic for The Crucible

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s well-known play about the Salem witch trials, comes to ACT Theatre this month, and sound designer Sharath Patel will be delighting the ears of the show’s audiences. “Many people think sound design is just picking music and plugging-in speakers,” Patel said. “Sound design is much more than that.”

As a professional member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association, Patel seeks to illuminate the world of sound design. “A sound designer is responsible for every aural aspect of a production,” he said.

“This means that they are in charge of the creation of sound effects, sound-scapes, music, ambient environments, frequency dampening, creating a sound delivery system, drafting schematic paperwork, creating sound cue sheets, drafting speaker plots, collaborating with the design team, and communicating with the production staff.”

These tasks involve a balance of artistry and science. “Whether it is determining the polar patterns of line-array speakers, calibrating a delay zone, or making a directional cardioid subwoofer position, physics plays a role,” Patel

said. “Sometimes the budget doesn’t allow for all the sound equipment we desire so we have to make mountains out of molehills. I try to make my creative magic with the tools I have and sometimes that forces me to get extremely resourceful. Without my background in physics I would not be nearly as inventive.”

Patel reports that he has been at work on The Crucible for several months. “I have already had several meetings with the design team and even worked out things like sound dampening additions to the set on the physical stage,” he said. “Thus far we have already begun choreographing dance sequences, started working on live singing, and executed recording sessions.”

He is looking forward to spending further time in Seattle during technical rehearsals, previews, and opening night. “I really love the people in the Seattle theatrical community,” he said. “They have made me feel so supported as a collaborating artist and welcomed me as a community member.”

He has had to balance this work with his concurrent duties as an Arts Envoy of the U.S. Department of State. “In August of this year, I had the pleasure of co-leading the Sound and Light Training Program in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang Vietnam,” he said. “I was hon-

ored to act as a representative of the American Public and an ambassador for the American Theatrical Arts.”

This assignment kept Patel on his toes.

“While I was teaching everything from the fundamentals of sound to the recording arts, my colleagues did similar things in their respective fields,” he said. “Things got tricky for me while teaching since the participants had skill levels ranging from novice to expert. I restructured and remade my lesson plans every single day based on the participants needs.

The quality of their education and comporting myself as a proper ambassador were my top responsibilities. ” But all of these positive opportunities almost didn’t happen, because in 2009, Patel was the victim of a hate crime. “The hate crime was one of the most horrific experiences of my entire life,” he remembered. “While designing a show in Southern Virginia, I was attacked while walking to my car around 9:30 p.m.”

Patel said that the attack was relentless and brutal. “A group of young men struck me in the back of the head with a weapon and proceeded to beat me for about 18 minutes,” he said. “I lost consciousness three times but forced myself to get up off the pavement and fight back.”

Although he fought back, Patel sustained significant damage. “As a result of the trauma, I was given four to six months to live,” he said, “and it almost broke me.”

Patel’s journey back to normality has been lengthy. “It has been eight years and two surgeries later, and I am still alive,” he said. “The hate crime forced me take a step back and gave me some perspective on my life.”

This new perspective affected him in both personal and professional ways. “It led to meeting my wife, bringing me to the Pacific Northwest, guiding me to a love for teaching, and sparking my interest in minority rights activism work,” Patel said. “Every time I think about what happened, I remember how lucky I am to be an artist working in theatre. The hate crime was a terrible experience, but it eventually brought such positive things into my world.”

Despite his past experiences, Patel wants to convey his newfound joy in his work in sound design. “The job is artistic, managerial, educational, and technical,” Patel said. “It is a job I absolutely love.”

The Crucible runs from October 13 to November 12 at ACT Theatre, 700 Union Street, Seattle. For more information, visit www.acttheatre.org/Tickets/OnStage/TheCrucible.

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 15

Scott Kurashige’s Fifty-Year Rebellion shines light on racist policies in Detroit

By Chris Juergens IE Contributor “Detroit has been the in the forefront of the deindustrialization of the urban cores and the institution of neoliberal policies in U.S. cities that primarily hurt communities of color,” argued Scott Kurashige in a recent interview with the International Examiner.

Kurashige, a Japanese-American whose mother’s family is native to Seattle, is a University of Washington, Bothell, history professor and writer of the recent book, The Fifty-Year Rebellion: How the U.S. Political Crisis Began in Detroit. The election of President Donald Trump and the strong move toward pro-corporate environmental and labor policies, in addition to the support for aggressive police tactics that disproportionately hurt communities of color nationwide, is not surprising to Kurashige.

Detroit has already seen these policies and in full force and so it comes as no surprise to Kurashige, a former Detroit resident, that they are being exported across the United States.

Kurashige and his publisher, the University of California Press, released the book to coincide with the 1967 rebellion of AfricanAmericans in Detroit against police brutality, sub-standard and segregated housing, and discrimination in the workplace. Kurashige’s first chapter addresses the causes of this rebellion while emphasizing that to many whites and those in government it was a “riot.”

Kurashige quotes Chinese-American activist Grace Lee Boggs as saying, “We in Detroit called it the rebellion [because] there was a righteousness about the young people rising up.” This is juxtaposed with a white Detroit police officer quoted by Kurashige who described the rebellion as “more than a riot [...]

this is war.” Kurashige quotes a member of the Michigan National Guard, called to Detroit

by Governor George Romney, as saying “I’m going to shoot anything that moves and is black.”

This first chapter sets the tone for Kurashige’s 143-page, quick moving and easy to read book that portrays Detroit’s demise and conflict in non-ambiguous racial terms. Kurashige states both in his book and interview with the Examiner that Detroit was ravaged by white flight that severely hurt Detroit’s public services and left the Detroit area segregated into a decaying, black urban core and an economically prosperous suburban area.

This decay of Detroit’s African-American, urban core was furthered by predatory lending practices that disproportionately hurt African-American communities. Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy was the culmination in a process of marginalization of Detroit’s black community at the hands of a neo-liberal, white elite and a number of willing black collaborators.

Kurashige details the emergency management of bankrupt Detroit by Kevyn Orr, a black corporate lawyer doing the bidding of Wall Street at the expense of Detroit’s struggling yet still existing black-majority communities.

Kurashige does an excellent job of finding smoking guns that vividly demonstrate the racism inherent in prominent individuals and policies aimed at dispossessing black Detroiters of power and dignity. Kurashige leaves no room for plausible deniability regarding the roots and motivations for the hollowing out of Detroit. For instance, at the

beginning of his fourth chapter that details the racist neoliberal management of Detroit

by Orr, Kurashige quotes Detroit’s chief financial officer under Orr, a 60-year-old white man named Jim Bonsall, as asking “Can I shoot anyone in a hoody?” as a way to belittle Trayvon Martin. The comment was made in front of many black co-workers as part of a discussion on how to prevent arson during Halloween. Kurashige also points out the hypocrisy inherent in the bailouts of Wall Street from 2008-2009 but the unwillingness to bailout a bankrupt Detroit in debt to many of those same Wall Street banks.

When the Examiner asked Kurashige to make a comparison between the historical experience of Detroit’s communities of color and those of Seattle, Kurashige said the major difference is that Seattle did not experience anywhere near the level of white flight that Detroit did. Seattle always maintained a majority white population and as such its downtown never suffered the same neglect as that of Detroit. Detroit, on the other hand, was and still is a majority black city that fully suffered the withdrawal of white capital.

This withdrawal of white capital, while one of the causes of Detroit’s economic decay and ultimate bankruptcy, is actually seen by Kurashige as presenting a chance for positive and creative change. In Seattle, the local economy is strong and even those who work in lower-end jobs are invested in working within the existing economic and political system because they too can gain to a certain extent by a strong economy. In our interview with

Kurashige, he cited the successful campaign for a 15-dollar minimum wage and the general acceptance—however reluctant—of the business community as an example of how those on the low-end of the socio-economic scale are working within the mainstream economic and political system in Seattle.

In Detroit, however, the mainstream economic and political systems have failed so horribly that people have no choice but to look for alternative beyond the system. Kurashige’s book ends with a chapter dedicated discussing alternative local business models, ways in which Detroiters have combated aggressive, inhuman police techniques, and alternative types of schools that have been developed by and for the Detroit community. In a neoliberal economic and political system that is often imposed in a top-down manner by corporate boards and lawyers like in the case of Detroit’s bankruptcy, Detroit’s citizens are providing an alternative model to the existing system.

Kurashige told us in our interview that this is crucial because “protesting and pointing out problems is not enough. An alternative social, economic, and political vision is necessary” to enact real change to an increasingly radical and inhuman neoliberal system.

Unfortunately, as Kurashige himself laments, his chapter on Detroit’s alternative communities is far too short and limited.

When asked about other resources to further explore these communities, he points to the book he co-wrote with Grace Lee Boggs titled, The Next American Revolution, and the documentaries, Urban Roots, Grown in Detroit, and The American Revolutionary as good starting points. He also recommended attending the Detroit Allied Media Conference in June as a way to see up close the alternative communities and visions in Detroit.

16 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

ARTS

A Time to Rise: A Revolutionary Asian American Movement

By Tracy Lai IE Contributor Just in time for October, National Filipino American History Month, University of Washington Press released A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP). Co-edited by former leaders of the KDP—Rene Ciria Cruz, local community activist and independent scholar, Cindy Domingo, and Bruce Occena—this nearly 20-year project is a remarkable documentation of one of the leading revolutionary Asian American Movement organizations. Augusto F. Espiritu’s cogent Foreword provides an overview of the KDP in the context of revolutionary currents and organizations of the 1970s–’80s. Espiritu captures the socio-cultural landscape of Filipinos and other Asian Americans “shattering the model minority stereotype of political passivity” while simultaneously building solidarity with the anti-imperialist struggles of Asian homelands.

As a community college historian committed to teaching social movement theory and history, I find this powerful analogy timely, especially since each section addresses political transformations of individuals, their leadership and collective relationships, and the KDP’s approach to organizing. More than 35 former members wrote vignettes from growing up as children born into the KDP to taking on unexpected roles simply

because it was necessary. Each story tells both personal choice and change, while contributing to a much larger whole, whether national campaigns such as defending two nurses, Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez, framed for murdering 35 patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or international campaigns to defeat the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines.

Hotel, whose battle to save this lowincome hotel spanned over 10 years.

The relatively greater acceptance of gays/lesbians in the KDP countered the homophobia still prevalent among the left in the ’70s.

Romy Garcia’s “How My Life Changed,” could easily be the same story of an immigrant youth today. Gangs and the violence of street life could have A Time to Rise is defined Romy’s life, as organized into four happened to several of sections that correspond his relatives, but for a to the formation of the chance encounter with a KDP in the context of the Philippine National Day declaration of Martial celebration in Dolores Law in the Philippines; Park in San Francisco. the evolution of KDP’s As Romy became dual program (support more knowledgeable of the Philippines left about the situation in and establishment of the Philippines, he socialism in the United began to help distribute States); the political the Taliba, national assassinations of KDP newsletter of the Antileaders Silme Domingo Martial Law Coalition. and Gene Viernes; and His politics and sense legacies. of purpose guided him towards radically A significant number different life choices to the present as a of KDP members were women and labor and community activist. many members were young—in their 20s, similar to other revolutionaries and Michael Withey’s “A Night in activists of the 1960s and 1970s. At the Camelot,” Cindy Domingo’s “Long same time, KDP was intergenerational Road to Justice,” and Jim Douglas’ with the support of manongs and other “Defeating the Marcoses in a Court of elders, such as tenants of the International Law,” address the extraordinary 10+ year

defense campaign of the Committee for Justice for Domingo and Viernes. The committee’s meticulous work resulted in the criminal convictions of the men who assassinated Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes and a federal civil suit against the Marcos family and other defendants with a judgement of $23.3 million, an unprecedented legal victory. One can only marvel at the multiple layers of organizing, whether on the legal side or in the community. Cindy recounts her revelation at the final day of the civil suit in 1989, “To me that was what justice was—building a movement that would not forget.”

A Time to Rise provides much greater complexity to teaching and learning about both Filipino American and Asian American movement history. For example, the interference and intimidation of the Philippines government targeting antiMarcos activists in the United States is exposed in the Philippine Infiltration Plan, bearing uncomfortable similarities to the U.S. FBI’s CounterIntelligence Program (COINTELPRO) that sought to undermine the Black Panther Party and American Indian Movement. The story of the KDP gives new meaning to “solidarity” work by detailing the high levels of organizational coordination, exchange and shared politics. More than lessons of the past, A Time to Rise illuminates the way forward to complete unfinished revolutions.

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ARTS

October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 17

Talking about Seoul Webfest and Asian Web Awards

By Yayoi L. Winfrey IE Contributor

In today’s digital age, more people are watching movies on their electronic devices than ever before. So, it only makes sense to distribute films on those platforms.

For filmmaker Young Man Kang (who’s founder of both the Seoul Webfest and the Asia Web Awards), it’s a trend that’s growing exponentially. Further, he says that delivering Korean web drama series to smart phone users around the world offers them a taste of Korean culture. Last year’s Seoul Webfest drew attendees from Germany, Japan, the United States and more to his native country.

Below, Kang discusses creating and distributing web series on the internet, the upcoming 4th Annual Seoul Webfest held in South Korea, and the online Asian Web Awards.

IE: What are some of your duties as the Festival Director of Seoul Webfest?

Young Man Kang: The primary duty of the Festival Director is to know online trends and to understand online content.

Also, because there are so many big online content communities all over the world, integrating them and building up online content communities will make them stronger. The creators are scattered throughout the world. Now, they’re slowly having a chance to mingle with other creators and build up a community through web fests. So far, there are over 60 web fests in the world.

most overseas creators left Seoul soon after—even though they were visiting here for the first time. I thought If we offered a FAM tour program for overseas creators, it would be a great way for them to get a cultural experience. So I contacted the local chamber of commerce to form the FAM tour program. Last year, we had a two-day FAM tour program in Damyang, a southern province of South Korea. The creators loved it! It worked for both sides. The overseas creators had fun and a great Korean cultural experience. The local government was also A glimpse of the red carpet at Seoul Webfest 2017. • Courtesy Photo satisfied because the overseas creators took photos and uploaded them to social sites. It’s IE: How did you come up with the idea Kang: Asia Web Awards is new, so only a great promotional tool for local tourism.

After our success, one of our partners Die for the Asia Web Awards?

Seoul Webfest has results to show.

Seriale Webfest in Germany followed the Kang: I’ve been running the Seoul 1. Korean web drama for the western Webfest for four years. During this time, world: Over the last four years through FAM tour program. Also, Bilbao Seriesland I’ve received many questions about Seoul Webfest, we showed over 30 Korean did a boat tour and old town city walk tour.

IE: Do viewers have to log in or create submissions to our festival. The Seoul web series (web dramas) to audiences Webfest is a web series festival, so we only in several western countries. A few of an account to watch the Asia Web accept web series submissions. There are the series even received awards. Now, Awards? many independent filmmakers who want we’re talking about distribution and coKang: No. The audience does not need to submit their web film (web movie) to production. to log in or create an account anywhere. our web series festival. There are a lot of 2. Drawing a general audience: Most web We will have live broadcasts through short films on the world wide web. They fests are new. I have visited over 10 web major social networks such as Facebook are only being shown online, so they are fests in the world and realized most web and Instagram, and maybe YouTube, as all considered web films. Because of this, fest audiences are only other filmmakers. well, at the same time.

I felt we needed a web fest that accepts a There were hardly any general audiences to The Asia Web Awards (Online broader web content. So, the Asia Web be found at the web fest events. So, I have Awards accepts web series, web films, been really focused on drawing general Worldwide Series Award) happen on trailers, music videos, VR content, and audiences to our Seoul Webfest. Each year, November 4 at 4:00 p.m. (KST). For more information, visit www.asiawebawards. drone content. our general audience attendance numbers com. The Seoul Webfest will take place on IE: Both events have a common goal to are growing.

August 30-September 1, 2018. For more help indie filmmakers grow an audience.

3. FAM (Familiarization) tour: Two years information, visit www.seoulwebfest.com.

Can you share some success stories? ago after the Seoul Webfest event was over,

City of Rock a fast-paced flick

By Yayoi L. Winfrey IE Contributor In the past 20 years, China has gone from releasing films mostly about the Cultural Revolution or the class struggles immediately following it, to lavish, upscale, Westernized productions.

It’s hard to believe that a country with a Communist agenda could turn out something as visually energetic, contemporary, flashy and fun as City of Rock, but then time changes everything.

Hu Liang (Qiao Shan) is from smalltown Ji’an. When he learns that Rock Park—a public square honoring a former rock-n-roll band named Broken Guitar with a giant guitar (think: Universal City Walk)—is being demolished by a developer, he’s determined to stop it.

But first, he has to gather musicians, form a band, and raise funds through a charity rock concert. All of that requires that he find an agent. So, he calls Cheng Gong (played by the film’s director, Da Peng), and begs for his attention.

However, the agent remains unimpressed and out-of-reach. But, that doesn’t stop the shrieking Liang from bribing Gong with money he doesn’t have.

Once they meet, Liang also attempts to seduce Gong with outrageous flirtations.

Evidently, a gay man trying to have sex with a straight guy is still a titillating concept in Northern China where this

musical comedy takes place. Those scenes are supposed to make the audience guffaw, but they seem more dated than funny.

Soon, Gong gathers a motley crew made up of a shy drummer who plays with his back to the audience (Taiwan actor/drummer Li Hongqi); a beauty with a broken leg on bass (Uygur actress Gulnezer Bextiyar); an 8-year-old (Qu Junxi) whose father teaches her to play keyboards but whose mother forbids it while forcing her to practice martial arts; and, a 54 year-old physician (Han Tongsheng) who once played guitar for the aforementioned Broken Guitar. Together, the group makes mad music as they race to challenge the developer.

Although this fast-paced narrative is rollicking entertainment, some of its slapstick humor may be lost on Westerners. Further, its form of rock music isn’t the hardcore variety, although not quite the easy listening kind either.

Overall, the music is like the film; glamorous and glittery in tone yet with a definite commercial timbre.

Still, considering that rock-n-roll is a musical form created by American Southern blacks, it’s mind-boggling to follow its trail through various adaptations all the way to today’s China.

‘City of Rock’ opens October 6 at AMC Pacific Place 11. Mandarin with English subtitles.

Answers to this puzzle are on Wednesday, November 1.

18 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

Arts & Culture Asia Pacific Cultural Center 4851 So. Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 Ph: 253-383-3900 Fx: 253-292-1551 faalua@comcast.net www.asiapacificculturalcenter.org Bridging communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business.

Friends of Asian Art Association (FA3) P.O. Box 15404 Seattle, WA 98115 206-522-5438 friendsofasianart2@gmail.com www.friendsofasianart.org To advance understanding, appreciation and support for Asian arts and cultures, the Friends of Asian Art Association provides and supports programs, activities and materials that reflect the arts and cultures of countries that make up the broad and diverse spectrum of Asia.

Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington 1414 S Weller Street Seattle, WA 98144 Ph: 206-568-7114 admin@jcccw.org www.jcccw.org JCCCW is committed to preserving, promoting, and sharing Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage.

Programs: Japanese Language School | Cultural Events | Library | Resale Store | Internship & Volunteer Opportunities | Historical Exhibitions | Rental Space

RAJANA Society Seattle, WA 206-979-3206 sameth@rajanasociety.org

RAJANA Society is an Arts & Civics project focusing on civic engagement and bridging cultural divides with the Cambodian Diaspora.

Civil Rights & Advocacy Organization of Chinese Americans Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Seattle Chapter P.O. Box 14141 Seattle, WA 98114

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

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Homelessness Services

Professional & Leadership Development

YouthCare 2500 NE 54th Street Seattle, WA 98105 206-694-4500 info@youthcare.org www.youthcare.org

Working to prevent and end youth homelessness with services including meals, shelter, housing, job training, education, and more.

Homeownership Services HomeSight 5117 Rainier Ave S Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-723-4355 fx: 206-760-4210 www.homesightwa.org NMLS#49289 HomeSight creates homeownership opportunities through first mortgage lending, down payment assistance, real estate development, homebuyer education, and counseling.

Housing Services InterIm Community Development Association 310 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 Ph: 206-624-1802 Services: 601 S King St, Ph: 206-623-5132 Interimicda.org Multilingual community building: affordable housing, housing counseling, homelessness prevention, advocacy, teen leadership, and the Danny Woo Community Garden.

Executive Development Institute 310 – 120th Ave NE. Suite A102 Bellevue, WA Ph: 425-467-9365 edi@ediorg.org • www.ediorg.org EDI offers culturally relevant leadership development programs.

WE MAKE LEADERS Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community NAAAP Seattle services for Asian American Queen Anne Station professionals and entreP.O. Box 19888 preneurs.

Seattle, WA 98109 Facebook: NAAAP-Seattle info@naaapseattle.org Twitter: twitter.com/naaapwww.naaapseattle.org seattle

Senior Services

The Kin On Team is ready to serve YOU! www.kinon.org

Kawabe Memorial House 221 18th Ave S Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-322-4550 connie.devaney@gmail.com We provide affordable, safe, culturally sensitive housing and support services to people aged 62 and older.

Immigration Services

Denise Louie Education Center 206-767-8223 info@deniselouie.org www.deniselouie.org

Offering home visiting services for children birth to 3 and full & part-day multicultural preschool education for ages 3 to 5 in the International District, Beacon Hill and Rainier Beach.

Social & Health Services Asian Counseling & Referral Service 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606 events@acrs.org www.acrs.org ACRS offers multilingual, behavioral health and social services to Asian Pacific Americans and other low-income people in King County.

APICAT 601 S King St. Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-682-1668 www.apicat.org Addressing tobacco, marijuana prevention and control and other health disparities in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.

Cathay Post #186 of The American Legion Supporting veterans for over 70 years Accepting new members—contact us today to learn more! (206) 355-4422 P.O. Box 3281 Seattle, WA 98144-3281 cathaypost@hotmail.com

www.ocaseattle.org

Washington New Americans Program OneAmerica 1225 S. Weller St., Suite 430 Seattle, WA 98144 Are you a lawful permanent resident? The Washington New Americans program can help you complete your application for U.S. citizenship. Low-cost and free services available – please call our hotline or visit www.wanewamericans.org.

Text or call: 206-926-3924 Email: wna@weareoneamerica.org Website: www.wanewamericans.org

Southeast Seattle Senior Center 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-722-0317 fax: 206-722-2768 kateh@seniorservices.org www.sessc.org Daytime activities center providing activities social services, trips, and community for seniors and South Seattle neighbors. We have weaving, Tai Chi, indoor beach-ball, yoga, dance, senior-oriented computer classes, trips to the casino, and serve scratch cooked lunch. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30-4. Our thrift store next door is open Mon-Fri 10-2, Sat 10-4. This sweet center has services and fun for the health and well-being of boomers and beyond. Check us out on Facebook or our website.

Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs GA Bldg., 210 11th Ave SW, Suite 301A Olympia, WA 98504 ph: (360) 725-5667 www.facebook.com/wacapaa capaa@capaa.wa.gov www.capaa.wa.gov Statewide liaison between government and APA communities. Monitors and informs the public about legislative issues.

Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority ph: 206-624-8929 fx: 206-467-6376 info@scidpda.org Housing, property management and community development.

OCA—Greater Seattle Chapter was formed in 1995 and since that time it has been serving the Greater Seattle Chinese and Asian Pacific American community as well as other communities in the Pacific Northwest.

It is recognized in the local community for its advocacy of civil and voting rights as well as its sponsorship of community activities and events.

Education

Senior Services

Keiro Northwest 1601 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122 ph: 206-323-7100 www.keironorthwest.org rehabilitation care | skilled nursing | assisted living | home care | senior day care | meal delivery | transportation | continuing education | catering services

Legacy House

803 South Lane Street Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-838-3057 info@legacyhouse.org www.scidpda.org/programs/legacyhouse. aspx Services offered: Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, meal programs for low-income seniors.

Chinese Information & Service Center 611 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 info@cisc-seattle.org www.cisc-seattle.org Creating opportunities for Asian immigrants and their families to succeed by helping them make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage.

Want to join the Community Resource Directory? Contact lexi@iexaminer.org

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Social & Health Services

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Since 1935

Tai Tung Restaurant International District Medical & Dental Clinic 720 8th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-788-3700 email: info@ichs.com website: www.ichs.com

Banquet Facilities - Catering - Delivery

Bellevue Medical & Dental Clinic 1050 140th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 ph: 425-373-3000 Shoreline Medical & Dental Clinic 16549 Aurora Avenue N, Shoreline, WA 98133 ph: 206-533-2600 Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic 3815 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-788-3500 The largest Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community health center in Washington state, ICHS provides medical, dental, behavioral health and pharmacy care with multilingual doctors, nurses and staff experienced in meeting the needs of King County’s diverse and multicultural communities. All are welcome and sliding fee scales are available for uninsured patients.

7301 Beacon Ave S Seattle, WA 98108 ph: 206-587-3735 fax: 206-748-0282 www.idicseniorcenter.org info@idicseniorcenter.org

Come Enjoy the Oldest Chinese Restaurant in Town!

IDIC is a nonprofit human services organization that offers wellness and social service programs to Filipinos and API communities.

655 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 622-7372

Parking & Transportation Services

Mon-Thurs 11am-10:30pm Fri-Sat 11am-12am Sun 11am-10pm

206-624-3426 transia@aol.com Merchants Parking provides convenient and affordable community parking. Transia provides community transportation: para-transportation services, shuttle services, and field trips in and out of Chinatown/International District, and King County.

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October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017 — 19

20 — October 18, 2017 – October 31, 2017

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