Smith Debnam D&I Newsletter - May 2022 Issue

ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH May 2022

In 1978, President Carter signed into law Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage week which would encompass both May 7th and May 10th. In 1990 it was expanded to a month and in 1992, it became an annual celebration. The significance of May 7th is an acknowledgment of the first Japanese immigration to the United States in 1843. May 10, 1869 marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad, constructed by majority Chinese immigrants. Luckily, we get the opportunity to dedicate the entire month to acknowledging the contributions of our Asian and Pacific Islander friends who have helped build and shape our country. Like most moments in history, things weren’t always so pretty and unfortunately, there is still room for improvement in not only our perceptions of one another, but in our interactions. Take a gander in this month’s newsletter to learn a bit more about our community.

D&I MEANS YOU AND ME Welcome to May! Or, as I like to say, “Yay-shrimp season is back!!” If you haven’t had fresh South Carolina shrimp (and I don’t mean “fresh frozen”), all the more reason to come down to your friendly Charleston office for a visit.

While May is a month of many happy things, one of the most important (and the purpose of this letter) is to recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is a celebration of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the continent of Asia and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Now would be a wonderful time to show your support for minority owned businesses and to also get involved with the fun offerings from the D&I Committee within the firm. Whether it’s the book club, the upcoming employee appreciation event, or something entirely new, please feel free to join in and reach out to a committee member with any questions.

- Elizabeth Blackwell Ross

JAPANESE CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN AMERICA

Imagine being targeted because of your ethnicity, because you are Japanese or Japanese American. Currently, Japan and the United States are fighting in World War II and things may look uncertain. You are asked to relocate during this time just to ensure you aren’t working against the country. When you decline to voluntarily move, you are then mandated. For four years, life as you know it has changed and it seems little to nothing is being done to help you.

Upon release, you have nothing to go home to. As the years pass, this portion of history is buried and life goes on as if it never happened. For some Japanese people in America and Japanese American citizens, this was their reality. In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked U.S. fleet at Pearl harbor, Hawaii. Not even a day later, United States security personnel began arresting well known Japanese Americans who they felt posed security risks. An official order came from President Roosevelt in 1942, Executive Order 9066, authorizing US military to evacuate anyone, alien or natural born, deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. These relocation centers were actually America’s version of concentration camps.

By March of 1942, nearly all Japanese and Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and businesses, where taxes were still expected to be paid or property sold by the way, and into one of 10 internment camps holding approximately 120,000 people for varying periods of time in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas. This was performed under the War Relocation Authority (WRA). These camps were in poor conditions. The barracks were uninsulated and furnished with only cots and coal-burning stoves. There were community bathroom and laundry facilities, both with limited hot water. Barbed wire fences encased the prisons and were patrolled by armed guards instructed to shoot anyone who attempted to leave. The four years spent in their temporary homes created an environment of tension, suspicion and despair. There are still survivors who are impacted by this time in history. December 1944, the government announced the camps would be closed by the end of 1945, however the last of the camps closed in March of 1946. President Truman signed Executive Order 9742 to liquidate the WRA and allow JapaneseAmericans to return to their homes. The executive order 9066 was repealed in 1976 and President Ford expressed his regret for that policy. In 1988, Congress passes the Civil Liberties Act. This awarded more than 80,000 Japanese American with $20,000 as compensation for this period. A formal apology from Congress was also issued. Despite these acts, many Japanese-Americans never received the closure they needed and still live with trauma today.

TOP 10 ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER MOVIES YOU HAVE TO SEE

1.Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw2019 2.Always Be My Maybe- 2019 3.Mulan- 2020 4.Squid Games- 2021 5.The Farewell- 2019 6.Parasite- 2019 7.The Donut King- 2020 8.The Fabulous Filipino Brothers- 2021 9.Crazy Rich Asians- 2018 10.The Whale Rider- 2002

YUQING CHEN: OPEN MINDS LEAD TO OPEN HEARTS Yuqing Chen has been a Paralegal Assistant in the Creditor Rights Department for a little more than half a year. Her ancestry derives from China and her tight-knit family consists of her parent and twin brothers. Yuqung has opened her arms to allow us a sneak peak into her home to learn about her heritage.

Kimberly: What are some traditions your family has that have been passed down through generations?

Yuqing: That will have to be the New Year celebration. We sometimes skip out on other Chinese holidays, but Lunar New Year is one that will never be missed. It is the biggest holiday and celebrated with the biggest feast of food and red pocket money for the children in the family symbolizing they will be blessed and do well in the upcoming year.

KF: What is something about your ethnicity or culture that you would like everyone to know?

YC: We actually have our own zodiac system known as Sheng Xiao, it is a traditional classification scheme based on the Lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. I was born in the year of tiger and 2022 is also the year of tiger.

KF: How have you, or others you know, been impacted by Asian hate in America?

YC: Luckily, I have little experience with that sort of mistreatment, but I do hear stories here and there from my friends of their experience and it breaks my heart because America is supposed to be this warm and welcoming place with opportunities and we should know better to not hate based on color or ethnicity.

KF: How significant is it for you to have a dedicated celebration of your ethnicity?

YC: Highly significant, it reminds me of who I am but I also love sharing history of celebrated dates and cuisines with friends and extended family member.

KF: What is one thing you would like to see improve in America, or in your local community, with regards to your culture?

YC: I just want to ask everyone to be open minded as every culture have its own special tradition. I have encountered stares and laughter when getting things ready for the new year celebration.

Please be respectful and kind to others no matter the ethnicity of the individual.

How You can help Stop Hate Crimes Against AAPIs by: Caroline Ward This month we celebrate all the diversity and accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States; all the good that has prevailed in light of the recent surge of hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report published in March

by Stop AAPI Hate, almost 11,000 hate incidents against AAPIs were reported between March 2020 and December 2021. Data from the nonprofit group showed that verbal harassment comprised many of these incidents, but physical assaults and deliberate avoidance of AAPIs were also common. Chinese Americans reported the most hate out of all Asian ethnic groups, often related to racist scapegoating because of the pandemic. This issue is an intersectional one, too, as research released by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum in March revealed that 74% of more than 2,400 AAPI women surveyed experienced racism or discrimination in the last year. Many of these incidents occur in public, but these individuals continue to face discrimination in the workplace and vandalism to their homes and community centers.

So, how can you make a difference? Continuing to educate oneself on issues impacting these communities and challenging any implicit biases is a key component of allyship. There are many educational resources for those seeking to learn more, as well as resources for those experiencing hate, here.

Speak up. Oftentimes, those who were attacked in public reported feeling even more isolated by the lack of bystander intervention. Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) partnered with the organization Right To Be to host bystander intervention trainings, so people can feel wellequipped to intervene if they witness anti-AAPI and xenophobic harassment.

Donate to organizations putting in the work at the local, regional, and national levels. Many organizations have been linked throughout this piece, but if you’re seeking a local organization, consider getting involved with North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT). NCAAT is a nonprofit dedicated to fostering community between Asian Americans and allies in North Carolina through civic engagement and leadership training.

Journalist Lisa Ling spoke out about this rampant issue saying, “We have to start seeing people as human beings. Our entire humanity depends on that.” A sentiment not to be taken for granted as we recognize those harmed and those empowered to bring equity and justice to the AAPI communities.

PODCASTS FROM AAPI CREATORS

1.The May Lee Show 2.Escape From Plan A 3.Add to Cart 4.Mx. Asian American 5.Feeling Asian 6.Politically Asian Podcast 7.Being Bümo 8.Asian American History 10 9.Asianbossgirl 10.They Call Us Bruce 11.Dear White Women 12.Dear Asian Americans 13.Thrive Spice 14.Time to Say Goodbye

MONI CHOW: TREASURING AND MAINTAING DIVERSITY Moni Chow joined the firm as a Paralegal in our Business sector just this year. She has plenty of experience working with various firms in many capacities, but has a wealth of cultural sundry as well. She has origins in Hong Kong, but North Carolina is home.

Read on to learn more about her own personal melting pot.

Kimberly: Tell us about your family?

Moni: It’s funny that the United States is a melting pot of cultures, because Hong Kong is a harbor and a global city that also has a very unique gathering of cultures and peoples from all over the world, so I’ve always felt like I grew up with a lot of mixed nurture. It made for an interesting combination.

My grandfather served as a radio technician aboard ships when my mother was very young, so while my grandmother had to do a lot of the raising and rearing in Hong Kong, my grandfather saw a lot of the world, and with his considerable salary back in the day, sent my uncle to New Jersey for his education.

My parents were both born and raised in Hong Kong, immigrating over to the US just before they got married. They eventually moved back to Hong Kong for a few years to get married and settled down, which was when I was born. Two years later, my parents decided to move with my grandparents to Morehead City, where we began to put down roots (New Jersey was too cold, and North Carolina seemed to be a nice, quiet place), in the face of many difficulties. My grandmother didn’t speak a lick of English, and my dad was a businessman who had to constantly fly back and forth between NC to spend time with us and Hong Kong and China for work.

We moved up to north Raleigh/Wake Forest some two, three years after that, so one could say I’m a Raleigh native despite all the time I’ve spent away from NC. My sister was born several years after we moved, and by then, my parents had decided to move us all back to Hong Kong so I could learn Mandarin and improve my fluency in Cantonese. We packed our bags and moved back for me to finish middle school and most of high school, during which time my brother was born.

We came back to NC in time for me to finish out my high school education so that I could get in-state tuition for college, but by then, with all the times I’ve moved and time I spent between NC and Hong Kong, it was difficult for me and for my parents to adjust and adapt to a culture that wasn’t new to us, but was no longer fully what we had known. In that sense, I felt that in learning to adjust and adapt, we retained a lot of Chinese traditions in the way of food, holidays, and mannerisms when we settled back down here.

KF: What are some traditions your family has that have been passed down through the generations?

MC: My family tree is actually quite complicated—there’s been adoptions, child kidnappings and name changes, long-distance moves and settlements, to name a few issues—and with the lack of clear records, I actually can’t trace my direct ancestry further back than my great-grandparents. My mom’s side of the family has roots from a nomadic tribe that moved from the central plains of China down to the southeast—so who knows what other traditions they had, past the food? Even my dad’s side of the family, originally from different areas of the Canton province of China before settling in Hong Kong, is much too scattered to have true generational “traditions.”

That said, we don’t have many traditions past my grandparents and the now, between my siblings and parents/extended family.

We still observe big holidays such as Chinese New Year with the traditional money-filled red pockets, blessings between elders and those who are younger, the auspicious color red, and note or celebrate some of the holidays on the Lunar calendar with food typically made and eaten during that holiday, like mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon is at its biggest and roundest during the year. We mostly just meet up with family in the area during both western and eastern holidays, such as the New Years, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the winter solstice (this is a Chinese tradition, getting together with family when the weather turns properly winter and properly cold).

This also isn’t a true “tradition”, but my family makes our dumplings by hand—my mom and I, and now my sister, will do the wrapping together whenever we make it.

Moni and her adorable niece I’m not sure if I can count mannerisms as a “tradition”, but there are subtleties to every culture that won’t be picked up on if someone has never been immersed in that culture. For example, it’s rude to reach over other people if they’re trying to grab food at the dinner table, and you should never stick your chopsticks upright into your bowl of rice. Wait for everyone to get their food before you start eating.

The younger generation has to say a traditional greeting when eating with elders before digging in (similar to Japanese people when they say “itadakimas” at meals before eating). Elders get their food first. Greet each elder when you see them. The list goes on.

KF: How have you, or others you know, been impacted by Asian hate in America?

MC: I don’t think I’ve ever personally been affected or impacted; I’ve been very blessed to have been surrounded by a good community and people. It hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve never had to face blatant hate and discrimination like the situations that appear on the news that is heartbreaking to see and hear about.

KF: How significant is it for you to have a dedicated celebration of your ethnicity?

MC: I appreciate the melting pot of cultures in the US, especially in recent years when we’ve had all sorts of people all around the world moving into our local communities—each person has a story to tell and places they’ve been to. I think it’s nice to have an appreciation for these cultures, including my own ethnic culture, but I don’t think there has to be a “dedicated” celebration for it to be significant. I feel like we should be celebrating all these different cultures we have regardless, especially in a unique area where there are so many of them gathered in one place.

KF: What is one thing you would like to see improve in America or in your local community, with regards to your culture?

MC: Now that the world has become more connected and at higher speeds than ever, I feel that it’s important to realize each culture has its own rules, traditions, and mannerisms, and it’s great to learn them and understand them, but I also feel that cultural appropriation has been a big thing in recent years. There are times where I feel we become entitled to aspects of other cultures because we either a) like it so much, or b) have done ALL THIS RESEARCH ON IT and think we know better, but I feel that it’s important to know where the lines are between appreciation/recognition, practice, and appropriation.

Appropriation is never appropriate.

Discrimination or ethnic hate is another big one that’s not just rampant in parts of the US, but really all around the world. For the purposes of this particular question though, cultural diversity is something I value, and I love that we really have a melting pot of cultures in our country—this is something special, and I think we should strive toward treasuring and maintaining that diversity instead of letting the differences and diversity separate people.

AAPI BOOKS TO ADD TO YOUR SHELF 1.If I Had Your Face- Frances Cha 2.Severance- Ling Ma 3.Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures 4.Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life- Alice Wong 5.No One Else- R. Kikuo Johnson 6.Little Rabbit- Alyssa Songsiridej 7.All This Could Be Different- Sarah Thankam Mathews 8.The Immortal King Rao- Vauhini Vara 9.I Hotel- Karen Tei Yamashita

10.Disorientation- Elaine Hsieh 11.A Show for Two- Tashie Bhuiyan 12.The Collective- Don Lee 13.How Much of These Hills Is Gold- C. Pam Zhang 14.Customs: Poems- Solmaz Sharif 15.The Magical Language of Others- E. J. Koh 16.We Play A Game- Duy Doan 17.The Sympathizer- Viet Thanh Nguyen 18.The Next American Revlution- Grace Lee Boggs and Scott Kurashige

SAY NO TO FAST FASHION

Caroline Ward Shopping for clothes used to be a seasonal event until about 20 years ago, when clothes grew cheaper, trend cycles sped up, and the everyday shopper had access to previously inaccessible high fashion looks. Fast fashion and global chains began dominating the market, and now, consumers are buying 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago.

Fast fashion is cheap, trendy clothing that companies quickly churn out at a low cost, so consumers can purchase it at the height of popularity and discard it after a few wears when a new trend takes center stage. This toxic cycle of overproduction and consumerism has quickly made fast fashion one of the world’s greatest sources of environmental pollution and labor exploitation.

According to a 2019 UN report, clothing and footwear manufacturing contributes 8% of global greenhouse gases. This may not seem like a lot, but every second, an amount of textiles equivalent to a garbage truck is buried or burnt, and the landfills that hold the rest are leading contributors of methane emissions. Clothing, either synthetic or treated with chemicals, takes upwards of 200 years to biodegrade all while releasing pollutants into the air and underground water channels. The same report condemned the industry for its role in 20% of global water waste – a single pair of jeans requires as much as 2,000 gallons of water alone. Chile has long been a hub of secondhand and unsold clothing from Asia, Europe, and the United States, where it is resold around Latin America. At least 39,000 of the 59,000 tons of clothes delivered each year cannot be resold and are disposed in the desert, now known as the Atacama Clothing Mountain.

One of the appeals for fast fashion consumers is the accessibility of high fashion looks for affordable pricing. To look good is to feel good, and who doesn’t want to feel good?

But, to keep prices low, brands have “chased the cheap needle” around the world, establishing production in countries with the lowest labor wages and standards.

According to research by Global Labor Justice, female garment workers in H&M and Gap, Inc. supplier factories in Asia face abuse, poor working conditions, low wages, and forced overtime; not to mention the estimated 170 million children exploited for their labor to satisfy the needs of big brands and their customers. The world’s eyes were first opened to this issue of labor exploitation in 2013 when the Rana Plaza clothing manufacturing complex in Bangladesh collapsed, killing over 1,100 workers. The true cost of a $5 T-shirt spurred a wave of conscientiousness among consumers now demanding supply chain transparency, ethical treatment of workers, and improved environmental protections.

Unfortunately, some brands have caught onto this change in consumer behavior and sought ways to take advantage of it, leading to greenwashing- when a brand, in an effort to appeal to consumers’ evolving values, claims to be environmentally conscious in its marketing, but in actuality it continues to cause active harm to the environment.

Luckily for consumers wanting to put their money where their values are, Good On You rates thousands of brands based on their demonstrated ethical and sustainable practices, providing recommendations for suits, dresses, shoes and everything in between. Some alternatives to fast fashion brands include Levi’s for menswear and denim, ABLE for denim and shoes, and Tonlé for dresses and workwear. Sites like ThredUp, Poshmark and Depop offer high-end pieces for secondhand prices and allow you the opportunity to sell clothes you’ve outgrown rather than tossing or donating them. Other ways to practice more sustainability include thrifting, hosting clothes swaps, and renting for your next event.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NOTABLE AAPI LEAGAL FIGURES

Hong Yen – First Chinese American licensed to practice law in the US. Immigrated to the U.S. via the Chinese Educational Mission.

Minoru Yasui - Japanese American lawyer, established a practice in Portland to help Japanese Americans affected by Executive Order 9066Yasui also refused to evacuate to an internment camp and was consequently sentenced to a year in prison. When he was released in 1944, he practiced law in Colorado, where he advocated for the Japanese community in America to receive reparations.

Dale Minami- Asian American lawyer who in 1983 would reopen and help overturn the Executive Order 9066 decision.

Herbert Choy- First Korean American I the US admitted to the bar. Served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (from 1942-1946), which “represents the legal interests of soldiers and the U.S. Army.”

Hiram Fong- First Asian American U.S. Senator from 1959 to 1977 from Hawaii and the first Asian American to receive delegate votes to be nominated for the President of the United States. Served as Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force. Also, first person of Chinese descent elected to Congress

Patsy Mink - First Asian American woman to serve in Congress when she won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1964. Mink helped address the needs of the women’s rights movement through sponsoring the first childcare bill, passing the 1974 Women’s Educational Equity Act which allocated $30 million a year for programs in schools that promoted gender equality, improving women’s academic and job opportunities, and expunging gender stereotypes from educational curricula. She even co-wrote the Title IX law which stated that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Mink pushed for legislation introducing bilingual education, in addition to introducing the first Early Childhood Education Act. Kamala Harris - The first South Asian American Vice President. Previously, she served in the US Senate, as the first Asian American Attorney General of California, as a Deputy District Attorney and as a District Attorney.

Mazie Hirono- First Asian American woman elected to the Senate and the first elected female senator from Hawaii. She was the only person of Asian ancestry serving in the Senate from 2013 until 2017.

Daniel Inouye- First Japanese American to serve in the House of Representatives in 1959 and the first Japanese American to serve in the Senate in 1962. He did not lose an election in 58 years. Inouye served in the Army during World War II and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart with Cluster.

Norman Mineta - First Asian American and Pacific Islander to be appointed to a Cabinet position holding the office of Secretary of Commerce in 2000. He was later appointed in 2001 by George W. Bush to be secretary of Transportation and went on to serve in this position for the longest amount of time in the department’s history.

Eric Shinseki- First Asian American to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs appointed in 2009. Also, the first Asian American four-star general and 34th Chief of Staff. He served two tours in the Vietnam War for which he was awarded three Bronze Star Medals for valor and two Purple Hearts.

Cheers TO

50

YEARS!

Join us today to help write the July Mental Health edition of the Newsletter! Reach out to us at newspaperclub@smithdebnamlaw.com