Burning Questions About Jeremy Lin, Basketball and the NBA

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I think you'd have to be living under a rock to not know something about Jeremy Lin. He's the Chinese-American, Harvard grad, who according to reports, has single-handedly turned the New York Knicks basketball team around from a losing streak to, #winning!

His story is a NBA fairy tale. Passed over for a permanent position in the NBA, Lin was sleeping on his brother's couch waiting for a miracle. One came when he got a short-term contract to play for the Knicks. During that time he played so well, he was offered an official contract and Lin-sanity ensues. He's on the cover of magazines, on ESPN, endorsement deals are rolling in, his name has inspired any number of clever puns, and the entire country of China now suddenly cares about basketball. Okay, that last part is a stretch, but still.

So, that's the glossed over, layman's description of the Jeremy Lin saga. So here are my burning questions.

1. Yes the 'from sleeping on my brother's couch to NBA star' is a compelling tale. And yes, there are less than five other Ivy league grads in the NBA, but can we all admit that the reason Jeremy Lin is such a fascinating figure is that he is Chinese?

2. If the answer to the above is yes, what does that say about our collective racist group think mentality? That is, why is it so amazing that a Chinese-American can play professional level basketball? Is it okay to just say, well, it's just that we just never see Chinese people playing in the NBA so it's so different. Or should we not be asking ourselves what is truly underlying these feelings of shock and awe?

3. Is there a difference between Lin-sanity and what we experienced when we saw Venus Williams take home her first Grand Slam trophy? Or when Tiger Woods donned his first green jacket? I think so. With Venus Williams and Tiger Woods the conversation was about access. If given access, wouldn't more Black kids play (and dominate) tennis and/or golf? But with Jeremy Lin, aren't we all just surprised that Asian men can jump? Why is that?

4. For those of you who have been following Lin's career, aren't you happy that he is so humble and a total cutie pie?

5. And finally, why do you think more Asian players aren't in the NBA? Answer that if you dare.

Okay, enlighten me with your wisdom, dear readers. I'm listening.

Peace!

Asians Passing for White

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

My friend Jesse Washington, recently penned an interesting article for the Associated Press on a fairly recent trend of Asian students trying to "hide" their Asian heritage when applying to college. Although most colleges would deny it, there seems to be a higher threshold Asian applicants have to meet in regards to their grade point average and SAT scores. Since Asian students in general out perform Whites, Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans on tests and in grades, in order for colleges not to have a disproportionate number of Asians in their classes, they make it harder for them to get in. Or at least that seems to be the case. Most schools don't want to go on the record saying this is true. But students, parents and high school guidance counselors seem to think it is and thus this new trend.

So, how does one hide the fact that they are Asian? Well, a person can not check the "race box" on the application, but an Asian surname pretty much ruins that trick. So, who is really playing the race game here? It's the kids who only have one Asian parent. The Asian mixies. The Hapas, if you will. The ones who can "pass for White," as did the handful of kids interviewed in the story.

On the one hand, I feel for any kid who is discriminated against because of his ethnic background. Especially if that discrimination comes from über achievement! How does that feel? 'Uh, We're sorry but you and your people are just too smart. We don't want you here at our institution of higher learning.' (sigh)

But on the other hand, the meltingpot in me chafes at the idea that these kids are passing for White. And my discomfort with it has nothing to do with college admissions. Any time a person feels the need to cover up/hide/deny the colored part of their heritage in order to get ahead, is a tragedy. I don't have any solutions to offer these kids in this horrible predicament, but I know for a fact that lying about who you are can never lead to good things.

So Meltingpot readers, what do you think Asian kids should do when facing discrimination in the admissions process? What do you think our colleges and universities should do to address the problem? And, should a kid with only one Asian parent, be placed in the same category of Asian as the kid with two? Isn't this tricky?

I'm totally listening.

Peace!

Diversity Reigns at the National Book Awards

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

I'm a little late in posting this, but still I have to use this space to honor and celebrate the winners of the 2011 National Book Awards. The winners are:

FICTION: Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones (Bloomsbury USA)

NONFICTION: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
(W. W. Norton & Company)

POETRY: Nikky Finney, Head Off & Split 
(TriQuarterly, an imprint of Northwestern University Press)

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE: Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again
(Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers)

It was such a joy to see this list of winners as, they finally seem representative of America's diversity. Jesmyn Ward and Nikky Finney are Black women. Thannhha Lai is an Asian woman. Stephen Greenblatt is obviously a man. I don't believe that award winners should be selected based on their race or gender, but it seems to me that the best books in the United States would be written by a variety of people who reflect the true scope of  the 'American experience.' 

And for the first time in a long time, I'm truly excited to read every single one of the award-winning books. They will top my TBR list for 2012. 

What about you Meltingpot readers? Have any of you already read the works of the winning authors? What did you think? Any suggestions on what book I should read first? I'm listening.

And in the meantime, you can listen (and watch) Ms. Nikky Finney's acceptance speech for her book of poetry, Head Off & Split. The actor John Lithgow said it was the "best acceptance speech for anything" he's ever heard in his life.

Peace!

Music Monday -- The Hottest Asian Voice

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Did I tell you I'm teaching a class called Race and Racism in the News? I'm loving it and my students are too. We are having some great conversations in the class about race and stereotypes and the media's role in perpetuating those stereotypes. Currently we are talking about Asian-Americans and how limited the coverage of Asian-Americans is in the mainstream media as well as in Hollywood.

The one Asian-American in my class (yes, there's only one out of 36) is Filipino, and he has shared a lot of his personal experiences to demonstrate just how annoying/insidious stereotypes about Asians in America are. One pet peeve of his was that people don't think Asian-Americans can sing. At all. Yet as a Filipino, he informed us that so many Filipinos sing and that singing is really important in the Filipino culture. To wit, he pointed out that the hottest singing sensation in the world right now is 18-year-old super voice Charice Pempengco. If you haven't heard of her check her out on the Ellen DeGeneres show:



And that was kind of awhile ago. She's now a frequent cast member on Glee and people, she's hot all over Asia and Europe. We're just slow catching up over here. Surprise. To learn more about Charise, check out her website.

Enjoy!

Peace.