Javade Chaudhri, Nicholas deB Katzenbach, and Helen Zia to receive 2007 AALDEF Justice in Action Awards at Lunar New Year Gala in New York.

New York, NYOn Thursday, February 22, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) will honor Javade Chaudhri, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Sempra Energy, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, former Attorney General of the United States, and Helen Zia, author and activist, with the 2007 Justice in Action Award at its annual Lunar New Year Gala at PIER SIXTY, Chelsea Piers, in New York City. ABC News Correspondent Juju Chang will be M.C. for the evening's festivities.

The Gala begins with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception followed by the Justice in Action Awards ceremony, a three-course dinner, and a silent auction. Tables of ten, available at $50,000, $20,000, $10,000, and $6,000, include a VIP reception. Individual tickets start at $500. Special $200 member-priced tickets are also available. For ticket information, contact Lillian Ling at 212.966.5932 x202.

Proceeds from the Lunar New Year Gala benefit AALDEF's legal and educational programs in immigrant rights, economic justice for workers, voting rights and civic participation, affirmative action, language access to services, youth rights and educational equality, and the elimination of hate violence and police misconduct.

AALDEFs Justice in Action Awards recognize exceptional individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions in advancing justice...

AAJA Calls for End to AsianWeek's Racist Column

While the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) supports freedom of the press, AAJA believes that all media regardless of size should practice the highest standards of journalism including in matters of ethnicity, race and diversity.

AsianWeek, a nationally distributed English-language newspaper, ran in its Feb. 23 issue "Why I Hate Blacks," a column by Kenneth Eng. AAJA views the decision to publish this piece as irresponsible journalism.

AAJA is committed to diversity and believes in fair and accurate coverage of all communities. AAJA is in its 13th year as an alliance partner in UNITY Journalists of Color, along with the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Native American Journalists Association.

Organizations representing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country immediately expressed outrage over the column and issued public statements criticizing AsianWeek. The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans, Asian American Justice Center, Equal Justice Society and other groups are sponsoring a petition calling for AsianWeek "to take immediate action and issue an unequivocal apology, terminate their relationship with Kenneth Eng, print an editorial debunking the column and setting the record straight, review their editorial policy and process, and hold those responsible accountable."

The AAJA National Office has chosen not to quote from or reprint any...

AsianWeek's Statement and Apology issued by AsianWeek's Editor-in-Chief Samson Wong.

SAN FRANCISCO (U.S. ASIAN WIRE)

AsianWeek sincerely regrets and apologizes for publishing New York-based contributor Kenneth Engs column in the issue of February 23, 2007. AsianWeek rejects Engs biased views on a critical segment of American society, African Americans.

While AsianWeek continues to truly believe in diversity of opinion and freedom of the press, we are also very aware that the promotion of hate speech is not appropriate, nor should it be encouraged.

Given that the genesis of the American civil rights movement was borne primarily by the African American community through blood and perseverance, the failing of our editorial process in allowing this opinion piece to go forward, was an insensitive and callous mistake that should never have been made by our publication.
We will be reviewing that editorial process and making any changes necessary to prevent this from ever happening again.

The condemnation of this serious lapse in editorial judgment was rightfully taken by civic and community leaders and organizations, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Mike Honda, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Readers of AsianWeek over the past 27-year history clearly know that we reject any racist agenda. On the contrary, our editorial policy has led the way in interracial and multicultural strength and diversity.

As a publication whose...

        The recent death of Steve Jobs, a man who dared to dream and create beyond the constraints of the prevailing consciousness, brought many people including me to a place of deeper reflection. What does it mean to be really alive? How do I make sure that I am living my highest potential every day? How do I ensure that I will feel at peace when it is my time to leave this planet?

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
                  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
                 Everything else is secondary.”  --- Steve Jobs 

I believe above quote holds a key to Jobs’ success. He followed his life purpose, what he was born to do. He didn’t have his life path handed to him on a silver platter. He was given up for adoption; he quit college after one semester because it was draining his parents’ entire life savings for him to attend. He still wanted to learn so he slept on the floor of his friends’ dorm rooms. He sold soft drink bottles he scavenged to return for money to buy food so he could sneak in to attend classes. 

Award-winning Journalist and author William Wong comments on the national firestorm that AsianWeek has created by publishing writer Kenneth Che-Tew Eng's "Hate" Column

March 5, 2007

By William Wong

For nine years (1989-1998), I wrote a regular column for AsianWeek, the San Francisco-based weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" but that now has egg foo yung on its face for its incredibly stupid decision to publish a racist rant ("Why I Hate Blacks") by a young writer named Kenneth Che-Tew Eng, or as AsianWeek labels his (now former) column, "God of the Universe."

I appreciated the forum AsianWeek provided me. It gave me an opportunity to explore numerous angles, tangents and pathways of the complex Asian American experience, including uber-sensitive yellow-black relationships.

I tried my best to do this exploration in the context of a changing America that has racial and ethnic ghosts it wishes would stay in an overflowing closet. I never ranted or raved or engaged in racist language or stereotypes (at least that's what I thought). I felt my "voice" was mostly reasoned, respectful, honest, and thoughtful (again, my opinion).

I even included a number of my AsianWeek columns revised and rewritten slightly in my first book, Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America, published in 2001 by Temple University Press.

In my resume and one-page biography, I include AsianWeek as a publication I have written for. Now I am not so sure I want to...