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Asian Pacific Americans Demand Apology for Racist Comment by Bob Beckel – OCA National Press Release July 14, 2014

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Monday, July 14, 2014   (0 Comments) 

Posted by: Kham Moua

Asian Pacific Americans Demand Apology for Racist Comment by Bob Beckel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

14 July 2014                                 

CONTACT                                                              

Kenneth Lee | Acting Chief Executive Officer

202 223 5500 | klee@ocanational.org                                                              

WASHINGTON, D.C. – OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, a national membership-driven organization of community advocates dedicated to advancing the political, social, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), demands an apology from Bob Beckel for the racist comment he recently made on Fox News’ “The Five”.

On Thursday’s edition of “The Five”, co-host Bob Beckel made the following statement: “The Chinese are the single biggest threat to the national security of the United States,” Beckel said. “You know what they just did? As usual, we bring them over here, and we teach a bunch of Chinamen– uh, Chinese people how to do computers. They go back to China and they hack into us.”

“Bob Beckel’s comment was racist, xenophobic, and derogatory towards not only Chinese Americans, but all Asian Americans. Asian Pacific Americans are citizens, military personnel, and government officials, yet our communities continue to be viewed by the larger American public as perpetual foreigners and a threat to American national security,” said Sharon M. Wong, OCA National President. “Although these harmful stereotypes have begun to erode over the last decade, Bob Beckel’s comments are a painful reminder of the hate and overt racism that the APA community continues to endure. What he said was unacceptable and would not have been tolerated if said of any other racial minority. OCA and the Asian Pacific American community demand an apology from Bob Beckel for this comment and from Fox News for even allowing Beckel on-air given his history of racist language.”

Beckel has made racist statements in the past regarding APAs. In 2011, he said after he went swimming, he looked “oriental”. He also said that “Chinamen are rednecks” after his usage of the term during an episode of “The Five” that same year.

* (To see original press release as shown on our OCA National Center’s website, click on link below):

Asian Pacific Americans Demand Apology for Racist Comment by Bob Beckel – OCA National Center

Please join us to help launch the inaugural event of the newly formed OCA-NJ Junior Board:

Develop or improve your public speaking skills!  This is an opportunity for young people to develop confidence at early stages for public speaking as we try to grow rich communication skills.

Click on link in red to print flyer in pdf format – “Junior Board Public Speech & Discussion Forum Flyer June 2014“  (Once you are in the next screen to print, click on same link in red again)

To view this ‘Action Alert’ on our OCA National Center website, click on link below in red.

ACTION ALERT: All Students Count Day of Action – Social Media – OCA National Center.

ACTION ALERT: All Students Count Day of Action – Social Media

July 23, 2014

On July 23^rd, AALDEF, APALA, JACL, OCA, National Women’s Law Center, and SEARAC are hosting a rally and press conference at 10 am at the US Capitol’s House Triangle for the All Students Count Act in coordination with the office of Representative Mike Honda (D-CA17), and we are asking students, educators, and everyone concerned about public education in the United States to stand with us for better data collection and reporting to better support students and that better reflects the incredible diversity of our country.  We would like to ask your support as an endorsing organization for the All Students Count Act in the following ways:

#1. Would you be willing to take a picture or shoot an instagram video to show your support of the #AllStudentsCount campaign?  You can do one of the following:

• Take a picture with the #AllStudentsCount sign. Please check the box with the major race category that you belong to, and fill in the blank with the ethnicity that you identify with.  (e.g. “I’m not just Asian, I’m Cambodian-American).

• Take a picture with your own sign to support #AllStudentsCount

• Create an instagram video for why you support this issue.

Send all pictures or videos to allstudentscount@gmail.com so that we can add it to the campaign website athttp://allstudentscount.tumblr.com/  but also feel free to post your pictures and videos on your social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr) using #AllStudentsCount.

#2. Help promote the All Students Count Act on your social media network.  We have provided a handout of tweets that can be pre-loaded into your social media feed for the day of the event, as well as the days leading up to the event.

#3. Share the RSVP link for the day of action with your networks.

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/314088112084534/

• EventBrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/all-students-count-act-day-of-action-tickets-12245164617

#4.  Wear a blue shirt and come to the press conference and rally on July 23!

About the All Students Count Day of Action: The purpose of the day is to encourage everyone to show support for the All Students Count Act by displaying the incredible diversity of our country and how we do not fit the simple, outdated race categories that the US Department of Education currently uses.  July 23^rdalso serves as an opportunity to encourage conversation around how better data collection and reporting can help improve educational outcomes for everyone and how schools and institutions can better disaggregate data.

The campaign website: allstudentscount.tumblr.com

Messaging themes:

• For all endorsers: Better data to better support students

• For communities of color:  I’m not just ________, I’m ________!

• For women: Report better data for boys and girls in schools

• For disabilities groups: Report better data for students with disabilities

Primary Hash Tag: #AllStudentsCount

Secondary Hash Tag: #iCount #beyondthebox

Now you may ask yourself, I’m not a person of color, a woman or a student with a disability… Well the campaign isn’t only for people of color, women, or students with disabilities. It’s for all individuals who formally or informally touch the lives of students.  We want to send a clear message that all students count in American schools, so all students can have access to a high quality public education and an opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

We hope that we can count on you for this important action. For any questions, please contact Rita Pin Ahrens at rita@searac.org.

Please join us to help launch the inaugural event of the newly formed OCA-NJ Junior Board: Develop or improve your public speaking skills!

This is an opportunity for young people to develop confidence at early stages for public speaking as we try to grow rich communication skills.

Click on link in red to print out flyer in pdf file – “Junior Board Public Speech & Discussion Forum Flyer June 2014” (once you are in the print screen, click on same link in red again)