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Outside the Margins: A Weekly Link Roundup

Nina Pham’s path towards recovery, the legacy Momofuku Ando leaves behind, Jin’s comeback story, and more.

By AAWW

On the heels of Lunar New Year celebrations, the New York school district adds two Muslim holidays to their calendar, a cause for celebration for Muslims and school kids alike. The success of Fresh Off the Boat showcases the complicated path for Asian Americans to break into mainstream media. Marvel launched a new standalone comic for Asian American superhero Silk while Jin and Heems break down being the few AA faces in hip-hop. We’re back with the Margins’ weekly roundup.


Is this the Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram? Hansi Lo Wang dives into this year’s identity crisis. —Code Switch

Some of the best and brightest in Asian American lit gather for a roundtable discussion on writing outside of the establishment and defining Asian American.The Toast

While a lot of the news around diversity has centered around TV shows, Marvel has been steadily adding characters of color to their roster. The latest is Cindy Moon as Silk, a web-slinging Asian American heroine from Queens. How’s that for some actual social justice warriors? —NBCNews.com

The indictment of New York police officer Peter Liang is drawing mixed reactions from the Chinese American community. Former Open City Fellow Esther Wang discusses why the community should not rally behind Liang. —Talking Points Memo

Onscreen or offscreen, Constance Wu, who plays Eddie Huang’s mother in Fresh Off the Boat, is never afraid to speak her mind. In her latest interview, she dishes out about accents, Tiger Moms, and leading the charge in Asian American representation on TV. —Jezebel

It’s been a decade since Jin exploded onto the scene as one of the few Asian faces in hip-hop. Unfortunately, even with the admirable efforts of Dumbfoundead and Awkwafina, Asians are still a rare sight in hip-hop. MC Jin is back with a new look and sound, but are we interested in re-learning Chinese with him? —Buzzfeed

Nina Pham, the nurse that contracted Ebola and survived, shares the working conditions that led to being infected, her lawsuit against her employer, and the rough path towards recovery.The Dallas Morning News

The New York City school district will add two Muslim holidays to their calendars, Eid al-Firt and Eid al-Adha. Will Lunar New Year be next?The New York Observer

Get a first listen to the debut solo album of Heems, best known for being one-third of former rap group Das Racist. If you’ve always wanted your political commentary over thumping beats, then Eat Pray Thug may be the album to check out. —NPR

Sidenote: Heems credits the Asian American Writers’ Workshop for bringing him closer to Salman Rushdie.The Village Voice

Check out the trailer for Twinsters, documenting twins that grew up in different continents without knowing each other and reconnecting through the internet. —YouTube

Loopholes in immigration laws has Korean American adoptee Adam Crapser facing deportation from the only country he knows.Reappropriate

Momofuku Ando, father of instant ramen, would’ve celebrated his 105th birthday yesterday. Learn how Ando created the phenomenon that many Japanese are claiming as the top invention of the 20th century. —Vox.com


This week’s roundup was compiled by Alex Wen, an engineer-turned-writer interning at the AAWW. He still wants to solve the world’s puzzles, just with a pen instead of a wrench.