Monthly Archives: March 2022

Karyn Oliviers life and career have been marked by departures. Her family left Trinidad and Tobago for a new life in America when she was a child. Then at the age of 30, Olivier left her career in business to pursue one in art.

The pursuit eventually led her to Philadelphia, where she took classes at Tyler School of Art and Architecture and University of the Arts. Philadelphia is the place where I became an artist, she told The Philadelphia Inquirer last year.

Now, Oliviers work explores departures from historys perceived narratives and truths.

The professor of sculpture at Tyler was recently selected to install two memorials in the city. One commemorates Dinah, a former enslaved woman whose quick thinking saved the historic Stenton Housein Germantown, and the other, the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Memorial, honors the thousands of 19th century Black Philadelphians buried beneath Weccacoe Playground in Queen Village.

We spoke with Olivier about her art career, and how it has been influenced by her identity as an immigrant, gay and Black woman. Olivier also discussed her vision for the Bethel memorial, which includes plans for living elements such as water activated pavers and cradle grave flower planters.

Temple Now: What are some recurring themes or inspirations in your work?

Karyn Olivier: In my work I examine histories, memories, sites, objects and varying publics. I attempt to intersect and collapse these histories with the present. From a young age I recognized that identity is shifting and mutable. Yes, Im Black. Yes, I'm a woman. Yes, Im gay. But Im also an immigrant. Im also an American. Im also an artist.

But I also think because my background wasnt in art, I really start with whats therepresumed knowns and assumptions. I always start with whats familiar. I was never an artist who had, in childhood, this fantastical imagination to create from, so instead I think of ways I can extract or rework things we encounter in our everyday lives, to imagine other ways they could exist. I am fascinated by history. I think about the fragmented manner in which we learn about the past. The present day is grounded in these innumerable and shifting histories. My work attempts to fill in or reimagine the gaps.

TN: What impact has race and racism had on your work?

KO: My blackness in a sense is embedded in the work. One of the reasons I am interested in monuments and memorials is because there is a lot of space to reimagine what they are, how they function, and what they can become. Can we make them sites for gathering where we imbue them with power, and not the other way around?

Ill give you a few examples. I cloaked the Battle of Germantown memorial in Vernon Park, which honors a George Washington-led Revolutionary War battle, with a mirrored surface for a piece titled The Battle Is Joined. I dont think I would have made the same decisions or created that piece if it existed in Rittenhouse Square, which is a predominantly white, upper middle class neighborhood. At the far corner of Vernon Park is the Pastorius Monument. Everyone should know the name Francis Daniel Pastorius. We all know George Washingtons, but dont know Pastorius, who was an important figure in Philadelphia best known for drafting the first Quaker protest against slavery in 1688. The mirror surface created a mirrored monument. No longer was this monument static and impenetrable; it was now active, alive and constantly shifting. I thought, what would it mean for my Black Germantown neighbors to see themselves reflected in the monument? What does it mean to become the monument?

At Stenton House in the Nicetown section of Philadlephia I am fabricating a memorial to honor Dinah, a former slave and servant at Stenton House who is credited with saving that mansion from being burned to the ground by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. When considering the design of this memorial, I thought about who visits the siteoften school groups, historians and folks from the neighborhood. I decided to create a circular stone seating area with two large stone tablets containing questions that we can ask Dinah, and similar questions Dinah can ask us, her visitors. What does it mean to have an ongoing dialogue between shifting authors and multiple histories? What happens when we acknowledge our presence in the artwork? Our participation becomes critical to the art; our engagement is in fact creating the work. I hope for there to be acknowledgement of our agency, in our role in keeping Dinahs memory and this memorial alive. And our responsibility. What could this elicit for a Black kid who asks an ancestor who was once a slave, What did freedom feel like? Or when Dinah questions that youth, who is in a neighborhood that suffers from high poverty rates, Do you feel free?

TN: What about the historic Bethel Burying Ground moved you and inspired you to want to be involved in designing its memorial?

KO: A lot of things. I was excited about the histories. I was excited that the site has multiple purposesits both a playground and a cemetery. They seem so disparate, but I kept thinking about where they overlap. Theyre both sites of discovery, sites of empathy, of celebration, of care, of social engagement, of the unexpected, of disappointment, of anger and loss. They can be sites of alienation and hyper-presentness. To me, theyre both sites where you are very much aware of your aliveness.

TN: There are a few living aspects you have planned for the Bethel memorial. Why is it important for the memorial to be a living thing that the community can interact with?

KO: I spent a lot of time hanging out there and seeing how it was used by the Queen Village community. I was interested in how I could make a memorial that is temporal and shifting. I am interested in the unexpected alliances that could happen if someone looks down at a paver and the historic date coincides with that actual day. What could this sort of accidental synchronicitybetween the history and the present, an historic figure and a living onepoint to or make us consider? Maybe it could allow for empathy, or a consideration of the future, and our own mortality.

TN: Youve been commissioned to install work all around the world, but is there a special significance in being selected to install memorials in your home city?

KO: Oh yeah. I mean, I love opportunities to make work around the country and the world, but being able to make work where I live, in a place thats now home, its the dream. Philadelphia at one point was the capital of the country. Im in a place that has such known historic importance, but Im also allowed to dig deeper and reveal these histories that arent necessarily remembered and honored as our common history, our American history. Yet.

Its an awesome and daunting responsibility. My work will never satisfy everyone, but I do want it to be as complex, as nuanced and as open as possible, while still being as pointed and specific as it can. Bethel was tough because there were a lot of constituents who were invested in this park and cemetery. You had people who, once the cemetery was discovered, wanted the playground to be dismantled. Other folks in the community said, No, we need to share this space. It was daunting, but when I started to formulate an idea, I decided to just focus. Who lives/lived here? Who traverses/traversed this site? What can be offered? Specificity allows each of these projects to work, because Im so tied to what is here, what was here.

Olivier expects the Dinah Memorial at Stenton to be completed this summer, and the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Memorial to be completed by summer 2023. Visit her website to see more of her work.

Oliviers design for the Bethel Burying Ground Historic Memorial, called Her Luxuriant Soil, includes water pavers that, when wet, will reveal text containing information about the lives of the Black Philadelphians buried beneath the park. This rendering also shows the proposed new cemetery entrance gate, which she designed to be accurate to the time period of the burials. (Photo courtesy of Karyn Olivier)

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Karyn Olivier reveals Black history through her art - Temple University News

By Joan Tupponce

Iryna Piontkivska agreed to present the topic Ukrainian Language and Cultural Competency for theVCU Continuing and Professional EducationsLunch and Learn Seriesbefore the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The importance of sharing Ukraines history and culture is now a really personal endeavor, said Piontkivska, a Ukrainian economist and crafter.

Her one-hour virtual presentation at noon on March 23 will include many of her countrys traditions, such as pysanka, the ancient tradition of decorating eggs. Registration is required for thefree program.

Pysanka is just one part of the rich culture of Ukraine. Piontkivskas presentation also will include Ukraines geography, history, embroidery, weaving, painting and ceramics as well as music, dance and architecture.

Many people know the Ukrainian geography now because of what is going on in my country, she said. I want to also talk about the countrys historical background and its role in European history. Ukraine is a sovereign nation with its own language and culture regardless of what Russian propaganda lies. I want to cover as many aspects of our history and culture as I can so people are aware of our contributions.

She will talk about music and songs that are a vital part of the countrys culture.

For example, Carol of the Bells is a Ukrainian folk song. Its a very old song. Many people know the tune, but dont know it belongs to Ukrainian cultural heritage, she said.

Ukrainian cuisine also will be discussed because more than 50% of Ukrainian land is farmland. The country produces a variety of grains and produce used in bread making and dishes like borscht, a sweet and sour beet-root soup.

Ill also talk about rye and wheat breads as well as Easter and wedding bread. Ukraine is famous for its breads, she said.

Piontkivska finds it difficult to talk about the war going on in Ukraine.

Im in shock. At first I was in denial because I thought it couldnt happen to a peaceful country in the middle of Europe. Now, its a blatant war. Its extremely painful to watch it unfold, she said. I have extended family and people I know are there. Some are now refugees in Europe. But my parents and my 96-year-old grandmother cant leave. I pray for them to stay safe.

Piontkivska is the first speaker in VCU Continuing and Professional Educationsnew seriesof free one-hour virtual sessions by experts from the community who will share different languages and cultures.

The next event, Arabic Language and Cultural Competency, will be held Tuesday, March 29, and will be led by Kamilia Rahmouni, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of World Studies in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Another upcoming session, Francophone World Language and Culture Competency, will be held Tuesday, May 3, and will be led by Ngoc-My Guidarelli, a catalog librarian with VCU Libraries and adjunct French professor in the School of World Studies.

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Ukraine's history and cherished traditions will be the topic of an upcoming Lunch and Learn Series - VCU News

The year 2020 was certainly a peculiar one. The world was indoors, face coverings muffled voices, and for sports fans, there was nothing to watch on television. But, as everyone knows, summer went on and some things started to return to normal.

The PGA Tour was back in action after a several-month hiatus which started with the cancellation of the second round of the Players.

Consequently, the Masters was pushed all the way back to November.

Instead of blooming azaleas, we got fall colors rarely seen at Augusta National, but it was good to be back.

In unusually soft conditions, Dustin Johnson went on a tear, finishing the tournament at 20 under and slipping on the green jacket with the help of one Tiger Woods.

DJs history at the Masters is a mixed bag, but when theres a win sprinkled in, the rest doesnt much matter.

Current odds to win 2022 Masters: +1500

Masters results/odds: Jordan Spieth

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. SeeTipico.comfor Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ),1-800-522-4700(CO).

Heres Johnsons complete history at the Masters.

Finish:T-20Score: 1underEarnings:$46,575Masters champion: Angel Cabrera

Finish:T-38Score: 6 overEarnings: $34,500Masters champion: Phil Mickelson

Finish:T-38Score: 1 overEarnings:$36,800Masters champion: Charl Schwartzel

Finish:T-13Score: 1 underEarnings:$145,600Masters champion: Adam Scott

Finish: CutScore: 7 overEarnings:$10,000Masters champion: Bubba Watson

Finish:T-6Score: 9underEarnings:$335,000Masters champion: Jordan Spieth

Finish:T-4Score:1 underEarnings:$413,333Masters champion: Danny Willett

Finish:T-10Score:7 underEarnings:$286,000Masters champion: Patrick Reed

Finish:T-2Score: 12 underEarnings:$858,667Masters champion: Tiger Woods

Finish: 1Score: 20underEarnings:$2,070,000Masters champion: Dustin Johnson

Finish: CutScore:5 overEarnings:$10,000Masters champion: Hideki Matsuyama

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2022 Masters: Dustin Johnson's history at Augusta and odds to win - Golfweek

Gaylon Finklea Hecker and Marianne Odom| Guest columnist

March is Texas History Month, and our states rich heritage is as much a path forward as a look back.

More: El Paso City Council OKs police body cameras, resolution on Reimagine I-10 Project changes

Our hard-fought independence is observed this month with Texas Independence Day and Texas Flag Day March 2, coincidentally Sam Houstons birthday; Alamo Heroes Day March 6; and Goliad Heroes Day March 26.

Of course, we also celebrate on April 21 the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto in 1836. From that day forward, the people of the Republic of Texas would forever be synonymous with bravery, honor, tenacity, guts, grit and dedication to a worthy cause. That fabled fortune spilled over into the creation of the state of Texas, the 28th to join the USA, and its shadow fell on generations to follow.

Our heroic ancestors fought to preserve the rights of Texans relative newcomers and long-established Tejanos to seek fruitful lives in this gigantic and geologically diverse state with hills, prairies, deserts, piney woods, rivers, beaches and a plateau so flat you can see forever.

Some of the states most successful natives credit, at least in part, their success to growing up in this land of possibility with a melting pot of courageous, bigger-than-life role models.

They recalled just what it was about growing up in Texas that inspired them to follow their dreams. Not surprisingly, studying Texas history ranks high in their memories.

Wharton-born newsman Dan Rather said, One of my earliest memories from first or second grade is learning all the words to Texas, Our Texas, which is the state song. And certainly, learning Texas history. Thats part of giving you a strong sense of place. We had the American flag, and we had a Texas flag. As you get older, it all fits into this good, strong sense of belonging. If you dont belong anywhere else, you belong in Texas.

More: Billionaire Paul Foster's historic Kress Building set for multimillion-dollar renovation

Rex Tillerson, Wichita Falls-born former CEO of ExxonMobil and secretary of state, attributed his identity to his roots.

I have a deep sense of pride in who I am as a Texan. Often, I loved to say to people in Washington, down in the Republic of Texas.

Astronaut Robert Crippen, who piloted STS-1, the first Shuttle, and commanded other shuttle flights, dreamed about soaring in the heavens as a boy in the East Texas Piney Woods.

With a pilots swagger, Beaumont-born Crippen said, I think that pride in Texas was mainly instilled in school rather than at home. I remember we studied Texas history in high school. We had to take a semester of Texas history when we went to UT.

I think I was like any other kid growing up in Texas. I was proud to be a Texan and not shy about telling people about it.

More: El Paso 2022 primary election saw lower voter turnout, flood of rejected mail-in ballots

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, former ambassador to NATO and the first female U.S. senator from Texas, filled the seat of her great-grandfathers law partner, Thomas Rusk. Rusk was the republics secretary of war and, along with Sam Houston, one of the first two U.S. senators from Texas.

Hutchison, born in Galveston, oozes the thrill of Texas history. She thought about it constantly while she grew up. She heard the stories. She read history books. Her great-grandfather also signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and her grandmothers neighborhood included Nacogdoches Old Stone Fort.

Weve passed it (history) down through the generations because we still have that love of Texas, Hutchison said. And its so important to continue to teach Texas history as a required course.

Dr. Lauro Cavazos, the first Hispanic appointed to a U.S. Cabinet post, shared that same love of learning Texas history in a two-room schoolhouse on the sprawling King Ranch.

My favorite subject was history. Oh, I loved it. In fact, when I was in grade school, I told one of my teachers that I liked history so much that I may teach it someday. I remember that was my first ambition before I got into biology, sciences, anatomy, health care and all that other stuff.

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan, born in Refugio, still remembers the only field trip during his school days. It was to the San Jacinto Monument, and the trip was a big deal.

He said: When you dont go anywhere in your life, thats pretty special. Its been a lifelong pursuit of mine to read Texas history and to have kind of an understanding about how Texas developed.

While the Republic of Texas is the heart of our history, we know its not the beginning or the end. The diverse story of Texas encompasses dinosaurs, indigenous peoples, ranching, cattle, small towns, big cities, oil, wind, entrepreneurs, politics, footballand much more.

More recent history continues with space exploration, a literal sky-is-the-limit enterprise. Remember, Neil Armstrongs first word transmitted when the Apollo 11 lunar module touched down on the surface of the moon was Houston, as in Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Obviously, not all our history is that inspiring, but it is our history and Texans wear it as a badge of pride.

Teaching Texas history in schools is an imperative we must continue no matter how the winds of education flutter.

Gaylon Finklea Hecker and Marianne Odom co-authored Growing Up in the Lone Star State: Notable Texans Remember Their Childhoods, published July 2021, Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

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Teaching Texas history in schools is imperative: Gaylon Finklea Hecker and Marianne Odom - El Paso Times

Caption: Retired UFT educator Oksana Kulynych. Photo provided.

You could say that retired teacher Oksana Kulynych goes back to Ukraine every day.

When not watching the grim news, she gives presentations to students so they can learn about the country now involved in a horrific military invasion from Russia.

Kulynych is a Ukrainian-American born in New York City to parents who were refugees during World War II from what was then Soviet Ukraine.

Through them, she knows a lot about war and displacement.

She visits high schools and colleges to educate students about the roots of Ukraines beauty, and about its suffering. She speaks about the 1932 mass genocide in the country, and todays invasion.

I talk about the history of Russian aggression. I talk about my cousins escaping (now). I talk about women and children leaving, and men who are staying behind to fight, said Kulynych, a member of the United Federation of Teachers who taught special education in the Bronx for decades and served 10 years as director of the School of Ukrainian Studies.

The students want to learn more, she said. They ask what they can do to help as they witness the first military invasion against a sovereign European nation since World War II.

I tell them, become active in your government. We can do that here; we have a democracy. I tell them, when you see an injustice, when you see wrong, remember that one person can make a difference. Speak out when you see that, Kulynych said.

Panagiota Arenas, Yonkers Federation of Teachers, said Kulynychs visit hit home for students. Were studying WWII and they were able to make comparisons. They see how the policy of appeasement didnt work with Hitler. Its the same with Putin.

Students see the severe harm of totalitarian rule, autocracy and censorship. Between this war and the pandemic, they are living history, Arenas said.

Its atrocious and monstrous what he (Putin) is doing not only to Ukraine, but also to his own people in Russia, she said.

Students collect medical supplies and boots for Kulynych to deliver. They write letters to American officials, urging them to do more, said Arenas.

What is happening in Ukraine is a terrifying example of how totalitarianism can grow unchecked, Kulynych said. In a span of recent years, Russia has illegally invaded Chechnya, then Georgia, then Crimea in eastern Ukraine, then Syria.

Nobody stopped them, and they just kept getting stronger and stronger, Kulynych said. We need to recognize the signs to stop genocides from happening.

Im grateful for the journalists who are bringing this story to the world, she said, her voice choking with tears as she spoke of several who have been killed.

In addition to school visits, she has organized workshops for teachers and presented at conferences with the National Council on Social Studies. She has taught about Holodomor, a man-made famine from 1932 to 1933 under Stalins rule.

Her own family history is a snapshot of a country that has been under siege again and again. Her maternal grandparents fled Ukraine when Russian communists invaded.

The family headed to Germany, ended up at a displaced persons camp for four years, and then came to the U.S. Her uncle was taken by Soviets and sent to a forced labor camp in Siberia.

Her father fought in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, battling Soviet Russians and Nazi Germans. He somehow found his mother and sister in Germany, and they all came to America.

Kulynychs parents, Jaroslaw and Maria, met at a dance at St. Georges Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City. Together they raised six children.

On Saturdays we went to Ukrainian school, to study language, culture and history, Kulynych said.

She has been to visit Ukraine twice once in the 1970s when it was still under Communist control, and again in 2005, with her two children, 14 years after independence had been declared.

The first visit was challenging, she said. When I came back to the U.S. I wanted to kiss the ground here because we have freedom here.

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UFT retiree with roots in Ukraine shares history and hope - NYSUT

Real Madrid and Barcelona will lock horns once again in the Clsico this Sunday at the Bernabu in what will be the 249th competitive meeting between the sides.

Real Madrid's march to the title has an air of inevitability to it: only Sevilla are in with a realistic chance of catching Carlo Ancelotti's leaders, with the two sides due to meet at the Snchez Pizjun next month. Still, Julen Lopetegui's Andalusians have 10 points to make up on Madrid, while Bara are 15 points adrift in third.

Xavi has worked his magic at Camp Nou since his return to replace Ronald Koeman, guiding Bara into the Champions League places from the lower reaches of the table and securing a berth in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Bara will not win LaLiga this season, that much is evident, but Xavi's side can certainly do Sevilla a favour on Sunday: the Catalans are on an unbeaten run of 11 games in all competitions and have scored four times in five of those.

Down through the years, several of historys greatest goalscorers have played a starring role in the long-running Clsico drama, with the fixtures all-time list of net fillers reading as a whos who of footballing legends, and is unsurprisingly led by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Overall after 248 games played, Real Madrid have scored 415 goals and claimed 100 victories, four more than Barcelona, who have scored 404 goals against their eternal rivals.

Messi in action against Sergio Ramos.ALBERT GEA(Reuters)

Lionel Messi, the only man in the top 10 that is still active in the Clsico, leads the table with 26 goals. Those 26 goals 18 in LaLiga, 6 in the Spanish Super Cup, 2 in Europe have come over the record total 44 fixtures that the Argentine striker has played since his first game against Real Madrid more than 15 years ago in November, 2005.

Although, surprisingly, it has been almost three years since the great Leo last scored against Los Blancos, in a 2-2 draw in LaLiga in May of 2018. He will hope to bring an end to that scoreless streak on Saturday to bring himself closer to the incredible 30-goal Clsico milestone a milestone he may never reach, however, should he decide to leave Camp Nou this summer.

Ronaldo celebrates one of his 18 Clsico goals.

Much to the disappointment of Real and Bara fans alike, Cristiano Ronaldo no longer plays a part in this fixture and particularly in historys greatest duel with Lionel Messi that lasted nine glorious seasons (somewhat coincidentally Messi has not scored since Ronaldos last Clsico before he left for Juventus in the summer of 2018).

During this time at Real Madrid, CR7 played in 29 Clsicos, netting 18 goals. Both he and Messis last Clsico goal both came in that 2-2 LaLiga fixture in May, 2018. He was never able to bag a hat-trick in the fixture, unlike Messi, who has two Clsico hat-tricks to his name.

Di Stefano managed 18 goals in the Clsico.

The stadium that was used over the last year or so as the Bernabu was being revamped (Real Madrids training ground-based stadium used normally by Castilla and the underage sides) is named after this man for a reason. Arguably the clubs greatest legend, Alfredo di Stefano remains Madrids leading goalscorer in the history of the Clsico alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Some onlookers would also point to the fact that the Spanish Super Cup - where Messi grabbed six - wasn't in existence before 1982.

El Clsico: all-time top scorers

Di Stefano himself was the subject of an intense battle between the two clubs, both of whom had claimed to own his registration due to confusion that emerged when the player moved from Colombian club Los Millionarios to Argentinas River Plate. Acting as mediator, FIFA ruled that both clubs would share the player on alternate seasons. But the Argentine-born forward moved definitively to Madrid after the Barcelona interim board cancelled his contract following the forced resignation of its president at the time a decision they probably lived to regret.

Not far behind Di Stefano on the Bernabu legend stakes, local Madrileo Ral comes in fourth with 15 goals. The former Spanish international played in 37 Clsicos overall, his first coming in a 5-0 rout of the Catalans in January, 1995 (he didnt score) and his last in a 2-0 defeat in April, 2010. Out of the top 10 all-time top scorers, he comes second behind Messi in number of appearances.

Behind Raul are three players on 14 goals: Csar (Barcelona, 1939-1955), Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid, 1958-1966), and Francisco Gento (Real Madrid, 1953-1971).

Making up the rest of the top 10 are: Santillana with 12 goals (Real Madrid, 1971-1988), Luis Surez with 11 goals (Barcelona, 2014-2020) and Hugo Sanchz with 10 goals (Real Madrid, 1985-1992), the Mexican sharing 10th place with Juanito (Real Madrid, 1977-1987), Josep Samitier (Barcelona, 1919-1932) and the only active player in the top 10, Benzema

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Which player has scored the most goals in El Clsico history? All time top scorers - AS USA

When U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen won the gold medal in mens figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a Washington Post article attributed his win to a fierce, focused, robotic zeal. This robotic characterization draws on a dated stereotype of Asians as stoic, unfeeling workaholics.

In my book Model Machines: A History of the Asian as Automaton, I argue that the image of Asians as robotic serves as the perfect example of how majority cultures characterize a certain kind of minority as model workers and threats.

In the United States there has been a popular belief that Asian people are ruthless competitors obsessed with technical achievement, whether as classical pianists, spelling bee champs or math whizzes. This was the basis for the model minority myth. However, projections of the model minority often fuse into Asian roboticism, the notion that Asians act or behave like technological beings.

What happens when someone is seen as the perfect kind of human automaton?

Insofar as Asian lives are reduced to caricature, and their humanity disavowed, what emerges is a negative stereotype of Asians as uncreative cogs raised by tiger parents who teach their children total obeisance to authority, education researchers in Australia write.

Mental perceptions then shape social interaction.

In a 2009 study, social psychologists discovered that white people read East Asian faces as machinelike, bearing less-than-human qualities. This imaginary association bears a history, as media scholar Lisa Nakamura points out. When you brand someone as robotic, youre saying that what they make is not unique or worthy of recognition. Which is the history of Asian labor in the U.S.

When everyday people are rendered as robots, any sort of human rights are denied, and all sorts of abuses can occur.

As the China-U.S. trade war heated up in 2019, right-wing conspiracist Alex Jones claimed that Asians were like fearless robots coming to kill you.

The implication is that Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese are a swarm of cyborgs who think alike and will attack in unison. Jones also stated that Native Americans bearing some ancient link to Asia are easy to mind-control.

Indeed, these disparaging references recall a long history of dehumanizing Asians and other groups.

As global capitalism developed alongside European colonialism, the thought that robots are mankinds servants aligned with the treatment of colonial populations. In their 2019 book Surrogate Humanity: Race, Robots, and the Politics of Technological Futures, Neda Atanasoski and Kalindi Vora write that this sliding scale of humanity turned living subjects into objects of control.

The U.S. picked up on this in its quest for empire.

In the 19th century, Chinese workers were considered by Anglo-American politicians to be the worlds best laboring machines. This justified both their exploitation by and exclusion from the United States.

During World War II, U.S. military propaganda portrayed the Japanese soldier as a programmed warrior of the state, more animal than human. Amid the Cold War, the fiction of inexhaustible workers linked up with the fear of the masses in Asian communist nations.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese prostitutes were derided as sex machines by U.S. soldiers.

Today, Chinese factory workers are referred to as robots by their corporate managers, while promoters of South Korean popular music, or K-pop, categorize their singing idols as entertainment machines. Workers push against these insults, asserting their desires and freedom.

Scholars have adopted the term techno-orientalism to critique the view of the future as Asian dominated, especially in science fiction where Asians are figured as slaves to the machine.

Such harmful opinions are reproduced in mainstream movies like Ex Machina, which paints Asians as inscrutable bots. The Sundance hit After Yang depicts an android named Yang that reproduces this narrative.

Margaret Rhee, author of Love, Robot, says that the Asian as robot figure raises moral questions of solidarity, equality and justice. This resists the casting of Asians as material things.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center published a video essay, Inhuman Figures, that looks at this sense of Asians as tireless workers, robots, indistinguishable copies, clones and forever foreigners.

They supposedly lack human empathy and are, therefore, not deserving of compassion.

Whether subhuman or superhuman, Michelle N. Huang explains, Asians are never human enough.

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Calling Asians 'robotic' is a racist stereotype with a long, troubled history - The Conversation Canada