By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
Here’s proof there are some real creative people out there.
Someone who calls himself Mr. Pigeon decided he wanted to pay tribute to some of the accomplished, but unheralded Asians out there.
hey, i’m going to start a thread of asian musicians i think everyone should know about using the ht #UnderratedAsian!!
— mr pigeon (@zhangstr) July 3, 2016
He decided to start the hashtag #UnderratedAsians and the Twittersphere responded with a diverse group of Asians in entertainment, science, and social justice.
A film producer once told James Shigeta, “If you were white, you’d be a hell of a big star.” #UnderratedAsian pic.twitter.com/1fV4sBGyUq
— Nancy Wang Yuen (@nancywyuen) July 3, 2016
LATEST STORIES
#UnderratedAsian Chien-Shiung Wu was a nuclear physicist who won the National Medal of Science in 1975 pic.twitter.com/YGQX9qeKdO
— Nerdy Asians (@NerdyAsians) July 3, 2016
#UnderratedAsian Dalip Singh Saund was the FIRST Asian in Congress. As a 3x house rep, he fought for S Asian rights pic.twitter.com/mkXrEvN7gr
— yung deez (@Lyndeezzy) July 3, 2016
#UnderratedAsian Larry Itliong
Filipino labor organizer
Lead Delano Grape Strike
Joined w Ceasar Chavez & formed UFW pic.twitter.com/E5ILlKuQeg— anto (@hosigisgf) July 3, 2016
#UnderratedAsian Jung Lee- korean photographer best known for text-based neon light installations pic.twitter.com/LOhYIVJXuW
— Maritza (@Maritzaou_) July 3, 2016
#UnderratedAsian Lady Trieu, the “Viet Joan of Arc” – fought against Chinese rule in 3rd century & won many battles pic.twitter.com/3XXnNTrxYO
— cris rosales nhung (@shaiIIenes) July 3, 2016
We were curious about Mr. Pigeon and reached out to him. He’s Soren Zhang, who describes himself as a teenager and immigrant Chinese person. He and others in his social circle came up with the idea. His group normally chats using the twitter handle @AsianAdvocacy.
“We came up with the hashtag #UnderratedAsian specifically so that it conveys our message but doesn’t hijack hashtags the black community on twitter created (solidarity is important). We were aware of the accomplishments of Asians around the world generally being ignored and unknown to many and we wanted to create something that would encourage others to use the hashtag and educate others on various Asians and their achievements,” Zhang told AsAmNews.
Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and the hashtag has been going strong for 24 hours.
Loving this hashtag :)) #UnderratedAsian
— :•) (@bicolebith) July 4, 2016
This #UnderratedAsian tag makes me so happy. I’m so glad that y’all bringing light to y’all people/history/art/culture.
— Jasemine (@Autumnflowersss) July 4, 2016
Zhang expects the hashtag to die down, but sees this as an ongoing effort.
“Hopefully this hashtag will encourage more conversation around Asian achievements within and outside the Asian community. We may revive it in the future, but who knows.”
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