Racebending.com

Welcome to another edition of the Saturday Link Roundup! This week, we take a look at what our children are learning about race.

How is our educational policy affecting our kids? What do they learn from the dolls they’re given or the games they play? And what are the youth of the nation doing to try to shape their future?

• Disparities in Academic Achievement Among Different Asian Ethnic Groups – by Jeff of 8Asians
  
  8Asians blogger Jeff takes a look at an upcoming education report that puts the reality of the Asian American education experience into perspective with new research and solid numbers. Do all kinds of Asian Americans do great in school? Do all Asians look the same – and perform the same?
• Did Nobel Winner Obama forget about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders? – via Oiyan Poon of APAs for Progress
  

  Oiyan Poon of APAs for Progress asks why Asian Americans were ignored when President Obama contributed his Nobel Prize money to various scholarship foundations in the United States. Not all Asian Americans groups, or Asian Americans, excel in academics – educational opportunities are not readily available to all and it’s important that Asian Americans not be overlooked.

• WHO ASKED US?—Young People on Budget Cuts and Their Futures – via New American Media
  

  On March 4th 2010, young people, parents and teachers in more than 30 states marched to protest budget cuts to public education. The demonstrations were particularly widespread in California, where massive budget cuts have crippled elementary schools, high schools, community colleges and universities.

  Three young people–in Fresno, San Francisco and San Jose–speak to how the budget cuts are affecting them and why they supported the massive protests.

• Final Fantasy XIII: New game, same colors? – by Bao Phi of the Star Tribune
  
  Bao Phi – activist, poet, and the original nerd of color – takes a look at Final Fantasy XIII. He asks hard questions that have been on the minds of many nerds of color. Why do Japanese video game characters so often have European features, cultural backgrounds, or names? Why don’t video game bloggers or gamers in general care to talk about race issues?
• A Charlie Chan Film Stirs an Old Controversy – by Pradnya Joshi of The New York Times
  
  From the fine folks of Hyphen Magazine, we caught wind of this piece on a revival of a Charlie Chan documentary. It’s a 42-year-old documentary that is catching a lot of attention from Asian American activists across the nation. Charlie Chan’s remembered for perpetuating and popularizing a number of Asian stereotypes, but the documentary sees the series as a celebration of Hollywood cinema.
• Black Barbie Sold for Less Than White Barbie at Walmart Store – via Alice Gomstyn of ABC News
  
  Walmart has stirred up controversy by marking black barbie dolls down to half the price of white barbie dolls. Including commentary from a variety of racial experts, this incident sparked off discussion that recalls the famous doll test of yesteryear – and how children of color today perceive themselves in modern America.
• What color Is my avatar? – by Jeff Yang of SF Gate
  

  Jeff Yang looks at the range of avatars generally available to players – and how limited players of color, and children in particular, may feel in their choices. What does this mean, especially for black and Hispanic gamers who may find their representations lacking – or stereotyped. And what heroines can female gamers look forward to playing?
  
  Perhaps more to the point: what are children internalizing about themselves and others as they play video games?

• Guess What? Women Buy More Movie Tickets Than Men – by Melissa Silverstein of Women & Hollywood
  
  The mantra has been that white males are the audience that Hollywood really needs to target.
  
  This week, Women&Hollywood reports on a Motion Picture Association of America study that found that “a higher percentage of women than men are moviegoers in all categories of frequency.” Women buy 55% of movie tickets. “In the coveted demographic of 18-24, women make up 3.4 million filmgoers while men make up 3.1 million. Suck on that Hollywood!”
  
  Meanwhile, a recent USC study found that 70% of speaking characters in movies are male.
• Women of Color and Wealth – The Scope of The Problem – by Latoya Peterson of Racialicious
  
  Latoya Peterson begins a series studying the wealth gap that women of color experience. The median wealth of single black women in America is $5. “To put it another way, single black and Hispanic women have one penny of wealth for every dollar of wealth owned by their male counterparts.”
  
  Keep following Racialicious.com for the continuing series. Part 2 was posted on Friday.