Thanks Ami! The Degrassi series is a Canadian primetime drama that has captured audiences in more than 150 countries around the world.

The show developed a strong following for its “realistic and gritty portrayal of teenage life without resorting to melodrama.” The show has dealt with heavy topics such as online predators, sexual identity, date rape, and self harm.

Degrassi is one of Ami’s favorite shows and just discovered that the show is now casting Asians in the leading roles.
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Tags: Asian Americans on Degrassi, Degrassi, teenage drama show

Anna May Wong was the most famous Asian American actress of the 1930s. She was born in Los Angeles as a third generation American with her Chinese name, Wong Liu Tsong, meaning “frosted yellow willows.”

An Early Passion
Anna was infatuated with the movies early on and would skip school and use her lunch money to go to movie theaters. Anna, at the age of 9, despite her parent’s opposition, would beg filmmakers for parts, earning herself the nickname “C.C.C.” or “Curious Chinese Child”.

By the age of 11, Anna May had come up with her stage name, Anna May Wong, paying tribute to both her English and family names.
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Tags: " Cultural Warrior, "Curious Chinese Child, Anna May Wong, asian hero, fashion icon, First international Asian American movie star

Jerry Yang is co-founder and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. He is worth an estimated US$2.3 billion and ranked 524th among the richest people in the world. Mastering the English language in only three years during his high school years, Jerry was soon placed in an AP English class. He went on to Stanford University where he graduated with a B.S. and M.S. degree in electrical engineering.

Jerry has been a leading force in the Internet media industry for as long as anyone can remember. He has built Yahoo! into a destination network of sites that attracts 3.4 billion views per day. Yahoo! remains the world’s most highly trafficked website–beating Google–and is one of the world’s most recognized brands.

Yahoo was originally started in 1994 when Jerry was a PhD student. He jokes, “Really, we’d do anything to keep from working on our theses.”

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Tags: " Jerry Yang, $26bn Yahoo's "Yet Another Highly Officious Oracle, Asian heroes, entrepreneur, Internet icon, technologist, Yahoo's Jerry Yang

Gurbaksh Singh Chahal, known to his friends as “G,” is an award winning American entrepreneur who has created companies worth over $340 million. He is the Founder & CEO of two advertising companies which were sold for over $340 million.

G grew up as a Sikh in California, the religion that requires wearing a turban. He recalls,

Once when I was 10, I went to the local elementary school to play basketball. While I was playing, two kids were saying derogatory things to me. One said, “Come here.” He pulled a knife on me and told me to take my blue turban off.
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Tags: Advertising entrepreneur, asian heroe, BlueLithium, Gurbaksh "G" Singh Chahal, TV personality

Ellison S. Onizuka made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life in service to his nation and the international space community on January 28, 1986 at 39 years of age.

Ellison was 15 where the Mercury mission put an American astronaut in space for the first time. His mother said,

Ellison always had it in his mind to become an astronaut but was too embarrassed to tell anyone [...] When he was growing up, there were no Asian astronauts, no black astronauts, just white ones. His dream seemed too big.

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Tags: Anything is possible: U.S. Air Force Colonel, Asian heroes, Asian Heroes and Role Models, Astronaut Ellison Onizuka, Ellison Onizuka