Washington, DC – Today, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) criticizes AsianWeek and expresses outrage concerning its printing of Kenneth Eng’s column “Why I Hate Blacks” in its February 23rd edition. Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15), Chair of CAPAC, issued the following statement:
“Mr. Eng’s views are based upon ignorance and stereotypes of the worst kind. The racist views expressed in his column and AsianWeek’s publishing of his article undermine the efforts of communities of color working collaboratively to promote equity and justice for everyone in the United States.
“Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community work tirelessly to fight against stereotypes that have caused tremendous harm to AAPIs. The AAPI community, along with all Americans, owes a great debt to the great African American trailblazers who have helped us frame our American notion of equality for all. As a prominent AAPI publication whose own mission includes community empowerment, AsianWeek should have known better than to publish such harmful views.
“CAPAC calls on AsianWeek to issue an unequivocal apology, review its editorial policy and process, and take appropriate action to hold accountable all those responsible for this egregious mistake.”