Frankie Huang

New York

Writer and Editor at Freelance

✨ Beijing儿 American changeling ✨ https://t.co/8ywIYI9cvm sr editor https://t.co/oDlNPB7YSj co-editor ✨ culture / food writer✨ lit rep: @lynnjohnstonlit｜she/her

Articles

Surviving the culture vulture's bite

6 days ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

There are fierce debates surrounding how cultural appropriation is qualified and judged, but one thing is for certain — it is often the case that the thing that is stolen and subsequently popularized and monetized by the White cultural mainstream is subject to denigration and belittlement when it was practiced and consumed by marginalized communities.
Belonging to America as an immigrant demands taking a hammer to its ‘exceptional’ greatness

3 weeks ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

As an immigrant in America, I’ve learned that criticizing the state of the union is a faux pas, an indecency. The unspoken understanding is that while we call ourselves “American,” we are and always will be guests. A good guest is gracious, generous with praise, and a delight to the host, never a burden. In effect, the acceptance we enjoy as immigrants is conditional and based upon the pleasantness of our presence and our conviction in expressing our pleasure to be here.
Nikita Redkar is ‘yassifying’ the news so you’ll pay attention

1 month ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

Social media creator Nikita Redkar’s aesthetics and delivery style are part of a satirical “bimbofication” niche exemplified by a hyperbolic, hyper-feminized performance of being hot and dumb. Think Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde” or Ziwe Fumudoh, whose personas turn negative feminine stereotypes on their heads while looking fabulous.
ICE’s latest 'collateral arrests' are part of our nation’s legacy of racist immigration policies

1 month ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed “mass deportations.” As president, he unleashed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on cities with dense and racially diverse migrant populations to round up anyone suspected of breaking laws. Black and Brown people — a number of them in the country legally — have been recklessly profiled.
You’re funny. For a woman

2 months ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

Women of color are often forced to navigate hostile environments in which their humor and mirth are scrutinized through sexist and racist lenses. Historically, this meant compromising either mass appeal or genuine expression. Jackie “Moms” Mabley, the trailblazing female Black comedian born at the tail end of the 19th century, delivered jokes on edgier matters by packaging her on-stage persona into a nonthreatening bedraggled granny in a floppy hat.
With violent revolutions, hope comes requisite with horror

2 months ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

The month my yeye passed, he complained that he couldn’t sleep. “Too many ghosts in the room.”My father’s father was a prolific writer and an extrovert whose constant stream of chatter never ceased. However, one subject he never delved into was what he did as a regional spymaster during the Chinese resistance against Japanese imperialism in the 1930s. My father was able to piece together parts of the narrative through conversations with people who knew my yeye better. He operated behind enemy lines.
‘Fight to Win!’ kids get schooled in starting good trouble

2 months ago | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

Kim Kelly, a labor journalist and author, had no idea “Fight to Win!: Heroes of American Labor,” a book on labor movements for young readers would publish during the early days of a chaotic second Donald Trump presidency. Set to release in May, the author of the critically acclaimed “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor” doesn’t exactly expect any invitations to promote her book at the U.S. Department of Labor.
The coming storm

Jan 28, 2025 | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

Hours after his second inauguration, President Donald Trump signed nearly 100 executive orders, launching an all-out policy blitz to realize a nightmarish far-right vision. New York Times opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie noted Friday that the goal of the Make America Great Again movement is specifically to take us back to a time before Reconstruction, when the government had incredible power over the scope of your rights, when explicit discrimination had legal protection.
Rest, rebuild and resist with a good book this week

Nov 26, 2024 | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

As we approach the end of a year that gave us too much, but also not enough, it is time to slow down before collecting our scattered thoughts on all that has transpired — and what’s to come. And what better way to do so than to pick up a good book to lose yourself in? A lot of people already have the same idea, as book sales in November and December typically make up 25% of annual print sales, according to Circana BookScan (formerly NPD Books), a publishing industry data provider.
You are not too good for the common good

Oct 7, 2024 | theemancipator.org | Frankie Huang

This was originally published in “Critical Thinking,” our bi-monthly newsletter. In September, I visited China for the first time in over four years to introduce my son to his 94-year-old great-grandmother in Beijing. The city of my birth is lovely in autumn, and we spent our mornings walking in the beautiful new park near her apartment complex.