APA for Progress RSS Feed

APAP Stands in Solidarity with APALA on the American Jobs Act

erinjerri — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:22:30 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2011
Contact: Caroline Fan, 202-508-3734

Asian Pacific American Groups on the American Jobs Act

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) are encouraged by President Obama’s continued efforts to address the current economic crisis through the American Jobs Act that he introduced last week. As organizations that represent the underserved, APALA and National CAPACD request that any proposals and initiatives reach those most in need of assistance, including many Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities that continue to experience disproportionately high rates of unemployment and declining community wealth and assets.

The American Jobs Act will expand job opportunities for the unemployed, support small businesses to hire and grow, and revitalize our neighborhoods. The Act includes $35 billion to prevent layoffs for our teachers, cops and firefighters. It also provides $15 billion for Project Rebuild, a project that would stabilize neighborhoods by leveraging private capital to finance the rehabilitation of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses. The plan includes $10 million to help minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses gain better access to transportation contracts for modernizing our nation’s infrastructures. The President is also proposing support for summer and year-round jobs for youth. For more details on the American Jobs Act and its impact in the AAPI community, click here.

“It’s time for Congress to do its job and pass legislation that creates jobs for working families. Right now AAPIs spend a longer period of time unemployed than other Americans. Deficit reduction and government budget cuts aren’t going to help hard working Americans put food on the table,” says Johanna Hester, the new President of APALA and Director of Organizing for the UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, the Homecare Providers’ Union.

However, as Congress looks to further reduce the deficit to pay for these proposals, we ask that critical safety net programs currently in place to support low-income communities remain intact. Further cuts to any of these programs will directly impact thousands of families while threatening to undermine the goals of the American Jobs Act.
We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to develop economic recovery efforts that reach our most vulnerable populations while ensuring that vital programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are protected.

APAP SF Bay Area Mixer with KAYA

erinjerri — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:43:31 +0000

Join progressive folks from Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP) and KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress for a drink (pre-Advancing Justice Conference) as we celebrate Asian and Filipino American progressives this election 2011.

Wednesday, October 26

7-9PM

Hukilau San Francisco

5 Masonic Ave

San Francisco

RSVP on facebook

Filipino American Community Mayor's Forum 2011 San Francisco

erinjerri — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:36:14 +0000

Filipino American Community Mayor's Forum 2011

San Francisco

by Erin Jerri Pangilinan - National Communications Director

TONIGHT at 7:30PM PST: Watch our livestream of the Filipino American Community Mayor's Forum 2011 - San Francisco here!

Watch our liveblog

Join us and hear what the candidates for San Francisco Mayor have to say about the issues facing the Filipino American community and how they plan to best serve our city of San Francisco.

Carnelian by the Bay
One Ferry Plaza, San Francisco

Like us on Facebook

Help us trend on Twitter: #FilAmSFMayor
Follow us @kayagrassroots

Rally for Exploited Filipino Teachers of Prince George County

Calvin Prashad — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:41:49 +0000

This information comes to us via Jo Quiambao of the Filipino advocacy group, Katarungan.

There will be a rally TODAY (8/9/11) from 2 - 5pm in front of the White House to support the Filipino teachers of Prince George County that have had their wages stolen and are now faced with deportation.

On 7/7/11, the Department of Labor found that Prince George County, Maryland illegally exploited 1,044 guest worker teachers on H-1B visas by forcing them to pay federal fees that should have been paid by the school system. The federal government requires employers to pay an anti-fraud and a filing fee. These back wages amounted to $4,222,146 from May 2005 to July 2011. As this rampant abuse was willful, the PGCPS (Prince George County Public Schools) also faced civil penalties but more importantly received a ban on extending or requesting permanent residency for the guest workers.

The Department of Labor ruling is not yet final, but PGCPS has stopped processing paperwork for those teachers on visas, making them vulnerable to deportation by the DHS and imperils the immigration status of 240 teachers between now and November. The district will be firing those teachers on the day their visa expires.

These teachers were brought here to fulfill federal mandates under No Child Left Behind. Now the federal government is effectively deporting them to the Philippines after they made a tremendous impact on the quality of schools in Prince George County. Is this how we as a nation treat our guest workers? We recruit them in their native country with promises of employment only to discard them? These teachers have lives in America. They have families, responsibilities and roots here. Not only has their employer victimized them for a number of years, but now the federal government seeks to victimize them as well.

Show your solidarity for these teachers by signing this petition. An injustice there is an injustice everywhere and our public sector workers suffer.

Change.org petition

For additional reading, consult the DOL ruling as well as the Pilipino Educators Network website

Pilipino Educators Network

Department of Labor ruling

Celebrating LGBT Pride & AAPI Heritage Month

erinjerri — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:49:40 +0000

Celebrating LGBT Pride & AAPI Heritage Month

Cross-posted at White House Blog

Posted by Hector Vargas on May 25, 2011 at 09:07 AM EDT

Earlier this week at an event hosted by the White House, I listened as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth told compelling stories about the challenges and triumphs of living at the intersections of race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity.

I heard stories about the heartbreak of being rejected by families who felt that being LGBT was against culture or religion, about teachers and counselors not being prepared to work with LGBT students of color, and about constant bullying and harassment from other students who often combined racial and homophobic slurs and taunts to further isolate and marginalize their fellow students.

And I heard stories of reconciliation with families, of organizing to strengthen gay-straight alliances, of leading campaigns for safe school policies and laws, and of learning self-worth and respect through programs designed to specifically serve LGBT AANHPI youth. The stories were about courage, resilience and empowerment.

These were the experiences of 19 LGBT AANHPI youth who gathered for a White House AANHPI LGBT Pride and Heritage Event. The youth came from all across the nation, including from Minnesota, Indiana and Missouri, representing the diversity within the AANHPI and LGBT communities.

The common denominator among them all is leadership. Each and every youth who attended is a leader in their own right, pushing to ensure that the issues and concerns of LGBT AANHPI communities are being addressed in their schools, communities and at all levels of government. I am inspired by each of them and their experiences and leadership.

Hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the event brought together LGBT AANHPI youth with representatives from the Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services so that they could incorporate the specific needs of this community into federal anti-bullying, comprehensive sex education, and HIV preventions programs. A handful of advocates working with LGBT AANHPI youth also shared specific recommendations in these areas.

The stories that were told underscore the experiences of LGBT AANHPI people who live at the intersections of race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, class, immigration status, age and so many other characteristics. That’s why I feel honored that as an openly gay Filipino-American serving on the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs that I have been given a unique opportunity to bring all of who I am to the Commission’s work to serve AANHPI communities.

As we continue to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and as we prepare for LGBT Pride celebrations that often occur in June, the notion of “Pride & Heritage” has special meaning. It presents the opportunity for me, and the entire LGBT AANHPI community and allies, to celebrate and recognize all aspects of who we are. This is a part of the American experience that isn’t often heard but in a rare and unique moment was given voice to at the highest levels of our government.

Hector Vargas serves on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

SAVE THE DATE! - 2010 AAPI House Party - May 2nd UPDATED

curtis — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:39:29 +0000

On Sunday, May 2nd, please join Asian Pacific Americans for Progress as we host our annual State of Asian Pacific America House Party. We are pleased to announce that Kalpen Modi, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Congressmembers Mike Honda (CA-15) and Judy Chu (CA-32) and other noted guests, will be joining us, via conference call, for the nationwide event. On the call, we'll be getting updates from the White House, Congress and grassroots activists on the progress we made this past year.

WHAT: State of Asian Pacific America House Party 2010

WHO: Hosted by Asian Pacific Americans for Progress

DATE: Sunday, May 2, 2010

TIME: 4-6 pm EST, 1-3 pm PST, 10 am - 12 pm Hawaii

· Kalpen Modi, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement

· Mike Honda, Congressmember (CA-15), Chair of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

· Judy Chu, Congressmember (CA-32)

· Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

· Ami Bera, Candidate for U.S. Congress (CA-03)

· Marissa Graciosa, Director, Fair Immigration Reform Movement

Kappa Phi Lambda

United States Student Association - National Asian Pacific American Student Caucus

Network of Indian Professionals

National Council for Chinese Americans

HOSTING A PARTY

Consider hosting a party. It's easy. Just gather 12-20 friends, family members or co-workers and call into our conference call. You can even provide snacks or make it a potluck. On the call, each guest will speak for a few minutes and then take a question or two. Afterwards, we hope you and the attendees at your party will discuss what issues are important to you and then to write up a report and post it on the APAP website with pictures. This will become a record of the issues that AAPI's around the country are talking about. We'll even submit a report to the Obama administration.

CLICK HERE FOR "HOW TO HOST A HOUSE PARTY"

CLICK HERE FOR "SUGGESTED TIMELINE FOR ORGANIZING A PARTY"

CLICK HERE FOR "FAQ's ABOUT HOUSE PARTIES"

CLICK HERE FOR "MATERIALS"

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS FOR HOUSE PARTY SPEAKERS.

*CLICK HERE FOR TIPS ON POSTING ON APAP'S WEB SITE

*CLICK HERE FOR POST-CALL SURVEY

PROGRAM SCHEDULE (all times are Eastern)

4:00 pm - introductions, mingle with guests, serve food

4:30 pm - phone call with special guests, including brief Q & A

5:00 pm - begin small group discussion with provided questions

5:45 pm - wrap up discussion

6:00 pm - post your pictures and stories on our website; submit your survey back to APAP

HOUSE PARTIES (as of April 27, 2010. More details to come)

To host a party, email curtis at apaforprogress.org

	HOST	Contact for directions and info
ARiZONA
Tempe	Zeenat Hasan	private
CALIFORNIA
Atherton	Sophia Yen	apafp@apaforprogress.org
Berkeley	Mary Nicely, Van Nguyen, APA Dem Club	mnicely@nicelydone.com
Berkeley	UC Berkeley (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
Garden Grove	Kawen Young	private
Glendale	Sara Sadhwani, APAP-LA	ssadhwani@apalc.org
Los Angeles (Chinatown)	Chinese American Citizens Alliance	suellenck@aol.com
Los Angeles (Westside)	Kris Cuarasemo Prim	private
Monterey Park	Henry Lo	generasian_xer@yahoo.com
Palo Alto	Stanford AA Student Assoc. Tina Duong	tinaduong2012@stanford.edu
Riverside	UCR (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
Sacramento	UCS (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
San Francisco	API Wellness	Stephanie@apiwellness.org, das@apiwellness.org
San Francisco	Hasan Diwan	hasan.diwan@gmail.com
San Francisco	Grande Lum	grandelum@gmail.com
Santa Barbara	UCSB (USSA)	greg@apaforprogres.org
Santa Cruz	UCSC (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
Westwood	UCLA (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
COLORADO
Denver	APAP Colorado	ppl_peng@yahoo.com, james.y.chiu2008@gmail.com
CONNECTICUT
New Britain	Elizabeth Strauss	elizabeth@cthealth.org
D.C.
Washington (Chinatown)	Patrice Yao, APAP-DC	patrice.yao@gmail.com
Washington (Dupont)	Aivina Yeh, Mable Kong	alvina@apiavote.org, mkong112@gmail.com
Washington	George Washington U. (KPL)	kplstarburst@gmail.com
FLORIDA
Miami	NET-IP	npaarth9@gmail.com
IDAHO
Pocatello	Michi Kawakami	private
ILLINOIS
Chicago	Theresa Mah	tmahtmah@gmail.com
Evanston	Northwestern (KPL)	sway.kpl@gmail.com, kpl.bolt@gmail.com, mpel.kpl@gmail.com
Urbana	Renee Chacko	chacko.renee@gmail.com
INDIANA
Bloomington	Asian Cultural Center	acc@indiana.edu
KANSAS
Lawrence	Maruel Unrein	Maruel.unrein@gmail.com
Wichita	Doris Chang, Dave Mason	drmason1986@gmail.com
MARYLAND
Baltimore	University of Maryland, Baltimore County (KPL)	kpl.sicily@gmail.com, kpl.solace@gmail.com
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston	APAP Boston	Michellle@apaforprogress.org
Northhampton	Judy Lei	private
MICHIGAN
Detroit	Sally Kim	private
Grand Rapids	Christina Fong	christina@ogreogress.com
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis	Sia Moua	siamoua@gmail.com
MISSOURI
St. Louis	Lilian Doan	Ldoan1@gmail.com
NEBRASKA
Omaha	Chelsea Kawakami	chelseakawakami@yahoo.com
NEVADA
Reno	Jesse Danen	private
Reno	Gabriel Matute Uy	gabematute@yahoo.com
NEW JERSEY
New Brunswick	Rutgers (KPL)	kplmystique@gmail.com
NEW MEXICO
Carolyn Chan	Chinese American Citizens Alliance	CAROCHAN@aol.com
NEW YORK
Binghamton	Calvin Prashad	calvin.prashad@gmail.com
Buffalo	University of Buffalo (KPL)	Chastity.kpl@gmail.com, kpl.lianna@gmail.com
New York	APAP New York	theresat@apaforprogress.org
New York	New York University (KPL)	kpl.delure@gmail.com, kpl.tnt@gmail.com, kpl.shatter@gmail.com
NORTH CAROLINA
Durham	Zach Chen (NCCA)	potterygod@gmail.com
OHIO
Cleveland	Michael Byun	private
Columbus	Rebecca Nelson, NETIP	rnelson@studentlife.osu.edu
Columbus	Ohio State (KPL)	kplzromeo@gmail.com
OREGON
Corvallis	Sandy Tsuneyoshi	sandy.tsuneyoshi@oregonstate.edu
Eugene	Joseph Mak	jason.d.mak@gmail.com
Eugene	University of Oregon (USSA)	greg@apaforprogress.org
Portland	Carmen Madrid	madcat67@gmail.com
PENNSYLVANIA
Bensalem	Ernie Gange	erniegange@aol.com
Horsham	Han Pan	Hanpan48@gmail.com
Philadelphia	Stella Tsai, Farzin Khan	farzin@apaforprogress.org
Philadelphia	Chinese for Families	info@chineseforfamilies.com
Pittsburgh	NETIP	npaarth9@gmail.com
TENNESSEE
Nashville	Tuan Ta	tuan.t.ta@gmail.com
TEXAS
Arlington	David Bruce Jones	private
Austin	Jaya Soni	jayasoni@yahoo.com
Austin	Sonia Kotecha (NET-IP)	sonia.kotecha@gmail.com
Dallas	Vishal Chander	vchander@chanderlaw.com
Houston	Gordon Quan	gquan@fosterquan.com
San Antonio	Charlie Zhao (NCCA)	private
UTAH
Holiday	Fahina Tavake-Pasi	private
VIRGINIA
Falls Church	Rose Chu	rccmason@gmail.com
WASHINGTON
Seattle	NAPAWF Seattle	ankimno@gmail.com
Seattle	Akemi Matsumoto	akemiseattle@gmail.com
Spokane	Ping Ping	ping9615@yahoo.com
WISCONSIN
Madison	Daniel Allen, Nira Ly, Tim Yu	tpyu@wisc.edu, nira_ly@yahoo.com
Milwaukee	Lorna Yeung	lornayoung@mindspring.com

Meet A Community Organizer: Cat Bao Le in Charlotte NC

Misha — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:19:17 +0000

Meet Cat Bao Le! She's helping to naturalize legal permanent residents in the Vietnamese and Montagnard community in Charlotte, North Carolina. After the jump learn a little bit more about the unique challenges that come with organizing the AAPI community in the South.

What do you do?

I direct a civic engagement project to provide naturalization services to Asians in Charlotte and surrounding areas. We mainly do this in the form of citizenship fairs (sort of like very large clinics) and group processing sessions.

How did you get started in doing community work?

Straight out of college, I joined an Asian American legal civil rights organization in San Francisco called the Asian Law Caucus (ALC). As my first job after college, ALC was critical in helping me develop a foundation. I had a number of roles during my four years there, from fixing websites (and I'm not at all a techie), to direct services, to coordinating advocacy. There was little I would say no to (even though sometimes I wanted to)! But that experience has directly prepped me for the start-up work I'm doing now.

Although ALC was the first professional community work I engaged in, doing this works feels pretty second nature to me and I really love it. I've been pretty conscious from a young age through growing up from humble beginnings. In North London I grew up in a very immigrant neighborhood with few services, so we were a pretty tight knit community in helping each other out. In some ways I like to think my work now is just building on top of what I understood to be ‘community' from an early age, and what my parents showed me through their life long struggles.

What brought you out to Charlotte?

Charlotte has a very vibrant immigrant community, and there's a lot of room and opportunity for innovative community work like this citizenship project. North Carolina has a significant Southeast Asian population and since leaving the Bay, I've been really been focused on building bridges in the community that I am from -- there's still a lot of gaps for Southeast Asians. I've learned a lot working with Bay area immigrant communities with a longer history in the U.S., like Chinatown Development Community Center who have been instrumental in empowering the grassroots and building immigrant leadership in San Francisco. I wanted to bring those visions and experiences somewhere a little closer to home for me, even though closer to home meant going further away.

What is the community like here and how it's different than back home?

There's a pretty diverse Southeast Asian refugee population in North Carolina. For example, outside of Charlotte in the Hickory area, there's a large rural Hmong community. This community may work in the factories or manufacturing centers during the day, but many come home and grow their own food on their land similar to how they did in Laos. Working in this community takes a lot of effort to coordinate since it's spread out and pretty rural, but people have been very open and really welcomed this work. Actually our next citizenship fair will likely take place in a community members' plot of land, in his barn!

Moreover the Vietnamese population is certainly growing and has doubled in the last decade to 30,000. North Carolina is also home to the largest population Montagnards outside of Southeast Asia. This ethnic group from Vietnam fought alongside the U.S. Special Forces and CIA during the war much like the Hmong in Laos, but are made up of different tribes all with individual languages. The first group of Montagnards came in 1986, and subsequent waves continued to be resettled in North Carolina -- one of the reasons being the high number of American Special Forces veterans in the State.

In terms of community work in the South, outreach work has been different. Since NC is in the bible belt, the strength of the faith based organizations is very significant. Moving here I learned that because of the lack of community based organizations, religious institutions can make up for at least some of the gap. They play a large role in organizing the community, providing services, convening community members, and disseminating information. Building relationship with those leaders is critical here. Our last event actually took place at a Presbyterian Church, needless to say I spend quite some time at churches and temples out here!

Who do you work for, why is it free, etc?

My work is under the banner of the Vietnamese Association of Charlotte, but is funded by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center which is based in Los Angeles. It is part of a national grant called the New Americans Citizenship Collaborative . This Collaborative is facilitated by Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco, and is funded by a number of foundations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Grove Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Did they target Charlotte or did you propose it?

I believe the 8 locations for this grant were selected due the high percentage of legal permanent residents that were eligible to naturalize in those locations; Charlotte (NC), Dallas (TX), Detroit (MI), Houston (TX), Los Angeles/Long Beach (CA), Miami (FL), New York (NY), and San Jose (CA).

According to the National Immigration Forum in Mecklenburg county (where Charlotte is located), there are over 15,000 immigrants eligible for naturalization. Of that number, more are from Vietnam than any other country so it makes sense we are here.

Has working here been what you expected?

I didn't know how large the community is, but also how underserved the region is. In the beginning, I was like “sure, I can do naturalization work” but along the way you can’t help but assist wherever else you can. There are many parts to building healthy communities, and providing naturalization or legal help is just one part.

Also to see so many elders support and be active in this work has been unexpected but great. Many elders who have been trained to volunteer at the citizenship fairs are limited English speakers themselves. In training them and seeing them assist their own peers, it's been great to see them realize their power. I think exciting changes happen when people realize their power.

Do you know of any other AAPI communities in NC besides folks in CLT and Hickory?

There is a large Montagnard population in Greensboro, which we would love to serve if we can secure more funding and build capacity for this community. There's also a sizeable South Asian population in NC, and the Korean community is pretty visible here also.

Where do you see this project going in the short and long term.

For short term it's about helping the community members become citizens as that is what we have been funded for. For the long term, there's a lot of room for innovative community development in North Carolina and also other areas in the South. We’ve built up momentum now and want to sustain it in a smart way.

Long term we'd like to continue this naturalization work and expand the services. We don't even have an office now, so that's the first step. If we can bring in more funders, partners, and grow the leadership, there is so much more we could accomplish in this State. I think issues needing more support are certainly legal services, but also looking at financial literacy, mental health, and youth work could be good.

What resources would you need to really expand this project?

Funding and organizational development! We've done a lot with the little we have, but what this community really needs is long term sustainable services. That means capacity building for the leaders, technical assistance, and taking lessons from other communities as we consciously build . We need to be looking at ways to amplify a community voice and get folks organized and engaged.

What's your favorite thing about CLT?

I love that it's so green, and it's really beautiful out here. There's a lot of trees, and there's a lot of places to jog because of the greenways and nature. I also love that it's so diverse -- that helps me feel more at home. My sense is there’s an excitement here that big things are going to happen soon and to watch out because Charlotte is up and coming!

I also love the culture --- people are indeed nicer in the South! I'm joking, but there's a certain Southern charm and although it's not all peaches, there's a certain social interaction that I really dig. The fried chicken from the gas station aint so bad either!

Any shoutouts?

Shout out to all who have helped immensely on the project. Hi mom!

Asian Americans running for Congress at Record Number

curtis — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:18:35 +0000

Coming off their successful dinner with President Obama, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies released this report. It shows a record number of Asian Americans running for Congress, 21 Democrats and 4 Republicans. It's a diverse list with many potentially good races for progressives. Some of the heavy-hitters include Tammy Duckworth in IL, Ami Bera and Mark Takano in CA and Grace Meng in NY:

RECORD NUMBER OF AAPI POLITICAL CANDIDATES PROMPTS FORMATION OF NATIONAL “APAICS LEADERSHIP NETWORK”

2012 Congressional Races Include Historically High Number of AAPI Candidates from Both Parties; Rising Generation of 25 Could Affect Balance of Power in Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To capitalize on the recent, dramatic increase of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) elected officials and candidates, state and federal AAPI legislators from across the country have formed the “APAICS Leadership Network," a new membership organization affiliated with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies ( APAICS). The network is launching the same day that President Barack Obama will keynote the 18th Annual APAICS Gala Awards Dinner, on Tuesday, May 8, at the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C.

In the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, six to eight AAPI candidates ran for Congress. This year, the number has tripled to 25 challenger candidates – one running for the Senate and at least two dozen contending for the House – making the AAPI community crucial in the battles to control Congress. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have also seen the fastest and most dramatic increases in their numbers in the last 10 years, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

The APAICS Leadership Network is the first of its kind to unite AAPI elected and appointed officials, incumbents and challengers from across the political spectrum. It will provide direct support and training to AAPI policymakers and candidates. The network is affiliated with APAICS, which promotes civic participation and leadership development.

“There can no longer be any question about the political clout of the Asian American community – the time for an AAPI leadership network has come,” said Congresswoman Judy Chu, a founding board member of the APAICS Leadership Network and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Chu first ran for office in 1985, when she sought and won a seat on the local school board. In July 2009, she was elected to represent California’s 32nd District and became the first American woman of Chinese descent to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Congressman Mike Honda, an APAICS Leadership Network co-founder is currently serving as the U.S. Representative for California’s 15th District. Born in California in the 1940s, he spent his early childhood with other Americans of Japanese descent in an internment camp in Colorado, before beginning his political career in the 1980s.

“When I first started, reaching Congress seemed like a far-off dream – there were only seven Asian Americans in the House then,” said Congressman Honda. “Today, there are 10 Asian American and Pacific Islander Members of Congress – and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) has 42 Members and associates. That’s a testament to the persistence, enthusiasm and sheer will of the community to get and stay involved in the mainstream political process of this country.”

Political Landscape

Currently, two AAPIs serve in the U.S. Senate and 10 serve in the U.S. House of Representatives (including delegates from American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.) Since 1903, there have been five AAPI U.S. Senators and 21 AAPI U.S. Representatives along with 20 Delegates and Resident Commissioners representing territories. They have come from a mix of ancestries, states and party affiliations.

Founders of the APAICS Leadership Network see involvement at the local and state levels as important to increasing Asian American and Pacific Islander political participation at the federal level.

“Making sure local excitement leads to cadres of AAPI policymakers at the state and federal level is a key goal of the APAICS Leadership Network,” said Washington State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, chair of the National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators and a founding board member of the network. “Politics is a tough business and this network will help us ensure that, through mentoring, networking and support, no AAPI leader falls through the cracks.”

“As more and more AAPIs get interested in and run for local and state offices, they become role models which in turn fuels the next generation of AAPI policymakers,” said Evan Low, founding board member and the president of the National League of Cities’ Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials.

Congressional Candidates

The 25 AAPI challenger candidates running in the 2012 Congressional elections represent a large and diverse swath of the AAPI community. At least eight are Indian American, four are Chinese American, three are Japanese American, two are Korean American, and there is one each who is Hmong American, Taiwanese American and Native Hawaiian. Another three are mixed race. Four candidates are Republican, with the remainder running as Democrats. In addition to Asian American hub states like California, Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Texas, the candidates also hail from Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington.

Ten of the AAPI congressional contenders are on the national party committees’ radar screens as key races because they could alter the balance of power in the next Congress. They are Senate candidate Mazie Hirono, Congressional candidate Ricky Gill and Congressional candidates Ami Bera, Mark Takano, Tammy Duckworth, Manan Trivedi, emerging candidates Blong Xiong and Nathan Shinagawa, and Steve Hobbs and Darshan Rauniyar who are vying in a crowded primary for a targeted seat.

The 2012 AAPI congressional candidates include:

Mazie Hirono (D), U.S. Senate HI
Dr. Ami Bera (D), CA-07
Ranjit “Ricky” Gill (R), CA-09
Blong Xiong (D), CA-21
Otto Lee (D), CA-22
Justin Kim (D), CA-31
Jay Chen (D), CA-39
Mark Takano (D), CA-41
Sukhee Kang (D), CA-45
Vipin Verma (D), FL-06
Charles Djou (R), HI-01
Muliufi Francis “Mufi” Hannemann (D), HI-02
Tulsi Gabbard (D), HI-02
Esther Kia’aina (D), HI-02
Tammy Duckworth (D), IL-08
Dr. Syed Taj (D), MI-11
Upendra Chivukula (D), NJ-07
Grace Meng (D), NY-06
Nathan Shinagawa (D), NY-23
Dr. Manan Trivedi (D), PA-06
Ron Bhalla (R), TN-3
Joe Chow (R), TX-06
KP George (D), TX-22
Steve Hobbs (D), WA-01
Darshan Rauniyar (D), WA-01

# # #

The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) is a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office. APAICS programs focus on developing leadership, building public policy knowledge, and filling the political pipeline for Asian Pacific Americans to pursue public office at the local, state and federal levels.

Summer Jobs+ For Youth

chriswong — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:47:42 +0000

Crosspost from US Department of Labor http://www.dol.gov/summerjobs/:

"America's young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they've got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job. It's important for their future, and for America's. That's why I proposed a summer jobs program for youth in the American Jobs Act — a plan that Congress failed to pass. America's youth can't wait for Congress to act. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. That's why today, we're launching Summer Jobs+, a joint initiative that challenges business leaders and communities to join my Administration in providing hundreds of thousands of summer jobs for America's youth"

— President Barack Obama

Youth

Looking for ways to get a jump start on your career this summer? Check out the Summer Jobs+ Bank and Sign up for the latest updates.

Resources

As the nation continues to recover from the deepest recession since the Great Depression, American youth are struggling to get the work experience they need for jobs of the future. According to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics:

48.8 percent of youth between the ages of 16-24 were employed in July, the month when youth employment usually peaks. This is significantly lower than the 59.2 percent of youth who were employed five years ago and 63.3 percent of youth who were employed 10 years ago.
Minority youth had an especially difficult time finding employment this past summer. Only 34.6 percent of African American youth and 42.9 percent of Hispanic youth had a job this past July.

Sources:

1. "Summer Jobs+ 2012," U.S. Department of Labor, accessed May 8, 2012, http://www.dol.gov/summerjobs/

2. "Summer Jobs+," Jobs & The Economy: Putting America Back to Work, accessed May 8, 2012, http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/jobs/summerjobs

Job hunting is really the process of learning about different career paths, learning how to interact with professionals, developing work ethic, and appreciating the world of business. In the process, you try to come to decisions about your values, and who you are. You have to be brave too, because sometimes you are inventing the script. Regardless of age, race, ethnicity, or background, it's fun to learn how different minority role models have climbed the ladders of success. Read more about partnership job programs at Whitehouse.gov.

--posted by chriswong (working on the third or fourth career)

APAP-DC APAHM Reception - Bleeding Blue: AAPIs for Reelecting Obama

oliveoil — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:15:06 +0000

Do you bleed blue? Do you identify as Asian American (including South Asian American), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and are looking for ways to help reelect Obama? Do you want to help elect progressive AANHPI candidates in your own backyard and around the country?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above then we have the happy hour for you! Click here to sign up for the "Bleeding Blue: AAPIs for Reelecting Obama Kickoff 6PM on May 7th".

Come join us in celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and find out what you can do to keep states, and our country, BLUE. We can't do it without your (blue) blood, sweat and tears... at least this way you'll be in great company!

RSVP at http://bit.ly/dcbleedingblue

Host Organizations: Asian American Action Group (AAAG), Asian Pacific Americans for Progress – DC Chapter, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance – DC Chapter, KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress – DC Chapter, Korean Americans for Obama – DC Chapter, South Asians for Obama – DC Chapter, Vietnamese Americans for Obama - DC Chapter