Policy and litigation updates from Advancing Justice | AAJC

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Celebrating Who We Are

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC entered Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) at full speed with a renewed commitment to not only reflect on, but also celebrate, all that our communities have overcome and continue to fight for.

In honor of APAHM, we hosted a webinar discussing "Under-Told Asian American History" and illustrating the importance of learning history to better understand the challenges we face today. Watch the full recording on YouTube.

We also further explored Instagram Live as a new medium to hold conversations with experts across the country on timely topics, from Black and Asian Political Art and Media to Mental Health and Advocacy in the AAPI Community with the Instagram Creators account, which garnered over 64,000 views. Other partnerships throughout the month included a #DearAsianStories & #DearPasifikaStories campaign with Dear Asian Youth and the 3rd Annual National AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate with Act to Change.

Additionally, we published six blogs uplifting the issue of technology and digital access in the Asian American community, and spotlighting our Community Partners across the country that are doing critical work to bridge the digital divide. Through it all, our team continued to advocate for critical policy priorities from the passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to delivering Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese nationals, and trained thousands more through our joint intervention workshops with Hollaback! to combat anti-Asian hate and harassment.

As we wrap up APAHM, we send our deepest gratitude to all those in our community who have found creative ways to support our organization through public commitments and fiscal support. We couldn't do this work without you.

Keep scrolling to read more about Advancing Justice | AAJC's current initiatives and how you can get involved.

EVENTS

On June 15, we went live on Instagram with United We Dream and actor/activist Bambadjan Bamba to commemorate the 9-Year Anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Watch the full recorded stream here!

Didn't get a chance to tune into our Community Partner training on the new Emergency Broadband Benefit? Watch the full recording here and learn more on how you can help connect families with affordable access to broadband.

ADVANCING JUSTICE | AAJC IN THE NEWS

For APAHM, CNBC Make It published an article paying homage to Asian American activists, including our president and executive director John C. Yang. Together, the leaders reflected on their work in the past year and what keeps them fighting.

"As long as I can reflect back and think that our work has moved the needle forward, so there’s a little less discrimination and racism, and a little greater access to resources for our vulnerable communities, I feel like progress is being made," he said.

John also spoke with Chemical & Engineering News Magazine about the prosecutions resulting from the "China Initiative" and how international tensions have often led to backlash against the Asian American community.

“We want our government to do it in a smart way that does not end up putting a target on the backs of Asian Americans here, domestically," he said.

Advocacy and Policy

Advancing Justice | AAJC APAHM Engagements

Throughout May, our organization received dozens of requests to meaningfully engage with community members and corporate partners to further the ongoing conversations. In total, our staff participated in over 80 private and public events in honor of APAHM, reaching thousands of people eager to help further the civil and human rights of Asian Americans. Below are some highlights:

TIME's 'Uplifting AAPI Voices' Summit - President and Executive Director John C. Yang was invited to speak at TIME's first-ever AAPI summit alongside Lakshmi Sridaran, Executive Director of SAALT, and Tavae Samuelu, Executive Director of EPIC. Watch the full broadcast.

America's Digital Divide and Lack of Access - Assistant Director of Telecommunications, Technology, and Media Emily Chi participated in APAICS' panel for APAHM discussing broadband access, internet affordability, and community adoption in order to close the digital divide, especially in the AAPI community. Watch the full recording here.

Quite Before: Unearthing Anti-Asian Violence - Advancing Justice | AAJC Board President Parkin Lee joined an intergenerational panel discussing the impact of getting involved in the political process, coalescing resources (money and constituents) to move the needle forward, and the intersection of politics and community investment. Watch the full panel.

Everytown for Gun Safety APAHM Feature - Director of Community Engagement Tiffany Chang wrote a powerful op-ed detailing the long history of anti-Asian violence, sharing her own personal insight to the issue, and providing tangible steps to take action against anti-Asian hate. Read the full article.

Historic Passage of COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

In April, the U.S. Senate initiated the historic passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, and on May 18, the House of Representatives followed through with an overwhelming majority vote in favor of its passing. This bill, which includes the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, addresses the current rise in anti-Asian hate and holds law enforcement accountable for tracking and reporting hate crimes.

Just two days later, the Act was signed into law with our president and executive director John C. Yang in attendance, ensuring much-needed language access and improved data collection and connection to support services for impacted individuals and communities.

"We know there is much more to do, and we are committed to ensuring both national and local responses are community-focused and fully informed by the needs of communities of color so we can live without fear of racist attacks and discrimination," said John.

Read our full press release here.

Advancing Justice | AAJC, NAACP LDF, and MALDEF Release Redistricting Guide

On May 11, this coalition of civil rights organizations released a redistricting guide called "Power on the Line(s): Making Redistricting Work for Us” ahead of the expected U.S. Census Bureau’s release of official redistricting data later this year that will enable communities to engage in the process of redrawing lines for congressional, state, and local bodies. The guide provides essential information about the redistricting process to empower Black, Latinx, and AAPI voters, such as examples of recent efforts to dilute the voting power of communities of color.

Read our full joint press release here.

Legal Team Joins the Battle In Support of Thomas Jefferson High School Science and Technology Admissions Policies

Civil rights groups Advancing Justice | AAJC, NAACP LDF, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, together with law firm Arnold & Porter, filed a motion in early May to submit an amicus brief in support of equitable access to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in the case Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board.

“For too many students, the path to potential admission at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has been littered with barriers and mired in a long history of inequity,” said Niyati Shah, Advancing Justice – AAJC’s Director of Litigation. "We are filing an amicus brief in this case in support of policies that ensure equitable access to education for communities of color, a sentiment overwhelmingly supported by the Asian American community."

Read the full press release here.

Redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti

Advancing Justice | AAJC commended the Biden Administration’s decision to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti for 18 months. In doing so, more than 100,000 Hatian nationals will be protected from being returned to life-threatening situations in Haiti. By offering temporary status, our country recognizes our obligation to protect the humanity of our neighbors. The Biden administration must address the inequities within our immigration system that disproportionately harm Haitians and other Black immigrants and communities of color.

Read the full press release here.

FCC Launches Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

Did you know that families in need could be eligible for up to $50 ($75 on Tribal lands) of a monthly discount toward internet bills? On May 12th, consumer enrollment for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program began. The EBB program is a temporary $3.2 billion fund launched by the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that low-income families have affordable broadband access during a time when being connected to the Internet is more critical than ever.

Read our Twitter thread for more resources and information on how to apply for EBB or watch our joint webinar with OCA National and NCAPA.

Asian American Education Project Teacher Workshops

Asian American and Pacific Islander history is American history, but is often left out of curriculums in K-12 schools. Advancing Justice | AAJC, fiscal sponsor of The Asian American Education Project, launched a series of free workshops for K-12 teachers designed to promote the inclusion of historically and culturally competent curriculum about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) nationwide.

In this series of virtual K-12 Asian American Curriculum Teacher Training Workshops, The Asian American Education Project showcases curriculum on the AAPI experience. It is divided into themes to make it easier for educators to adapt the whole or part of the curriculum into their own practice.

Learn more and sign up for an upcoming workshop here.

On-going Resources

In recent years under the DOJ’s “China Initiative," some Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and researchers have been subjected to government racial profiling and targeting. In response to community concerns, Advancing Justice | AAJC launched the Anti-Racial Profiling Project to provide legal referrals, educational resources, and policy and advocacy support to impacted persons. If you believe you are being racially targeted by the government and you are looking for attorney referrals, please contact 202-935-6014 using the Signal app and a staff member will reach out to you directly (support available in English and Mandarin/普通话).

Our community engagement team has been working with community partners to pull together state-specific and national anti-hate resources for the AAPI community. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to access, share, and add to the crowd-sourced document at any point.

Tech/Telecom Blog Highlights

Broadband: What is the digital divide and what does it look like?
Communities across the nation have been left behind by the digital divide long before the pandemic, including many Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Rohingya and the Digital Divide
Learn how the Burmese Rohingya Community of Wisconsin is addressing the needs of the community and increasing digital access and literacy.

How one organization serves the immigrant and refugee community in Nebraska during COVID-19
Read about the efforts of the Asian Community & Cultural Center (ACCC) to increase access to the internet for immigrant and refugee communities while encouraging digital literacy.

Stories from Digital Literacy Class: Serving Seattle’s Asian American Community
The need for digital literacy skills increased exponentially during the pandemic. Learn how the Asian Counseling and Referral Service adapted to continue providing their critical lessons for community members in need.

A Permanent Broadband Subsidy Can Begin to Close the Digital Divide for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other allied Communities of Color
In order to successfully address the digital divide and connect every household in America, Congress must adopt a more permanent broadband subsidy program.

Read more of our blogs!

Count On Your Census Podcast

2021 Communicator Awards Recognition

Count On Your Census was recently awarded an Award of Distinction at the 2021 Communicator Awards! A huge thank you to Podcast Village, our host Anne Pasmanick of Power Station, and all of our followers and subscribers. Check out the full list of winners here.

Access All Season 1 and Season 2 Episodes

With the first results of the 2020 Census beginning to be announced by the U.S. Census Bureau, check out our past episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for refreshers on the Census' vast impacts from redistricting, to natural disasters response, to racial justice.

Take Action With Us

Stand Against Hatred was created by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in January 2017 to capture information about the increase in hate we observed in the months before and following the 2016 election. Since COVID-19 began, however, we have received many new testimonials of anti-Asian/Asian American incidents of hate and harassment.

As we state on the site, "By sharing what you experienced or witnessed, you can educate the public, empower others, show service providers where help is needed, and strengthen advocacy efforts for hate crimes response and prevention." We know that sharing these experiences can be painful, which is why we're so grateful for the brave individuals who continue to trust us with their testimonials.

If you or someone you know would like to share your experience, please visit StandAgainstHatred.org today.

As COVID-19 and racial injustice persist, Advancing Justice | AAJC and Hollaback! have continued to make free training available to equip people with techniques on how to safely intervene when they see or experience anti-Asian harassment. As of May, we have trained over 75,000 individuals and the number continues to grow significantly as more community members choose to take action with us in this way.

Learn more about the workshops and register for upcoming sessions below:

Bystander Intervention Training

Learn about the basics of intervention and the spectrum of disrespect experienced by Asians/Asian Americans. Then, put what you’ve learned into practice. Register Here

Conflict De-Escalation Training (Bystander Intervention 2.0)

Take your intervention skills a step further by using patience, empathy, and a willingness to listen to directly de-escalate conflict with a harasser. Register Here

Workshop for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment

This training is for Asians and Asian Americans to learn how to trust their instincts, reclaim their space, and practice resilience following an act of hate. Register Here

Partnerships

We were proud to partner with Rakuten Viki, and to thank us for our partnership, Rakuten Viki is offering a free month subscription for our email subscribers!

Register for an account at www.viki.com/sign-up
Go to the plans page and click GET PROMO NOW
Or, you can check out after registering and apply the code AAJCTHANKS. The code expires Sept 30, 2021.

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