Policy and litigation updates from Advancing Justice — AAJC

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Equipping Our Community for Mobilization

As February turned into March, Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC continues to equip our communities for mobilization.

Throughout Women's History Month, we educated and empowered our communities with knowledge of women in the past who laid the groundwork for women today to make history around the world. In our latest blog, we spotlighted eight women of color who played an integral role in advancing social justice in their communities as activists, educators, artists, caregivers, and advocates.

As we marked the one-year commemoration of eight people, including six Asian women, who were murdered in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, we held our communities close as we all reflected on the grief and loss. Through partnership and support of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta, we uplifted meaningful community reflections of people who found strength and resilience in the community’s solidarity and who were ready to embark on the road towards healing. Several of those reflections are in this recent blog.

With our launch of the Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign, we provided free resources to better equip community partners in the fight for more inclusive education. These materials include an overview of current advocacy efforts, message guidance for community partners, and talking points for community members and advocates.

We concluded the month with some exciting news from the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) affiliation. The five organizations of AAAJ equipped our communities with much-needed funding by redistributing $3 million to 68 organizations spanning 15 states, as well as $600,000 to the Emergency Victims and Survivors Fund in Georgia.

As we move full-speed ahead into April and beyond, Advancing Justice — AAJC will continue to create and lead opportunities to empower our communities for action.

Keep scrolling to read more about these Advancing Justice — AAJC initiatives and more.

EVENTS

Did you miss our community convening and launch of the Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign? Watch a full recording of presentations from our guest speakers here.

Together with Right To Be, we have trained over 100,000 people through our joint trainings to combat anti-Asian hate! Join the next training:

Bystander Intervention Training

April 20 - simultaneous translation in Hindi (हिंदी)

Conflict De-Escalation Training (Bystander Intervention 2.0)

May 16

Workshop for People Experiencing Anti-Asian/American Harassment

May 2

ADVANCING JUSTICE — AAJC IN THE NEWS

In an article for CNBC News, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives Marita Etcubañez discussed multi-pronged efforts to combat anti-Asian violence, from empowering individuals to take action through Bystander Intervention Trainings to the advocacy that resulted in passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

“We can’t rely only on well-meaning individuals to make changes in their own lives, we have to work for systemic change,” Etcubañez said.

Our President and Executive Director John C. Yang said to Y ale Daily News that the end of the China Initiative is a positive step that addressed “serious concerns of racial profiling and misconduct” in the United States government’s surveillance and national security operations, and that it also helps address the overcriminalization of issues regarding research integrity.

In a two-part series from Financial Times’ Tech Tonic Podcast, Assistant Director of the Anti-Racial Profiling Project, Gisela P. Kusakawa, shared the human impact of the “China Initiative” on Asian American communities.

"It became clear from our community that there was a concern the China Initiative was looking more into people's ethnicity and background rather than actual activity," Kusakawa said.

Advocacy and Policy Updates

Advancing Justice Affiliation Redistributes Funds to Partner Organizations

In 2021, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation was fortunate to receive an influx of one-time donations from individuals, companies, and foundations. Together, we announced that we have redistributed $3 million to 68 organizations spanning 15 states, as well as $600,000 to the Emergency Victims and Survivors Fund in Georgia.

These organizations serve a wide range of communities and focus on many different issue areas, including racial justice, community safety, gender-based violence response, economic security, immigrant rights, and voting rights, among others. Together, they represent many of the affiliation’s closest community-based and coalition partners.

We hope this funding decision encourages our donors and others to learn more about the organizations listed in the link below, support their crucial work, and ask questions about the groups and places that need more support.

Read our blog announcement and see the full list of grantees here.

Value Our Families: "Clear the Visa Backlog!" Week of Action

In early March, the Value Our Families coalition met with 60 congressional offices in the "Clear the Visa Backlog!" Week of Action to hold Congress and the Biden Administration accountable to clear the decades-long backlogs and improve the family immigration system. Urgently needed family immigration provisions were not included in the latest government funding bill, but the fight is not over. We join Value Our Families in continuing to push Congress to deliver for our communities this year.

Are you a concerned community member, impacted person, or organization looking to get involved? Join the Value Our Families coalition and learn more here.

Civil Rights Groups Submit Amicus Brief Urging Support for Admission Policies that Protect Equal Education Opportunity for All Children

Advancing Justice – AAJC, NAACP – LDF, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, together with law firm Arnold & Porter, filed an amicus brief in support of Fairfax County School Board’s motion to stay the trial court’s disruptive ruling changing admission policies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) that removed education barriers for students of color. After the Fourth Circuit stayed the Court’s erroneous decision, plaintiffs are now seeking Supreme Court review.

“The lawsuit obscures the rich diversity of the Asian American community and attempts to treat us as a monolith, when in reality all students benefit from expanding access to education," said Eri Andriola, Litigation Staff Attorney, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC.

Read our full joint press release here.

The End of the "China Initiative" Media Briefing and Town Hall

On March 1, Advancing Justice — AAJC hosted a media briefing with leaders and policy experts on what the Department of Justice's announcement ending the "China Initiative" entails, including addressing implications for Asian Americans/immigrant communities and current pending cases.

Two weeks later, we joined other organizations and individuals whose advocacy was key in bringing an end to the "China Initiative" for a town hall where community members had the opportunity to ask questions directly of leaders and impacted people. Advancing Justice — AAJC is deeply grateful to all those involved for their help in mobilizing our community and for keeping them informed.

Read our statement on the end of the "China Initiative" here.

Advancing Justice – AAJC Issues Statement on the Post-Enumeration Survey Results from the U.S. Census Bureau

The Census Bureau released its first set of results from the 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey (PES), which provides the first measures of accuracy for the 2020 Census. The PES independently surveys a sample of the population to help determine the overall accuracy of the census. The results appeared to show that Asian Americans were overcounted at the national level at a rate of 2.62%. Other communities, however, were significantly undercounted. Thus, more work needs to be done to ensure the fairness and accuracy of the Census.

"We are thankful for all our partners who worked tirelessly to get out the count and to our community members who participated in the 2020 Census. Their efforts contributed to the results reported from the U.S. Census Bureau," said President and Executive Director John C. Yang. "We will continue to work with the Census Bureau to understand this data further and to ensure that the Asian American community is accurately portrayed.”

Read our full statement here.

Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Brief in Support of Dismissing Montgomery County (MD) Magnet School Admissions Case

Advancing Justice — AAJC, NAACP — LDF, Latino Justice PRLDEF, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of Black, Latino, and Asian American organizations in support of dismissing Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, a lawsuit that seeks to prevent school districts from promoting equity for all students through race-neutral admissions policies.

“School districts must be able to address inequities and implement policies that will expand educational opportunities so that all of students have a well-deserved chance to thrive in our education system," said Advancing Justice – AAJC’s staff attorney, Eri Andriola.

Read our full joint press release here.

Advancing Justice – AAJC Applauds Nomination and Confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court

At the end of February, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. On April 7, Judge Jackson made history after she was confirmed with bipartisan support by the U.S. Senate. Soon, Justice Jackson will be sworn in as the second woman of color and the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read our full statement of support here.

Advancing Justice – AAJC and Advancing Justice – ALC File Amicus Brief in Support of Professor Xiaoxing Xi’s Appeal

Amid increased concerns over the FBI’s and Justice Department’s targeting of scientists based on their Chinese descent, 72 Asian American organizations, civil rights groups, science associations, and academic groups filed an amicus brief in Xi v. Haugen, pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Advancing Justice — AAJC and Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus submitted the brief in support of Temple University Professor Xiaoxing Xi’s appeal to reinstate his claims for damages against the U.S. government for their discriminatory investigation and prosecution of charges that were later dismissed.

Read our full joint press release here.

Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign

In February, Advancing Justice — AAJC launched the Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign in response to increasing nationwide attacks on our ability to learn history truthfully and have honest discussions about diversity, racism, and sexism.

Through the Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign, Advancing Justice — AAJC provides free resources and events for individuals and organizations to begin, supplement, or further advocacy efforts in their communities to encourage more comprehensive, honest, and empowering education. Did you miss our community partner convening? Watch presentations on the controversy surrounding Critical Race Theory and successful advocacy efforts to pass Asian American history curriculum requirements here.

Visit our WE Campaign page to learn more, access free resources, and contact our team.

On-going Resources

"Be a Super Ally with the 5Ds" is a new 5Ds-for-kids video series was made in partnership with Advancing Justice — AAJC, Right To Be, and Woori Show. The videos were produced for kids ages 3 to 10 with the support of experts in language, culture, early childhood education, and child psychology. Watch the videos here.
The Anti-Racial Profiling Project offers resources and legal referrals for those impacted by the U.S. government’s increased efforts to target and profile Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists and researchers, particularly of Chinese descent. 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 with support available in English and Mandarin/普通话.
Our community engagement team is working with community partners to develop 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.

Blog Highlights

Women’s History Month Spotlights: 8 Women Activists You Should Know

Advancing Justice — AAJC honors eight self-identifying women who played an integral role in advancing social justice in their communities as activists, educators, artists, caregivers, and advocates.

Community Reflections: #RememberingMarch16

Advancing Justice — AAJC joins Advancing Justice — Atlanta in marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic Atlanta shootings through uplifting meaningful community reflections and fostering a space for healing.

A Review of State Tech Policy Trends and What to Watch for in 2022

Nicole Morgenstern, Programs and Executive Assistant, identifies six major trends to watch in state-level tech policy this year, especially at a time when internet connectivity is essential for families and children.

Advancing Justice — AAJC and Right To Be Workshops

We continue to host trainings with Right To Be and have now trained over 100,000 people to safely intervene as a bystander to stop non-violent incidents of anti-Asian hate since the beginning of our partnership in April 2020.

The Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation is proud to provide in-language Bystander Intervention Trainings for limited English proficient members of our community. We are hosting sessions with simultaneous translations in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. Learn more and sign up.

Bystander Intervention Training

Learn about the basics of intervention and the spectrum of disrespect experienced by Asians/Asian Americans. Then, put what you have 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

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.

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 are 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.

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. The Asian American Education Project, fiscally sponsored by Advancing Justice — AAJC, 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 entire or part of the curriculum into their own practice.

Learn more and sign up for an upcoming workshop here.

Join Our Team

We are looking to immediately hire full-time:

See all our open positions and learn how to apply here.

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