This year’s NCLF theme is centered on the Awakening of the AAPI communities across the nation. Asian Americans have come along a long way in the shaping of America.
When we hear the word “awakening,” we imagine a great movement that moves the masses from a state of inactivity and indifference to one of action and enthusiasm. For many years, the AAPI community has existed as a sleeping giant, replete with forward-thinking leaders, intellectuals, professionals, and community builders waiting for its awakening and comfort together to have its voice heard.
Our Keynote speaker will be Ms. Maeley Tom. She held the highest appointed political position in the California political system from 1974-94. During that time sheco-founded the Asian Legislative Staff Caucus, the Asian Youth Leadership Project, became the founding President of the Jt. Asian Pacific Legislative Caucus Institute (JAPLCI) and the Capitol Academy which has trained most of the California API state legislators serving in the State legislature today. Ms. Tom was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Women’s Business Ownership Commission and was subsequently appointed by President Clinton to represent the U.S. at the United Nations Women’s World Conference Platform Committee in New York. She was the first non-elected Asian American to serve on the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee.
We will introduce other speakers as they are being confirmed.
Early Bird Registration will be opened by May 15!
We look forward to you joining us in Las Vegas for our Leadership Forum!
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
…Dolores Huerta
Everyone Can be An Activist
By SK Lo, AAUC President
The above quote from reading Maeley Tom’s autobiography “I’m Not Who You Think I am” resonates in me how everyone can be an activist.
Most immigrants I know came to this country accepting the current environment and doing our best to fit in. Few of us get into politics since we don’t see that as our role. We lack understanding of the democratic system which works best when everyone is actively participating in it. This is changing since the rise of hate crimes and racial injustices have occurred.
If Asian Americans* could vote as a block then its power would be substantial in this highly polarized US society. Unfortunately, Asian Americans have been treated as the politician’s ATM but their votes don’t matter since our communities are not organized nor united.
Asian Americans need to build on a common political agenda. Whether it is on public safety or education or economic security, we need to have a united front and be able to articulate our agenda as a stipulation for our political financial contributions.
Successful young ethnic groups like the Hmong community rise quickly in their political influence because they can mobilize their communities and allies. Their success comes from decades of community activism and gaining trust in the process.
We can all be activists participating in the democratic process. We can be more visible in our own cities or suburbs as volunteers in areas that can improve our own lives and build trust with our communities. We need to be clear about our common political agenda and build allies with other activists. We should vote for and support representatives that promote our political agenda.
Asian Americans need to build on a common political agenda. In this way Asian Americans can have an influence and perfect the democratic system we live in. Let this be one of the goals in celebrating our Asian Heritage Month.
AAUC Update
National Civic Leadership Forum 2022 (NCLF 2022)
Work on the in-person NCLF 2022 has begun in earnest. Several committees have been formed to take care of the logistic, outreach, programming and sponsorship. We also have the help of Ms. Jan-Ie Low to be our conference consultant using the Whova platform to organize the event and other packages to assist in delivering an impactful event to be held in Las Vegas from September 11-13. Invitations have been sent out to several speakers. Confirmed speakers include Ms. Maeley Tom and the First Lady of Nevada.
AAPI Community Hub Project
In the first phase of the project we are in the process of collecting and cleaning up our database on all AAPI organizations. We hope to be able to form a database with at least 80% of the known non-profit AAPI organizations. This directory will be very helpful for all AAPI communities to be able to connect with each other. We estimated that there may be 20,000+ AAPI organizations which have not been fully documented. This is a monumental task but will have a great impact for our AAPI communities. We thus request all our readers who know of any AAPI non-profit organizations to please use the form created to give us the first level of information on those organization. The link for the input form is below: https://aaucmember.wufoo.com/forms/zyyviaf1hyej4n/
AAUC Podcast on Building Our Collective American Dream
Please join us at your convenience for the Sixteenth episode of “Building our Collective American Dream.” Go to our website at: asamunitycoalition.org and click on Podcast!
In this episode we focus on the San Francisco School Board Recall; an example of "The Great Awakening of AAPI" - Empowering Asian Americans.
Education is dear in the heart of every immigrant as the way to gain social mobility. Joel Wong and Dennis Wu describe SFCAUSE's huge success in organizing, networking and developing strategies that contributed to the overwhelming results earlier this year ousting 3 very controversial San Francisco School Board members. Hear the fascinating story of Willie Brown and how he inspired the Asian American community to unite itself and also partner with other ethnic and disenfranchised communities to win at the ballot box there and possibly use the effort as a model for the entire country.
All podcasts will air at 8 pm ET on the last Sunday of each month.
Introducing AAUC Organization Member: 1990 Institute
From Dan Chao, Vice Chair, 1990 institute
The 1990 Institute’s mission is to broaden constructive dialogue and relationships between Americans and Chinese through education and collaboration and to champion the fair and equitable treatment of Asian Americans. We provide education on the Asian American experience and promote understanding, inclusion, and activism.
A 501(3)(c) nonprofit founded 32 years ago, we are now leveraging our extensive education-based network, our history of solid program execution, as well as our reputation as a trusted source of high-quality information and content to deliver new and exciting programs.
By Rajeev Singh
Executive Committee & Board Member AAUC &
Board Member Hindu American Foundation
Sec. Norman Mineta passed away this week. He was 90.
I had the honor to spend some time with him many years ago. And how could I have not talked to him about the morning of 9/11 in the White House and how he ordered 5000 planes in the air to be grounded immediately? One of the most juicy and insightful chats of my life.
Son of Kunisaku Mineta and Kane Watanabe, he along with the rest of the Mineta family was interned for several years in the Heart Mountain Japanese internment camp near Cody, Wyoming during World War II.
What an illustrious career. He won the San Jose Mayoral election with over 60% of the votes. Served 11 terms in the US Congress. He co-founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as its first chair.
Norm Mineta was the force behind the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized for and redressed the injustices endured by Japanese Americans during World War II.
He served as the Secretary of Commerce for President Bill Clinton. Norm Mineta was the longest serving Secretary of Transportation of the US, under President George Bush. He was the first Asian American to hold a Presidential cabinet position.
Norman Yoshio Mineta, you will be deeply missed.
Norman Mineta Family Addressed AANHPI
By Angela Anand AAUC Vice President, President of SAWN and former President of NFIA
In May we celebrate the accomplishments of Asian Americans and their heritage in the United States. It is prudent to highlight the legacy and accolades of a great public servant – Norman Yoshio Mineta, who served as the Transportation Secretary of President George Bush’s Administration before retiring. Over 330 people attended the online Memorial addressed by the Mineta Family on May 7 to pay homage to him. Heartfelt condolences were expressed by all who were in attendance.
Imagine and video from APAICS
Norm Mineta is the first cabinet level official of Asian heritage who served in the United States. First for President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and then for President George W. Bush, a Republican. He served both of them ably and respectfully. He died this month from a heart ailment at the age of ninety.
Born in San Jose, CA to Japanese parents, he served as Mayor of San Jose from 1971 until 1975. He ran for Congress and got elected with 52 percent of the votes. He represented California from 1975 until 1995. He served President Bill Clinton as the Secretary of Commerce. It was said that Clinton had wanted to nominate Mineta as U.S. Secretary of Transportation in 1992, but Mineta wanted to remain in Congress at that time. In 2004, Mineta received the Tony Jannus Award for his distinguished contributions to commercial air transportation.
Following Bush's re-election, Mineta was invited to continue in the position. When he stepped down on July 7, 2006, he was the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation since the position's inception in 1967. His ability to make decisions when the country was hit by the 9/11 incidence was well remembered. In December 2006, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2007, the Japanese government conferred upon him the Grand Cordon, Order of the Rising Sun. He is also credited with passage of H.R. 442, which became the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, a law that officially apologized for and redressed the injustices endured by Japanese Americans during World War II. He and his family had lived in an internment camp, near Cody, Wyoming when Japan bombarded Pearl Harbor. He lived a life of decency and died as the favorite of not only Asians but many others for his ability to work with people of both political ideologies.
ALL OF US BELONG RIGHT HERE!
By Joel Wong*, President of NAA PAC and NAA United
As Asian Americans, whether newly arrived or many generations here, we have all heard: "No! I mean where are you really from?" AND "You speak English good (sic)!” As a matter of fact the collective "We" are what makes America great and ALL OF US BELONG RIGHT HERE!
America’s great because we’re diverse
We hailed from every corner of our universe!
Some are natives with origins here
Europeans arrived to breathe the free air!
Some were uprooted from Africa
They’re still asking us to be more fair!
Some came here looking for gold
But ended up working on the railroad!
Some came as laborers on the farms
Others defended our country bearing arms!
From every direction it seems
Each one seeking their own dream!
Together we built our industries
And established great universities!
We live and preach free enterprises
Our financial system is the finest!
We promise prosperity and good health
We struggle to share our great wealth!
We preach democracy in earnest
We fall short but we’re trying our darnedest!
Our country will not be united
Until we all aim for the same target!
To be fair and equitable
And treat everyone as our equal!
White, black, yellow, red or brown
We all share the same genetic background!
We try hard but we will not get there
Until we treat everyone equally and fair!
America can lead the world
Because we’re from every part of our world!
We are proud to be Americans
All of us belong right here!
Turbaned Sikhs Getting Recognition For Their Hard Work Ethics
By Angela Anand
AAUC Vice President and President & Editor of South Asian Women’s Network
Karm & Didar Singh Bains, Milennium Megazine, and Waris Ahluwalia
It was a dream of AAPIs to belong and to pursue their interests that are aligned with their principles and serve their life’s purpose. It is no longer a dream of AAPIs to wonder who are they and can they individually or with others make a difference in their communities and in their adopted country. They have had an awakening. They are slowly discovering that they belong and deserve to be at the table and can lend their voice for important decisions impacting their and everyone’s life by choosing professions of their choice.
Karm Singh Bains, son of “Peach King” Didar Singh Bains from Yuba City, is a full bearded and turbaned Sikh who became a member of the Board of Supervisors of Sutter County, Yuba City, CA. He comes from privilege as his father has been the largest peach farmer not only in CA, but worldwide. He grows peaches in CA, Canada, Australia, UK, and in India. His crops include strawberries, prunes, peaches, and walnuts. He is known for his spirituality and philanthropic efforts internationally.
Didar Singh Bains who turned 84 on April 20, 2022 came to the US in 1958 at the age of 20. With just $8 in his pocket when he came but due to good work ethics he now owns farms in 13 countries. His youngest son, Karm Bains made history as the first Sikh in the United States of America to be elected to the Yuba City CA school board. Also, recently, a turbaned Sikh, Dr. Surinder P. Singh, a dedicated community leader from Maryland, was featured on the cover of Millennium magazine. Previously in 2013 a Sikh, Waris Ahluwalia was chosen by the fashion magazine “Vogue” for modeling. These are some noteworthy successes of South Asian diaspora despite their appearance which is often mistaken to be that of terrorists.
GOPIO-Edison Launches India Collection of Books at the Edison Public Library
By Thomas Abraham, GOPIO International Chairman
The Edison Library in partnership with the Indian Consulate and Global Organization of People of Indian Origin Edison NJ Chapter (GOPIO-Edison) hosted the “India Collection Launch” event to donate a large collection of Indian books to be made available through the Public Libraries in Middlesex County. There were more than 200 books donated during the initiative to the Library by the organizers and many supporting Organizations. The Indian Consul General Randhir Kumar Jaiswal was the chief guest. Many prominent Indian American community leaders, elected council members from Edison and nearby cities, media and a large number of community leaders and Indian American residents from Edison and nearby towns attended the event to show their support to this initiative by GOPIO-Edison.
Library Director Allan Kleiman said he was very excited by this collection and told that these books can be issued to anyone in Middlesex County. He then introduced Library President Patricia Massey who welcomed the availability of classic India related books and Indian language books from the library. GOPIO International Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham who initiated this effort told the audience that Indian Americans have done extremely well professionally, politically and financially, and that the community should do more for the larger society. In this regard, GOPIO-CT chapter successfully launched the India Collection of books at the Norwalk, CT and Stamford, CT libraries.
Speaking on the occasion, Consul General Randhir Jaiswal spoke on the vibrant library system in America that helps spread knowledge and make it a developed country. He said that the American Indian partnership is crucial for world peace and security and lauded the efforts of the diaspora in getting this initiative to Edison.
The ceremony was followed by a Holi celebration with a musical program by singer Pallavi Belwariar and Yogesh who entertained the audience with Holi themed Hindi songs.
