News and Updates

AAPI groups mourn passing of Representative Mark Takai: NCAPA was saddened to hear the news of Rep. Mark Takai’s passing. He served the first district of Hawaii, advocated on behalf of Filipino World War II veterans, and was a staunch supporter of the Affordable Care Act. To learn more, see here. NCAPA member organizations AAJC, APAICS, APALA, JACL, and OCA also shared their condolences.

APIAVote holds briefings at RNC and DNC Conventions: Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) educated attendees at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week about the AAPI electorate. They will hold a similar briefing and reception at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Learn more.

Advancing Justice leaders write, “Asian Americans are not your wedge:” Stewart Koh of Advancing Justice-LA and Mee Moua of AAJC wrote an NBC Asian America opinion piece following up on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the University of Texas at Austin’s race conscious admissions program. They emphasized that the program does not discriminate against Asian Americans, and that this admissions policy is beneficial to all UT Austin applicants.

APALA stands with Cleveland and D.C. efforts to fight mass criminalization: NCAPA member organization APALA released a statement of solidarity last Wednesday, reiterating its support for the Black Lives Matter Movement and its recent protests in D.C., as well as protests held at the Republican National Convention. To read more of their statement, click here.

Advancing Justice | AAJC writes on new Automatic Voter Registration Act and AAPI political participation: AAJC’s Terry Ao Minnis wrote about the newly instituted Automatic Voter Registration Act, as well as her hopes that the act will increase access to voter registration and simplify this process for members of the AAPI community.

AAJC files amicus brief to protect voting rights: AAJC filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to oppose modification of the federal voter registration form. Sixteen civil rights and voting rights groups joined the brief, noting that proof-of-citizenship requirements serve as barriers to voter registration for disenfranchised communities.

APIAHF’s Kathy Ko Chin writes on importance of health care language access: In the Health Affairs Blog, President & CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum(APIAHF) Kathy Ko Chin wrote about how the health needs of the AAPI community could be greatly improved if the Department of Health and Human Services translated critical Marketplace resources. Right now, organizations within Action for Health Justice are filling the gaps for in-language assistance for the many in our community who are Limited English Proficient.

OCA disappointed with fortune cookie political gimmick: OCA, along with its Cleveland chapter, responded to a culturally insensitive gimmick in which fortune cookies were distributed on behalf of a candidate on the Ohio campaign trail. The cookie’s message read, “Rob Portman: The Best Senator China’s Ever Had.”

Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) held annual convention: The 47th National JACL Convention was held last week in Las Vegas. During the convention, JACL elected its national board and passed a resolution in support of the establishment of the Tule Lake National Historic Site.

NCAPA in the News

NBC Asian America’s Frances Kai-Hwa Wang compiled many of our community’s responses to Rep. Mark Takai’s passing.

Current, a nonprofit public media news service, listed NCAPA member CAAM among those who are bringing diverse content about underrepresented communities to public media.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity featured a webcast of AAJC’s Mee Moua. In the webcast, Moua talks to Spotlight about the future of racial equity work for Asian Americans.

NBC Asian America’s Chris Fuchs covered APIAVote’s briefing at the Republican National Convention, which informed attendees on AAPI voting trends and issues and encouraged AAPIs to run for office.

Take Action!

New

Sign on here to become a partner with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 27.

Watch and vote for Home is a Hotel, a documentary on single room occupancy (SRO) living in San Francisco’s Chinatown, entered by NCAPA member the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) to the PBS Online Film Festival. Vote online by July 29 and use the tags #HomeisaHotel and #PBSolff on Twitter and Facebook!

Ongoing

Register to vote and encourage others to register at www.apiavote.org/register

Get involved with the Letters for Black Lives Project in discussing anti blackness within the AAPI community here.

In Case You Missed It

A ruling in a case of feticide conviction against Purvi Patel has been overturned, as she will not be prosecuted by the Indiana Court of Appeals for taking abortion inducing drugs, reported the Associated Press. Patel will, however, still be charged with a lower level felony for neglect of a dependent.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a statement calling for the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation into the recent espionage prosecution of several Chinese American scientists. The statement also referenced letters written by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), as well as another letter on this issue supported by several NCAPA member groups.

Asian Fortune featured the 15 Filipino Americans who serve in the Obama administration, including Nani Coloretti, the Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Jason Lagria from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

A new tarot deck created by the Asian American Literary Review (AALR) seeks to show “what wellness, unwellness, and care actually look like in Asian American life.” Learn more here about this project that promotes mental wellness in the AAPI community.

Events

• Thursday, July 21 - Sunday, July 25: OCA National Convention. Jersey City.

• Saturday, July 23 @ 9:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.: Sparks Fly Fundraiser for National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA). D.C.

• Monday, July 25 @ 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. & 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.: APIAVote Briefing and Reception at the Democratic National Convention. Philadelphia.

• Monday, July 25 @ 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: APAICS Summer Intern Reception & screening of the film “Giap's Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory”. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in D.C.

• Monday, Aug. 1 @ 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. : NCAPA Brown Bag: Advocacy Across Communities. NCAPA office.

• Monday, Aug. 8 @ 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. : NCAPA Brown Bag - Intersectional Identities: Being LGBTQ and AAPI. NCAPA office.

• Thursday, Aug. 11 @ 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.: APALA Community and Labor Reception: For Nevada's Future: Every Vote Counts. Las Vegas.

• Friday, Aug. 12: APIAVote 2016 Presidential Town Hall. Las Vegas.