NCAPA Weekly Roundup | Jan. 29-Feb. 5, 2016 - National Council of Asian Pacific Americans

News and Updates

NCAPA praises President’s mosque visit, stands against anti-Muslim hate, xenophobia and bigotry: NCAPA and AAJC were encouraged by President Obama’s first presidential visit to a U.S. mosque this week in Baltimore. As NCAPA members have united against anti-Muslim hate, this visit was widely supported. Read our statements of solidarity, with the Center for APA Women being the latest addition to the list.

SEARAC, NAKASEC, NQAPIA, SAALT deliver petitions to #StopTheRaids: NCAPA member groups held an action and delivered petitions to the White House on Tuesday to denounce raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting Central American families. Quyen Dinh, SEARAC executive director, spoke at the action to stand in solidarity and spoke about her family’s experience as Southeast Asian refugees.

#AAPI4SentencingReform adds AAPI voice to criminal justice reform conversation: As part of NCAPA’s efforts to advance the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, as well as add an AAPI perspective, read and share the blog promoting the campaign. You can also encourage others to send a letter to their Senator by going to bit.ly/AAPI4SentencingReform.

NAKASEC launches community listening sessions campaign: On Monday, NAKASEC announced their community listening sessions campaign and released an in-language naturalization workbook and voting materials for the Korean community to promote citizenship. The listening sessions will provide space for the community to share issues important to them and to develop questions to ask presidential candidates through a NAKASEC questionnaire.

NAPAWF condemns Washington Senate committee vote on abortion ban: The Washington State Committee on Law and Justice voted to pass a sex-selective abortion ban bill yesterday. In response, NAPAWF released a statement condemning the bill, saying it undermines women’s health and fuels stereotypes that Asian American families do not value girls.

APPEAL, AAPCHO raise awareness about impacts of cancer on AANHPIs: Yesterday, for World Cancer Day, APPEAL, AAPCHO and partners held an #APIWorldCancerDay Twitter chat to discuss how cancer affects AANHPI communities. The chat also featured programs and resources available to address disparities, including a database of cultural and linguistically appropriate health education materials from AAPCHO. See the Storify of the Twitter chat here.

NCAPA and AAJC honor Fred Korematsu: Last Friday, AAJC held a reception to honor Fred Korematsu ahead of the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, which was officially recognized for the first time this year by the state of Virginia. Karen Korematsu, Mee Moua, Mark Keam and Neil Horikoshi gave remarks at the reception, and Senator Tim Kaine provided video remarks to show the importance of educating students about the civil rights hero. Also see NCAPA’s statement in commemoration.

NCAPA in the News

Asian American leaders respond to President’s mosque visit: NCAPA’s response to President Obama’s visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque was featured in NBC Asian America. Lakshmi was also quoted in the Christian Science Monitor saying the symbolic meeting was important, but there need to be better policies in place around hate crimes and proper reporting.

APIAVote holds Q&A after Allegiance: APIAVote held a Q&A after a showing of the musical Allegiance, which is closing next weekend.The Filipino Channel featured the Broadway musical in a recent video for Balitang America, in which Filipino American fans were interviewed about rushing to see the show before it closes. APIAVote Executive Director Christine Chen was interviewed about the relevance of the show to audiences today and the play’s important lesson to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Take Action!

Newest:

Letter to Oppose “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act:” The Leadership Conference is circulating this sign on, opposing HR 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015. Despite the bill's title, the bill would actually roll back recent improvements in mental health care. Sign on by Wednesday, Feb. 10

#AAPI4SentencingReform: Join us, SEARAC and APALA in urging the Senate to support the Sentencing Reform and and Corrections Act at http://bit.ly/AAPI4SentencingReformand follow the conversation on Twitter with #SentencingReform and #AAPI4SentencingReform.

OCA questionnaire on undocumented student access to higher education: OCA is gathering stories from undocumented students regarding obstacles they faced in accessing higher education. The stories will be used for Hill visits to push priorities in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act as well as in a social media campaign. Please share the questionnaire: https://ocanational.site-ym.com/?Undoc_Student_Access

Survey on AAPIs with disabilities: Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project is giving a talk at a law symposium about AAPIs with disabilities, and is collecting stories for her presentation. Please share the following survey widely: http://goo.gl/forms/gZvs2FvQ1O

Ongoing campaigns:

APIASF - “We Are Not The Same” or #NotTheSame celebrates the unique stories of AAPI students and challenges stereotypes.

NAKASEC - Adoptee Defense Fund: Sign a petition to support Korean adoptee Adam Crasper who now faces deportation.

NCAPA - Support as an individual or organization an independent investigation on potential profiling of Asian American scientists: http://bit.ly/supportdojinvestigation

NCAPIP - Screen at 23 focuses on the importance of screening for diabetes in the Asian American community, as our communities are at risk for type 2 diabetes at the body mass index of 23.

Find Your Park - Share your National Park Story: FindYourPark.com

In Case You Missed It

Provision to remove federal use of “oriental” term advances in Senate: The Senate recently unanimously adopted an amendment that would remove offensive terms like “oriental” from federal law. Unfortunately, the underlying bill is currently stalled. This provision was led by Senator Mazie Hirono and Representative Grace Meng. For background, read NCAPA’s statement of support for the House bill.

Other Announcements

DEADLINE TODAY: AT&T Aspire Accelerator Grant: The Aspire Accelerator is open to any venture, organization or company that is using technology to foster student success, and selected organizations will receive a $100,000 investment and an additional $25,000 to cover program expenses.

Call for volunteers for NAKASEC: NAKASEC is seeking volunteers who are interested in engaging with the Korean & Asian American communities in Northern Virginia. Civic engagement volunteers will assist with naturalization clinics, voter registration and education activities, precinct walking, phone banking, and general voter outreach in the community. Immigrant rights volunteers will assist with DACA outreach, education, and application assistance and, potentially, for DACA+ and DAPA as well.

Free tax assistance from OCA & AARP: OCA is working with AARP Foundation to offer low and moderate income taxpayers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community free, individualized and no-strings-attached tax assistance and preparation services through their volunteer run Tax-Aide program. To find a location visit http://bit.ly/OCAtaxes or call OCA at 202-223-5500 x118.

SABA North America Foundation Grant Applications (Deadline: March 1): SABA North America is committed to increasing the capacity of community-based organizations to respond to the legal needs and uphold the civil rights and liberties of the South Asian community and marginalized communities across North America. To foster this work, the SABA North America Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, awards grants of up to $5,000 in the following areas:

Domestic Violence
Immigration Rights
Hate Crimes, Discrimination and Racial Profiling
Community Access to Justice

Appointments Project: The White House Presidential Personnel Office (responsible for presidential appointments) is continuing to develop slates for principal, assistant to principal and functional positions. NCAPA and APAICS continue to work with PPO in diversity outreach and are seeking individuals who are interested in an appointment positions for various levels, roles and background experience for agencies (e.g. speech writers, digital background, policy, etc.). Please help us to identify ideal appointment candidates who are AAPI. Once candidates complete the online application at https://apply.whitehouse.gov/, they should fill out this form, which will go to NCAPA and APAICS: http://goo.gl/forms/8Lnjv3G4oB

NAPABA Pro Bono General Counsel Program: This program provides AAPI organizations pro bono legal advice and counsel that they cannot afford. Get the application for organization and application for attorneys.

NCAPA Events

Tuesday, Feb. 16: APALA & AFL-CIO: We Too Sing America Book Talk with Deepa Iyer at AFL-CIO in D.C.
Wednesday, Feb. 17: APIAVote Nevada Mock Caucus Training in Las Vegas
Saturday, Feb. 20: APIASF Jump Start College Tour in Las Vegas
Saturday, Feb. 26 - Tuesday, March 1: JACL/OCA Leadership Summit
Thursday, March 10 - Sunday, March 20: CAAMFest 2016 in San Francisco.

Other Events

Wednesday, Feb. 10: D.C. Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs Lunar New Year Social
Thursday, Feb. 11 @ 3:30 p.m. ET: Brown is the New White - Organizing, Elections, and the New American Majority Google Hangout
Friday, Feb. 19: Smithsonian’s Day of Remembrance Event at the National Museum of American History. With JACL-DC chapter.