NCAPA Weekly Roundup | June 1 - 9, 2016 - National Council of Asian Pacific Americans

NCAPA Weekly Roundup | June 1- June 9, 2016

News and Updates

#ImmigrationStoryIn5Words puts spotlight on immigrant contributions and sacrifices: NCAPA and its immigration committee kicked off Immigrant Heritage Month with its #ImmigrationStoryin5Words campaign and statement of support. Contribute to the campaign by tweeting or blogging, and check out the highlights from today’s Twitterstorm! Find out more about Immigrant Heritage Month at welcome.us.

#ImmigrationStoryIn5Words blogs show need for family reunification: NAPAWF’s Leng Leng Chancey, OCA’s Nick Lee and OCA’s Kham Moua shared their family stories of separation for Immigrant Heritage Month and the #ImmigrationStoryIn5Words campaign. Please read and share their blogs, and contact NCAPA to share your own.

NCAPA provides testimony regarding Democratic platform: Christopher Kang testified at the Democratic National Convention Committee’s platform hearing Wednesday on behalf of NCAPA highlighting the issues Asian Americans care about and want to be considered. These issues ranged from inclusivity to data disaggregation. You can read Chris’ testimony here or watch the full video here.

Application period opens for program to reunite Filipino American veterans with their families: USCIS launched the Filipino WWII Veterans Parole Program Wednesday, which can allow some veteran family members on a case-by-case basis to come to the United States. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Senator Hirono and Senator Kaine led a press conference Thursday with Filipino veterans that NCAPA participated in. Christopher Kang and AAJC’s Marita Etcubanez were speakers. To find out more details or to check your family’s eligibility, go to https://www.uscis.gov/fwvp.

NCAPA seeks response from local Texas authorities regarding arrest of two men on false terrorist threat charges: NCAPA joined 40 organizations in sending a letter urging local Texas authorities to ensure that incidents such as the arrest of two South Asian American men who were falsely accused of making terrorist threats do not occur again.

NQAPIA PSAs air on Sinovision throughout Pride Month: Throughout June, LGBT Pride Month, NQAPIA commercials that promote AAPI family acceptance will air on Sinovision. Exact times and air dates can be found on NQAPIA’S website.

George Takei and more Asian American celebrities promote getting out the vote: George Takei, John Cho, Constance Wu, appeared in a PSA from APIAVote, AAJC on the importance of our communities voicing our votes. Watch and share the video here.

Language access summit highlights opportunities for LEP voters: NCAPA members participated in a summit on June 2 about language access in this year’s elections. AAJC’s Mee Moua gave a TED-style talk about her own experiences with her family and language access, and the power of an individual’s vote. The summit was presented by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission & Democracy Fund Action. Watch the video recording.

NCAPA welcomes OCA intern Maham Shaikh: Maham Shaikh started this week as NCAPA’s summer intern placed through NCAPA member OCA. Learn more about her on NCAPA’s staff page.

NCAPA in the News

In NBC Asian America, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang wrote about NCAPA’s and OCA’s social media campaign to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month with #ImmigrationStoryin5Words. AsAmNews also highlighted stories from the campaign.

In Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tracie Mauriello mentioned Chris Kang’s testimony on behalf of NCAPA at the Democratic Platform Hearing and that he wanted to “safeguard racial profiling.”

NAPAFASA’s Myron Dean Quon wrote a Medium blog “Celebrating Pride Month — Our API community members” about the obstacles that LGBTQ AAPI individuals specifically face, including stigma and shame and microaggressions from mainstream LGBTQ communities.

In IndyStar and NBC Asian America, Nimra Chowdhry from NAPAWF wrote “Asian American women treated unfairly for ending pregnancies” along with Lisa K. Sangoi. They emphasized that Purvi Patel and Bei Bei Shuai were both treated unfairly in Indiana for ending their pregnancies.

MarketWired released a press statement about AAJA’s and APIAVote’s upcoming Presidential Town Hall Meeting in Las Vegas. NCAPA and several members are partners.

In a Huffington Post blog, NAKASEC’s Dae Joong Yoon and Bati Tsogtsaikhan wrote about what it means to be a DACA recipient and why the Supreme Court should unfreeze DAPA and DACA+

Take Action!

New

Tell us your #ImmigrationStoryIn5Words: Celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month by tweeting and blogging your immigration story.
Tell Majority Leader McConnell it’s Time for #JusticeReformNOW: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is collecting postcards to send to Majority Leader McConnell to show the wide range of support for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. Send a postcard here.

Ongoing

Share #MyAPALife with CAAM: Share a picture or video — of your family, friends and the experiences that are important to you with the hashtag #MyAPALife and watch the conversation unfold. View the social hub.
Register to vote and encourage others to register at www.apiavote.org/register
Join the open letter of AANHPI organizations in support of affirmative action: asianamericancivilrights.org
Show your support for Filipino World War II veterans: Support the letter as an individual here.
Sign the MPower Change Petition: Tell Southwest Airlines: End Discrimination Against Arab and Muslim Passengers
Support State Data Disaggregation Campaigns: There are several states considering data disaggregation in their legislatures including California, Rhode Island, and Minnesota. Please like and promote these Facebook campaigns to support these state initiatives: MN Campaign Page on FB, CA Campaign Page on FB, WA Campaign Page on FB. Sign theAB 1726 petition to ensure AAPI communities are counted.

In Case You Missed It

In The Atlantic - The Professional Burdens of Being a ‘Model Minority:’ Adia Harvey Wingfield discusses the model minority. While some may think it is positive, the ‘model minority’ myth masks issues Asian Americans experience.

In NBC Asian America - “Education on Sikhism Takes Focus in ‘They Called Me Osama’ Documentary”, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang writes about a new documentary called “They Call me Osama.” This documentary educates the public about Sikhism and highlights the discrimination that Sikh students often experience.

In ColorLines - Did Marvel Whitewash Yet Another Asian-American Movie Character? Sameer Rao writes about Asian American lack of representation. Despite Asian American advocacy, Gangke Lee, a SpiderMan series character, is going to get played by another white actor.

Announcements

Candidates needed for Appointments Project: The White House Presidential Personnel Office is continuing to develop slates for principal, assistant to principal and functional positions. NCAPA and APAICS 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. Please help us to identify ideal appointment candidates who are AAPI. Once candidates complete the online application athttps://apply.whitehouse.gov/, they should fill out this form, which will go to NCAPA and APAICS:http://goo.gl/forms/8Lnjv3G4oB

Events

Friday, June 10 - Sunday, June 12 @ 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.: AAPI Every Student Succeeds Act Listening Sessions in California
Wednesday, June 15 @ 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.. : CAPAL Washington Leadership Program Session 1 - Communities of Color at Capitol Visitor Center in D.C.
Thursday, June 16 @ 9:30 - 10:30 AM : AIPACS Briefing and Panel on the Nielsen 2016 Asian-American Consumer Report in 421 Cannon House Building
Thursday, June 16: APIASF Higher Education Summit in D.C.