WBEZ covered our virtual Asian American Action Day which featured testimonies from community leaders and a Q&A with Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
On Thursday, speakers talked about how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the community, including racism toward Asians, a lack of government support for undocumented community members and a need for more language services to help immigrants access services.
For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, our director of organizing Grace Pai penned an op-ed discussing the significance of Asian American history, and why it’s so important to teach now.
Though we are often overlooked in history books, Asian Americans have been, and will continue to be, an important part of our country’s rich history. In this time of divisiveness, it is critical that we educate our young people to recognize how Asian American history parallels and intersects with the experiences of other communities of color.
That’s why Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago is leading a campaign to mandate Asian American history be taught in all Illinois public schools. The Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act (TEAACH) would paint a more complete picture of our shared history, respond to this moment of rising anti-Asian sentiment and ensure young Asian Americans see themselves reflected in the history they learn in school.
Cori Nakamura Lin, one of the leaders in our A Just Chi police accountability working group, was featured in this article on Prism about Asian American and Black solidarity.
“Ending police brutality is also an Asian issue. Many people see Asians as being light-skinned and middle class, but ‘Asian American’ includes so many different populations, including people who are both Black and Asian,” said Cori Nakamura Lin, a member of A Just Chi, a community-ran organizing program of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago. The group focuses on increasing engagement in Asian American communities, as well as supporting citywide work that addresses police accountability and mass incarceration.
“If I want to help to end police brutality, I know that I need to support the people who are most affected right now,” Lin said. “The police system has an overtly racist anti-Black history, and the disproportionate amount of Black men currently incarcerated is truly devastating.”
Thank you all the lovely artists who contributed to the #BeSeenBeCounted campaign! We’re excited to share some of their submissions in this gallery.
In lieu of our annual trip to Springfield, we’ll be hosting our Asian American Action Day on Facebook live! The Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment (PAVE) Coalition is excited to build power with our communities on May 28th at 6:00PM.
Join the virtual action day to learn more about our issue campaigns, watch riveting cultural performances, and hear from elected officials.
Come hear stories about how COVID-19 is impacting our communities, and how PAVE is fighting back through our work around language access, our participation in the campaign for expanding paid sick leave, and our continued efforts to protect immigrants in Illinois. We will also talk about our ongoing legislative campaigns, including advocating for an Asian American school curriculum.
