The AAPI community has long been painted as uniformly apolitical. We do not learn about Grace Lee Boggs, Richard Aoki, Larry Itliong, or Yellow Power movements in our textbooks. We are taught, if it is even included in our class syllabi, that Chinese and Filipino workers came to America looking for a better life and eventually, through hard work and determination, bootstrapped up and got it; that Japanese Americans resignedly but peacefully entered internment camps and were released from them three or four years later in much the same mental state; that it was mostly white American college students and not radical Asian American organizations that vocally, visibly, and powerfully opposed the Vietnam War. Although we learn little about black radicalism and organizing, we learn even less about AAPI radicalism and agitation for change. (more…)

In the days between remembering two vital civil rights icons, MLK Jr. and Fred Korematsu some members of the Advancing Justice-Chicago staff weigh in on what these remembrances mean to them: (more…)

Chicago- Advancing Justice-Chicago honors and celebrates the work of Martin Luther King Jr. this MLK Day. As a civil rights and social justice organization Advancing Justice-Chicago is indebted to the leaders who make our work possible. Advancing Justice-Chicago also recognizes the important intersections and solidarity between civil rights leaders working across different struggles. As we approach another important marker in civil rights history, Fred Korematsu Day, on January 30 we take this time to reflect on our principles, our work, and our partnerships across communities facing social and civil struggles.

Upcoming events in Chicago include: (more…)