ASIAN AMERICAN INSTITUTE - EMPOWER EDUCATE ADVOCATE

The Asian American Institute and its partnering organizations work to increase the civic participation and political empowerment of Asian American & Pacific Islanders. The large increase in the AAPI population has been disproportionate to the growth of its political representation.
Greater participation and empowerment would assist in addressing key issues that affect AAPI communities such as economic development, immigration, hate crimes, and discrimination.

Although Asian American Institute is working to disseminate more information about the political trends of Asian American & Pacific Islanders, policy research institutes and mainstream media also need to make a concerted effort to survey and poll the AAPI community. Especially in public policy, statistics is one tool to measure the needs and highlight the concerns of the AAPI community; thus, it is important that larger institutions such as the media and research institutes acknowledge the importance of collecting statistics on AAPIs. Their neglect in collecting information only furthers the marginalization of AAPIs’ needs.

WHAT: “100 Stories in 100 Days”

The focus of the campaign is to collect over 100 immigration stories from Asian American communities in metropolitan Chicago. AAI seeks to give a human face to the immigration-related challenges that Asian Americans experience, and to highlight the contributions of Asian American immigrants to American society. AAI will share these stories on our website, will use them to educate policymakers and the community at large, and will mobilize individuals with stories to visit their federal legislators.

WHAT: 2006 IL Candidates' Survey

AAI has coordinated a nonpartisan candidates' survey for the gubernatorial and congressional elections with over 20 Asian American community organizations. By targeting congressional districts with the highest APA populations and surveying candidates on issues pertinent to the APA community, AAI aims to help educate and empower voters. The candidates’ responses will be published in several Asian languages to be useful and relevant for voters of different language needs.

WHAT: Community Training

In December 2003, AAI offered a two-day training sessions called Asian Americans: Race, History and Policy. The sessions gave APA Government Liaisons an opportunity to learn more about APA issues and how to effectively articulate these issues to build political power. In addition, AAI has just completed a 41 page Guide to Government handbook which includes federal, state, county, and local government structures and contacts. In late 2006, AAI will develop a workshop targeting APA ethnic media to educate the community about civic participation.

WHAT: Exit Polling

AAI coordinates an exit poll surveys for the Primary and General Elections. Given that APAs are still ignored by news media and policy institutes in their reports of election voter turnout, the exit poll data is crucial in providing information about APA voting behavior that can reveal institutional barriers APAs face when voting. The data will also give the Institute a tangible way to assess APA political needs and patterns that can be used to articulate policy changes that benefit APAs.

WHAT: IL Immigration Postcard Campaign

The Asian American Caucus, in partnership with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights are campaigning our encourage our legislators to push for comprehensive immigration reform. Postcards are being sent to respective congressional representatives, along with House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, encouraging them to support comprehensive immigration reform.

The Asian American Institute aims to empower the local and national AAPI Community through several efforts. Along with community events and forums, AAI engages the AAPI community through coalition building with other AAPI organizations and cultivating new and existing leadership within the AAPI population itself.

WHAT: Community Resources

AAI just published the Asian American Compass: A Guide to Navigating the Community, which is the third edition of the 140-page comprehensive APA community resource guide and directory. This invaluable resource has a new name, cover design, and layout to better brand itself as the main Asian American resource guide for the Chicagoland area. Currently, AAI is working to have it distributed to resources centers for the Chicago Public Schools and several universities. However, corporations and corporate employee network groups are equally interested. Helping to market and distribute the guide within the Asian American and mainstream communities will help to increase the understanding of both the positives and challenges of the extremely diverse Asian American communities. The guide contains census information, ethnic community profiles, and contact information for hundreds of APA organizations.
In addition, AAI developed a 41 page Guide to Government which is a handbook designed for the APA ethnic media so they can effectively educate the community about civic participation.

WHAT: Impact Fellows Program (IFP) (click for details)

Impact Fellows Program is a summer leadership & internship program that develops emerging leaders by providing young adults, ages 17-22, with practical leadership skills and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working in Asian American and Pacific Islander community-based organizations. The program takes learning beyond the classroom, giving students opportunities to gain real-life experience working with prominent members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. This program is being modeled after Leadership Education for Asian Pacific Americans (LEAP)'s Leadership In Action (LIA) program. Click on the IFP link for more details.

WHAT: Calalyst for Responsive Civic Leadership (CRCL) (click for details)

Funded by the Chicago Community Trust’s Immigrant Integration Project, the CRCL project aims to increase the representation of Asian American immigrants in leadership positions within key civic institutions. Project activities will include: 1) identifying key civic institutions with the most impact on the region’s future and on the Asian American community specifically; 2) identifying Asian American candidates who have the potential to serve effectively in leadership positions within these institutions; 3) identifying barriers to Asian American participation in these institutions. Based on these findings, AAI will design and implement a training program for identified Asian American individuals, and match them with the appropriate leadership opportunities.

WHAT: Project Fusion

Project Fusion is a new program launching in 2008; meant to bring the energy and thoughts of different community members together to create productive change. Project Fusion will identify and train local, mid to senior level APA community leaders to effectively build systemic, issues-based, viral, community coalitions. The result of this project will be the creation of viable community coalitions, new community leaders, and an informed community population. Through this program AAI can create a mobilization network to act proactively and accordingly to APA issues. Due to limited resources, Project Fusion will start by working to build one set of leaders for a specific issue-based coalition. Other leaders and coalitions will then be added each year on an increasing level and in areas necessary for the Asian American community.

The Legal Advocacy Program of the Asian American Institute advocates for laws and policies that promote social, economic, and political equity for the Asian American community as a whole. The Legal Advocacy Program includes initiatives in the areas of affirmative action, voting rights, redistricting, language access to health care, hate crimes, and discrimination.

For additional information, please contact Ami Gandhi, Legal Director, at 773-271-0899 x 103.

WHAT: Affirmative Action and Public Contracting

Although government contracting programs are a crucial tool to level the playing field for minorities, the inclusion of Asian Americans in such programs continues to be challenged on the local and national level. Insufficient data exists about the rampant discrimination and disadvantage faced by Asian American businesses, and insufficient infrastructure exists to effectively organize these businesses. These dangerous gaps have led some lawmakers to incorrectly conclude that Asian Americans do not face discrimination and are not a racial minority group that needs affirmative action. The Asian American Contractor Empowerment Project (AACEP) builds capacity within the Asian American community to defend and advance the participation of Asian Americans in minority contracting programs in the public and private sector. AACEP, headed by Asian American Justice Center and Asian American Institute, has developed a local and national network of minority business advocates and increased the number of Asian American business leaders supportive of affirmative action. AACEP is currently conducting academic research to educate lawmakers and the general public on the continuing need for minority contracting programs. Notably, in 2007 and again in 2009, AAI persuaded the Chicago City Council to include Asian Americans as a presumptive minority group in the City’s construction contracting program.

AAI’s July 2009 Testimony on Affirmative Action to Chicago City Council

WHAT: Redistricting

Every ten years, after the Census, governments at all levels (local, state, and federal) are required to redraw political district lines to ensure that all individuals receive proportional representation. This process of redistricting critically affects nearly all aspects of our day-to-day lives because it helps determine who can vote, who can run for office, and who can win in a given district. When Asian Americans or other minority communities are grouped together in a district, they can have a greater influence on the outcome of elections. This can empower communities and make elected officials more accountable to that community. If Asian American communities are divided, as they historically have been in Chicago, the community’s voting strength and political power are weakened. In coalition with concerned Asian American leaders, AAI is conducting advocacy and education to make a positive impact on the 2011 redistricting process. AAI aims to keep Asian American communities grouped together in the upcoming redistricting process, so that Asian Americans have a full and fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice who will be responsive to their needs.

WHAT: Language Access

Federal law requires most health care facilities to provide interpreters to patients with limited English proficiency but, nevertheless, many Asian Americans continue to face language access and cultural barriers to health care. The need for language access to health care is fundamental. When this need goes unmet, many Asian Americans are prevented from receiving basic services. Patients who have to resort to using family members as interpreters are put at a disadvantage when those family members do not have the skills, language, maturity, objectivity, or sensitivity that is needed for interpretation in medical situations. AAI’s Language Access project works to document the needs and problems of low-income Asian Americans in accessing health care, as well as educate local health care providers about the most disadvantaged segments of our community.

WHAT: Voting Rights

AAI empowers Asian American voters through education, voter registration, exit polling, poll monitoring, and redistricting advocacy. AAI has worked with the United States Department of Justice, local election boards, and community organizations to improve the implementation of legally required language assistance to Asian American voters. During major elections, AAI also monitor polls in Chicago neighborhoods with significant Asian American populations to ensure that voters are not deprived of their right to vote because of voter intimidation, inappropriate requests for identification, denial of provisional ballots, or lack of required language assistance.

WHAT: Asian American Leadership Forum (click for details)

During APA Heritage month in 2004, AAI worked with the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and Leadership Education for Asian Pacific Americans (LEAP) to organize a conference to increase aware of APA issues and needs, and to create a dialogue of understanding and appreciation between communities, policy makers and business people. Likewise, in 2005, AAI helped continue the conference in a new form and with additional collaborative planning partners. Together the Chicago Community Forum, renamed the Asian American Leadership Forum brought together leaders from the corporate, non profit, academic, governmental, and student communities from within the Midwest. AAI and LEAP are currently working to lead this unique collaborative forum again this year but with the addition of more senior level tracts and even great levels of diversity.

WHAT: Communication of Awareness & Understanding

AAI is committed to raising awareness of the Asian Pacific American community, its accomplishments, challenges, history, languages, and culture within the APA community, to other communities of color, and the mainstream community. This is done through various mediums: our website, digital newsletter, joint publications, event partnerships, workshops, and speaking engagements. Each one of these mediums allows us to reach different populations of people to raise awareness and understanding of relevant issues as well as to learn about other peoples perspectives.

Previous Program Highlights:

In 2002, the Asian American Institute created the Asian American Political Empowerment Initiative to hold public officials accountable to the Asian American & Pacific Islanders community. The Political Empowerment Initiative was a guide that graded Chicagoland public officials regarding their understanding and relationship with the local Asian American & Pacific Islanders community.

The Asian American Institute also worked to raise awareness regarding redistricting in the metropolitan Chicago. In seeking fair redistricting for Asian American & Pacific Islanders, the Asian American Institute engaged in community education, and coalition-building. Despite the lack of a majority AAPI district, increased awareness about the AAPI community has created a positive relationship with the district representative.

Education Initiatives

The Asian American Institute is committed to raising awareness of the Asian American & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community, its accomplishments, history, languages and culture while also extending this knowledge to classroom curriculum. Asian American & Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in the United States, but there is still a lack of curriculum regarding this community. Increased awareness and knowledge of the AAPI community would help combat the prevailing generalizations and stereotypes of Asian American & Pacific Islanders as a model minority or communities without institutional barriers.

WHAT: Asian American Studies Initiative

With the combine use of organizing and advocacy, the Asian American Institute and other community-based organizations are actively engaging the Illinois legislature to mandate Asian American studies in all areas of the public school curriculum including arts, sciences, education, and in the economic, cultural and political development of
the United States. Asian American studies should also include each ethnic group and the struggles they faced to overcome barriers of discrimination in our society. By not integrating Asian American & Pacific Islanders’ experiences in the school curriculum, public schools continue to marginalize AAPIs as perpetual foreigners whose experiences and contributions are disconnected from that of the United States.

WHY:It is even more crucial to incorporate Asian American studies given the growing backlash against Asian American & Pacific Islanders. In 2001, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) reported a 23% increase from 2000 in hate crimes against Asian Pacific Americans. Within three months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, NAPALC documented 250 bias-motivated incidents and two murders. This backlash demonstrates how uneducated our society is of the experiences of AAPIs which allows for dehumanization that leads to violence against our communities. This education bill is a long-term solution to combat racism and discrimination that hopes to foster understanding and respect for Asian American & Pacific Islanders, their contributions and experiences.

Other Education Highlights:

The Asian American Institute also supports the creation of Asian American & Pacific Islanders Studies programs in higher education. Collaboration with students from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago have proven extremely successful. Both universities saw the birth of an Asian Pacific American studies program as well as the hiring of professors to the newly created departments.

In 2002, the Asian American Institute created, A Piece of the Puzzle: Including Asian Pacific Americans in a Multicultural Curriculum, a teacher’s guide to help educators integrate curriculum about Asian Pacific Americans. The guide includes classroom exercises, curriculum programs, and other recommended resources. The guide is available free of charge and the Institute is willing to conduct presentations for teachers.

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