AAPI Coalition of North Bay BLOG

Interested in Becoming a Family Child Care Provider?

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:07:48 GMT

Explore a meaningful career supporting children and families in your community by becoming a Family Child Care Provider.

4Cs Sonoma County is hosting a virtual Information Night to share everything you need to get started—from licensing and training to ongoing support and resources.

April 28, 2026
6:00–8:30 PM
Zoom (link provided after registration)

Learn about:
• Benefits and responsibilities of child care providers
• Available support and resources
• How to start and grow in the field
• Training opportunities including business, health & safety, and more

To register or learn more, contact:
Sheila Whipple
(707) 522-1413 ext. 156
SWhipple@Sonoma4Cs.org

A great opportunity for those passionate about working with children and making a positive impact in the community.

Free Chinese Mahjong Classes (Beginner–Intermediate)

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:08:26 GMT

Learn the art of Chinese Mahjong in a welcoming, community-centered class designed to build skill, strategy, and confidence.

This ongoing class introduces the fundamentals of Mahjong—from basic gameplay and tile recognition to strategy and reading the table. With regular practice, students gain confidence, explore different styles of play, and enjoy the social connection that makes Mahjong a timeless tradition.

Fridays, February 6 – April 24, 2026
5:30–7:30 PM (No class February 27)
Room 116
Ages 13+ | Beginner–Intermediate
Free

Led by experienced instructors John Tan and Micheal Gomez, who bring decades of Mahjong practice and community teaching.

Come learn, practice, and connect through this classic game.

Learn more / register

Travel Opportunity: 2027 Appellations Cellar Wine Cruise

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:57:33 GMT

AAPIC community partner Appellations Cellars—one of the featured AAPI vintners participating in our upcoming Lanterns & Vines Night Market Gala—is hosting a special Appellations Cellars Wine Cruise through the legendary Bordeaux wine region of France in July 2027.

This immersive travel experience explores one of the world’s most celebrated wine regions. Guests will cruise through the Bordeaux area while enjoying curated tastings, vineyard visits, regional cuisine, and guided cultural excursions.

Experiences like this bring together wine lovers, cultural exploration, and meaningful connections with the people behind the wines.

Learn more about the trip here.

You can also meet Appellations Cellars at the AAPIC Lanterns & Vines Night Market Gala on May 16, 2026 in Santa Rosa, where AAPI vintners will be pouring wines from across Northern California.

Sonoma County Volunteer Fair — Serve, Connect, Lead

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:10:36 GMT

Looking for ways to give back and build community? CVNL and Los Cien Sonoma County are hosting the Sonoma County Volunteer Fair, a celebration of service, connection, and collective hope in honor of César Chávez Day and National Volunteer Month.

Community members can explore volunteer and board service opportunities, while nonprofits and public agencies can connect with engaged volunteers and share their mission.

Tuesday, March 31, 2026
4:00 – 7:00 PM
The Backdrop, Santa Rosa
Free and open to the public

Whether you’re looking to serve, recruit, or lead — your presence matters. Learn more and register here.

Youth Opportunity: Sonoma County Model Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Program

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:12:25 GMT

Sonoma County students interested in public safety, emergency response, or medical careers are invited to apply for the Model Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Program, a week-long immersive experience exploring how communities respond to disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes, and floods.

Participants will gain behind-the-scenes insight into the Sonoma County Emergency Operations Center, including a disaster simulation exercise, preparedness training, and field visits to first responder locations.

Program Details

June 15–19, 2026
Sonoma County Emergency Operations Center, Santa Rosa
‍ Open to Sonoma County students currently sophomores, juniors, or seniors (2025–26 school year)
Free to attend — lunch provided and transportation can be arranged if needed.

Enrollment is limited, so students are encouraged to apply soon. Apply here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZjy7Ci4rq8zMMuhc2t4y7uKwXvYErlKkn6-v8MAm1n0iLIw/viewform scdem_flyer-85x11_2026-06-15_model-eoc.pdf

NBIAA Holi Celebration

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:55:13 GMT

Holi celebration in Santa Rosa - a time to gather with friends and family for an afternoon of music, dance, games, and vibrant color. Wear white and get ready for a joyful, colorful adventure!

Fun and entertaining games for kids and adults hosted by the NBIAA Youth Committee. Food available for purchase.

Learn more and tickets: www.northbayindia.org

Paid Opportunity for Youth (Ages 15–25): Learn About Careers in Peer Support

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:07:27 GMT

California youth ages 15–25 are invited to participate in a paid virtual workshop to explore careers as a Certified Peer Specialist.

Hosted by California Youth Empowerment Network in partnership with California Association of Peer Supporters, this session will introduce youth to peer support work—where lived experience is used to provide support, advocacy, and hope in mental health spaces.

Participants will learn how to get started in this field and access resources for applying to the CAPS Academy.

Wednesday, March 25
5:00–6:00 PM (Zoom)
All attendees with a valid email will receive a $20 stipend

Check out the flyer for more details and feel free to share with youth in your networks.

Countywide Survey for Moms of Young Children (0–3)

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:06:42 GMT

In partnership with First 5 Sonoma County, a countywide survey is being conducted to better understand the needs of moms with children under age 3 and help guide future Measure I funding priorities.

We especially encourage AAPI mothers to participate so our community is represented.

Learn More Here

Please also consider sharing with your networks. Findings will be shared in June.

Community Bakery Pop-Up: Pastry Box by Chef Amanda Hoang

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:00:55 GMT

Well-loved local AAPI chef Amanda Hoang is offering a special Bakery Box this weekend in Sebastopol, featuring pastries inspired by her Taiwanese, Cantonese, and Vietnamese roots.

Each box includes:
• Pandan honeycomb cake (GF, DF)
• Meyer lemon osmanthus tea cake
• Jasmine tea “cupcake” (Chinese bakery style)
• Cocktail cardamom bun with coconut filling (best warmed briefly in the oven)
• Banana sesame cookie
• Hojicha sobacha cookie

Order ahead to reserve your box.

Pickup Details
Green Valley Farm + Mill Marketplace
13024 E Green Valley Road, Sebastopol
Saturday, March 7
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

A delicious way to celebrate the flavors and creativity of our local AAPI culinary community.

Community Alert: Scam Targeting Chinese-Speaking Residents

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:51:19 GMT

The FBI has issued a public warning about an evolving fraud scheme targeting Chinese-speaking individuals living in the United States.

In this scam, criminals impersonate U.S. health insurance providers and Chinese law enforcement to pressure victims into sending money.

Typically, victims receive a call (often from a spoofed phone number) claiming to be from a health insurance company about a large medical claim. The caller may show fraudulent invoices through video calls. If the recipient denies the claim, the call is transferred to someone posing as Chinese law enforcement who may threaten extradition or legal consequences and demand payment for “bail.”

In some cases, victims are pressured to download video communication software and remain connected for ongoing surveillance.

How to Protect Yourself
• Verify insurance claims directly through your insurance company’s official website or phone number.
• Never share personal information or login credentials with unsolicited callers.
• Do not wire money or send payments to unknown individuals.
• Do not allow strangers remote access to your computer or device.

If You Experience This Scam
Report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov and include any relevant phone numbers, emails, or details about the interaction.

Feet in the Mud: Chinese Lives at the Petaluma River

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:03:03 GMT

Professor ChingLing Wo (Sonoma State University) will present a public talk exploring the history of Chinese laborers along the Petaluma River and their role in shaping the region’s economy and landscape.

Saturday, February 21
1:00 – 2:30 PM
Petaluma River Park, 159 H Street, Petaluma

Titled Living with the Creek: Finding Chinese Labor in Petaluma, the talk serves as an overview of the series Feet in the Mud: Chinese Lives at the Petaluma River, 1856–1910. The program draws from historical documents, newspapers, and maps to examine labor, race, and environmental history in Petaluma.

Seating is limited and advance registration required:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQIKAM31iPbIIHNm0ZrhKQgo8gzBMGpCwRZ1AyYlxtfiy0oQ/viewform

The series also includes three follow-up workshops on Mondays from 4:00–5:30 PM (April 13, 20, 27). Local teachers are especially encouraged to attend.

All are welcome. Please share widely.

Lunar New Year Festival in Healdsburg

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 21:26:58 GMT

Celebrate Lunar New Year with a family-friendly festival in Healdsburg featuring performances, vendors, kids activities, and special cultural programming.

Saturday, February 21, 2026
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
6706 Hwy 128, Healdsburg

Festivities include a special visit from neighborhood horses, photos with the horses, local AAPIC vendor booths, arts and crafts for kids, and a 1:00 PM performance by Redwood Empire Chinese Association dancers, martial artists, and drummers.

Dim sum will be available (preorder online or purchase day-of), along with special wine offerings from local AAPIC winemaker Dot Wines. A costume contest and red envelope giveaway for the first 50 kids add to the celebration.

All are welcome — come dressed to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse.

For more information: 707-756-5022

Lunar New Year Incense Offering Ceremony in Petaluma

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:59:50 GMT

The Petaluma Historic Chinatown Park Committee, in partnership with Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, invites the community to a Lunar New Year Incense Offering Ceremony honoring Petaluma’s early Chinese residents.

This free public ceremony will take place at Historic Chinatown Park and offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect, remember, and welcome the new year in a spirit of respect and cultural continuity.

Saturday, February 14, 2026
3:00 PM
Historic Chinatown Park
7 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA

All are welcome to attend and participate in this moment of remembrance and community gathering.

Lunar New Year Celebration — Feb 14 in Santa Rosa

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 23:19:53 GMT

The Redwood Empire Chinese Association invites the community to a free Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 14, 2026, from 5:30–8:00 PM at Finley Auditorium in Santa Rosa.

Enjoy an evening of cultural performances, dragon and lion dances, traditional instruments, martial arts, calligraphy, snacks, and family-friendly activities. Guests can take photos, experience traditional arts, and connect with friends old and new as we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse.

All are welcome — come celebrate culture, community, and the new year together.

AAPIC condemns ICE killings and demands end to cooperation with immigration enforcement

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:03:33 GMT

AAPIC condemns the January killings of two Minneapolis residents - Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti - who were fatally shot by ICE officers in Minnesota. We stand against the use of racial profiling, violence, and lethal force by Federal agents. We join calls for independent, transparent investigations of these cases.

AAPIC acknowledges the other lives lost to ICE that have not been as heavily publicized in the news, including Keith Porter Jr. and the more than 30 individuals who have died in ICE custody. All of these deaths are tragic and deserve to be recognized.

Minnesota is home to a diverse Asian immigrant population, including Hmong, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, Laotian, and Vietnamese people. The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) are home to the largest urban Hmong population in the United States; Asian Minnesotans make up the largest immigrant population of any racial group in the state. This violence and discrimination against immigrants is not new to Asians in America, nor to communities of color. We don’t have to look back far in this country's history to see examples of weaponized racism by the highest office.

Our communities and families are living in fear and being targeted and terrorized by our own government.

To protect the safety and civil rights of all residents, AAPIC urges the County of Sonoma to establish a policy for every department to end all cooperation with ICE. Such a policy is critical to ensure safety, trust, and well-being of immigrant communities throughout Sonoma County.

Unchecked violence by ICE is increasing fear and anxiety among our vulnerable immigrant communities, American citizens of color, and those who demonstrate for our civil liberties. We stand with our broader community’s demands for policy change and justice; we must stay grounded in collective action and solidarity to create a safer, more just future for all.

Stop AAPI Hate published this statement on January 24, 2026:

https://stopaapihate.org/2026/01/24/statement-stop-aapi-hate-condemns-u-s-border-patrols-killing-of-minneapolis-protester-alex-pretti/

Free Tax Preparation & Transportation Support Available

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:08:09 GMT

Community resource alert: United Way Wine Country is offering free tax preparation services for eligible households earning $79,000 or less. Certified preparers are available February through April, including free ITIN application and renewal support.

For Sonoma County residents, United Way is also providing free Lyft transportation to eligible individuals who need help getting to appointments and essential services.

To schedule an appointment or learn more: Call 211 Sonoma (available Monday–Friday, 9 AM–5:30 PM)

These services are designed to reduce barriers and support financial stability for families in our community. Please share with anyone who may benefit.

united way free tax prep.pdf

JACL 2026 National Scholarship Program Now Open

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 22:06:33 GMT

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) has opened its 2026 National Scholarship and Awards Program, offering approximately 30 scholarships for incoming freshmen, undergraduate and graduate students, law students, and creative/performing arts students. Financial-need scholarships are also available.

Deadlines

Freshman applicants: March 2, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. (HST)
All other categories: April 3, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. (HST)

Applicants must be individual youth or student members of JACL, enrolled in school in Fall 2025, and may receive a maximum of two national awards.

Applications and guidelines are available on the JACL website under the Youth tab.
Questions may be directed to scholarships@jacl.org.

Wine Class in Chinese — Beginner Friendly

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 01:25:58 GMT

The Charity Cultural Services Center is offering a 10-week beginner wine class taught in Chinese by a professional winemaker. Participants will learn wine basics, tasting skills, and foundational knowledge in a welcoming environment.

10 classes beginning late January 2026
3:00 – 5:00 PM
747 Commercial St., San Francisco

This class is designed especially for beginners interested in exploring wine education in Chinese.

New Opportunity for Home-Based Food Entrepreneurs: MEHKO Program

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:15:54 GMT

Sonoma County’s Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) Program allows residents to prepare and sell meals directly from their home kitchens on a limited scale.

Under California state law, MEHKOs may serve up to 60 meals per week and must follow food safety, sanitation, and inspection requirements to protect public health.

The program is designed to support small-scale food entrepreneurs while expanding access to diverse, locally prepared meals within our community.

Residents interested in starting a home-based food business can learn more about application requirements, permits, and resources through the Sonoma County Department of Health Services. Information is available in both English and Spanish.

Learn more:
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/health-and-human-services/health-services/divisions/public-health/environmental-health-and-safety/microenterprise-home-kitchen-operations-mehko

Maternal Health Focus Group with Pasifika Women - Participants receive a $50 gift card

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 23:28:54 GMT

An upcoming community listening opportunity hosted by First 5 Sonoma County, centers the lived experiences of Pasifika women and birthing people in Sonoma County.

This Maternal Health Focus Group with Pasifika Women is a safe and supportive space for community members to share their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences—and to help shape the future of maternal health care in our region.

About the Focus Group

If you have given birth within the past three years, you are invited to participate in a virtual focus group designed to uplift Pasifika voices and experiences. Your insights will directly inform how maternal health services are developed and delivered in Sonoma County, helping ensure care that is culturally responsive, equitable, and community-informed.

Participants will be compensated for their time with a $50 gift card.

Event Details

Date: January 26, 2026
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Location: Zoom (online)
Who: Pasifika women and birthing people who have given birth in the past 3 years
Incentive: $50 gift card for participation

Register here: bit.ly/maternalhealthsc

Why This Matters

Pasifika communities are often underrepresented in maternal health research and decision-making. This focus group is an important opportunity to ensure that real experiences—joys, challenges, barriers, and strengths—are heard and reflected in local systems of care.

By participating, you are contributing to:

Improved maternal and postpartum care in Sonoma County
Greater cultural responsiveness in health systems
Community-driven solutions rooted in lived experience

Help Spread the Word

If you know someone who may be interested or eligible to participate, please consider sharing this opportunity within your networks. Community voices are essential to creating healthier futures for parents, babies, and families.

AAPIC is grateful to First 5 Sonoma County for centering Pasifika communities and for their commitment to listening, learning, and action.

Help Shape Sonoma County Library’s 5-Year Strategic Plan

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 21:28:37 GMT

The Sonoma County Library is in the final days of collecting community input for its 5-Year Strategic Plan, and AAPIC encourages our community members to make their voices heard.

Thousands of residents have already completed the survey, helping guide how library services evolve over the next five years. With fewer than five days remaining, this is a key opportunity—especially for AAPI community members—to ensure our needs, experiences, and priorities are reflected.

Your input helps shape decisions around:

Access to digital resources
Youth and family programming
Community spaces and cultural offerings
Equity and inclusion in public services

Two Ways to Participate

1. Take the Survey
The survey is quick, impactful, and closes soon.
Please submit responses by January 18.

2. Join a Community Meeting
Prefer to share your thoughts in conversation? Register for an in-person or virtual community meeting and help turn data into dialogue.

Public libraries play a vital role in access, education, and community belonging. Don’t let the next five years of library services be shaped without AAPI voices at the table.

Rice Showdown with KQED Live

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 03:00:00 GMT

From dabao to mochi to biryani, this event explores how Asian cultures bring rice to life through flavor, memory, and tradition.

Join KQED Live for an evening with chefs and food storytellers who share how rice nourishes both body and community.

Location
The Commons at KQED
2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

A celebration of cuisine, culture, and the connections carried in every grain. Tickets here.

Sojourners to Joke Sings — A Virtual Book Reading & Conversation

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:38:36 GMT

AAPIC is pleased to share an upcoming community event hosted in collaboration with the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project.

Join us for a special virtual book reading and conversation featuring Ron Lee, with the late L K Lennie Lee, centered on their book: Sojourners to Joke Sings: Tales of Chinatown & Beyond

Event Details

Date: January 14, 2026
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM PST
Location: Zoom (online only)
Registration: Click here to register and learn more

Enmanji-JACL Community New Year's Potluck Luncheon

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 18:20:37 GMT

Saturday, January 10, 2026 · 12:00 p.m. (Please arrive by 11:30 a.m.)

Enmanji Memorial Hall — 1200 Hwy 116 South, Sebastopol

Ring in the New Year in good company at the Enmanji-JACL Community New Year’s Potluck Luncheon. This beloved annual gathering brings together friends, families, and community members to share food, reconnect, and welcome the year ahead.

Guests are invited to bring a favorite main dish, side, and/or dessert to share.

The luncheon will also feature live entertainment by Gary Sugiyama and the Cedar Mountain String Band.

Vision Board Party with the EDC + She Can Club

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 17:56:50 GMT

We love uplifting community events hosted by organizations and partners connected to the Sonoma County Economic Development Collaborative (EDC). Here’s one coming up in January that many of our community members may enjoy:

She Can Club x Sonoma County EDC - 5th Annual Vision Board Party

She Can Club is partnering with the Sonoma County Economic Development Collaborative to host their 5th annual Vision Board Party, an evening designed for women who are dreaming, starting, or growing a business. While She Can Club is a friendship-first networking group (not exclusively for entrepreneurs), this event is especially welcoming for women seeking connection, inspiration, and support as they set intentions for the year ahead.

Event Details: Saturday, January 10 - 6:00 PM
The Saturday Afternoon Club, 430 Tenth Street, Santa Rosa
$50

All vision board supplies are provided, though guests are welcome to bring personal images or magazines to share. The evening also includes free professional headshots by Megan Glover of Hansen Lane Media, so attendees are encouraged to wear whatever makes them feel confident and comfortable. Expect additional photo opportunities and festive décor by Your Balloon Dream Co.

Please note: This event typically sells out. Tickets are non-refundable but transferable. Photos will be taken during the event for marketing and social media purposes.

For sponsorship or advertising opportunities, contact Hilary at heyhilary@shecanclub.com or DM @shecanclub on Instagram.

New Report Highlights International Students’ Safety Concerns

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 23:58:53 GMT

A new report from Stop AAPI Hate, Unsafe, Unwelcome, and Uncertain, sheds light on the urgent fears and challenges international students are facing in today’s political climate.

Based on a recent national survey, the findings are stark:

• Only 4% of international students report feeling very or extremely safe in the U.S.
• 90% fear for their visa status, including risks of detention, deportation, or disruption to their studies
• 88% report a decreased sense of belonging
• 86% have restricted their social media presence due to fear of surveillance
• 81% report negative mental or physical health impacts tied to uncertainty

The report calls on colleges, universities, and community leaders to stand firmly in support of international students and to protect their safety, dignity, and educational futures.

Read and share the full report to learn more about what international students are experiencing — and how advocates can take action here.

Volunteer Opportunity: Free Tax Assistance with United Way of the Wine Country

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:15:19 GMT

The United Way of the Wine Country, in partnership with trusted community organizations across five counties, is recruiting volunteers for the Earn It! Keep It! $ave It! (EKS) – VITA Free Tax Assistance Program for the upcoming tax season.

Volunteers will train in January and early February and serve February through April, helping low- to moderate-income individuals and families access free tax preparation and financial resources. Last tax season alone, volunteers helped return $9 million in state and federal refunds to local residents, with over $110 million returned over time—including support for first-time filers and ITIN applications and renewals.

Volunteer Roles Needed

Tax Preparers
Intake Coordinators (Greeters)
Interpreters

New and returning volunteers are welcome. All volunteers must complete registration through the EKS volunteer portal. Free training and materials are provided for new volunteers.

Register today:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBef2k-eIszomChOqZj-jZiXRiQRAZ4ON_sDYN1aTwbLjLIQ/viewform?usp=header

The volunteer goal this year is 300, and community need continues to exceed appointment availability—your time and skills can make a meaningful difference.

For questions, contact Shannon Stalker, Community Impact Manager & Volunteer Coordinator, at shannon.stalker@unitedwaywinecountry.org or 707-284-7069.

Now Hiring: Community Foundation Sonoma County

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:01:05 GMT

The Community Foundation Sonoma County is hiring and expanding its team to better support communities, partners, and donors across Sonoma County.

Open Roles

Lead Technologist (Full-time): Advance IT systems and improve organizational efficiency and user experience.
Community Partnerships Lead (Full-time): Build relationships across Sonoma County and support collaborative, community-driven work.
Senior Philanthropic Advisor (Full-time): Partner with donors to support meaningful local giving.
Community Storyteller (Contract): Document community impact through photography, social media, and storytelling. For this role, contact Tricia Savelli at tsavelli@sonomacf.org.

Learn more about the full-time roles and how to apply via the Community Foundation Sonoma County.

Historic Chinatown Park Plaque Unveiling — Petaluma

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:20:36 GMT

AAPIC was proud to sponsor the Historic Chinatown Park Plaque Unveiling, a community gathering honoring the contributions of Petaluma’s first Chinese residents. The event marked the installation of a permanent plaque recognizing the Chinese immigrant community whose labor and lives helped shape the city’s early history, yet whose stories have long been overlooked.

Community members, elders, and local leaders gathered in remembrance and reflection, affirming the importance of public history, visibility, and cultural acknowledgment. This unveiling represents a meaningful step toward honoring the full and diverse history of Petaluma.

Stop AAPI Hate's New Report: "Still Under Fire"

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 02:06:26 GMT

Stop AAPI Hate just published their newest report: Still Under Fire: Relentless Racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in a Heated Election Year.

The report features findings from Stop AAPI Hate’s latest state of anti-AAPI hate national survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in January 2025. It provides an in-depth look at hate act experiences in 2024, the impacts of hate, needs for support after hate, barriers to reporting hate, and how AAPI communities are pushing back against hate.

The full report is available HERE, and executive summaries in Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean, Samoan, and Vietnamese will be available soon.

Here are some of the key findings:

About half (53%) of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) adults surveyed experienced a hate act in 2024 due to their race, ethnicity, or nationality, similar to the 49% who experienced a hate act in 2023.
Those who faced hate had worse mental health, with 70% of AAPI adults who experienced hate reporting frequent stress, compared to 49% of those who did not.
Of the AA/PI adults who experienced hate, over three-quarters did not formally report the hate act despite many experiencing a potential hate crime or civil rights violation.
Two-thirds of AA/PI adults participated in activities to reduce or resist racism in 2024.
AAPI adults’ activation against hate remains high. 83% of AA/PI adults are concerned about the racial climate; 82% are optimistic about AA/PI power to end racism, and 67% are motivated to get involved in justice and equity efforts.
The report also includes recommendations for what policymakers and community members can do to fight together for our equality, freedom, and democracy.

Click here to read full report.

AAPI Community Responds to Troubling Executive Orders

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 22:51:44 GMT

Dear AAPI Community and Allies,

We have a duty to call attention to recent decisions by our President that we believe threaten our community. We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that where we live - Sonoma County, the North Bay, California - is a safe bubble. The recent executive orders (which do not require Congressional approval) will have far-reaching effects.

1. People are calling out Congress

AAPIC follows several AAPI-centered civil rights groups, and Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) is one of them. They were founded in 1979 in response to the war and US militarization in Southeast Asia - which resulted in the largest mass resettlement of refugees in US history.

On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the resettlement of 1.25 million Southeast Asians to the United States following the end of the Vietnam War, the actions of this administration pose a threat to all of our safety and the hard-won civil rights of BIPOC people.

Quyên Đinh, SEARAC Executive Director, responds to the President Trump's March 4, 2025, address to Congress below:

“The actions of the Trump Administration over the last 43 days are unconstitutional, often illegal, outright attacks on communities of color, immigrants and refugees, women, and LGBTQIA+ communities. From cruel and unjust immigration enforcement to rollbacks of civil rights protections, this administration has weaponized its power to sow fear, division, and harm among the very people who make up the backbone of this country.

"Southeast Asian Americans have been in the United States for 50 years, and we have seen firsthand how government oppression destroys lives. The President’s rhetoric and lies are not just dangerous, they are rooted in the same nationalist ideology and language that forced our people to flee and trapped those who were left behind in reeducation camps. This administration and its policies are threats to our democracy and the values we hold dear. We refuse to stand idly by as history repeats itself.

"Congress can help prevent harm... Congress must decide whether to uphold democratic values or allow these attacks on our rights to continue unchecked. Every dollar spent to detain and deport our families is a choice to support violence. Unconscionable immigration raids and inhumane, prolonged detentions can only happen if Congress chooses to fund that violence... Silence is complicity…"

Read SEARAC's full statement dated March 5, 2025 here.

2. Ethnic Studies in education is at risk

In addition, another Executive Order will deny funding to schools who teach the diverse and complex history of the U.S. This is a direct attack on Ethnic Studies, which California has established as a graduation requirement. The federal government may not interfere with what is taught to students - this is the states’ prerogative.

AAPI students have repeatedly said that it is the only course where they are learning about their own histories, so often ignored or briefly passed over in regular history courses. Elimination of the myriad perspectives that should make up history courses in schools is to whitewash our history and eliminate the rich contributions of all who have shaped our country.

3. History repeats itself - the Alien Enemies Act

The Japanese American Citizens’ League has responded to the resurrection of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, specifically targeting foreign nationals from Venezuela who are alleged members of the Trend de Aragua criminal organization.

"The Alien Enemies Act was last used to intern 31,000 Japanese, German, and Italian nationals during WWII. As the Japanese American community knows, the scope was expanded to include United States citizens through Executive Order 9066 leading to the incarceration of over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry…

"Not only is this an unlawful use of the Alien Enemies Act, outside the scope of wartime, but is overly broad and can be used to target individuals with no proven connection to Tren de Agua except through their Venezuelan citizenship."

Read JACL's full statement dated March 17, 2025 here.

4. Erasing heroes in the name of dismantling DEI

Per the President’s directive to remove all references to DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) or forfeit federal funding, an article on the military website that honors the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was removed, then subsequently reinstated after protests.

Other articles that honored the contributions of racial minority groups and women in the military were similarly targeted for erasure. The 442nd, a World War II unit composed mostly of second-generation Japanese Americans, remains the most decorated combat unit in U.S. history for its size and length of service.

5. Blocking Chinese citizens from receiving student visas

The Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, issued the following statement condemning H.R. 3334, the Stop CCP Visas Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Riley Moore (R-WV). The proposed Bill would block Chinese citizens from getting any of the three main types of student visas issued by the U.S. – Vocational, Exchange Visitors and Academic Student visas.

"To suggest that every Chinese student regardless of their background, intentions, or beliefs is a national security threat is not only inaccurate but also fuels xenophobia, discrimination, and hostility toward an entire group of people – including Chinese Americans here in the U.S."

Read the Committee of 100's full statement dated February, 5, 2025 here.

AAPIC works for empowerment of the AAPI community in the North Bay, all immigrants, and communities of color: We work locally and pay attention globally.

Sincerely,

Laurie Fong 
President, AAPIC North Bay
laurie@aapicnorthbay.org

Research: K-12 Asian American and Pacific Islander and Ethnic Studies in the US

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 19:29:16 GMT

Source: Committee of 100

What is the Committee of 100

Committee of 100 is the leading organization for Chinese Americans in civic engagement, public policy, arts, culture, and philanthropy. Learn more about this nonprofit, non-partisan membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, science, technology, and the arts here.

Support Committee of 100 and subscribe to their newsletter: https://www.committee100.org/newsletter/

Research on the State of Ethnic Studies in the US

Committee of 100’s public policy research project identifies and classifies state-level (and the District of Columbia) statutes, bills, and academic standards of K-12 curriculum pertaining to the study of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, as well as other non-white racial and ethnic groups.

As of October 3, 2024:

12 states have statutes that require AAPI studies curriculum
4 states are considering recently introduced bills that would require AAPI studies curriculum
15 states have academic standards that require AAPI studies
22 states have statutes that require ethnic studies curriculum
3 states are considering recently introduced bills that would require ethnic studies curriculum
33 states have academic standards that require ethnic studies
8 states have no statutes, recently introduced bills, or academic standards that require or make optional AAPI studies or ethnic studies curriculum

Materials & Info

View the updated state by state static maps here (October 2024)
Read the updated press statement and data here (October 2024)
Download the original research report and findings here (August 2023)
Watch the discussion on the importance of AAPI history in K-12 curriculum here (July 2023)

Background & Methodology

Committee of 100 researchers analyzed the laws, regulations, bills, and publicly available curriculum standards of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia to determine which states have existing K-12 AAPI or ethnic studies curriculum requirements or legislative action that would enact such requirements. Committee of 100 cross-referenced state legislature websites, state statutes, keyword Google searches, and LegiScan to assess the existence and status of legislation and statutes, as well as state department of education websites and publicly available curriculum standards issued by state regulators and boards of education to determine the prevalence of AAPI and ethnic studies academic standards.

This research was originally conducted in 2022, updated in 2023, and is currently updated as of October 3, 2024. All definitions and methodologies identified here follow those laid out in the 2023 report. For more information about the methodology and definitions used here, please refer to the methods section on pages three and four of the 2023 report.

In the interactive map below, users may select and filter among statutes, academic standards, and pending bills to meet their needs using the dropdown menus. Each dropdown menu allows users to select among AAPI studies and/or ethnic studies (explained in the glossary below). States displayed in red meet the selected criteria. For instance, if “AAPI studies (required)” is selected under the statutes dropdown, and “AAPI studies” is selected under the academic standards dropdown, states displayed in red are those that have statutes and academic standards in place that require AAPI studies curriculum. Click on any state to show information related to the existing statutes, standards, and pending bills in that state.

K-12 AAPI Studies and Ethnic Studies Interactive Map

Go to this webpage, scroll down, and search for Statues, Academic Standards, and Pending Bills on the map of the 50-state map of the United States. The following map image shows the states where Ethnic Studies is required. Go to the interactive map webpage for full details.

National Survey Data of Chinese Americans Shows Mental Health and Discrimination Continue to be Key Concerns

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 22:20:03 GMT

From the Committee of 100 newsletter on 9/25/24

Joint research by Committee of 100 and NORC shows the U.S. – China relationship, along with political and media rhetoric impacts how Chinese Americans are treated by strangers, acquaintances and coworkers

New York, NY (September 25, 2024) — Committee of 100, a non-profit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, and NORC at the University of Chicago, one of the largest independent social research organizations in the United States, today unveiled its ‘State of Chinese Americans’ study, a survey focused on areas of mental health, political preferences, discrimination, and diversity of the Chinese American population.

In the survey, two-thirds of Chinese Americans (68%) stated they face at least one form of discrimination in an average month, with a large percentage of the Chinese American community stating they continue to struggle with mental health. 43% of those surveyed say they felt depressed and 39% reporting having felt worthless. 61% say that the language and rhetoric used by the U.S. news media when reporting on U.S. – China relations negatively affects how strangers treat them; and about a quarter of the respondents say their relationship with acquaintances (26%) and coworkers (25%) has also been negatively impacted by the relationship. On the U.S. – China relationship overall, nearly ninety percent (89%) of Chinese Americans view the current U.S. China relationship as negative.

With a lack of data specifically on Chinese Americans, the Committee of 100 and NORC study was conducted to help address the insufficient data necessary to inform and address ongoing discrimination, stereotypes, and misperceptions about Chinese Americans, and the many gaps in knowledge that remain about Chinese Americans’ political attitudes and behaviors.

“Understanding the mental health, discrimination and political perspectives of Chinese Americans is essential to create inclusive and informed policies,” said Cindy Tsai, Interim President, Committee of 100. “These insights not only enrich political dialogue but also foster a more equitable society. Partnering with NORC at the University of Chicago, Dr. Nathan Chan and Dr. Vivien Leung on this project has been exciting, and we hope the data will help shape policy decisions that help improve the lives of Chinese Americans nationwide.”

Read more…

Committee of 100 Updates National Database Tracking Harmful Alien Land Laws Legislation

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 19:30:24 GMT

From the Committee of 100 Newsletter dated 8/1/24.

New York, NY (August 1, 2024) — Committee of 100, a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today announced an update to its national database research which tracks harmful alien land laws legislation. Committee of 100 has been outspoken in denouncing the legislation in Florida, Texas and additional states that would limit the ability of non-U.S. citizens to purchase land in their state.

To track the surge of 2024 legislation prohibiting property ownership by Chinese citizens (including permanent US residents) across the U.S., Committee of 100 has updated its database which identifies and explains such legislation considered, and in some cases passed, by Congress and state governments.

The webpage features an interactive map of the United States that visually demonstrates the data. The data can be filtered by the provisions included in the legislation, including the types of entities prohibited from owning property (e.g. Chinese citizens, businesses headquartered in China) and the types of properties prohibited from ownership (e.g. residential, commercial, agricultural property).

JACL Passes Resolution on the Humanitaria Crisis in Gaza and Opposing Domestic Hate Crimes and Bias

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 22:21:47 GMT

On August 22, 2024, JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) published a press release about the adoption of R-1, a resolution addressing the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and opposing domestic hate crimes and bias against Palestinian, Arab, and Jewish Americans.

The following is their press release:

Last month at its 54th National Convention, the JACL National Council adopted R-1, a resolution addressing the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and opposing domestic hate crimes and bias against Palestinian, Arab, and Jewish Americans. The resolution outlines several actions that JACL National and JACL chapters partake in. These include the release of several statements, of which this is one, announcing the adoption of the resolution.

In accordance with the resolution, we call for the United States government to continue to work with our allies in the region to pressure the Israeli government and Hamas to release all hostages, negotiate a ceasefire, and establish an enduring peace agreement. We denounce and call for an end of the U.S. government’s funding of the Israeli military where it is in violation of international humanitarian laws or the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and call for the increase and assurance of the free flow of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza. JACL condemns all forms of hate and bias that occur in the United States, especially those targeting Muslim, Arab, and Jewish Americans. The related documents and additional information will be sent to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Blinken, and Congressional leadership.

During WWII the Japanese American community was falsely associated and accused of being in collaboration with the hostile actions of the Japanese government. We are acutely aware of the challenges faced by members of the Jewish and Palestinian communities here in the United States today who face similar stigma today due to what is happening in the Middle East. Earlier this month, many Japanese Americans joined in services to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, joining in a call for peace, and in solidarity with the country of our ancestry in a way we could not 80 years ago. In this spirit of calling for world peace, we recognize the desire for Jewish Americans and Palestinian Americans for their affiliated places and people of ancestry to live in peace and with the right of self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

The adopted resolution can full can be found on the JACL National website HERE.

AANHPI Summit on Reclaiming and Redefining Mental Health

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 22:22:49 GMT

AAPIC President Laurie Fong and Vice President Grace Cheung-Schulman attended this conference at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in downtown Oakland. It was a wonderful event, very well attended, and informative, and gave us a lot of good ideas for what AAPIC needs to do for our AAPI Community.

To start off the conference in an uplifting mood, you should watch a hilarious opening performance by Kristina Wong! Click here!

This is the organizer Asian Pacific Fund’s report on the event on Thu, June 6, 2024. Reprinted with permission.

Dear Asian Pacific Fund Community,

Thank you for joining us for our 2024 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Summit on Reclaiming and Redefining Mental Health. With nearly 180 registrants from community organizations, corporations, government, philanthropy, and media present, we highlighted the importance and power of AANHPIs advocating for mental health resources and culturally competent services.  

The 5th Annual Summit was a unique mental health gathering, catering to a diverse community with varying opinions. It was a platform that some found unconventional, while others saw it as exactly what they were seeking. As a community foundation, our role is to bring together people with diverse perspectives, introduce new viewpoints, and create a safe space for “big family conversations.”

A significant moment occurred during the final panel session, featuring four remarkable youths discussing mental health successes and challenges. During the Q&A, an attendee, a parent of a transgender child, asked, “How do I support them and let them know that I love them?” The youth panelists offered empathetic and loving responses. I was moved to tears, touched by the parent’s courage and love for their child. I wondered if this attendee would feel safe asking such a question among well over a hundred strangers elsewhere. “This,” I thought, “is why we do this work—creating safe spaces where our communities can be seen, heard, supported, and loved. This is what impact looks like.”

This impact would not be possible without our partners, speakers, and sponsors, and we are grateful to our nonprofit affiliate, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and its staff for providing us with the perfect venue for these discussions. Special thanks go to all our speakers: Kristina Wong, Amy Lam, Ph.D., Connie Wun, Ph.D., Kevin Niuatoa, MDiv, ThM, Anni Chung, Tone Va’i, Yuan Wang, Amulya Mandava, Ph.D., Daria Cisper, Kim Luna, Aly Pascual, and Dan Pascual, for sharing their knowledge, insights, and tireless dedication.

We extend our gratitude to our official media sponsor, NBC Bay Area, and our partners, Robert Handa and Jay dela Cruz, for helping to promote awareness of AANHPI mental health and our Summit. Thank you to Chuck Siu, Amy Siu, and the Samoan Community Development Center for leading us in the arts and cultural practices. A special thank you goes to our outstanding volunteers from Kaiser Permanente and Enterprise for supporting our staff throughout the day. Our appreciation also goes out to Thai Rice Spoon and Verbena Catering for providing exceptional catering services.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate, share our stories, and work towards a brighter future for our community’s mental health. Your presence, bravery, and support are a testament to our collective strength and unity. Together, we will drive change.

With gratitude,

Photos at the Summit. View the full photo album here.

Insightful Resources

Throughout the Summit, our speakers and panelists highlighted several insightful resources and readings. We encourage our community to explore these valuable materials:

2024 AANHPI Summit Slide Deck
“Up to Us” Transgender API Needs Assessment
Lavender Phoenix’s 2023 Year-In-Review
Queer Possibilities: Intergenerational Solidarity
Kapasa Community-Led Needs Assessment
Senior Street Smarts Videos from KCCEB (Available in English, Korean, Mandarin, & Cantonese)
Kona Report
Asian and Pacific Islander Mental Health Services Utilization in Alameda County: Community Reports Analysis
Article: Advocating for Language Equity: A Community-Public Health Partnership

Read the original newsletter from Asian Pacific Fund about the Summit.

AAPIC’s Open Letter On The Israeli/Hamas Conflict

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 22:35:39 GMT

Dear Community,

As we contemplated our response to the suspension of SSU’s President, Dr. Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee, we also thought about what we wanted to say about the Israeli/Hamas conflict. As an organization that values all ethnic groups and strives to recognize those who are most at risk, we offer this collective thinking on the current, horrific, and urgent conflict.

Sincerely,

Laurie Fong
President, AAPIC North Bay
Laurie@aapicnorthbay.org

An Open Letter On the Israeli/Hamas Conflict

AAPIC, the Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition of North Bay, mourns the loss of lives in the on-going conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas. We condemn the actions of Hamas against Israeli citizens and of the Israeli government’s violence against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. These are crimes against humanity: we advocate for the release of all hostages on both sides and a humanitarian ceasefire.

AAPIC knows the history of the Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people—our histories of oppression, exclusion, resettlement, internment, violence, and genocide are well-remembered. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and Israeli people who are currently enduring unfathomable violence and fear.

As an organization, AAPIC recognizes the value of every individual and stands behind the deep humanity of heritage and all cultures. We cannot be silent during this crisis.

This unrestrained conflict is affecting our local communities, even far from the fields of war. Antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric and acts of hate are increasing, reminiscent of the surge in anti-Asian hate and violence witnessed during the pandemic.

We call on President Biden and Congress to reach bi-partisan agreements to direct diplomacy and the immense resources of the United States to de-escalate armed conflict in the region, not fund it.

We call for the end of the killing of innocent civilians, and importantly, innocent children.

We call on our national, state, and local elected officials to support a permanent ceasefire to end the violence in Gaza and the West Bank and to support impartial humanitarian aid.

We call for a solution that will allow for the self-determination of Palestinians, and to protect and safeguard the Israeli and Palestinian people.

We must put human beings first, not power. We recognize that there are other conflicts in the world where innocents are being displaced and killed. The need to save lives is urgent. It is our shared humanity that is at greatest risk.

Our Open Letter in support of Dr. Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 22:37:26 GMT

The Board of Directors of AAPIC recently sent out an open letter of support for Dr. Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee who was put on administrative leave by the California State University Chancellor Dr. Garcia after he entered into an agreement with the student protestors on the Sonoma State Univerisity campus averting violence as the school year ended. The following is our open letter.

Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition of North Bay
Santa Rosa, California

May 25, 2024

The Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition (AAPIC) of North Bay celebrates Dr. Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee’s extraordinary career and leadership in the California State University (CSU) system, where he dedicated over 30 years to uplifting students from all backgrounds and held significant faculty, administrative, and financial positions. Dr. Lee has received numerous honors and awards for advancing BIPOC leadership. AAPIC applauds the incredible contributions Dr. Lee has made to enhancing higher education, promoting mental health in the AAPI community, and raising political awareness of Asian Americans in the State of California.

Coming out of retirement, Dr. Lee served as Sonoma State University (SSU) Interim President in 2022 and then was appointed President in May the following year. During this short tenure, he was recognized for his willingness to interface and engage with faculty and students directly in a welcoming open-door policy.

We were privileged to have Dr. Lee as our keynote speaker at our AAPIC community gathering in January 2024 where he exuded joy with being a part of our North Bay community. He expressed a commitment to elevating the voices of those who have been historically marginalized, including the AAPI community.

In his true collaborative nature, Dr. Lee engaged in conversations with students, administrators, and faculty at SSU regarding the war in Gaza. We laud Dr. Lee for protecting student protestors against violence and incarceration as seen at other universities, standing up for fundamental human rights, and maintaining deep kindness and integrity in the face of division.

We condemn the rash punitive actions taken by CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia placing Dr. Lee on administrative leave for insubordination. This shortsighted decision led to Dr. Lee choosing to return to retirement. His departure is a huge loss for SSU, the CSU system, and the larger North Bay community. We condemn the tactics used to shame and silence Dr. Lee from taking a stance against the senseless killing of innocent people – the same tactics historically used on the AAPI community to mute dissent.

We agree with this sentiment from Dr. Lee’s message to the SSU community:

“Student activism, protest, and dissent in service of social and political change are key democratic principles that allow us to imagine a more perfect union — not only for ourselves, but also for others. None of us should be on the sidelines when human beings are subject to mass killing and destruction. I have said this before and it merits repeating: There is no political, religious, or cultural principle that merits the murder of the innocent, and the one battle we should all be engaged in is the fight for inclusion, respect, and freedom for all people, regardless of their background or identity.”

We are immensely saddened by Dr. Lee’s departure and firmly stand in solidarity with his call for a cease-fire so that a process for permanent, peaceful resolution can be established.

Sincerely,

AAPIC Board of Directors

President, Laurie Fong
Vice President, Grace Cheung-Schulman
Secretary, David Chen
Treasurer, Judy Chen
Board Member, Elizabeth Escalante
Board Member, Savenaca Gasaiwai
Board Member, Henry Huang
Board Member, Katherine Nguyen
Board Member, Claudia Sisomphou
Board Member, Brian Tajii
Board Member, Nancy Weber
Board Member, Barry Wu

APAICS 30th Annual Gala

Fri, 31 May 2024 22:38:43 GMT

“Our Communities. Our Leaders. Our Legacy.”

[Newsletter reprinted with permission of APAICS (Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies)]

President Joe Biden’s Keynote Speech

On Tuesday evening, President Joseph R. Biden gave the keynote address at the APAICS 30th Annual Gala at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on May 14, 2024, to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA & NH/PI) community during AA & NH/PI Heritage Month.

Founded by the late former Secretary Norman Y. Mineta in 1994, APAICS is the leading organization dedicated to promoting AA & NH/PI participation and representation at all levels of the political process. The gala, titled “Our Communities. Our Leaders. Our Legacy.” gathered 1,350 attendees, the highest-attended in organizational history, from across the country to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary and the rich contributions of the AA & NH/PI community. It is the largest gathering of AA & NH/PI elected officials and government appointees at the federal, state, and local levels.

The event, emceed by evening news anchor Eun Yang, featured special remarks from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries; honorary gala co-chairs Congressman Ted Lieu and Congresswoman Jill Tokuda; and Congresswoman Grace Meng. The evening’s honorees include CAPAC Chair and APAICS Board Member Congresswoman Judy Chu with the Norman Y. Mineta Lifetime Achievement Award; former U.S. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta with the Pioneer Award; screenwriter and producer of Crazy, Rich, Asians Adele Lim with the Vision Award; and Papa Ola Lōkahi with Community Leadership Achievement.

“All of you represent a simple truth that there is no singular Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander identity. The diversity of your cultures and the breadth of your achievements have shaped and strengthened the fabric of our country,” said President Biden. “You represent how we are a nation of immigrants, a nation of Dreamers, a nation of freedom. That’s the America we share. That’s the America we know.”

“We are a gorgeous nation of people from all across the world and central to it is this community. Central to our future is this community,” said Leader Jeffries. “Together, I am confident that our future can be brighter than our past.”

“There was a time when we were invisible in the halls of Congress. As a result, there was no one to speak up for us when one of the most discriminatory acts in our nation’s history was passed, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and when Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II,” said CAPAC Chair Chu. “This is why it is so significant for me to see the immense growth of our power. Today, we have 21 AANHPI Members of Congress and 76 CAPAC Members, a historic high. And we have used our seat at the table to push for the rights and needs of our communities.”

“I have seen firsthand depend on coalitions we build,” said former U.S. Associate Attorney General Gupta. “Coalition is something inherent to the AANHPI communities. We ourselves represent so many different cultures, languages, religions, and ethnicities.”

“We are no longer the exception. But we will not stop until that shiny beacon of Hollywood is a representation of all of us, not just some of us,” said screenwriter, director, and producer Adele Lim.

“Equity isn’t a word. Equity is a practice. Equity must be practiced,” said Sheri Daniels, executive director of Papa Ola Lōkahi. “So tonight I challenge us all to practice equity intentionally.”

“We are a community of communities, and we are so much stronger and better for it. When one of us is at the table, we will uplift our sisters and brothers who are still fighting for representation until we are all seen and heard,” said Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, president & CEO of APAICS. “The success of APAICS is not singular, but takes all of us.”

View the full video recording of the President’s remarks HERE.

What is AAPI Heritage Month?

Fri, 10 May 2024 22:39:57 GMT

You May have noticed in e-newsletters and social media posts that events are put on this month – May – in honor of AAPI Heritage Month. But do you know what it is and how this designation came about? Be sure to check out our Events Page listing of AAPI events in the area.

What is AAPI, APIA, or APA?

When we think of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander), APIA (Asian Pacific Islander American), or APA (Asian Pacific American), we usually think of the 51 countries and territories in Asia, the most populous continent in the world. But AAPI, APIA, or APA covers much more.

According to the U.S. government webpage about the Asian/Pacific Heritage Month, the term Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent AND the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Easter Island). So we also have the acronym of AANHPI, which stands for Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander.

Each of the Asian and Pacific Islander countries has a distinct language and dialect, culture, customs, and food. This is what we are celebrating – our uniqueness, our differences, and our commonality.

So why May?

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

How did the Asian/Pacific Heritage Month come about?

Like most commemorative months, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month originated with Congress. In 1977, Representative Frank Horton of New York introduced a resolution to proclaim the first ten days in May as Pacific/Asian American Heritage Week. In the next 15 years, several resolutions were passed. And finally, in 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-450 to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

Where can I find out more about the Asian/Pacific Heritage Month?

Read more in the digital and physical holdings available in the Library of Congress at this Web portal, which is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The contents of this site highlight only a small portion of the physical and digital holdings of the participating partners.

Rena Charles – A Room of Her Own

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 23:45:07 GMT

By Keiko Ohnuma

At age 41, Rena Charles had already reached the pinnacle of her arts management career. Four years after moving here from Tampa, she was elevated from art consultant to director of gallery sales at the multimillion-location Aerena Galleries. That’s when she took a step back to focus on her own art.

Charles had been painting since her undergraduate days at Emory University, but only in the last fifteen years did it become a serious thing. “The first five years, the work was not good,” she laughs—and she should know. Her career was built on understanding what art buyers want, and identifying the artists who can deliver it.

Embracing the easel was hardly a business decision, but investing in herself paid off in ways she could not have imagined. An art gallery in Albany where she had been selling small-format works offered her a solo show, and she ended up selling fourteen of the eighteen large-format paintings she created. When her life partner wondered aloud why she’d never thought to open her own gallery, the wheel of fortune began to spin.

“Could I? Dare I?” she remembers asking herself. “It’s in my DNA to assess all the factors, so we were uploading and downloading, starting with the idea of what artists would I represent?” Seven months later, Charles opened the wall-size folding glass doors to the Rena Charles Gallery in downtown Healdsburg, with the work of nine artists filling the former architectural office flooded with natural light.

Sales during the summer tourist season were “amazing,” she said, and the local community has proved excited to support a new gallery in Sonoma County and discover the artists it is showcasing.

“It was one of those things where everything started to align—almost eerily,” she says. Charles credits the backing of family and friends for her strong launch, but she hardly left the process to chance. Top of mind from day one was how she would survive. “I didn’t want the mindset of ‘If you build it, they will come.’ ”

She also had a clear vision of what she wanted in her own space. Charles’ gallery features painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and textiles with a focus on local and regional artists who may not be widely known, but have what it takes to succeed: a cohesive body of “polished” work elevated enough to appeal to designers and other sophisticated art buyers.

“I also wanted to give a platform to women and BIPOC artists,” she says, knowing they face systemic barriers to gallery representation. Of some forty artists represented at Aerena, for example, she remembers only one or two that were a person of color. “I just wanted to be sure I was mindful of that element.”

Charles herself has a Taiwanese mother and black father, and one of her artists, Korean/black painter Lina Chambliss, shares a strangely similar background, down to the echo in their names. So alongside her spreadsheets and business know-how, Charles relied on her intuitions and personal connections.

“Of course, you want to be self-confident,” she says of starting a business, “but it was really the confidence of others saying ‘you can do this,’ along with resources like the AAPI and small business groups. They can help when you have a great idea but don’t know the next steps.”

“I thought that was an amazing example of how people in your community—however you define that—will support you,” Charles says. “It’s a matter of using your platform and influence where you can.”

Meet Rena at her Holiday Sip & Shop

Sat, December 2, 4-7 pm!

Rena Charles Gallery
439 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg
renacharlesgallery.com
Instagram @renacharlesgallery
(707) 813-2033, hello@renacharlesgallery.com
Open Thursday through Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.

Keiko Ohnuma is an editor, newspaper reporter, and freelance writer/editor, continually diverting her passions to art, outdoor sports, and animals, now semi-retired and working on personal writing projects.

Photos by Grace Cheung-Schulman.

Local Author Finds True Healing in Cultural Reclamation

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 22:47:56 GMT

Author Erin Masako Wilkins’ new book, Asian American Herbalism: Traditional and Modern Healing Practices for Everyday Wellness brings her knowledge to your home.

By Jen Hyde

Erin Masako Wilkins’ path to becoming an herbalist began while she was studying Japanese acupuncture in Berkeley. She soon realized that herbalism was a profound component of this discipline and quickly fell in love with their healing powers. The more she learned about herbalism, the more Erin realized that many medicinal herbs grow abundantly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Herbs such as chrysanthemum, mugwort, rose, and various mints became essential ingredients in her practice. After school, she was eager to bring her knowledge to her community.

At first, herbal workshops served as a platform for sharing knowledge and breaking down barriers to herbal medicine. Erin believes that herbalism is not just about healing the body but also about reconnecting with cultural traditions and the earth. She often highlights the concept of “food as medicine” and encourages participants to explore their own cultural connections to herbs and food, fostering a sense of belonging and pride in one’s heritage.

Erin’s workshops have attracted a diverse community, a testament to her dedication to inclusivity and the power of online platforms during the pandemic. Her online presence has allowed her to reach a broader audience, leading to greater Asian representation in her classes and workshops, and eventually a book deal.

Her new book, Asian American Herbalism: Traditional and Modern Healing Practices for Everyday Wellness, explores the intersection of Asian American identity, herbalism, and cultural connections to the land. The book provides guidance for those seeking to incorporate herbalism into their lives both for wellness and cultural connection. It is one part recipe book, one part memoir as Erin delves into her family’s history, their experiences during World War II, and their role as farm laborers in Sonoma County to provide a framework.

Erin’s grandfather, Hiroshi Yamamoto, was a second-generation American from Ukiah. His family fled to Utah to escape Japanese incarceration during WWII. Hiroshi later fought in the war, and afterward moved his family to Sacramento. Erin’s mother moved the family back to Santa Rosa while Erin was in high school, a move which Erin attributes as the catalyst for her calling.

As a mixed-race individual, Erin’s journey to finding her heritage and identity has been a nuanced exploration. Before the pandemic, Erin called her business East West herbalism, a name that placed her cultural experiences side by side. This is a method of identifying oneself that is common among mixed Asians for whom preserving family histories is a crucial part of our identity formation. For us, cultural reclamation is deeply personal. Asian American Herbalism is a term Erin created for herself. Her self-realization not only aligns with her identity but also serves as a source of inspiration in the pages of her new book.

Join us on Friday, October 20th at 7 pm to launch Erin’s book: Asian American Herbalism: Traditional and Modern Healing Practices for Everyday Wellness at Copperfield Books in Petaluma! Reserve a free ticket here. Order your copy of the book at Copperfield’s Books online.

Jen Hyde is the author of Hua Shi Hua,华诗画 [Drawings & Poems from China]. She lives in Sonoma County with her family.

Redwood Empire Chinese Association September 2023 Newsletter

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 22:50:23 GMT

To apply for a membership of RECA (Redwood Empire Chinese Association), please contact RECA Secretary Judy Cheung by emailing her here.

All RECA Members, Family, and Friends,

You are invited to join us for the 2023 RECA Autumn Moon Festival Potluck Social on Saturday, September 30, 5:00 p.m. until dark at RECA Center, 3455 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95407. Just show up, no need to register.

In addition to our usual food, fun and entertainment, we will have a special eye-painting ceremony for our two new lions purchased with funds from the CAB Grant and for our new dragon purchased with funds from our Diversity Grant from the Arts and Cultural Grant of Northern Sonoma County. Once the eyes are painted, our lions and dragon will be able to see and will perform for us for the first time. Don’t miss this fun and excitement. We will also have our Adult Cultural Dancers, RECA Adult Chorus, Wu Academy Martial Arts, and more acts of excellent RECA talent.

Be sure to bring a jacket for when the sun goes down and it gets chilly. See you there with your entire family of all ages and generations!

**** To join RECA Membership and receive RECA Newsletter, please email RECA Secretary Judy Cheung.

Upcoming Regular Meetings

RECA Board Meeting

Every other month on the 3rd Wednesday, 7:00-9:00 p.m., RECA Center. All interested members are welcome to join us in planning and carrying out RECA business and community involvement. Be part of RECA’s less advertised activities. Be on committees where you can meet civic leaders. Be a special guest to invitation-only events to which RECA is invited. Enjoy special snacks brought to share by traveling board members. Share your talents, contacts, and knowledge. We meet every other month on the 3rd Wednesday at 7:00 at our Center unless otherwise announced. Our next meetings are scheduled on October 18 and December 20. To receive information to attend, please contact a board member: President Nancy Wang 707-576-0533, Youth Group Leaders Jong & Lorraine Mira 707-364-5327,

Vice President and RECA Chorus: David Chung, 707-340-6045, Recording Secretary: Judy Cheung, 707-528-0912 or any board member listed on the front page of this newsletter, or email Judy Cheung.

RECA YOUTH GROUP:

Usually each 1st Friday, 6:00-8:30 PM, RECA Center. Youth Group focuses on Chinese and Asian cultural issues and situations. We begin with a lion or dragon dance rehearsal, have a light meal, then a topic of discussion. We end the meeting with some fun and games. If you are a teenager and would like to join us, please contact our YG Leaders, Lorraine and Jong Mira

Our next meeting will be Friday, September 8. 6:00 lion dance practice. 6:45 ice cream social. Please contact the Mira Family for specific information and to be sure they count you when they buy the ice cream.

RECA LION & DRAGON DANCERS Practice:

Each Youth Group Practice and meeting is usually on the 1st Friday at 6:00-6:45 plus special rehearsals before performing. Performances are community-wide. Please contact Lorraine and Jong Mira for rehearsal information. You do not have to belong to the Youth Group to be a lion or dragon dancer. We have junior and senior (elementary school and high school or older) lions. To be a dragon dancer, you must be big enough to hold the pole and keep up when the dragon runs. Less tall and less energetic participants can be Happy Buddha dancers or percussionists with cymbals and gong, or general support person to carry, drive, etc. There is always something for everyone to do.

Next performances: Sept. 30 RECA Moon Festival, RECA Center; Oct. 7 Alzheimer walk, Sonoma State University; Dec. 2 RECA Christmas Party at Santa Rosa Vets Building.

RECA ADULT CULTURAL DANCERS:

Practice each Wednesday, 3:30-5:30 p.m. At Snoopy’s Ice Arena Studio. Leader is Lisa Gardener. These adults learned cultural dance in China. To join, they hope you already know the basics of Chinese cultural dance. Rehearsals are conducted primarily in Mandarin. They practice weekly and perform throughout greater Sonoma County and beyond. Their performances include senior homes, all levels of schools, private parties, business parties, special dinner events, and many more exciting venues.

RECA ADULT CHORUS:

Tuesdays 7:00-9:00 p.m. at our RECA Center. Please email David Chung or Lisa Gardner for more info in case the time has changed for this month. The Chorus recently performed at the Sonoma County Fair and will perform at RECA’s Autumn Moon Festival on September 30, our December Christmas Party at the Santa Rosa Vet’s Building on December 2, and many additional community events.

RECA SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:

At least two $500 scholarships are given each year to high school seniors who live in Sonoma County and are of Asian descent or who are members of RECA. Applications may be obtained on our website or from public and most private school counselors. 2024 applications may be turned in starting February 2024. Interviews are planned for May 2024. The interview committee will be assigned in March or April.

For 2023, our recipients were:

Elizabeth (Ellie) Mira, RECA, Maria Carrillo High;
Katrina Gong, RECA, Maria Carrillo High;
Melanie Raymond, non-member, Maria Carrillo High;
Andrew Simmalaychanh, non-member, Windsor High;
Rijan Chapagain, non-member, Sonoma Valley High.

Funds for these scholarships come from the RECA Scholarship Fund and from generous donors. This year’s donors were The Lok Family and David Chung in memory of his brother Steven.

RECA CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

August 19: Skyhawk Neighborhood Meeting in soccer field near Austin Creek School. RECA Lions perform.

September 9: Grand Opening of the Sonoma County Stories exhibit at the Sonoma County Museum. RECA is a contributor and has been closely involved. Nancy Wang is on the board of directors.

September 19: Building Bridges Between Communities, Congregation Shomrei Torah, Nancy Wang is featured speaker

September 23: South Park Day & Night Festival, RECA will have an info booth and lion dancers in Martin Luther King Park, 1671 Hendley St., Santa Rosa, near the fairgrounds. Begins at 2:00 pm. All day fun, free movie at night.

**September 30: RECA Autumn Moon Festival, RECA Center. Setup 3:00, begins 5:00, entertainment 7:00. Everyone is invited. Bring food to share, family, friends and a jacket for when the sun goes down.

October 7: Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Sonoma State University, RECA Lions & Cultural Dancers perform. *October 18: RECA Board Meeting RECA Center, 7:00. Please contact Nancy Wang or Judy Cheung for more info. All interested members are welcome.

October 21: Finding History Day, Finley Center, Sonoma County Historical Heritage Society exhibition. RECA will have an information booth and is a sponsor.

October 21: Building Bridges Between Communities, Congregation Shomrei Torah, RECA Youth Group member Kevin Zhai is a featured speaker.

November 5: Building Bridges Between Communities, Congregation Shomrei Torah, RECA has an info table POSTPONED TO JANUARY 2024. November 11: Asian American Pacific Island Coalition of North Bay Annual Meeting.

**December 2: RECA Christmas Party: Santa Rosa Vet’s Memorial Building Dining Room (east side parking), Setup 4:00, begins 5:00, entertainment 6:30. Everyone is invited. Please bring food to share, family and friends.

*December 20: RECA Board Meeting RECA Center, 7:00. Please contact Nancy Wang or Judy Cheung for more info. All interested members are welcome.

Date TBA: RECA Youth Group to help paint street art at intersection of 2nd & D Streets with artist Judy Kennedy with funds granted by Santa Rosa CAB (Community Advisory Board.)

2024

January 19: Finley Park Chinese New Year Celebration, Program presented by RECA.February 3: Sonoma County Children’s Museum Chinese New Year Celebration, RECA is invited to perform.

February 16: Oakmont Senior Singles performance of lions, dancers, and chorus

February 17: Healdsburg Chinese New Year Celebration, RECA is invited to perform. RECA YG to help paint street art at intersection of 2nd & D Streets with artist Judy Kennedy with funds granted by Santa Rosa CAB (Community Advisory Board.)

January 19: Finley Park Chinese New Year Celebration, Program presented by RECA.

February 3: Sonoma County Children’s Museum Chinese New Year Celebration, RECA is invited to perform.

February 16: Oakmont Senior Singles performance of lions, dancers and chorus

February 17: Healdsburg Chinese New Year Celebration, RECA is invited to perform.

10,000 Degrees: Helping AAPI Students Succeed in College and Beyond

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 22:59:26 GMT

By Katrin Ciaffa, 10,000 Degrees Regional Director for Sonoma and Napa Counties.

For students who identify as AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander), people often assume that they have the financial resources and know-how to access, persist, and succeed in college. But that’s not always the case. There are a lot of misconceptions about AAPI students, Jin Choi told NBC Bay Area recently. Choi is Asian American and the director of scholarships at 10,000 Degrees, a leading, equity-focused scholarship provider and college success nonprofit in California.

We Are Not A Homogenous Group

“A lot of people think we are this homogenous group, that all of us graduate college, that all of us have engineering jobs… but of course, that’s not true,” Jin said. “There are over 60 different Asian nationalities and cultures in the Bay Area, and they all have their unique, different college outcomes … for instance, if you look at the Hmong community, the Vietnamese community, the Cambodian community, many are living under the federal poverty guidelines. They need as much help as any other community out there.”

Jin Choi, 10,000 Degrees Director of Scholarships, with Samuele Esperon, recipient of the Filipino American National Historical Society scholarship in 2017. Samuele graduated from UCLA in 2020.

Eighteen percent of 10,000 Degrees scholarship recipients identify as AAPI. Last year, they awarded nearly 600 AAPI students $788,000 in renewable, need-based scholarships. 10,000 Degrees has several scholarships specifically dedicated to AAPI students, including the Nas Scholarship for students of Indian descent, and the Asian Scholarship Fund for students who have one parent of Asian descent, are graduating seniors from Sonoma, Marin, Napa, or Contra Costa high schools, and are planning to enroll in college fulltime. All of 10,000 Degrees’ scholarships are need-based and renewable until baccalaureate attainment.

Through a potent combination of scholarships plus comprehensive support, 10,000 Degrees annually helps over 12,000 high school and college students from low-income backgrounds get to and through college so they can realize their full potential and positively impact their communities and the world.

Juliana Z.

Like 10,000 Degrees scholarship recipient Juliana Z., the daughter of Chinese immigrants, who hopes to give back to her community. “Growing up, those around me, including my immigrant parents, worked two to three blue-collared jobs, struggling with language barriers impacting their job security,” Juliana recalled. “My passion for languages stems from my realization that I could use this knowledge to advocate for others.

“I hope to use my language skills as the foundation of my work to further immigrant advocacy”

Juliana Z.

Juliana graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 2021 and is now attending UC Berkeley. She is determined to make a difference for other Asian immigrants.

“As a Chinese-American female, often underrepresented in today’s political stage, I strive to use my voice to help voice the needs and concerns of Asian Americans on the national policy agenda to combat the dominant model minority narrative,” Juliana said. “I aim to advocate for the provision of interpretive services to help the diverse population of Asian immigrants in their dealings with public/private agencies on a local, state, and national level. I seek to change our educational institutions to teach about multiculturalism and the histories, cultures, and contributions of Asian Americans.”

Amanda Doan

“I’m proud to say that I will be one of the first in my family to attain a college degree. I feel grateful that I am in a position where I can pursue my boldest dream of graduating without any debt during my undergraduate career, and I can assure that 10,000 Degrees, its staff and the various scholarship donors generosity will never be forgotten. Thank you for your investment in the youth!”

Amanda Doan, wearing a traditional Vietnamese Ao Dai to honor her Vietnamese heritage as a first-generation college student; Yerba Buena High School, Santa Clara 2018, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2023.

100% of 10,000 Degrees students come from low-income backgrounds, 93% are from communities of color, and 92% will be the first in their family to attend college. 10,000 Degrees also provides extensive support to undocumented students, including scholarships.

Hy L.

Hy L. is a 10,000 Degrees scholarship recipient from Sonoma County who graduated from Piner High School in Santa Rosa in 2022 and is now majoring in mechanical engineering at UCLA. “My family and I immigrated from Vietnam in 2010, and being able to make my parents proud after all the hard work they’ve put in makes me very happy,” Hy said. “My parents always assured me that money wouldn’t be an issue, that we can take out loans and make it work, especially since engineering is a stable career. But I definitely wanted to seek out opportunities where they existed if it could ease the burden on our family. I am incredibly grateful for this scholarship and its easing of not only our financial burden but my mental burden as well.”

10,000 Degrees services include college and financial aid counseling, near-peer coaching, financial aid management, and career and graduate school support for students and alumni. Unlike most other college success organizations, there is no GPA requirement to participate in their programs. Their Fellows, near-peer coaches who are recent college graduates and often alum of 10,000 Degrees, are embedded in high school and college campuses to help students navigate life both on and off-campus and throughout their college success journey. With this innovative support model, 10,000 Degrees achieves unmatched success rates: Over 80% of 10,000 Degrees four-year college students earn bachelor’s degrees. 10,000 Degrees community college students transfer to and graduate from four-year colleges at a rate that’s three times the national average. 10,000 Degrees students also graduate with 88% less student loan debt than the national average.

Eight Bay Area Counties Served

10,000 Degrees programs reach students and families in eight Bay Area counties – Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara – and partner with 41 high schools, 56 community colleges, and 170 four-year colleges and universities across the nation.

Application Period

The 10,000 Degrees scholarship application period coincides with the FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and California Dream Act (for undocumented students) application periods, which will be opening at the end of the 2023 calendar year. 10,000 Degrees’ team provides extensive support with all financial aid applications and always strives to work closely with each student’s family.

Please check 10,000 Degrees’ website at 10000degrees.org for more information. 10,000 Degrees strongly encourages all AAPI students with financial needs to apply and take advantage of this life-changing, free resource.

Questions? Please contact:

Katrin Ciafffa, Regional Director for Sonoma and Napa County: katrin.ciaffa@10000degrees.org
Jin Choi, Director of Scholarships: jchoi@10000degrees.org

Declaration of Unity

Tue, 16 May 2023 22:43:09 GMT

By the 6th graders at Strawberry Elementary School in Santa Rosa, CA

Liz Larew, a member of Sonoma County United in Kindness Project, wrote to AAPIC dated February 20, 2023.

“The 6th graders at Strawberry Elementary School in Sonoma County, CA, have been at the forefront of spreading acts of kindness, inclusivity, equality, and friendship at their school. Based on information their teacher, Mrs. Forgy, brought to them from Sonoma County United in Kindness Project, these young ones wrote their own Declaration of Unity, modeling and promoting the kind of humanity and leadership the world desperately needs.

To effectively cultivate a culture of respect, fairness, compassion, responsible leadership and inclusivity, active participation by all members of the community is required. If you have a child or a grandchild attending school, or have connections within the school system, please work with teachers or schools to promote tenets of this United in Kindness declaration written by students.

Schools are where the next socially responsible persons and humanistic leaders are made—contributing towards a better future for all!”

Read Strawberry Elementary School students’ Declaration of Unity (continue or click button to a different page in the Cloud for people to access and download).

We are United in Kindness

Mrs. Forgy’s Sixth Grade Class of 2023

Strawberry Elementary School

In order to achieve unity and kindness in our community...

We support…

Freedom of choice
Kindness toward those with challenges or disabilities
Kindness to people of different ethnicities, religions or beliefs
Being kind, even when people are not looking
Different loves
Respecting others and their differences
Being honest and responsible, and proving you are these things throughactions
Looking at things you don’t like with a different perspective
Being positive or being quiet
Giving people second chances
Considering the source of bullying

We have no room for and will not tolerate (nor stand by)…

Violent words or actions
Insults
Bullying
Racism
Cyberbullying
Hurtful pranks
Sexist talk or ideas
Gossip/rumors
Hurtful judgment of others
Insulting peoples’ beliefs, backgrounds, or interests
Eavesdropping

Rohnert Park City Council’s Proclamation on Lunar New Year 2023

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 23:42:15 GMT

The Lunar New Year is an important and joyous occasion for our Asian community. January 22 was the first New Year day of the Lunar calendar this year. This is the time when families and friends gather to celebrate culture, enjoy delicious traditional food, and share well wishes for a brighter year to come. Just in Santa Rosa, there were more than a dozen Lunar New Year celebrations planned and scheduled by the Redwood Chinese Association and Sonoma County Vietnamese Association all around town. They worked in coordination with cities, libraries, museums, and a number of businesses in an effort to share their culture and joy with the larger community. The city councils of the cities of Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park offered proclamations to honor the contribution of the diverse Asian community in their cities.

The horror of the mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay in California on the first two days of the Lunar New Year shook us all to the core, particularly the Asian community. What happened? Why?

It was in this traumatized state of shock and grief that I attended the Rohnert Park City Council meeting on behalf of AAPIC to receive the Lunar New Year proclamation the day after the Half Moon Bay shooting. I spoke from my heart. I would like to share my thoughts with you here.

Grace Cheung-Schulman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grace Cheung-Schulman, Co-Chair, AAPI Coalition of North Bay
Remarks on the Lunar New Year proclamation on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2023
at the Rohnert Park City Council Meeting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mayor Rodriguez and Council members, thank you for inviting me to represent AAPI Coalition of North Bay to your City Council meeting to receive the proclamation in honor of the Lunar New Year celebration.
A year ago, I was at this same city council meeting to receive the Lunar New Year proclamation via Zoom in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. At that time, I spoke about how I, myself, and a group of residents of Sonoma County, concerned about the prevalent anti-Asian violence, decided to come together to form the AAPI coalition.

Fast forward one year, AAPIC is now a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit. Our mission remains the same – to celebrate culture, empower community, and promote positive change in the AAPI community.

But the series of gun violence in the last 3 days, in my mind, have completely changed the urgency and core focus of these words.

To borrow a line from the popular Pogo comic strip from Earth Day 1971, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” It is no longer sufficient for us just to look out for enemies attacking us from outside. Our enemy is us – it is our inability to look out for our own people.

As minorities, the various Asian and Pacific Islander communities are strong and well-known for taking good care of their own.

The events from the last 3 days told us that keeping just to ourselves no longer works.

Who is hurting? Who is not being heard? Who needs help? Where do we get help?

A lot more needs to be done.

Firstly, and most urgently, the various AAPI communities need to come together to share information and resources to help each other. Because we are diverse in languages and cultures, small in number, and geographically scattered, we need to work together more closely as one community.

Secondly, we must have more sensible gun control laws. Growing up in Hong Kong as a teenager, occasionally I heard the horrific news about some “crazy guy” running down the street with a big cleaver knife attacking people. At most, one or two people would be hurt. But in the United States today, with guns and assault rifles which were designed to kill enemies in the battlefield, the death toll can be many times more.

Lastly, we need better access to mental health services. Mental health stigma affects all ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities, but Asian Americans may be more impacted than most. We need to work closely with mental health service organizations to improve outreach and access for our AAPI community.

Thank you for giving me this space to express what I believe are some very important steps we must take to prevent similar incidents here in Sonoma County. We want to stand in solidarity with all people and allies to right injustices.

I, myself, and my fellow community members within the AAPI Coalition pledge to work with government agencies, nonprofits, community groups, and allies to make it a better New Year to come.

Download a PDF version of the remarks here.

Proclamation Image

Proclamation Photo

Rohnert Park City Council’s Proclamation on Lunar New Year 2022

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 23:40:56 GMT

On January 25, 2022, the City of Rohnert Park invited our two Co-Chairs Grace Cheung-Schulman and Elizabeth Escalante to attend a virtual meeting of the City Council to celebrate

February 1, 2022 as Lunar New Year in the City of Rohnert Park. A proclamation document was

presented to AAPIC and signed by Rohnert Park Mayor Jackie Elward. A video of the ceremony is available HERE.

The proclamation started at 1:48 mins into the video.
Co-Chair GraceCheung-Schulman’s speech starts at 7:46 mins.
Co-Chair Elizabeth Escalante’s remarks start at 10:48 mins.
Azy Heydon representing the Redwood Empire Chinese Association spoke at 14:42 mins.

Remember When… Felicia Lowe, in her own words

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 22:53:07 GMT

Miss Congeniality–1965 San Francisco Chinatown Pageant

I first met Felicia Lowe at the AAAM Retreat back in October 2021. Since then, I worked with her closely in our AAPI Film Series Committee planning and selecting films to show at our Film Series. I know that she is an award-winning independent filmmaker and have made several films including “Carved in Silence“, and that she is well known in the Chinese American community for her contributions and tireless work in preserving Chinese American history on film.

However, it is a little known fact that she also competed in the 1965 Miss Chinatown USA pageant, an amazing story that she is gracious enough to share with us all. I’d like to acknowledge Ben SB’s post on Facebook Chinese North American History Network that alerted me to this story.

Felicia in her own words:

As I dusted off the box of mementos from the 1965 Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant, memories of the whirlwind couple of weeks spent in San Francisco as a contestant came alive again. It was a lifetime ago! I was 19 years old, a junior at San Jose State, majoring in journalism. Inside the box was my badge number, Miss Congeniality sash, program book, and the tattered remnants of the scrape book I had put together. The photos and yellowed newspaper articles documented visits to family associations, photo spreads with politicians, modelling fashions, the Pageant at the Masonic Auditorium (including a shot of me singing), the Coronation Ceremony, and of course, the New Year’s Parade. The coverage was non-stop, our images appeared in both the Chinese and mainstream press. The experience was exhausting and exhilarating. I enjoyed meeting my fellow contestants who came from different parts of the country. It was the first time I’d met Chinese American girls with a southern drawl, and a Philly accent. There was also lots of laughter to get us through each day’s grueling schedule. We bonded as a group and were happy for everyone’s success. It never felt competitive to me.

My new found friends voted me Miss Congeniality, which took me by surprise (far left in the photo). Revisiting the experience now 57 years later, I realize it had a greater impact on my 19 year old self than I had previously understood. I gained a greater respect and broader perspective about the Chinese community, its leadership, pride in being Chinese in America, being American. It laid the ground work for my future career in media and the subjects I would cover.

My then interest in journalism had morphed into broadcast journalism which I found more dynamic and could reach larger audiences. I moved to New York to study film and television production, while working on the children’s program, “The Electric Company.” Upon completion of a Broadcast Journalism Program at Columbia University, I was

hired as a news writer at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. I moved back to San Francisco to work at KGO-TV, becoming its first Asian female reporter. I also hosted the public affairs program, “Perspectives” and co-hosted two live broadcasts of the Chinese New Year’s Parade with David Louie. I learned a great deal working in breaking news, but I was eager to tell longer stories and the opportunity arrived with an offer to work on the PBS series, “Turnabout” as a field producer. The work prepared me well to make my first documentary in 1979, “China: Land of My Father” in which I went to China to meet my father’s mother for the first time.

The overwhelming positive response to seeing “our Roots story” inspired me to make other documentaries. “Carved in Silence” reveals the stories of Chinese immigrants detained at Angel Island Immigration Station during the Chinese Exclusion era and the poetry carved into the walls. For KQED, I produced “Chinatown” for their Neighborhood series, and “Chinese Couplets” traces my mother’s journey from China to America as a paper daughter. All my documentaries have been broadcast on PBS and used in classrooms across the country. I’m gratified that I’ve been able to share what I have learned about our unique histories and common humanity through my films.

I’m even more pleased that work I’ve been a part of through the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation these past 40 years has resulted in the preservation and restoration of the Immigration Station, a National Historic Landmark.

I’ll end with a short clip from “Chinese Couplets.” It’d been a long, long time since I last stood on that stage in the Masonic Auditorium! Click here to watch the clip.

For information about Felicia and all her films, please visit her website at https://www.lowedownproductions.com. Also, several of her films are available on Kanopy.com which is accessible for free through your library card at the Sonoma County Library.

Healing for the Young Asian Girl

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 22:55:35 GMT

to the young asian girl
who is struggling with how
to process your pain right now

i want to tell you that it’s okay
that the anger or hurt you may feel
is valid and that you deserve
to be acknowledged and seen.

to the young Asian girl
who wants to speak up
but finds that your voice
gets lodged in your throat,
and you feel as though
you can’t breathe.

i am sorry.
i am sorry for the pain you are in right now
and i know that you hate crying
but it’s okay if you have to.

crying will not make you weak
and you will not be playing
into that sick stereotype of a
submissive asian woman.

so allow yourself to feel,
to scream,
to rant.
allow yourself to heal
because you deserve it.

to the young asian girl
who feels fetishized
and sexualized,

you are human.
you serve to feel safe in your own skin

and I’m sorry that that sense of security was stolen from you
but know that you can take it back
because you are stronger
than what you may think
right now.

to the young asian girl
who feels ignored,
who feels like people
won’t listen to your warnings
or protests unless
someone gets hurt or ends up
murdered,

your voice matters,
it always has and always will
and people will eventually
be forced to listen to what you
have to say
so do not silence yourself
for the comfort of others.

to the young asian girl
who knows that this type of violence
isn’t new,

who knows the history of yellow peril,
the model minority myth,
the chinese exclusion act,
and the countless other times
asian bodies have been brutalized
and beaten throughout history

please stay strong.
it may feel like you want to give up,
that people will forever choose to
stay ignorant
but in that case,
please put yourself first.

It is not your job
to educate others on
your pain or your history.

you are not a resource.
you are a human being and deserve
to be treated as such.

to the young asian girl
who feels exhausted,
and drained,
and can’t help but feel like,
you’re drowning
in the news of the daily
hate crimes you see online,

it is okay to unplug.
to log off.
to return to yourself
and find peace with your loved ones.

to the young asian girl
writing this poem
as a form of healing
and processing,

know that you are loved.
that you are appreciated.
that you are not a model minority.
or a scapegoat.
or a fetish.

know that feeling pain doesn’t make
you weak.
know that you are allowed to rest
and heal for however long you need.

Natalie Nong is a Youth Fellow at AAAM (Asian American Alliance of Marin) and an incoming freshman at San Jose State where she will be majoring in Animation/Illustration. She creates artwork and writes poetry that explores and discusses her identity as a Vietnamese-American woman. Her goal as an artist is to create a more positive and inclusive representation of Vietnamese perspectives through storytelling.

City of Sonoma Proclamation in Honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May 2022

Sun, 01 May 2022 22:33:44 GMT

Photo Credit: City of Sonoma. Representing AAPIC are Co-Chair Elizabeth Escalante (holding the Proclamation) and Phyllis Tajii, member of Board of Directors (far right). Mayor Jack Ding, holding the Proclamation with Elizabeth, is a member and strong supporter of AAPIC.

On May 18, 2022 at the City of Sonoma council meeting, an AAPI Heritage Month proclamation was adopted to acknowledge the contribution of the Asian community to the development of the City of Sonoma particularly in its wine industry. Several members of AAPIC contributed to the draft, and in our research, we uncovered a lot of history about the role the Asian community played. We thank Mayor Jack Ding for helping make this happen. Jack is the first Chinese American serving the city, and now as the mayor. We also acknowledge the invaluable wealth of information provided by Sonoma State University 2015 Master thesis written by Gordon C. Phillips (1929-2018)-The Chinese in Sonoma County, California, 1900-1930: The Aftermath of Exclusion.

In his address to the Sonoma City Council as the newly elected Mayor in December 2021, Jack Ding said, “[Sonoma] was built over 180 years ago, but what many people don’t know is that during the early development time 25% of Sonoma’s population were Chinese laborers.

“They were forgotten for many years and were not highlighted in our history because of racism and the Chinese Exclusion Act. But they lived here, worked here, and died here. Sadly, you cannot find any graves simply because they were not white and Christian. They were not allowed to be buried in the cemetery.”

“Still, they were great builders of Sonoma, we see their vineyards, wine cellars and walls allover our community. Very few had English names; you will see the same name on the Census, listed for all of the Chinese immigrants. It says: John Chinaman, John Chinaman, John Chinaman …”

“Today, Sonoma is a great city with inclusiveness and love and is making history again! I am a first-generation immigrant and also the first Chinese American serving the City of Sonoma. I fully understand both challenges and contributions of all our community-people whose families have been here for generations and newcomers who just settled down here.

“We are blessed to live and work here in Sonoma. It’s our responsibility to protect Sonoma and make sure that someday in the future, when we pass it on to our younger generation, the city of Sonoma will be stronger, more vibrant and still beautiful.”

In honor of the AAPI Heritage Month in the month of May, the City of Sonoma and Mayor Jack Ding have accepted AAPIC’s request to present a proclamation to highlight the contribution of the AAPI community at its City Council meeting.

See a copy of the Proclamation and attachment.

For Most of My Life, I didn’t Feel Like a “Real Asian.” Everything Changed This Year.

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 22:32:56 GMT

Huffpost Personal, by Stacey Fargnoli

“As a child, I assumed my Koreanness just fell away like a snake shedding its skin. I thought, ‘That must be what happens when you’re adopted.'”

“Growing up, I never thought about being adopted. It’s something that happened a long time ago and explains why I don’t look like my white parents, but that’s about it. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle that puts others at ease. It’s the fact I have stashed in my back pocket for those group icebreakers.”

My ethnicity was nothing more than a parlor trick until March 16, 2021, when news of six Asian American women gunned down in Atlanta pierced through my veneer of indifference. I knew about the increase in violence against Asian Americans in recent years, but this time, the fear tore into the heart of my being. It forced me to look at my own Asianness and the reality that I am a target of hatred toward Asian Americans whether I feel like a “real Asian” or not. Read more.

Understanding Hate Against Asian Americans

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 22:32:14 GMT

This is a slide presentation of Stop AAPI Hate by Manjusha P, Kullkarni, Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance on March 17, 2022.

Key Takeaways

Racial discrimination affects all Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Intersectionality matters.
Most hate incidents are not hate crimes
No one-size-fits-all solutions.
There is no one profile of perpetrators and contrary to popular belief Blacks do not make up the majority of those causing harm
Racism: Not only interpersonal attacks, but also structural decisions and policies

Read the slide presentation.

Stop AAPI Hate is an initiative of:

Stop AAPI Hate National Report

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 22:31:18 GMT

From March 19, 2020 to December 31, 2021, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons were reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Of the hate incidents reflected in this report, 4,632 occurred in 2020 (42.5%) and 6,273occurred in 2021 (57.5%).

This national report features:

(1) the overall descriptions of 10,905 hate incidents from Stop AAPI Hate data; and

(2) the gender-specific descriptions of hate incidents.

It also highlight policies and recommendations to address experiences with hate, including policies from Stop AAPI Hate’s recently released California State Policy Recommendations to Address AAPI Hate report, which can be adopted in states around the country. Information about our standard data cleaning procedures and more detailed tables can be found in the Technical Appendix at the end of this report.

According to Stop AAPI Hate data, verbal harassment (63.0%) continues to make up the biggest share of total incidents reported.

Overall Key Findings:

AAPI women report more harassment (69.8%) than AAPI men (63.0%) and AAPInon-binary people (56.3%).
AAPI non-binary people report more deliberate avoidance or shunning (21.4%), being coughed at or spat on (13.9%), denial of service (8.3%) and online harassment (12.1%) than AAPI women and men.
A higher percentage of hate incidents experienced by AAPI women occurred inpublic streets (34.5%) compared to AAPI men (32.1%) and AAPI non-binarypeople (29.5%).
Higher percentages of hate incidents experienced by AAPI non-binary peopleoccurred online (13.9%), at school (11.8%) and at university or college (7.8%).
Higher percentages of AAPI women (19.1%) and AAPI non-binary people(23.1%) identified gender/gender identity as one reason for discrimination compared to AAPI men (5.5%).

Read the report.

Stop AAPI Hate is a national coalition addressing anti-Asian racism across the United States. The coalition was founded by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council(A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies Department

More Languages on the Unum Sculpture. We Prevailed!

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 23:29:36 GMT

Background

The City of Santa Rosa Public Art Program issued a Request for Qualifications seeking an artist or team of artists to design, fabricate, and install site-specific public art at the north end of Old Courthouse Square in Downtown Santa Rosa. The deadline to submit qualifications was in January 2020.

The Goal

The goal of this completed project is to provide the entire Santa Rosa community with a prominent artistic symbol that reflects the uniquely Santa Rosa values of innovation and cultural inclusivity. This art installation should inspire people living in, and visiting, our city to reflect on what is special about our community and encourage them to gather downtown to experience it first-hand.

Selection Process

A selection panel was formed representing arts professionals, downtown business and property owners, downtown residents, and the Art in Public Places Committee (APPC). After narrowing down from 140 submissions from artists across the country to 5 finalists, Blessing Hancock of Tucson, Arizona’s sculpture Unum was selected as the winner.

Words and Languages to be Included:

At the meeting of the APPC on January 10, 2022, the words in 17 languages on the Unum sculpture were recommended and adopted. This list was selected based on census data that identified the most commonly spoken household languages in the community, and added Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok as suggested by the advisory board.

Languages originally approved for the sculpture at the January 10 APPC meeting included:

English
Spanish
Chinese
Tagalog
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian
Vietnamese
Thai
Khmer
Amharic, Somali
French
Swahili
German
Korean
Italian
Persian
Southern Pomo
Coast Miwok

Outcry Over Hebrew and Japanese Languages Omission

The omission of Japanese and Hebrew in list of languages triggered an outcry from the Jewish and Japanese communities. See Press Democrat article on January 21, 2022.

The different languages are meant to represent the diversity in the community. There is roomfor more languages and adding a few additional languages will not displace any of thelanguages already approved. It will only add to the diversity.

Phyllis Tajii of Sonoma County JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) and a core member our AAPI Coalition of the North Bay, alerted us to the omission. She wrote, “While JACL is grateful that many different Asian languages are included (as too often distinctions are not made between the different Asian ethnic groups), there seemed to bean omission of the Japanese American population who have been in Santa Rosa since the 1800’s, and the same with the Jewish community (as represented by the Hebrew language).

“It is admirable that the APP Committee recognized the different populations that are so often overlooked, but if languages are meant to represent the diversity of the community, JACL would like them to go a step further and look at populations who speak English in the household and do not need translation assistance but who still identify with a specific ethnic group and have had a long history in the area.”

Several community organizations have already expressed support to re-examine the languages to be used. They include Sonoma County Interfaith Council, United in Kindness, the Jewish community. A request to add Hebrew and Arabic were also voiced.

APPC Meeting Decision Nullified

Public outcry over the omission of Japanese and Hebrew from the languages to be featured on the sculpture prompted inquiries by the Santa Rosa’s Economic Development Director about how the public could appeal the committee’s decision. At subsequent meetings with the city attorney and clerk’s office determined that the three affirmative votes cast on Jan. 10 were insufficient to pass the motion.

A press release was issued on February 1 that the City will revisit languages for the Unum sculpture which stated “Given this new information, the item will again be placed on an upcoming agenda for consideration…

“As the original motion for this item was invalid, there is also the opportunity to provide as lightly modified staff recommendation. After careful consideration of then process through which the original languages were identified, it is now recommended that the list from which the original 15 languages were identified be expanded to include the top 30 languages spoken in Santa Rosa, based on US Census Bureau data. This allows for more inclusivity while respecting the original process recommended by the community advisory group. The recommendation will incorporate the original selection of words as previously included.”

Words to be considered include the following out of 400 total responses from public engagement processes:

Unity
Community
People
Diversity
Kindness
Neighborhood
City
Safety
Respect
Love
Peace
Care
Resilience
Family
Equality
Equity
Belonging
Friendship

Recommended Languages now expand to the 30 most commonly spoken languages in Santa Rosa, plus Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok to acknowledge and respect he Southern Pomo and Miwok land and existing communities in Santa Rosa:

English
Spanish
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)
Ilocano, Samoan, Hawaiian
Vietnamese
Thai
Khmer
Amharic, Somali
French
Swahili
German
Korean
Italian
Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari)
Laotian
Cambodian
Russian
Swedish
Japanese
Portuguese
Gujarati
Hungarian
Hindi
Miao, Hmong
Arabic
Tigrinya
Hebrew
Polish
Greek
Southern Pomo
Coast Miwok

The new recommendations were considered and adopted at the Art in Public Places Committee on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

Movement to Combat Racial Profiling of Asian Americans: Where Are We Now?

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 23:28:41 GMT

Increased efforts by the U.S. government to racially target and profile Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have incited fear among the Asian American and immigrant community across the country. Mass surveillance and unjust investigations and prosecutions of scientists, researchers, and scholars of Asian and Chinese descent have increased at an alarming rate.

This webinar with OCA-Asian Pacific Americans consists of a two-part panel with the first section providing a comprehensive overview of the anti-racial profiling movement and the current state of play, including the end of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s security unit Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) and the upcoming trial of Dr. Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao, the most recent case under the “China Initiative“. The latter half of the panel looks into ways you can be involved with Advancing Justice | AAJC’s and OCA’s week of action.

Speakers highlight important policy and advocacy priorities, community-led grassroots organizing efforts, and outline how to build narratives with the media to lift up the voices of impacted people and increase public awareness

10 Key Moments in this Video: (Watch Webinar)

Overview of the Anti-Racial Profiling-from00:49 mins
John C Yang President and Executive Director,AAJC-from 01:19 mins
Anti-Racial Profiling Project-from 05:04 mins
Where Are We Now-from 10:10 mins
Historical Racial Profiling-from 14:25 mins
Issues with Media Coverage-from 15:14 mins
Impact on the Academic Community-from 31:29 mins
The Tennessee Chinese American Alliance-from 34:44 mins
Asian Pacific American “Advocates-from 54:43mins
Additional Resources-from 01:16:10 hrs

TED Talk: The Pride and Power of Representation in Film, Jon M, Chu, director of film “CrazyRich Asians”

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 23:27:04 GMT

Jon M. Chu is known for his visually stunning blockbuster films, as well as his kinetic work across various genres, from groundbreaking series to commercials and films. Chu directed the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which has earned more than $175 million in the United States alone. The film is the first non-period studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast, and it represents a new chapter in Chu’s 10-year career.

On the heels of the breakout success of his film Crazy Rich Asians, director Jon M. Chu reflects on what drives him to create-and makes a resounding case for the power of connection and on-screen representation. Watch video.

Sonoma County’s Youth Poet Laureate Ella Wen

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 22:26:31 GMT

California Poets in the Schools, a nonprofit that amplifies young creative voices in California, has named Ella Wen as Sonoma County’s new 2021 youth poet laureate. Ella, 16, a sophomore at Maria Carrillo High School, developed a passion in poetry growing up with her Grandpa reading and writing Chinese poems with him. One of three poems she submitted was “Written in Words” which explores racism, prejudice, and bias.

Written in Words

By Ella Wen

And the more I feel this array of alphabetical assault seeping deep within my skin, aimed at me like antagonistic arrows

telling me to say less

and then to say more

to dress less

and then to dress more

to be less

and then to be more

it’s then I begin to realize that words are powerful

and they hurt

but they can heal too

and I, we

I know words too

I too have a pen

my pen is infinite

the ink seeping within pages

I know how to write, I just didn’t know until now

My body, my mind, my soul is so much more than what you wrote your narrative

so clothed with ignorance and facades of apologies

I, experience, am experiencing all the pain there is

don’t write my story

for me.

AANHPI Summit on Reclaiming and Redefining Mental Health

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 22:25:16 GMT

The 2020’s Youth Poet Laureate Zoya Ahmed, a Maria Carrillo High School student, the first in Sonoma County, is first-generation American, with roots in Pakistan and India.

“This colorful heritage is her drive. Every day, Zoya is empowered to work hard towards achieving her goals, humbled by the opportunities she is given, and inspired to give back to the community. Her biggest motivators are her parents and her family, who encourage her each and every day. They are her muse; they symbolize the meaning of sacrifice in her life. Their stories, especially those of the women in Zoya’s family, are what give her writing a spark of creativity and perspective,” noted in the California Poets in the Schools website.

“Poetry gives me confidence and allows me to be more than just a person,” Ahmed said. “It allows me to embrace my individuality and heritage. It gives me a story.” Read more in the Bohemian.

The Sonoma County California Poets in the Schools aims to acknowledge a student who has achieved excellence in poetry between the ages of 13 and 19 and must be a Sonoma County resident. They should also have demonstrated their commitment to literacy arts and community engagement through participation in volunteer and community services, clubs, after school activities, and extra academic activities