AAPI Progressive Action's 2020 Highlights
2020 was undoubtedly the toughest year in modern history. We have many reasons to be thankful that this challenging year is coming to an end, but with the development of the Covid-19 vaccine and the approaching inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we can truly begin the new year with hope.
Here are some of this year’s highlights from AAPI Progressive Action, and our progressive and activated AAPI community:
#1 We’re in the White House!
Our Vice-President elect is a South Asian and Black woman for the first time ever! Kamala Harris is a woman of many firsts. She has broken numerous barriers, and her story of growing up in an immigrant family among multiple cultures is truly an inspiration to millions of women of color across America.
The Biden-Harris administration is starting to look like America, with many AAPIs appointed to high level positions. Among the appointees and nominees are Dr. Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General, Katherine Tai as United States Trade Representative, Neera Tanden as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rohini Kosoglu as Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President, Mala Adiga as Policy Director to Dr. Jill Biden, Bharat Ramamurti as Deputy Director for the National Economic Council for Financial Reform and Consumer Protection, Remi Yamamoto as Senior Advisor for Communications to the Chief of Staff, and Ali Zaidi as Deputy National Climate Advisor. Most recently, Vinay Reddy was appointed as Director of Speechwriting, the first ever Asian American speechwriter, and Gautam Raghavan as Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Katherine Tai, Neera Tanden, Rohini Kosoglu, Mala Adiga, Bharat Ramamurti, Remi Yamamoto, Ali Zaidi, Vinay Reddy, and Gautam Raghavan
#2 Our community is more #AActivated than EVER before.
The AAPI community turned out in full force in the November general elections, shattering our image of the “sleeping political giant”.
Our population has grown 25% in that last decade, making us the fastest growing demographic in the country, and this year, we showed up at the polls like never before. Our early vote alone exceeded our total 2016 vote by 21%. Our voting numbers surged in many battleground states, including Georgia, where we doubled our voting numbers and easily became the margin of victory.
To help our community go from marginalized to the margin of victory, AAPI Progressive Action hosted a series of webinars: A Conversation with Hillary Clinton and Lisa Ling; AAPI Activation 2020, a panel with AAPI influencers; AAPI Generations, a cross-generational talk on the importance of our vote; workshops of GOTV Best Practices and WhatsApp Organizing; and a Content Creation workshop coupled with a Content Creators Hub to share information to all corners of our diverse community.
With our #AActivated video selfie campaign, we rallied AAPIs to go to the polls, and to encourage our friends and families to do the same.
We recently celebrated our election victory, and convened in a historic Post-Election AAPI Progressive Organizing Summit, with hundreds of community members tuning in with a unified voice of hope.
Post-Election AAPI Progressive Organizing Summit
#3 Covid-19: There is light at the end of the tunnel.
The development of the Covid-19 vaccine symbolizes the speed and rigor of scientific development, and the light and the end of a 10 month long tunnel that has crippled our economy and devastated many of our communities.
It is a terrible tragedy that the reckless crisis management from the Trump administration has led to the death of over 300,000 Americans from the Covid-19 virus. Trump’s response to the pandemic went from downplaying the virus to spewing lie after lie about its severity, using xenophobic language targeting Chinese Americans and Asian Americans, and refusing to mandate mask wearing - even after testing positive for the virus himself.
While shielding ourselves from xenophobia, our community has been on the frontlines of the pandemic. From doctors to medical workers, AAPIs have been the backbone of the country during this crisis. The Filipino American community has faced an even more devastating toll, with one-third of nurses who've died of coronavirus in the U.S. being of Filipino descent.
The impact on the AAPI community has been trifold - our communities are at higher risk of the virus from lack of healthcare resources; we are facing unemployment and our businesses are struggling to stay afloat; and we are being attacked and abused in racially motivated hate crimes.
From online discrimination reporting tools to free meal distribution channels, our community rose up for each other, showing that times of crisis truly bring out the power of community and kinship. We gathered our community at the AAPI Progressive Talk #1, and AAPI Perspective: Realities of the Covid-19 Pandemic to highlight ways of protecting each other during the pandemic.
#4 The fire for racial justice is ablaze.
The virus of racism infected our society alongside Covid-19. Many cities became a hot spot for verbal and physical attacks against AAPIs. We witnessed horrific crimes like the stabbing of a two year old baby, an acid attack on a woman right in front of her house, and the attempted burning of an 89-year old grandma.
Our community stood strong against hate, and created campaigns like #WashTheHate, #HateIsAVirus and #StopAAPIHate in response to the spike in Covid-19 related racism. We joined forces to urge Trump and his GOP allies to stop the use of xenophobic language and show support to our hurting community.
The murder of George Floyd and the involvement of an Asian American officer in the crime forever changed all our communities. We took a hard look at the anti-Blackness and racial biases within our own community and stood in solidarity with our Black siblings, with campaigns like #AAPIs4BlackLives and Letters for Black Lives.
#5 Nobody should be labeled as a Public Charge
America is a nation built on the strength of immigrants, but from day one of his presidency, Donald Trump focused all his energy on making life hard for immigrants. His efforts did not stop even during the pandemic, when he implemented the Public Charge rule, which makes it harder for immigrants to follow the path to citizenship if they use public benefits like food stamps or public housing.
In the middle of the pandemic, immigrants were afraid to seek medical help for fear of being labeled as a Public Charge.
Our nation is built on the back of our ancestors. They made innumerable sacrifices to give us the life that we deserve, and a racist administration cannot take away our resources. We released the One National Commission Report and AAPIs Rising to Fight Dual Pandemics
Covid-19 and Racism reports to celebrate and lift up our community with facts, data, research, imagery, and curated stories.
We are joining Protecting Immigrant Families in urging the Biden administration to issue an Executive Order that directs agencies to rescind all public charge regulations.
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2020 was a year marked with many historic events. This year, we’ve witnessed enough tragedies to last us a lifetime. It is our most basic human instinct to stick together in times of hardship, and that’s what we did so well this year. When we stand together, there is no virus, xenophobia or crisis that can bring us down.
In 2021, we will continue our work to Build Back Better, and we can’t do so without you. Your support goes a long way in serving the AAPI community. Please fill out our End of Year Survey linked below. We’d appreciate any feedback as we begin forming our plans for the coming year on how we can best serve the community.