From the historic passage of the API Equity Budget to our 52nd Celebration of Justice gala, this past month has given us much to be grateful for. For all the gains that CAA has made in the direction of education equity, community safety, and racial justice, it is clear to us that when communities of color stand together we can deliver the social change that we all need to thrive.
Keep scrolling to learn more about what our team has been up to this summer.
Celebrating 52 Years of Justice
On June 17, at our 52nd anniversary Celebration of Justice virtual fundraiser event, CAA welcomed 1,200 guests from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond to recognize the accomplishments of our three honorees — APIENC, Fred Blackwell, and Henry Der — and to reflect on the work that has happened and the work that lies ahead.
Many thanks to our friends and allies for joining us in the festivities, and to our event sponsors, musical guests, and our host — comedian Kristina Wong — for making it such a memorable night.
You can tune in to the full event recording, which is available on our website for the next few weeks. Or else, catch the highlights reel now on our blog.
Passing the API Equity Budget
This week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California 2021-2022 budget, including the $156 million API Equity Budget in a move that fulfills his promise to address racial discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. CAA was a leading voice in the statewide campaign to pass the API Equity Budget, working in coordination with 150+ community-based groups as well as the California API Legislative Caucus to fund victim services and violence prevention, disaggregated data collection and analysis, ethnic media engagement, and more.
The passage of the API Equity Budget represents one of the most powerful responses to anti-AAPI racism in the country, modeling a holistic approach for lawmakers here and everywhere to address both the causes and manifestations of racial injustice by investing in community based organizations. Click here to read our full press statement.
Localizing the Response to Hate
Government resolutions can help start meaningful conversations about racism and xenophobia in local communities. Last week, Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition co-founded by CAA, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, published the results of a 50-state survey documenting the federal, state, county, and municipal resolutions passed in opposition to anti-AAPI racism during the coronavirus pandemic.
Our number one takeaway: even though such resolutions have a 90+% passage rate, only 18 states and 49 counties have enacted them. To inspire more action, the coalition partnered with the law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell in developing an open-source template resolution to help individuals and elected officials organize against hate. You can find both resources here.
Virtual Learning for Immigrant Families
CAA released the latest episode of CAA’s Cantonese audio workshop. This month, our focus was social distance learning.
Now that the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) 2020-2021 school year has come to an end, workshop leaders Jose Ng and Crystal Van spoke with community members and education advocates, including former CAA staffer and current SFUSD Communications Director Hong Mei Pang,
Together, they discussed how students and teachers have continued to navigate the current pandemic, what challenges they have faced, and how SFUSD can support immigrant families in our community.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
