Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans The mission of the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans is to be an advisor to policymakers, advocate for the community, and a builder of bridges

A unique voice within government

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Why Embrace the Identity?  AAPI is a relatively new identity and still evolving – mostly political identity for political gain  42 Asian and Pacific Islanders ethnic groups in MN, with differing religions, languages and cultural practices  Unity of Purpose – we come together to work towards mutual gain

AAPIA: Why Work Together?  Civil Rights Movement Japanese Internment – lessons learned Voting rights given – “Wow, now we can have a say in our government.” Using the law to enforce & enable our rights  Increase in the Middle Class No longer farm labor or industrial workers Better paying jobs, urban to suburban

 Educational Attainment Increase in the number of high school, college, and graduate graduates College student movement to institute AAPIA studies  Recession of the 1970’s (Vincent Chin) AAPIA’s as foreigners  Effects of & Attention to Institutional Racism Realizing that racism effects all of us 1976 – Heritage Month Movement to commemorate contributions of AAPIA to America’s history begins

Different Paths, Same Journey  We are Americans  Shared immigrant experience – language and cultural barriers  Shared experiences with institutional racism that kept us apart from mainstream  Desire to retain home culture & traditions America's Chinese community is keen to retain its distinct cultural identity - and even second generation immigrants try to remain true to their Chinese roots. -Asian American Federation Census Information Center

Unity of Purpose: We Define the Journey If we are to say that we are unequal in this society, then it is upon us to figure out and articulate what this inequality is, and to do something about it.

Defining the Journey Communities working to redress historical wrongs  Political Empowerment ( ) – almost two hundred years behind  Missing in History (Helen Zia) – going back in history and write-in the stories of AAAPIA  Civil Rights & Civil Liberties  Taxed, but the tax dollars never came to the community or for our priorities

Directing Resources to Our Community “A fundamental challenge is strengthening the AAPI voice so it cannot be ignored by those outside the AAPI communities.” PAUL ONG, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES New Challenges for Bay Area Philanthropy: Asian & Pacific Islander Communities

We are the Experts About Our Needs  Asian Pacific Cultural Center  Dragon Festival  Paj Ntuab Voice – Hmong Literary Arts Journal  Asian American Press & Asian Pages  Mu Performing Arts  Asian Women United

1985: Institutional Change Pan-Asian leaders came together and decided to work to create a voice within government for themselves Legislature responded and created the Council – Minnesota Statute, Section Council Board Members: Adeel Lari, John Doan, Evelyn Lee & Dodge Flores

By holding onto things that are important to us, they become the everyday

We are the face of our neighborhoods, our country

Different Paths, Same Journey It is hard to be born as a human being and hard to live the life of one. It is even harder to hear of the path and harder still to awake, to rise, and to follow. -Dhammapada