The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
Here are some more announcements, links, and job postings about academic-related jobs, fellowships, and other related opportunities for those interested in racial/ethnic/diversity issues. As always, the announcements and links are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the organization or college involved.
Today is the last day to help take the Queer Southeast Asian (QSEA) Census, March 1, 2011. As of now, we have collected 380 surveys nationally by Hmong, Thai, Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodians who are LGBTQ living in the US. We need 20 more surveys to be taken to reach our goal of 400 and it would be fantastic if we surpass that goal!
I wanted to reach out to you all again in hopes that if you haven’t taken the survey yet, to please do so, as this is historical and ground breaking data that we have been needing to
help support our work and bring visibility to our communities that do exist for over 30 years in the US. And for those that have taken it or don’t fit the criteria, please help us outreach it to your family, friends and network until midnight via Facebook, social networks, website and email.
Our QSEA Census is directed towards Queer Southeast Asians that have been affected by the Vietnam War living in the countries of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Leadership in Action (LIA) is an eight-week paid summer internship program designed to develop emerging young leaders by providing college students with practical leadership skills and the opportunity to work hands-on in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community in Southern California.
Approaching its 14th year, the program takes learning beyond the classroom, and places the student interns in a range of API community based organizations in order to gain real-life experience working at nonprofits. The intern will be paid $2,000 for the eight-week internship.
The intern’s weekly schedule is comprised of 4 days at their assigned community based organization (CBO) and 1 day at LEAP. At the CBO, the intern works with their assigned supervisor on a meaningful project. At LEAP, the intern’s day is devoted to leadership development training, issue discussions, CBO site visits and a community impact project. Nationally recognized trainers deliver workshops in critical skill areas. Issue discussions are on local or timely topics of interest and are facilitated by local community leaders/activists and LEAP trainers.
The community impact project will give the students interns an opportunity to flex their leadership skills in a safe setting, as well as allow them to contribute a service that has lasting impact on to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The 2011 program will be held in Los Angeles from June 20 – August 12, 2011.
The application process for interns is now open. Applications are due Friday, March 11th, 2011. There are two rounds in the application process. The first round is where a committee reviews all the applications and decides who they want to come in for an interview. The second round is the actual interview either at LEAP or by teleconference. The results will be decided by the end of March and interns will be notified by the first week of April.
Junior Faculty Development Workshop, Penn State
On June 2-4, 2011, the East of California Caucus and the Pennsylvania State University will sponsor a junior faculty development workshop for early-career Asian Americanists. The workshop reflects EOC’s historical commitment to mentoring junior faculty and providing support to those working to increase the disciplinary and curricular visibility of Asian American Studies in higher education. Specifically, the workshop will help professionalize junior faculty by focusing on how to:
Create extra-institutional networks of support
Identify meaningful research projects and develop vocabularies for how to talk about such projects with a variety of audiences (department chairs, audiences outside of Asian American Studies, potential editors)
Confront pedagogical challenges
Establish effective collegial relationships
Navigate the tenure process successfully
To accomplish these goals, the workshop will feature panel discussions, breakout sessions, and work-in-progress workshops. Please note that space will be limited to ensure a high level of interaction among all participants. Interested scholars should submit a brief letter of application outlining what the applicant hopes to gain by attending the workshop, a draft or excerpt of approximately 7-15 pages of the article or book chapter being proposed for workshop development (only work that has not yet been published is eligible), and a c.v. Please send materials to Tina Chen tina.chen@psu.edu and Eric Hung msumeric@gmail.com; questions should be directed to Tina Chen.
This event is funded by the Penn State Asian Studies Program (ASP) with additional support from the Center for American Literary Studies (CALS). The workshop will begin on Thursday evening (6/2) and conclude at 12:30 on Saturday (6/4). PSU will cover lodging and all meals during the event (specifically, 2 nights of lodging; dinner on Thursday; all meals on Friday; and breakfast and lunch on Saturday).
Out of the Margins: Asian American Movement Building. A two-day conference on the past, present, and future of activism and social change. March 25-26, 2011 at the University of Michigan.
Highlights:
Conversation between Grace Lee Boggs and Michael Hardt on the Next American Revolution (3/25, 4pm, Michigan League Ballroom)
Asian American performers showcase with Geologic (from Blue Scholars), Kiwi and DJ Phatrick, comic Hari Kondabolu, and Nobuko Miyamoto (3/25, 7:30pm, Michigan League Ballroom)
Panel discussions on immigrant rights, youth organizing, cultural activism, building multiracial coalitions and campus/community connections (3/26, 9am to 6pm, Trotter Multicultural Center)
Join students, scholars, artists, and community organizers from the University of Michigan and across the nation in this historic event. See our website for updated information and free registration.
Sponsored by:
University of Michigan Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program
Committee on Institutional Cooperation
Asian American Association
Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives
Rackham Graduate School
United Asian American Organizations
Asian American Studies Program (Ohio State University)
Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month
Examining the Resettlement & Integration Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Refugees
Intensive Internship Yielding Thesis-Level Stand-Alone Report and Publication
[10-week Program from June 13th to August 19th]
ORAM (Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration) is a California-based non-profit organization with a mission to advocate for refugees fleeing sexual or gender based persecution. ORAM conducts international education and advocacy on behalf of these highly vulnerable individuals. It also provides legal counseling and representation as these persons struggle to find security and safe haven. We work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and with community-based groups in the U.S. and abroad to achieve our mission. More information is available at www.oraminternational.org.
Project: Conducting a Survey on the Resettlement Experiences of LGBTI Refugees
ORAM is looking for exceptionally committed and highly qualified interns to conduct and report upon a survey documenting the experiences of LGBTI refugees in the United States. Each intern will be assigned a geographic area corresponding to his/her location. After contacting local resettlement organizations and locating LGBTI refugees, the intern will conduct in-person interviews with the persons identified. ORAM will provide translation services on an as-needed basis. Basing their work on a survey designed by ORAM, interns will inquire into areas including the refugees’ access to medical and mental health care, ability to find employment, and access to safe housing.
Participants’ stand-alone papers based on these interviews will be appropriate for use as graduation theses, upon school approval. ORAM will utilize the information gathered to compile a high quality analytical advocacy report, along with extensive recommendations for organizations and government agencies resettling LGBTI refugees. As in all ORAM projects, student contributors will be fully credited in the final published work.
Requirements
Anthropology, sociology, gender studies, social work and journalism students are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have excellent interviewing, listening and writing skills. High-level fluency in a second language, including (but not limited to) Spanish, Arabic, French or Farsi is highly desirable. Applicants receiving academic credit for this internship are strongly preferred. Interns are unpaid. They will work a minimum of 20 hours of work per week during a 10-week period in the summer of 2011. Interns will report to an ORAM supervisor and will be required to attend a weekly meeting via Skype.
Application Procedures
Interested applicants should send (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter, and (3) an original, non-fiction writing sample to ORAM Internship Coordinator at internship@oraminternational.org. Please write “Resettlement Experiences Internship Application” in the subject line of the email. Applications will be evaluated on an ongoing basis until May 1, 2011.
Here are some more announcements, links, and job postings about academic-related jobs, fellowships, and other related opportunities for those interested in racial/ethnic/diversity issues. As always, the announcements and links are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the organization or college involved.
Call for Papers: Asian American Policy Review
Founded in 1989, the Asian American Policy Review (AAPR) at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government is the first non-partisan academic journal in the country dedicated to analyzing public policy issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Over the past 20 years, the AAPR has been one of the only academic journals in the country committed to bringing attention to the research and policy perspectives of scholars, activists, policymakers and other Asian American leaders.
The AAPR is now accepting submissions for its twenty-first edition, to be published in February 2011. The submission deadline is November 22, 2010. Submissions and questions should be emailed to to aapr@hks.harvard.edu. We strongly encourage submissions from writers of all backgrounds, including scholars, policy makers, civil servants, advocates, and organizers. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Uyen Doan and Tommy Tseng
Editors-in-Chief
Uyen T. Doan
Harvard University | Kennedy School of Government
Master in Public Policy Candidate, Class of 2011
uyen_doan@hks11.harvard.edu | 617-413-4820
Humanities/Ethnic Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
To advance its ongoing humanities initiative, the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University is searching for four tenure-eligible faculty (three assistant professors and one advanced assistant or associate professor; two in English, and two in another humanities unit such as African-American Studies, History, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, or World Studies (the administrative home to programs in Anthropology and World Cinema) with research and teaching interests in and potential to secure external funding in the areas of:
Transatlantic Studies
Theory and History of Media or Film
Medical Humanities
Ethnic Literatures of the United States with a focus on historical contexts
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Of particular interest are candidates who bring interdisciplinary and global perspectives in their work and who can contribute to the interdisciplinary PhD program in Media, Art, and Text (MATX). We seek candidates who possess disciplinary knowledge, theoretical acumen, and a mastery of the relevant cultural and historical contexts. Preference will be given to candidates with a clear research agenda, existing or potential to secure external funding and teaching experience in: new media, world cinema, slavery and the literature of the slavery debate, the African presence in Central and South America or the Middle East, Transnational Gender and Sexuality studies, Africa and the African Diaspora including its literature, and narrative medicine.
Qualifications expected of candidates include a PhD in an appropriate field in hand by January, 2011 and a record of or potential for excellence in scholarship. Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU required. Applicants should e-mail (preferably as a single attachment) a letter of application, CV, and 3 letters of reference to the Search Chair, c/o Naomi Batten, battenne@vcu.edu. The application review process will begin on October 20, 2010. For full consideration, applications must be received prior to November 25, 2010. We will be available to interview at the MLA conference.
Asian American Studies, UC Davis
The Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis invites applications for a tenured or tenure-track position, to begin July 1, 2011. The position is open to all ranks. We seek an Asian American studies scholar, preferably in history or social sciences, with a Ph.D. in a relevant field who has expertise in interdisciplinary, comparative research. We are interested in a scholar who focuses on empire and colonialism with a specialization in two or more of the following areas: gender, sexuality, racialization, labor, citizenship, indigeneity, and transnationalism. Expertise in Filipino American and/or Asian Pacific Islander studies is also desirable, but we are open to other areas of concentration.
We seek a scholar with a strong record or clear potential for intellectually innovative and accomplished research within the field of Asian/Pacific Islander American studies; an excellent record of or potential for intellectual distinction and interdisciplinary expertise in the field of Asian/Pacific Islander American studies; demonstrated excellence or potential for departmental/university service and collaboration; demonstrated excellence or potential for teaching and curricular development in Asian/Pacific Islander American studies; and a commitment to and interest in collaborating with other academic units and graduate programs (e.g., cultural studies, social sciences, comparative race and ethnic studies, performance and media studies, language and literature departments).
Please submit a letter of application, a curriculum vita, and samples of written work (not more than 50 pages) as PDF or MS Word compatible files, and three letters of reference to AsianAmericanStudies@ucdavis.edu. If letters of recommendation cannot be sent electronically, please mail hard copies to: Department of Asian American Studies, Attn: Search Committee, University of California-Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616. Review of applications begins on December 8, 2010 and continues until the position is filled.
Undergraduate Research Program, UNC Chapel Hill
The Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP) invites applications for a ten-week paid summer research internship for undergraduate students (rising juniors or seniors). The program will be held from May 22-July 28, 2011 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The MURAP program seeks to prepare talented and motivated students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, or those with a proven commitment to diversity, for graduate study and academic careers in fields in the humanities, social sciences and fine arts. The program provides students with a rigorous research experience under the guidance of a UNC faculty mentor. Each student participant will receive:
* Stipend
* Campus Housing
* Meal Allowance
* Weekly or biweekly writing, communication skills and professional development workshops
* GRE prep course
* Paid domestic travel expenses (up to $500)
The application deadline is February 4, 2011. For more details about MURAP please visit our website or contact the Program’s Administrative Assistant, Ms. Kendra McKinney (mckendra@email.unc.edu).
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is Seeking One Intern for Fall 2010.
The Initiative is responsible for the implementation of the President’s Executive Order 13515 dated October 14, 2009. Its purpose is to develop, monitor, and coordinate executive branch efforts to improve the quality of life of AAPIs through increased participation in Federal programs. The Initiative is housed at the Department of Education but represents a collaboration among many Federal agencies.
Intern duties may include:
Performing research on AAPI issue areas, including education, community and economic development, health, labor and employment, and civil rights
Writing policy memos and proposals to improve government programs for AAPIs
Conducting outreach to national and local API organizations, elected officials, and ethnic media outlets
Creating communication strategies around social media
Coordinating events
Intern Qualifications
Currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student (must be enrolled at least half-time)
Outstanding research and writing skills
Experience working with AAPI communities or familiarity with the issues
Detail-oriented
Team player
Advanced knowledge of various software applications to include but not limited to Microsoft Office
Compensation:
Interns are eligible for transit benefits, which cover the cost of commuting to and from work on public transportation. Interested applicants should send a resume, cover letter, and enrollment verification with the subject “FALL INTERNSHIP 2010” to Shelly Coles at shelly.coles@ed.gov by August 23rd. Please be advised that if selected to work as an intern, you will have to undergo a security background check.
I’m doing the call out for Spring 2011 host sites and would greatly appreciate your help in getting the word out. Please distribute this to the student organizations that you are connected with. I especially need help with reaching out to schools in the Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, and Hawaii. Thank you!
OCA Now Accepting Applications for Spring 2011 APIA U: Leadership 101 Host Schools
OCA is seeking Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) student organizations from colleges, universities, and community colleges across the country to host a Spring 2011 (Jan-April) APIA U: Leadership 101 training. This interactive college leadership training program involves hands-on exercises, small group discussions, and presentations led by two qualified APIA facilitators. The one-day Saturday training assembles 60 APIA students from each region and focuses on understanding APIA history and identity, leadership development, and social justice and advocacy. Participants will be asked to challenge themselves, share their experiences, and develop leadership tools in order to effectively serve as catalysts for change.
Help bring this exciting and FREE leadership training to your campus! Potential sites are considered from anywhere across the country, coast to coast. We especially encourage new schools to apply from the following regions: Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, and Hawaii.
Tasks Include:
Publicizing and recruiting students to attend (both from on campus and other colleges)
Securing a room that fits approximately 60 people (open area, no fixed desks)
Providing recommendations for local restaurants and hotels
Hosting students that cannot afford hotel expenses (optional)
Again, these are only a sample of the tasks involved and OCA covers all expenses. To host a training in Spring 2011, apply online by August 30 at http://bit.ly/b5jJUD or complete the paper application and mail it to 1322 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20036 ATTN: APIA U Host Application. Please contact Iimay Ho at iho@ocanational.org with any questions.
Best,
Iimay Ho
Program Manager
Organization of Chinese Americans National Center
1322 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-223-5500 tel
202-296-0540 fax
iho@ocanational.org www.ocanational.org
OCA: Embracing the Hopes and Aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans
Visual Communications will begin accepting applications for our 2010/2011 “Armed With a Camera” Fellowship. This fellowship offers emerging Asian Pacific American film and media artists an opportunity to further their development and help them make connections that they will need to thrive within the film industry.
The 10 fellows chosen will receive $500 each to be used for the purposes of making a 5-minute film within a 5-month time frame. The final movies will be shown at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival that has an attendance of over 16,000 people. The Fellowship application will be open until October 1, 2010 and we will announce the winners during the last week of October.
Women, South Asian and Southeast Asian filmmakers are highly encouraged to apply to the Armed With A Camera Fellowship! More details and information on how to apply can found on our website.
From the Migration Information Source: according to our analysis of 2008 federal government data (the most recent year available):
There were about 342,000 foreign born from Taiwan residing in the United States — 47 percent of them in California alone.
Seventy-six percent of Taiwanese immigrant adults owned the home they resided in compared to 57 percent of all immigrants and 73 percent of native-born adults.
Among the Taiwanese foreign born, 72 percent were naturalized US citizens while just 43 percent of all immigrants were naturalized.
Over 70 percent of Taiwanese-born adults had a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than double the rate among the foreign born overall (28 percent) and the native-born adult population (27 percent).
Management, business, and finance was the dominant occupation reported by Taiwanese immigrant men (23 percent) and Taiwanese immigrant women (28 percent).
Kind Regards,
Kirin Kalia
Senior Editor, Migration Information Source
www.migrationinformation.org
Migration Policy Institute
1400 16th Street, NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
www.migrationpolicy.org
phone: 202-266-1913
fax: 202-266-1900
You can now find copies of the Yellow Seeds newspaper on-line. As many of you know, Yellow Seeds was an Asian American anti-imperialist organization focused on the Asian American community and Chinatown neighborhood in Philadelphia during the 1970s.
From the organization’s description:
Yellow Seeds aligns itself with the liberation struggles of all people all over the world against all forms of imperialism and colonialism. Here in America we actively participate in the struggle of the people against attacks on the livelihood of workers, against racism, against sexism and all other forms of exploitation. We recognize that Asian Americans are a part of this broad struggle against a common enemy and part of a movement to build a society free of exploitation for all people.
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, APIAVote is kicking off the Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Institute (NYMLI) Speaker Series in Washington, D.C. This Speaker Series will bolster our NYM Leadership Institute, by bringing the dialogue about AAPI political involvement and political participation to a national stage. Chaired by the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, NYMLI’s mission is to increase the leadership and organizing capacity of AAPI communities by training and equipping leaders with the skills to successfully engage AAPIs in electoral campaigns.
Join APIAVote on Monday, May 3, 2010, from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the National Education Association, as we kick off the Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Institute Speaker Series.
The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, Chair of APIAVote’s Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Institute, will host a conversation with The New Faces of Leadership from our AAPI communities, Secretary Gary Locke, Department of Commerce (confirmed), Secretary Steven Chu, Department of Energy (invited), Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth, Department of Veterans Affairs (confirmed), and other policy leaders as they will discuss opportunities and challenges they encounter in their work in the Administration and with AAPI communities.
A prominent broadcast correspondent has been invited to moderate. Please visit apiavote.org/newfaces to register today.
Congressional Democratic Leadership & the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) cordially invite you to attend the 2010 Asian American and Pacific Islander Summit — Strengthening Our Economy: Job Creation in AAPI Communities.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
8:00 AM-12:30 PM
Congressional Visitors Center, HVC-215
This is a national program for Japanese Americans of high school or college age who have a strong interest in Japan and would like to participate in a 12-day expenses-paid trip to the country of their origin. The purpose of the trip is to give 8 Americans of Japanese heritage (including those of a multiracial background) the opportunity to learn about modern Japan and thereby promote mutual understanding and friendship between Japanese and Japanese Americans of the younger generation. The requirements are as follows:
Must be of high school or college age (with preference given to high school students)
Must hold U.S. citizenship, and must not have dual Japanese citizenship
Must attend the full program from July 2 –July 13, including a pre-departure orientation
Please note that Japanese language proficiency will not influence the selection process. The travel period is July 2-13, 2010 and includes a pre-departure orientation in San Francisco. Please note that the application must be submitted to the Consulate General of Japan in Boston by May 7, 2010. The application form is available on our website.
For further information please contact Ms. Mika Iga (617-972-9772 x141 mika.iga@mofa.go.jp; or Richard Winslow (617-973-9772 x137, r.winslow@cgjbos.org).
“Consuming Asian America”: 2011 Association for Asian American Studies Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 18-21, 2011. Submissions due by Monday, November 1, 2010.
The theme for the 2011 AAAS conference “Consuming Asian America†is inspired, in part, by the site of the conference itself—New Orleans, the city that measures the success of its Mardi Gras celebration by weighing the garbage collected the morning after and whose shopping and nightclub district for locals is called “Fat City.†We invite proposals to engage with all aspects of consumption, such as excess (after all, New Orlean’s tradition of Mardi Gras suggests an excess of consumption), labor material culture, technology, marketing, identity, assimilation, gender, popular culture, religion, music, or tourism.
The title “Consuming Asian America†has a double sense, referring both to the consumption performed by Asian Americans and the consumption of objects, people, and practices that are marked as Asian American. We are interested in the material practices, actions, and cultures of different versions of the consumer, such as eating, buying, viewing, as well as the larger metaphor of consumption.
For example, proposals might examine the material reality of food and its cultivation, production, labor, and marketing: agribusiness, the restaurant industry, our current fascination with television food shows or “authentic†ethnic eating. Others might examine consumption, purchasing, and power by examining chains of production, from the unseen labor of overseas and domestic Asian workers to how the advertising of various products specifically employs or ignores Asian and Asian American bodies.
This topic also encompasses the widespread consumption of goods and services identified as Asian or Asian American. These might include religious iconography, such as Mehndi and the Buddha, artistic traditions such as haiku, martial arts, or manga), or language and writing, such as Chinese writing in keychains, home decor, and body art. Consumption also can be thought of as a means of absorbing, reformulating, or challenging culture through various technologies: how images of Asians, from the yellow peril to the model minority have been circulated and consumed by a multi-racial America, and how one might control or resist the consumption of Asian America.
This is the first time AAAS will meet in New Orleans. Accordingly, we are interested in the ways in which New Orleans (and the Gulf Coast more broadly) has been the object of consumption post-Katrina, as well as the relative invisibility of Asian Americans in the public attention following the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. How might this conference steer us away from being unthinking consumers of New Orleans culture and instead engage us with the possibilities of critical
All paper and panel applicants must be members of AAAS in order to submit conference proposals. AAAS membership
number or confirmation of membership from JHUP will be required with all proposals. AV equipment will be available on request but on a limited, first-come-first-served basis due to budget restrictions. Please make your requests when sending in your proposals.
The AFL-CIO is very excited to announce that Union Summer will return for 2010! Since 1996, Union Summer has graduated over 3000 activists, many of whom continue to work in the labor movement. Union Summer will be looking to recruit and place student activists from colleges and universities across the country to take the fight for justice into the streets in support of our campaign to win good jobs!
Union Summer is a ten week educational internship in which participants are introduced to the labor movement. The Union Summer Internship will run from June 7th through August 13th. It will begin with a weeklong orientation and training, which will be held in Washington, D.C. June 7-June 13. After the training, interns will work in teams in support of the AFL-CIO’s Jobs Campaign in various parts of the country; there will also be classroom instruction on matters related to their activities.
Their activities could include assisting in organizing direct actions such as marches and rallies, talking with workers impacted by the jobs crisis, as well as assisting in building community, labor and religious support for the Campaign. Interns will play an important role in helping to build support for our top priority – making sure that everyone that wants a job can get one. Participation in Union Summer is also an ideal way for people to learn about unions and our work in the community.
Union Summer is looking to recruit students with a strong commitment to social and economic justice as and openness to working with people of various races, ethnicities, sexual and religious orientations. Participants should be enthusiastic, energetic and flexible to working long and irregular hours. We are accepting applications from rising juniors and seniors as well as graduating seniors. Women and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.
Participants will receive a stipend of $300 per week (minus taxes) to cover meals and other incidental expenses. Each intern will be responsible to getting to and from their orientation training. After the weeklong orientation, Union Summer will cover the costs of transportation to their internship site. Housing and local transportation costs will be provided by the host site.
Union Summer is a competitive internship and will have a limited number of available positions this year. Please encourage all interested students to apply soon.
Interested students should view and download the application on our website and return it to unionsummer@aflcio.org. The application deadline is May 7, 2010. For more information, students should contact us at 1.888.835.8557.
In Solidarity,
Fred Azcarate
Director, Voice@Work Campaign
AFL-CIO
Fred Azcarate, Director
Voice@Work Campaign
AFL-CIO
815 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
202-639-6229
202-508-6939 fax
fazcarat@aflcio.org
www.aflcio.org
The JACL is now accepting applications for its second annual JACL Collegiate Washington, D.C. Leadership Conference to be held on June 10-13, 2010. The program, which is patterned after the JACL/OCA Washington, DC Leadership Conference, is limited to Asian American college students who are in their freshman, sophomore or junior year in school.
The three-day program is designed to give Asian American student leaders an inside glimpse of national policy-making arena in Washington, DC. The conference is structured to provide a broad overview of the decision-making process at the federal level, including meetings with key policy-makers, agency officials and advocacy organizations. The conference will also offer leadership training and issues workshops.
“The intent of the program is to provide student leaders with information, training and networking opportunities,” said Bill Yoshino, JACL’s Midwest Director who is coordinating the program. “We hope this program provides the participants with additional motivation to be active and involved at their campus and in their communities,” Yoshino added.
The conference is being funded through a grant from the UPS Foundation, which will cover airfare, lodging and meals for 12 participants who will be selected through an application process. Applicants must be full-time Asian Pacific American undergraduate freshman, sophomore or junior class students attending an accredited college or university.
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
I am currently at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles. We’re anchoring a statewide network that is outreaching to the AAPI community to inform them about the importance of participation in the upcoming census. We’ve just launched our nationwide APICount PSA contest:
Our Communities Need to be Counted in Census 2010!
Asian and Pacific Islander Communities are underrepresented by Census numbers, but you can help change that! Help get the word out by making a 30 – 60 second video about how the Census is safe, easy and important. Your video could screen at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific American Film Fest 2010, be seen nationally, and win you the grand prize of $3000! Fill out an entry form at apicount.com and get started now!!! Deadline for entries is March 26th, 2010.
SAALT’s summer internships allow students to help promote the civic and political engagement of South Asians in the United States. We encourage applications from undergraduate, graduate, and law students who are self-motivated and committed to working toward social change in your community.
Two internships are available for Summer 2010:
Program and Campaigns Intern
The Program and Campaigns Intern will promote the mission of SAALT’s community mobilization, partnerships, and policy work.
Communications Intern
The Communications Intern will provide support for all of SAALT’s online, media, and other communications, including website development, media outreach, social networking outreach, and community outreach.
Internship applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with priority consideration to those received by March 26.
SAALT is also seeking a Be The Change National Coordinator. SAALT is seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic, hard-working individual to spearhead Be the Change efforts in 2010. The Be The Change National Coordinator will coordinate logistics, materials, correspondence, trainings, and implementation of the October 2, 2010 Be the Change National Gandhi Day of Service.
Visit the SAALT website for more details and how to apply.
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) seeks a Community Capacity Program Coordinator.
Full Time (37.5 hours/week)
Salary Range: Competitive, excellent fringe benefits
Reports to: Community Capacity Program Director
Location: Washington, DC
Job Summary:
The Program Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the various activities of a funded body of work related to capacity development. The Program Coordinator will be responsible for performing grant administration and support activities such as but not limited to: assisting in program documentation and developing products, managing electronic program telecommunications, websites and databases, and conference and meeting planning and coordination. The Program Coordinator, in conjunction with the Community Capacity Program Director, will work towards achieving the mission and aims of the grant.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Coordinate activities related to all the components of a large capacity development grant program
Assist in program documentation and development of products (e.g. program pamphlets, factsheets, presentations, press releases, requests for proposals/reports, monitoring guidelines, scientific articles)
Manage and update electronic program telecommunications, databases, and websites (e.g. HTA webpage, HTA Partner’s website)
Research via the internet and other sources, on topics related to AA and NHPI health, capacity building, and other issues as assigned
Plan and coordinate national, regional, and local conferences and meetings
Travel for work-related meetings and events as required
Perform other duties as assigned
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
3+ years experience working in an office environment
Intermediate/Advanced user of MS Office
Highly proficient in using the internet
Experience in conference planning and coordination
Project coordination experience with increasing levels of responsibility
Experience with calendaring and scheduling meetings
Ability to multi-task
Experience and/or interest in working with minority health/health care issues
Experience and/or interest working in a diverse and high energy team environment
If interested, please submit cover letter and resume to:
Via Email (preferred): hr@apiahf.org, Attn: Community Capacity Program Coordinator Search
Via Fax: 415-954-9999
Via Mail: APIAHF
Attn: HR Manager – Community Capacity Program Coordinator Search
450 Sutter Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94108
We’re working and baking together again in our fourth year for “A Little Peace: A Dessert Tasting†to help fundraise for social justice organizations. We support each other and build community with nurturing and sweet things so that we can build a stronger effort for a better and more progressive society. Please come join us and taste for yourself the creativity of the community’s best bakers!
The Bake-Off Challenge, sponsored by Ocean Spray, features a flavored Craisin this year. Contestants provide samples for attendees to vote on the best dessert, and winners will be awarded prizes. If you are interested in participating, please email us for more information and to receive the Craisins in advance!
Proceeds Benefit the Asian American Resource Workshop, the API Movement, Boston Korean Adoptees, Inc., and Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth. Community Partners include the National Association of Asian American Professionals – Boston and Viet-AID. Our corporate sponsor is Ocean Spray.
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: VIET – AID , 42 Charles St., Dorchester, MA
Tickets: $20 in advance / $27 at the door
Children: $10 (10 and younger)
To purchase, visit: aarw.org/dessert2010/
Questions? Email: dessert@aarw.org
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
The Eva Lowe Fellowship for Social Justice at the Chinese Progressive Association. Applications due Monday March 8 , 2010.
Eva Lowe is a longtime progressive community activist who has committed her life to serving the community, she turns 101 this year. Born in Fort Bragg, California in 1909, she and her family went back and forth to China for education and to support the anti-imperialist movement. She was inspired by China’s movement and the women’s rights movement and got involved in many progressive issues. . . . Eva has dedicated her life to social and economic justice and believes that people should actively work to end imperialism and ‘fight for the underdog,’ the poor and working class community.
The Eva Lowe Fellowship for Social Justice provides a unique opportunity to a new generation of activists and organizers who want to build the power of and improve the lives of the working class Chinese immigrant community. During eight weeks of intensive training, ground work and reflection, Eva Lowe Fellows will learn about and support Chinese immigrant struggles in San Francisco, work to connect the larger API Movement across the country and build lasting relationships with peers, mentors and community members.
All placements for the program will be in San Francisco, California. Scholarships ranging from $500 – $2000 are available but students are also encouraged to seek additional and alternative funding sources (include campus work-study programs, scholarships and stipends). All other costs will the responsibility of each Fellow though some assistance may be offered to locate and secure housing. A maximum of four Fellows will be chosen for the 2010 year. Applications are due by Monday, March 8, 2010 at 5:00 pm. Applications can be filled out online at www.evalowe.org. We will announce the Fellowship recipients by March 20, 2010.
About the Chinese Progressive Association: Founded in 1972, the Chinese Progressive Association educates, organizes and empowers the low income and working class immigrant Chinese community in San Francisco to build collective power with other oppressed communities to demand better living and working conditions and justice for all people.
The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, economic, and political well-being of Asian Pacific Americans, is accepting applications from current undergraduate students for the OCA-Verizon College scholarship for fall semester 2010. This is a reminder that applications are due April 1, 2010.
Accounting, Business Administration, Computer Electronics, Computer Programming, Computer Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Finance, HR Management, Industrial Engineering, Information Technology, International Business, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering, or Network Administration.
The application deadline is April 1, 2010, and must be completed online. If your school has a policy that prevents you from uploading your letter of recommendation, please contact me individually at iho@ocanational.org. For more information about the OCA-Verizon College scholarship or to access the application, please visit www.ocanational.org and click “Verizon College Scholarships†under “Programs.â€
Sincerely,
IIMAY HO |Program Manager
OCA National Center
1322 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-223-5500 tel
202-296-0540 fax
iho@ocanational.org
www.ocanational.org
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Internship
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) is responsible for the Department’s implementation of the Executive Order of October 14, 2009 which is designed to improve Federal efforts to develop, monitor, and coordinate executive branch efforts to improve the quality of life of AAPIs through increased participation in Federal programs. The Initiative is housed at the Department of Education, but represents a collaboration among many Federal agencies.
Intern Duties:
Perform research on and outreach to national and local AAPI organizations, elected officials, and ethnic media outlets
Conduct research on WHIAAPI issue areas, including education, commerce, health, housing, labor and employment, community and economic development as they relate to AAPIs
Intern Qualifications:
Currently enrolled undergraduate student (it is a requirement that interns be enrolled in school at least half time)
Great research skills
Experience working with AAPI community or familiarity with the issues
Detail-oriented
Team player
Compensation: interns are eligible for Transit Benefits, which cover the cost of commuting to and from work on public transportation. Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to Hallie Montoya Tansey at hallie.montoyatansey@ed.gov.
The Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland (AAST) is hiring an Administrative Assistant. We are looking for someone with good communication and people skills. All are welcome to apply. Starting salary range is $30k to $36k. For more information, visit the University Human Resources website. Deadline is March 12, 2010.
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents.
My name is Reimar Macaranas and I am the Community Program Manager at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP). I wanted to ask for your help in outreaching to your Asian and Pacific Islander students in regards to the paid summer internship we have offered each year for the past 13 years.
This is a two-month summer internship where we put interns in Asian and Pacific Islander community-based organizations (a full list of past
organizations we have worked with is on the website link provided) for 4 days of the week, where they would be working hands-on with communities on specific projects the organizations have proposed to us. The other day of the week, they would be at LEAP, going through workshops, community dialogues and panels to not only increase personal development, but community development as well.
Reimar Macaranas
Community Program Manager
Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP)
(213) 485-1422×4102
(213) 485-0050 (fax)
rmacaranas@leap.org
www.leap.org
Call for Applications: “Settling Into Motion“ – The Bucerius Ph.D. Scholarships in Migration Studies. The ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius Ph.D. scholarship program in migration studies “Settling Into Motion” offers up to eight scholarships for Ph.D. theses addressing migration in changing societies.
For 2010, research applications on “Migration, Diversity and the Future of Modern Societies†are especially welcome. Qualified Ph.D. students of – in a broad sense – social sciences can apply until 25 February 2010. Please find further information as well as the online application on the program’s website.
Migration leads to increasing diversity in many countries all over the world. Sometimes this results in challenges of established institutions as well as cultural practices of modern societies. Current migrant populations are more heterogeneous than ever before: migrants and their descendants have not only different religious, cultural and ethnic roots, but they also differ with regard to their citizenship status, as well as their professional and economic backgrounds.
At the same time, governments in receiving societies frequently react to this phenomenon with integration schemes that implicitly address a non-existent homogeneous “migrant populationâ€. On the other hand, there are examples where diversity and cultural pluralism are seen as strength and advantage. We encourage the following topics, but will also consider other approaches:
Diversity and political order
Migration and cultural, ethnic and religious diversity
Integration policies
Cultural policy and the management of diversity
Concepts and categories in migration and integration debates
Innovative approaches both in terms of subject matter and methodology are highly encouraged.
Re-SEAing SouthEast Asian American Studies. Memories & Visions: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
San Francisco State University
March 10-11, 2011
The third tri-annual interdisciplinary Southeast Asians in the Diaspora conference will take place at San Francisco State University. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to sizable populations of Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Lao, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, and Vietnamese Americans. This conference will foreground the large Southeast Asian American communities of the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and the Pacific Northwest, as well as continue to build momentum and grow just as the Southeast Asian American demographics increase in size and visibility here in the U.S. and in particular, on the West Coast.
The main objectives of this conference are:
to encourage the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Southeast Asian
American peoples and their communities
to promote national and international cooperation in the field
to establish partnerships between academia and the community
This two-day conference explores memories (e.g., memories of homeland; memories of war; memories of childhood and growing up American; historical memories; embodied memories; intergenerational memories; technologies of memories; and imagined/created memories) and visions (actual sightings and sites of Southeast Asian Americans and their communities, both real and imaginary). Because this conference takes place after the constitutionally mandated 2010 census, the focus will be on locating/situating Southeast Asian American Studies for the 21st century.
The conference invites proposals for panels, workshops, and individual papers from all disciplines and fields of study that explore the dialectical relationship between memories and visions related to the following topics:
Southeast Asian American health and wellness
Southeast Asian American social justice
Southeast Asian American and critical pedagogy
Southeast Asian American youth cultures
Southeast Asian American folklore, folklife, and religions
Southeast Asian American families, relationships, and communities
Southeast Asian American queer cultures and spaces
Southeast Asian American sexualities
Southeast Asian Americans of mixed heritage/race
Southeast Asian American transnationality, transnationalization, and transnationalism
Sino-Southeast Asian Americans
Explorations of how artists (writers, filmmakers, visual artists) “see†and envision themselves and their communities as Southeast Asian Americans
The location and relationship of Southeast Asia to Southeast Asian America
The shifting demographics of Southeast Asian Americans vis-Ã -vis (in)visibility
Papers will also be considered on any related topics in Southeast Asian American Studies. 250 word abstracts should be submitted by June 15, 2010 to Dr. Jonathan H. X. Lee at jlee@sfsu.edu with the following information: a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, and d) abstract with title.
All papers will go through an internal review process and decisions regarding acceptance of papers for the conference will be communicated by October 15, 2010. Information on previous conferences:
Jonathan H. X. Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies
San Francisco State University
Department of Asian American Studies
1600 Holloway Ave, EP 103
San Francisco, CA 94132
Do you know of any non-profit organizations which benefit the Asian American community? If so, please encourage their Executive Director to consider spending a week at Harvard to sharpen their leadership skills and make their organizations more effective.
For the 5th consecutive year, the Harvard Business School Asian American Alumni Association (HBS4A) will be sponsoring a full tuition, room, board, and materials scholarship for a non-profit organization executive director to attend the Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management program at HBS this July. Alaric Bien, last year’s HBS4A Scholarship recipient and Executive Director of the CISC had this to say after completing the program last year:
“The SPNM experience was truly amazing! Scary and somewhat intimidating at first to be part of a group of such high powered, incredibly sharp and dedicated nonprofit executives from literally all over the world, but what a wonderful privilege to have access to all those resources and knowledge.
The professors were awesome – incredibly expert in their fields, inspiring, great teachers, and they really understand what it’s like to work in the real world of the nonprofit sector. I came back to CISC charged up and eager to put into practice what we learned during that short, but oh so intense week at HBS. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
Previous organizations which have benefited from the HBS4A scholarship include the New York Asian Women’s Center in 2006, the Chinese Community Center in Houston in 2007, the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association of Philadelphia in 2008, and the Chinese Information and Service Center of Seattle in 2009.
If you know of an Executive Director at a non profit organization which benefits the Asian American community, please direct them to the scholarship website for more information! Thanks to all the HBS4A dues-paying members for helping make this empowering program possible!
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents. (Previous similar posts were titled “Miscellaneous Links”).
The New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC) has taken an improbable yet powerful new tack in their efforts to combat domestic violence: music videos. Recently, NYAWC lent its resources and non-profit status to the production of ‘Someday,’ a song by artist May Ling about a woman’s experience in an abusive home. The video, directed by award-winning video producer Scott Gabriel, will be used to raise awareness of domestic violence and promote the initiatives of the NYAWC.
“Domestic violence is often hidden behind the closed doors of perfectly ordinary, middle-class American homes,†says Gabriel. “We want to bring the issue into the public forum and make sure that people are aware that resources exist to help. We were ecstatic that the NYAWC were willing to be the first organization to help us reach the broad internet audience.â€
“Music has the special ability to communicate issues that people normally do not want to discuss,†said singer/songwriter May Ling. “In the 70’s, many popular songs were about changing the world for the better. . . . My hope is that Someday will inspire social dialogue and positive change.†. . . Other songs, in May Ling’s collaboration with Bennett Media Studios, deal with child trafficking, the Khmer Rouge, and victims of the Sichuan Earthquake.
The music and clips from ‘Someday’ will be featured in a new public service announcement for NYAWC on NY 1. The group has also completed a Chinese PSA and is currently working to find a station interested in donating air time. They also hope to translate the PSA into other languages and make it available in other regions to help spread the word.
During their life time one hundred thousand Asian women in New York City will be abused by their partner – emotionally, financially, physically, or sexually. NYAWC helps victims overcome violence and govern their own lives, free of abuse. . . . The group’s 24 hour, multi-lingual help line provides assistance in 11 different languages and can be reached at 1-888-888-7702. Songs with a Voice is a collaboration of artists, who combine the mediums of film and music to reach those in need and inspire activism.
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) is seeking to innovate and progress to keep up with the needs of the community. In order to do this, there must be an upsurge of young members to reinvigorate and redirect the organization on the local level. The JACL views the new reduced-rate Active Choice health insurance plan as a viable stimulus in the JACL’s efforts to develop its membership.
Furthermore, the JACL hopes to insure as many young members of the greater community as possible by providing an affordable health insurance option. By introducing the Active Choice Plan, the JACL hopes to mitigate the negative consequences of the uninsured lifestyle among this high-risk demographic and encourage social responsibility.
The Active Choice Intern will assist the JACL in the efforts outlined above. The position will be part-time with a negotiable time frame beginning the week of January 4, 2010; receive a stipend of $1,000 per month; and will report to the JACL National Membership Coordinator at the National JACL Headquarters in San Francisco.
Intern Tasks:
Create a database documenting all UC and CSU SHIP costs, contrasting them to comparable plans in the market and the JACL Active Choice Plan
Coordinate with JACL Membership Coordinator and JACL Health Benefits Trust Blue Shield Office to create a comprehensive marketing plan
Engage potential student subscribers in on-campus meetings
Work with Consul General’s office in reaching out to exchange students, and the Shin-Issei community
Pursue an aggressive social media campaign utilizing online networking sites
Develop language-specific advertising in coordination with the JACL Health Benefits Trust office
Some travel will be required
Outcomes/Goals:
Recruit 1,000 new JACL members through an appeal to the Active Choice PPO Plans
Promote social responsibility and wellness among the 18-39 year old demographic
Skills Required:
Good written and oral communication skills
Experience with spreadsheets and database management
Familiarity and comfort with public speaking and good one on one interactive skill
Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship: The Jennings Randolph (JR) Program for International Peace awards approximately ten Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowships each year to support the research and writing of doctoral dissertations addressing the sources and nature of international conflict and strategies to prevent or end conflict and to sustain peace.
The Peace Scholar Fellowship is meant to assist emerging scholars at one of the most crucial points in their career. Awards may be used to support writing and research at their home institution or for field-work abroad. USIP welcomes proposals from all disciplines, however, they should be consistent with the Institute’s mandate and present a research agenda with clear relevance to policy issues. Peace Scholars receive $20,000 for 10 months.
Deadline is January 5, 2010.
Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study: Blakemore Freeman grants are awarded to individuals pursuing professional, academic, or business careers that involve the regular use of an East or Southeast Asian language. The grants fund a year of advanced language study at an institution in Asia such as the Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, or similar structured programs in Asia. Deadline is December 30, 2009.
Registration for the ECAASU National Conference 2010 at the University of Pennsylvania is up! Register now until December 15th for the best rate. Get your friends to join you and the rest of your school at the largest intercollegiate Asian American conference in the country.
When? March 4-6, 2010
Where? University of Pennsylvania
Why? Because you want to meet all the great workshop facilitators, phenomenal speakers, artists, writers, and student leaders across the country
How? Go to the ECAASU website
We’re not just coming together because we’re Asian Americans, but we’re at the forefront of larger minority and leadership movement that is closing the gap between ethnic minorities and the divide between the majority and minority, to make those contemporary issues that concern the minority the priorities of our country and our future, to make the face of Asian Americans in the realms of art, literature, politics, business, social media, academia, etc… the norm rather than the exception.
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents:
The Alaska Federation of Natives, in partnership with the National Congress of American Indians and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, has launched “Native Insight: Thoughts on Recession, Recovery & Opportunity,” a writing competition designed to encourage Native Americans to share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in the current economic and political landscape.
The competition is open to Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and American Indians of all ages. Deadline: September 15, 2009. Award Amount: $10,000.
East West Magazine, the premiere lifestyle magazine focusing on celebrating the cultural experiences of Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern Americans, is getting ready to re-launch into a print issue this fall.
We’re holding a cover design contest, where artists can create a work of art that answers the questions “What is your interpretation of East West today” and “What does the merging of cultures look like to you?” The art can take any form, as long as it’s not black and white, and will be featured as our magazine cover.
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: Volunteers Needed for Asian American Election Protection and Poll Monitoring and Defending Asian American Voting Rights
New York City Primary Elections — Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Boston, MA Preliminary Elections – Tuesday September 22, 2009
General Elections — Tuesday, November 3, 2009
In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote. For example, poll workers were hostile and made racist remarks, poll sites had too few interpreters to assist Asian American voters, and translated voting materials were missing. When the media reports on election results by specific groups, Asian American voters are often overlooked.
In response, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has conducted a non-partisan survey of Asian American voters to document Asian American voting patterns. AALDEF has also monitored the elections for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates bilingual ballots and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.
On September 15 and 22, 2009 and November 3, 2009, AALDEF along with several other Asian American groups will be monitoring the elections and conducting non-partisan voter surveys at polling sites in Asian American neighborhoods across New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. We need your help.
Volunteers are needed to administer a multilingual voter survey in 3-hour shifts and document voting problems on Election Day. Polls are open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM in New York and 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM in Boston. There will be a one-hour training session for all volunteers (90 minutes for trainings taking place at law firms). All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time they help.
To sign up as a volunteer and for a training schedule, go to www.aaldef.net. Thank you!
For more information, contact:
Glenn D. Magpantay, Bryan Lee, or Julia Yang
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10013
800-966-5946
votingrights@aaldef.org
Co-Sponsors:
Asian American Bar Association of New York
Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
Chhaya CDC – NY
Greater Boston Legal Services: Asian Outreach Unit
Hunter College/CUNY, Asian American Studies Program
Korean American Association of Greater New York
Korean American League for Civic Action – NY
Korean American Voters’ Council of NY/NJ
Muslim Bar Association of New York
The Sikh Coalition – NY
South Asian Bar Association of New York
South Asian Youth Action! – NY
YKASEC: Empowering Korean American Community – NY
APIAVote is now accepting applications for interns in the Washington, D.C. office. The APIAVote Internship Program strives to encourage and cultivate young AAPI student leaders to explore a career in the public sector or the political arena. This internship program will also provide hands on experience and training on how to organize and implement civic engagement activities to increase the participation of AAPIs in the electoral process.
General Internship – Year-Round
The internship program is tailored per organizational needs and intern skills. Interns may work on any of the following areas: Communications/Technology (new media and traditional), Field (working with APIAVote partners in field campaigns), Policy (research and advocate for policy recommendations), Training (Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Training Institute), or Youth (engaging and organizing our youth coalitions.)
Requirements:
College or graduate student
Oral and written communication skills
Dedicated to promoting civic participation of AAPIs in the electoral and public policy processes
Applications must include:
Application form
Resume including Education, Work Experience, Political Experience, Extracurricular Activities, Awards/Honors
Copy of most current academic transcript
One page typed essay on your interest in the internship program and describe “What does civic engagement meant to you?”
Two letters of reference
Send your complete application via e-mail or snail mail to:
APIAVote, Attn: Alvina Yeh
1666 K St NW, Suite 440
Washington, DC 20006
alvina@apiavote.org
Deadlines:
Rolling Deadline – Fall, Winter & Spring Internships
Here are some more announcements and links out that have come my way relating to Asians or Asian Americans. As always, links to other sites are provided for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply an endorsement of their contents:
According to Camden Lee, an OCA intern and University of Maryland student, the directory is “an amazing resource that provides opportunities that I never even knew about.†Available at OCA & JACL events and online at the University of MD AAST site, this one of a kind Directory includes information and resources for AAPI students and their families. . . .
Professor Larry Shinagawa, director of AAST, said: “The directory is a handy reference that can be used by all students and parents who are interested in finding the financial means and experiential resources to pursue higher education. You will find here a wealth of information, tips, and resources that can help enable students to pursue a quality higher education. The adage that education can never be taken from you and enables you to persevere and succeed continues to be the age-old truth. We hope this directory serves the purposes of advancing educational opportunities to collegiate-age students of APA background.â€
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) announces an opening for the JACL Norman Y. Mineta Fellowship in the Washington, D.C. office of the JACL. This fellowship is in the Washington, D.C. office of the JACL and will be focused on public policy advocacy as well as programs of safety awareness in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The fellowship is named for the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation and former Secretary of Commerce, and is funded by State Farm Insurance.
Support Federal Hate Crimes Legislation
Earlier this week, Senator Leahy introduced the Leahy/Collins/Kennedy/Snowe Hate Crimes Amendment (identical to the text of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act) to S. 1391, the FY 2010 Department of Defense Authorization Bill. The Senate has begun periodic debate on the amendment that would provide significant improvements to our current hate crimes prevention laws. The House of Representatives already passed the bill in April.
This bill expands the coverage of existing hate crime laws to include crimes not only based on race, color, religion, and national origin, but also bias-motivated crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.
It also provides the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute hate crimes in states where current law or local law enforcement action are inadequate. This increased protection will help ethnic and racial groups that continue to be subjected to bias-motivated violence and intimidation.
Hate crimes cut across every community. Passing this bill will ensure that all people have the right to be safe and free from physical harm and intimidation. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act sends a clear message that Americans do not have to live in fear.
Senators will vote soon. Please call your Senators toll-free at 866-659-9641 and urge his or her support of the Leahy/Collins/Kennedy/Snowe Hate Crimes amendment (Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act), which will provide safety and security for all individuals. We appreciate your support and the action you will take to help fight hate crimes.
The Asian Division Friends Society announces the Florence Tan Moeson Research Fellowship Program for 2010. This Fellowship Program is made possible by a generous donation of Florence Tan Moeson, for 43 years a Chinese Team cataloger in the Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division at the Library of Congress before she retired in 2001. Mrs. Moeson passed away on November 15, 2008.
The purpose of the Fellowship Program is to give individuals the opportunity to use the Asian and Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) collections in the Library of Congress to pursue scholarly research projects. The Library’s Asian collections are among the most significant outside of Asia and consist of over 2.8 million monograph, serial, newspaper, manuscript and microform titles in the vernacular languages of East, South and Southeast Asia.
The Library’s AAPI collection was officially launched in 2007. It contains primary resource materials including monographs, serials, government reports, newspapers, census data, photos, oral histories, sound recordings, film, and miscellaneous ephemera pertaining to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
For more details regarding this fellowship and information about past awardees, please visit the ADFS website. The deadline for the 2010 application season is September 30, 2009.
The Florence Tan Moeson Research Fellowship awards total $14,000 each year for 10 years in support of grant support for research projects employing the Asian Division’s Reading Room and the Library’s extensive Asian collections.
The grants are awarded upon demonstration of need through a competitive process. Grants are intended to subsidize the researcher’s transportation fares to and from Washington, DC, overnight accommodations and photocopying fees. Graduate students, independent scholars, community college teachers, researchers without regular teaching appointments, and librarians with a demonstrated need for research fellowship support are eligible to apply.
The Library’s Asian collections began in 1869 with a gift of 10 works in 933 volumes from an emperor of China to the United States. Spanning a diversity of subjects from China, Japan, Korea, the South Asian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Asian Pacific American community, the Library’s Asian and AAPI collections have become one of the most accessible and comprehensive sources in the world. To learn about the content of LC Asian and AAPI collections, visit the Library’s Asian Division’s website.
Contact: Dr. Anchi Hoh, Co-Chair, Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship Program Committee, adia@loc.gov, 202-707-5673.
Asian Pacific Community Fund Annual Gala
Join the Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) in celebrating its 3rd Annual Giving For All Seasons Fundraising Gala on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at the Grammy Museum Terrace in LA Live (800 W. Olympic Blvd.). The event is about promoting philanthropy and civic engagement in the diverse community throughout Los Angeles County.
Reception starts at 6:30 pm. Program starts at 8:00 pm and includes the 2009 Grant Distribution to our Affiliate Agencies and an Awards Presentation. Attire is Cocktail or Business.
APCF is honoring Assemblymember Mike Eng and Edison Chinese Connection for their leadership and service for the advancement of Asian Pacific Islanders throughout Los Angeles County.
Tickets can also be purchased by contacting Christine at cvasquez@apcf.org or (213) 624-6400 ext. 4.
Sponsors Needed for 2010 Asian Olympics
“Dai Hoi The Thao (Asian Olympics) is an ongoing tradition for 30 years. Hosted by the University of Texas Vietnamese Student Association, this three-day event gathers Asian-Americans from all over the U.S. to compete in many sporting games and activities. In addition to these activities, we also host an opening ceremony that consists of cultural and modern performers from all over the state. The growing number of participants and spectators has reaches huge numbers (3000), making it one of the biggest Asian-American sporting events in Texas.
At this current time, we are looking for sponsors to help fund an event of this magnitude. Sponsoring an event here in the capital of Texas not only promotes goodwill and high public relations, but also offers a chance to meet and gain prospective employees as well as a chance to help developing minds. If you are interested, please visit our website at http://daihoithethao.org/sponsors.html and/or e-mail rh22875@gmail.com.
