Happy May! We hope you are all holding up in what seems like the end stages of the pandemic. While we all wait to get vaccinated here in Germany, it feels weird to see all of our friends and family back stateside enjoy more and more freedoms as the US continues to vaccinate more people and many cities begin to open up. On the bright side, cases are going down here in Germany and vaccinations are slowly rising, so we hope to see more restrictions loosened as we head into the summer! 

Last month, Sasha and Wy Ming gave a presentation (in German!) to the Rotary Club Tübingen-Reutlingen-Nord. We had fun discussions about the first 100 day's in office as a benchmark for the next four years to come, how Biden did in his first 100 days, and what we can expect in the Biden Administration. Thank you to all who joined and for your input in the discussions!

May is Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, chosen as it marks the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the US in May 1843 as well as the completion of the transcontinental railway in May 1869. It has never been more important to understand the struggles of the AAPI community and learn about the contributions, especially in a time when there has been an uptick in the number of hate crimes all across America. Some good news though - just yesterday, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, introduced by Congresswoman Grace Meng of New York and Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, which will expedite the review of hate crimes related to the pandemic and authorize grants to state and local governments to prevent and respond to hate crimes.

In election news, New Jersey and Virigina primaries are coming up, meaning GOTV efforts will be ramping up. On June 1, New Mexico's First Congressional district will hold a special election to replace Deb Haaland, who recently became the new Secretary of the Interior under the Biden Administration. Our DAG chapters are already placing personal calls to members who vote in the district, offering voting assistance if needed. Finally, we also have nine new State Outreach Teams for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, all of this in addition to Texans Abroad (Global). Are you interested in helping out or starting your own? Then fill out this survey and join the next meeting on Saturday, May 29!

Democrats Abroad Germany is also ramping up its caucus efforts. The newly appointed Caucus Coordinator Kaili Morris is working hard to provide reinvigorate our country-level caucuses and to strengthen leadership teams. If you're interested in getting involved, email Kaili at caucus@democratsabroad.de or join us at one of our events! (see below)

Finally, DAG is also looking for people interested in joining the Academic and Community Outreach Team! Over the next year, we will be building relationships with German universities, US alumni groups, research institutes, and international schools. We will also be supporting different chapters in their outreach efforts so that we can hit the ground running in 2022! We are therefore looking for volunteers who would have one or two hours a week to help clean up our database and reach out to our contacts. Having existing contacts at German universities as well as speaking German are pluses but not necessary. Email Sarah Lawton at sarah.lawton23@gmail.com to learn more and get involved. 

** The May Chapter Meeting is also cancelled due to the Pfingsten holidays! See you in June! **

That's it for May! Scroll further to check out some exciting events to come:

• Progressive Caucus: Biden-Harris Progress Report with ProDA Austria -- TONIGHT May 20 at 7pm
• AAPI Caucus: Cooking Filipino Chicken with Chef Vinnie -- Saturday, May 22 at 1pm CEST
• Woman's Caucus: Books Abroad: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton -- Sunday, May 23 at 2pm CEST
• AAPI Caucus: Movie Night: 3 Idiots -- Thursday, May 27 ay 6pm CEST
• Hispanic Caucus: May Meeting -- Saturday, May 29 at 4pm CEST
• State Outreach Teams: May Meeting -- Saturday, May 29 at 4pm CEST
• Climate Caucus: Launch Event -- Saturday, June 5United Nations' World Environment Day (interested in joining the DAG Climate Caucus? Email dash.nesbitt@gmail.com)
• VFA Sea Shanty: The North and Central Bavaria Chapter is looking for singers to contribute to a video of themselves singing their creative lyrics to the tune of "Wellerman." They are also looking for a conductor to provide musical direction. Please contact communications@democratsabroad.de if you're interested in participating. Greetings,

Wy Ming Lin

Stuttgart Chapter Vice Chair