Global Asian American &
Pacific Islander Caucus

  • May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!Democrats_Abroad_Logo_-_AAPI_(transparent_background__2_lines)_0.5x.png

    May marks the beginning of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, also known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. Never heard of it before? It’s meant to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander history and culture. And given the increase in anti-AAPI incidents, it’s a chance for all of us in Democrats Abroad to connect, learn something new, and celebrate.

    The idea of designating a period to celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander history first emerged in Congress with resolutions proposed in the House by Republican Frank J. Horton and Democrat Norman Mineta, and in the Senate by Democrats Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga in 1977. These initial efforts failed, but Representative Horton tried again a year later to designate the first full week of May 1979 as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week”. This Resolution passed both Houses, and was signed by President Jimmy Carter.

    Successive Presidents passed annual proclamations declaring “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.” President George H.W. Bush extended it to a full month in 1990, and Congress formally established “Asian/Pacific Heritage Month” in 1992.

    But why May? The original resolutions present two reasons:

    1. The first Japanese immigrant to the United States arrived on May 7th, 1843.
    2. The transcontinental railway, built in large part due to immigrant labor from China, was completed on May 10th, 1869.

    Of course, one thing sticks out: these two justifications concern only two East Asian populations, and miss the large diversity within the AAPI community: other East Asians, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders. It can be easy in talking about AAPI heritage to focus on a few select experiences; instead, we need a holistic view of what it means to be a part of the AAPI community.

    We invite you to join us in an exploration of how different groups within the AAPI community have been part of American history. For those of you who belong to one particular AAPI group, take some time to explore the history of another group, and see how different experiences end up binding us together.

    Join us to receive email updates about volunteering, upcoming events, and new AAPI caucus groups forming in your countries and chapters.

    If you'd like to start an AAPI caucus in your Democrats Abroad country committee or chapter, we've put together a guide to forming your own local AAPI caucus.

    Get involved in the AAPI Caucus! You can volunteer at the local, national, or global level with our different working groups and projects.

    Follow us on social media

     

    Learn more about the AAPI caucus and read the caucus founding document, the Terms of Reference. To contact the co-chairs of the Democrats Abroad Global AAPI Caucus, send an email to [email protected].

    DA Global AAPI Caucus Leadership:

    Emily Lines
    | Vice Chair, Germany; Global Co-Chair, AAPI Caucus
    Powen Shiah
    | Global AAPI Caucus Steering Committee; Treasurer, Germany; DPCA Representative, Germany
    Anya Leonhard
    | DA Global AAPI Caucus Steering Committee; Press Coordinator, Germany; DPCA Voting Rep, Germany; Communications and Press Officer, Saxony
    Cory Lemke
    | Chairperson, DAROK; Global Co-Chair, AAPI Caucus; Diversity and Inclusion Committee Member
    See all Leaders

    News

    Recipes from Home: Ada's Ginger Tea

    posted by | Global AAPI Caucus Steering Committee
    May 19, 2021

    A common cold weather drink in East Asia, and very simple to make, and DELICIOUS. In Chinese medicine, ginger is considered "warming" and as such good for combating "cold qi", or cold energy, which includes the common cold. Ginger is also a good remedy for nausea, and stomach cramps (cramps are considered to be due to "excess cold qi".) A squeeze of fresh lemon is also a nice touch. When I had colds, my grandmother in Hong Kong would use ginger, lemon — and boil Coca-cola instead of water. (So much for Chinese medicine!) Tasty though. Enjoy!

     

    read more

    COVID-19 hits Asian American employment especially hard

    posted by | Global AAPI Caucus Steering Committee
    May 18, 2021

    The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession have hit Asian Americans especially hard, according recent media reports in Bloomberg and NBC News, and a Working Paper of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

    Luojia Hu and B E. Honoré, the authors of the FRB Working Paper, cited a 14% drop in Asian American employment between the first and second quarters of 2020. This was the highest drop in employment amongst the White, Black, Hispanic and Asian American groups.

    And while the employment rate of white men had recovered by the third quarter to approximately 4 percentage points below first quarter levels, all of the minority groups had not recovered to the same degree, lagging between 6 and 7 percentage points below first quarter levels.

    This trend is broadly corroborated by the news media. According to Reade Pickert of Bloomberg, “in the final three months of 2020, almost half of jobless Asians had been out of work for at least 27 weeks - a bigger share than White, Black or Hispanic Americans.“

    read more
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    Upcoming Events

    Saturday, May 22, 2021 at 01:00 PM Berlin Time · 15 rsvps
    Zoom (Online) in Zoom, Germany

    Cooking Filipino Chicken Adobo with Chef Vinnie 🍗

    Looking for something fun to do on Saturday? We would like to invite you to improve your cooking skills with us by making Filipino Chicken (or Tofu!) Adobo.

    Please join us for the Southeast Asia cooking event - Filipino Adobo, a simple and tasty recipe with easy-to-find ingredients. Our designated Chef Vinnie and his husband will help you spice up your meal.

    Adobo is a type of Filipino stew commonly made with chicken, but can also be made with other proteins. Chicken Adobo is unofficially considered the national dish of the Philippines, popular all over the country and in the Filipino diaspora. "Adobo" comes from the Spanish word "adobar," which means "to marinate." It’s also easy to make and doesn’t take much time to prepare!

    Vinnie’s recipe can be made vegan by using tofu instead of chicken. Please RSVP to attend. The recipe and ingredient list will be sent out 1 week before the event.

    This event starts at

    6am Colombia
    7am DC (EDT)
    1pm Belgium / Germany
    4:30pm  India
    8pm South Korea

     

    RSVP
    Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 07:00 PM Seoul Time · 2 rsvps
    Zoom

    Teatime in May with the AAPI Caucus in Asia-Pacific

    AAPI Networking

    We’re holding our next community event for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living abroad, with a focus this month on intergenerasianal relations.
    Come get acquainted, swap stories, and find your community! 
    We’ll be doing short introductions, a question of the day, and a few rounds of meet-and-greets! If there’s anything you want to do, achieve, or find - let us know, or bring it up in the meeting.

    Don’t forget your snacks, your beverage of choice, and of course, your microphone.

    RSVP below to get the Zoom link!

    TIME ZONE  
    New Delhi 3:30 pm
    Hong Kong 6:00 pm
    Seoul 7:00 pm
    Sydney 8:00 pm

    Note: We're organizing Teatimes for members living all around the world. This one is a friendlier time for the Asia-Pacific region, but anyone is welcome to attend! Check our event listings for options that may fit better for you if you live in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or the Americas.

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