Feb 8 7pm online phone banking training 

Eric Gondree, one of our most experience phone-bankers, and chair of the Tokai Chapter of DAJ, will be hosting an online phone banking training on February 8th at 7pm.  

Eric will take you through all the steps so you can join our volunteers in calling our members to make sure they have successfully registered, gotten their ballots, and returned them.  Living overseas, this is among the most important work we can do to support democracy in the United States. 

RSVP for webex link

Join us on February 26th for a book club discussion of Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency with author Willy Wilkinson! Signed books for people living in continental Europe cost €17,70 ($20) plus a variable shipping fee under 3 euros and can be pre-ordered until January 1st, 2022 by sending an email to [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you there!

Willy Wilkinson, MPH is an award-winning transgender writer and public health consultant who has been advocating for marginalized populations since the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A dynamic and engaging speaker who is recognized widely for his expertise in transgender issues, he has provided training and consultation services for hundreds of community health organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and other entities on how to provide affirming services or LGBTQ populations. Willy’s book Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency (winner of the 2016 Lambda Literary Award in transgender non-fiction) blends his intersectional experiences of race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, and parenthood with lessons from the fields of cultural competency, public health, and policy advocacy.

Join us for the third of a series of discussions about the PBS documentary “Asian Americans”. Attendees should watch the third episode prior to the discussion (details on where to view it are below). During the event, we will share clips from the episode and discuss thoughts and ideas we had while watching. 

As described on the official website: Asian Americans is a five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided, while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate and personal lives, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s story.

For the third episode, the documentary focuses on life during the Cold War: During the Cold War years, Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a Model Minority, and targeted as the perpetual foreigner. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire for the first time to national political office and a coming culture-quake simmers beneath the surface.

We hope you will be able to join us for this discussion - all are welcome. This is the third of a series of events, so check back for future dates when we discuss the other episodes.

How to watch “Asian Americans”:

• The documentary is available on the PBS website, but will require using a VPN to stream the episodes and you may need to be a PBS member.
• It is also available on Amazon, but through the U.S. site.

Click below to receive periodic updates from the GOTV and Voting Rights teams regarding our voting rights work.  We will message you when there are important updates and developments to report.

On 20 May 2021 President Biden signed into law a bill that was introduced by  Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, which aims “to make the reporting of hate crimes more accessible at the local and state levels by boosting public outreach and ensuring reporting resources are available online in multiple languages. It also directs the Department of Justice to designate a point person to expedite the review of hate crimes related to COVID-19 and authorizes grants to state and local governments to conduct crime-reduction programs to prevent and respond to hate crimes (NPR 20 May 2021).”

On 2 July 2021, the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition (#StopAAPIHate) released the results of their survey documenting the hundreds of resolutions and actions taken to combat anti-AAPI racism at the state level.  The report noted that of the states that have passed resolutions, over 90% go on to be enacted.  17 states have yet to take any meaningful action to combat anti-AAPI racism: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota,West Virginia and Wyoming.

If you vote in one of these states, we urge you to contact your state and local officials and urge them to take action against racism in your community.