AAJC： A Week of Action to End Anti-Asian Racial Profiling

AAJC Week of Action to End Anti-Asian Racial Profiling

Dear AAPI members,

We are excited to share that Advancing Justice | AAJC and OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates are launching a Week of Action from November 1-5 to end the racial profiling of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants. We will be conducting virtual legislative visits to Congressional and Senate offices urging them to end the government profiling of scientists, researchers, and scholars of Asian and Chinese descent. We invite your organizations and community members to join us in these efforts.

In addition to the recent spike in anti-Asian hate this past year, there has also been increased efforts by the federal government to racially target and profile Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, including by the Department of Commerce’s security unit Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) and the Justice Department’s “China Initiative.” As a result, we are seeing mass surveillance, investigations, and unjust prosecutions of Asian American and immigrant professors, researchers, and scholars.

These instances have occurred on campuses and in states across the country:
New York: Civil rights and academic groups deliver petition to New York University President to stop racial profiling professors of Asian descent
Ohio: Ohio scientist accused of spying sues government after charges dropped
Massachusetts: A Scientist Is Arrested, and Academics Push Back
Texas: Did Baylor fire two medical school scientists because their spouses worked in China?
Kansas: Kansas professor says FBI misled court in alleging hidden ties to Chinese government

This resurgent xenophobia has created enormous fear among Asian American communities as we see our teachers, friends, and family members being stigmatized as “perpetual foreigners” and profiled as spies in a country they call home.

GET INVOLVED:
Sign up for our training on Oct. 18 here or Oct. 26 here. Learn more about how to speak with Congressional offices on this issue (Key messaging guidance & relevant materials will be provided).
Join our Week of Action from Nov. 1 - 5! Participate in virtual meetings with Congressional and Senate offices to share the impact to your local community and your concerns about this issue.
Lift up stories of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants impacted by racial profiling on social media during the Week of Action. (Social Media Toolkit coming soon)

Speaking up against racial profiling of Asian Americans and immigrants will help combat racial scapegoating and hatred against our communities. Please let us know if you are interested in joining this upcoming Week of Action in November. We’d also love to learn what other groups in your area might be interested in learning more about this issue.

If you have any questions, please contact Gisela Kusakawa at gkusakawa@advancingjustice-aajc.org and Vivin Qiang at vqiang@advancingjustice-aajc.org.

We look forward to hearing from you!


Best,
Tiffany
Tiffany W. Chang | 張維恬 | she/hers
Director of Community Engagement
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
1620 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036
T 510-363-7984
http://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org