Increased efforts by the U.S. government to racially target and profile Asian Americans and Asian immigrants have incited fear among the Asian American and immigrant community across the country. Mass surveillance and unjust investigations and prosecutions of scientists, researchers, and scholars of Asian and Chinese descent have increased at an alarming rate.

This webinar with OCA-Asian Pacific Americans consists of a two-part panel with the first section providing a comprehensive overview of the anti-racial profiling movement and the current state of play, including the end of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s security unit Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) and the upcoming trial of Dr. Feng ‘Franklin’ Tao, the most recent case under the “China Initiative“. The latter half of the panel looks into ways you can be involved with Advancing Justice | AAJC’s and OCA’s week of action.

Speakers highlight important policy and advocacy priorities, community-led grassroots organizing efforts, and outline how to build narratives with the media to lift up the voices of impacted people and increase public awareness

10 Key Moments in this Video: (Watch Webinar)

1. Overview of the Anti-Racial Profiling-from00:49 mins
2. John C Yang President and Executive Director,AAJC-from 01:19 mins
3. Anti-Racial Profiling Project-from 05:04 mins
4. Where Are We Now-from 10:10 mins
5. Historical Racial Profiling-from 14:25 mins
6. Issues with Media Coverage-from 15:14 mins
7. Impact on the Academic Community-from 31:29 mins
8. The Tennessee Chinese American Alliance-from 34:44 mins
9. Asian Pacific American “Advocates-from 54:43mins
10. Additional Resources-from 01:16:10 hrs

Jon M. Chu is known for his visually stunning blockbuster films, as well as his kinetic work across various genres, from groundbreaking series to commercials and films. Chu directed the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which has earned more than $175 million in the United States alone. The film is the first non-period studio picture in more than 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast, and it represents a new chapter in Chu’s 10-year career.

On the heels of the breakout success of his film Crazy Rich Asians, director Jon M. Chu reflects on what drives him to create-and makes a resounding case for the power of connection and on-screen representation. Watch video.

California Poets in the Schools, a nonprofit that amplifies young creative voices in California, has named Ella Wen as Sonoma County’s new 2021 youth poet laureate. Ella, 16, a sophomore at Maria Carrillo High School, developed a passion in poetry growing up with her Grandpa reading and writing Chinese poems with him. One of three poems she submitted was “Written in Words” which explores racism, prejudice, and bias.

Written in Words

By Ella Wen

And the more I feel this array of alphabetical assault seeping deep within my skin, aimed at me like antagonistic arrows

telling me to say less

and then to say more

to dress less

and then to dress more

to be less

and then to be more

it’s then I begin to realize that words are powerful

and they hurt

but they can heal too

and I, we

I know words too

I too have a pen

my pen is infinite

the ink seeping within pages

I know how to write, I just didn’t know until now

My body, my mind, my soul is so much more than what you wrote your narrative

so clothed with ignorance and facades of apologies

I, experience, am experiencing all the pain there is

don’t write my story

for me.

Read more in the Press Democrat..

The 2020’s Youth Poet Laureate Zoya Ahmed, a Maria Carrillo High School student, the first in Sonoma County, is first-generation American, with roots in Pakistan and India.

“This colorful heritage is her drive. Every day, Zoya is empowered to work hard towards achieving her goals, humbled by the opportunities she is given, and inspired to give back to the community. Her biggest motivators are her parents and her family, who encourage her each and every day. They are her muse; they symbolize the meaning of sacrifice in her life. Their stories, especially those of the women in Zoya’s family, are what give her writing a spark of creativity and perspective,” noted in the California Poets in the Schools website.

“Poetry gives me confidence and allows me to be more than just a person,” Ahmed said. “It allows me to embrace my individuality and heritage. It gives me a story.” Read more in the Bohemian.

The Sonoma County California Poets in the Schools aims to acknowledge a student who has achieved excellence in poetry between the ages of 13 and 19 and must be a Sonoma County resident. They should also have demonstrated their commitment to literacy arts and community engagement through participation in volunteer and community services, clubs, after school activities, and extra academic activities