Pushing Legislation and Uplifting Community: AANHPI Heritage Month
As we celebrate Asian American Heritage Month this May, Groundswell is committed to expanding resources to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) movements fighting for liberation and resources in their communities nationwide.
AANHPI-led reproductive justice organizations have been on the frontlines, in solidarity with other communities of color, advocating for bodily autonomy and an end to increased policing. But despite years of progress spearheaded by these movements and activists like Grace Lee Boggs and Yuri Kochiyama, AANHPI communities are still forced to combat the impact of white supremacy and xenophobia.
In Florida and Georgia, lawmakers passed legislation banning Chinese immigrants from owning property, and 33 states are considering passing similar anti-Chinese laws. That is in addition to increased racism and violence against AANHPI communities: 41% of Asian Americans believe they will be victims of a physical attack in the next five years because of their race, ethnicity, or religion; 59% believe they will face some form of discrimination; and only 38% believe they belong in the U.S.
As a leading funder of women, trans, and gender-expansive people of color-led organizing, one of our core priorities is resourcing organizations fighting against the collective threat of white supremacy. This includes investing in the incredible work of the AANHPI movements fighting for liberation. Solidarity across all lines of race, class, and gender is essential as we work toward our collective goal of a multi-racial, feminist democracy.
Grantee Spotlight
Below, we highlight three of our AANHPI-led grantee partners doing critical work throughout the country to uplift and support their communities, from fighting for safe, affordable housing to securing livable wages for workers.
API PA is working to pass legislation that would increase funding to create awareness around 988, a suicide and crisis hotline in Pennsylvania that could serve as an alternative to law enforcement. Their work is in direct response to the police killing of 19-year-old Christian Hall in 2020, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when police arrived and shot him seven times.
API PA worked with local organizations Lehigh Valley Stands Up and Monroe County NAACP, as well as the Hall family, to call on Monroe County District Attorney David Christine to release the names of the officers who killed Christian and either commit to a fair investigation of the shooting or turn the case over to the Attorney General.
This year, CAAAV’s Chinatown Tenants Union and Astoria Tenants Union in New York joined Housing Justice for All to leverage Asian tenant power on a statewide level.
Together, they are protesting against rent hikes and displacement, sharing their dreams of living in safe and stable housing, and advocating for rent-stabilized housing and an expansion to the Housing Voucher Access Program.
DRUM is mobilizing and engaging low-wage South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrants, workers, and youth in New York City to solidify funding in libraries, Pre-K, and other vital programs essential to their communities.
Recently, delivery workers from DRUM also took on app-based delivery services and won a historic victory in securing a minimum wage of $19.56 per hour, before tips.