On November 6, 2020, AAAM continued the tradition of our annual community gatherings–virtually to keep everyone safe during the pandemic. The recordings of the gathering are here:
- Welcome
- Keynote Speech by Ms. Margaret Huang of Southern Poverty Law Center
- Community Announcements
- Social Justice Discussion Report-Back
We encourage all to donate to Southern Poverty Law Center for the important advocacy work they do! AAAM Board offers up to $500 of matching fund when you ear-tag a donation for Southern Poverty Law Center before December 15, 2020. We also urge you to become a member of AAAM, or make a general donation to AAAM.
Notes from the Gathering
(Thank you, Kathy Takemoto, for organizing the notes!)
Our keynote speaker, Margaret Huang, CEO and President of the Southern Poverty Law Center highlighted the following areas of urgent action with the new presidential administration in January 2021:
- End, close all federal detention camps and centers. 500,000 individuals are currently in detention.
- Focus on ending poverty. Micronesian, Bangladeshi, and Hmong Americans all have poverty rates at least 50 percent higher than the national average Citation: https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/29646f09-bf04-4f11-a12f-544b27a3a85f/aapi-fact-sheet-final.pdf
- Ensure access to voting and protection of voting rights in America. Work to increase voter turn-out of Asian and Pacific Islander American voters.
To show your thanks to Margaret for being our keynote speaker (free of charge), please consider a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Summary of Community Announcements
Asian Commercial Professionals for scholarships. Contact: Stuart Lee, asiancompro.com
Marin African American Professional Network (MAAPN). Contact: Otis Bruce, (415) 798-1529 or email obruce1999@gmail.com.
Marin Asian Advocacy Project. Contact Vinh Luu, vluu@marinaap.org
Sonoma County Japanese Americans Citizens League. Contact: Phyllis Tajii, sonomacajacl.org. Membership is currently $10/year, regularly $20/year.
Marin Interfaith Council. Contact: Mark Noguchi , Board Member, mnoguchi@comcast.net
Trips for Kids Marin. Contact: Bec Detrich : https://www.tripsforkidsmarin.org/ Working to provide transformative cycling experiences for youth from communities who have been historically marginalized from cycling. We welcome all to our Re-Cyclery bike shop in San Rafael
Marin County Race Equity Planning Committee. Contact: Mo De Nieva-Marsh, marincounty.org/equity, equity@marincounty.org
Women’s Rights and Peace of Bay Area. Contact: Jong Lee, wrapba.org. High school and college students learn about Korean Comfort Women during WWII.
Marin YMCA Learning Hubs. Contact: Jason Lau, https://lau.news/ymca
Marin Nakayoshi Club. Contact: Kathy Takemoto, kathy.takemoto@outlook.com. Scholarships for high school seniors of Japanese descent.
College of Marin. Contact: Anna Pilloton, apilloton@marin.edu.
Asian American Alliance of Marin also sponsors the Asian Pacific Heritage Festival each spring. Your $20 membership in AAAM helps to support this event each year. To join, send a check to Jong Lee, AAAM Treasurer, P.O. Box 151401,San Rafael, CA 94915-1401.
Our Thanks to the Discussion Group Facilitators:
- Jei Africa, Marin County Mental Health Services
- Otis Bruce
- Sue Lim Yee, AAAM
- Faye Padayachee, San Rafael High School
- Malcolm Govender
- Mureen De Nieva-Marsh
- Cesar Lagleva
Asian American Alliance of Marin 