May 4, 2020 to May 8, 2020
If you were able to join us on Facebook Live to kick of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on May 1 – Thank you! If you missed it, you can still watch the video broadcast here. Even in times of crisis, we must remember our stories in order to ground ourselves to keep moving forward.
As I listened to the storytellers who gifted us with a bit of themselves, it allowed me to learn more about who we are as a diverse and beautifully complex community. I’ll share a bit of what I said that evening, because I truly believe that there is no more powerful tool than that of our stories to build community and center our work right now.
“Too often our different environments, whether that be school, work or community, does not make room for all our narratives, and too many people remain invisible. It’s no wonder why we can’t get to better solutions. The good news is that we can learn more about people by simply listening to or reading a story. These simple acts can also reach those who feel unseen and unheard, and doing them can open our eyes to new perspectives and solutions.
When we founded CAAL, we wanted it to be the kind of organization that thinks ambitiously and boldly about how we accelerate community-centered solutions. I’ve always believed that the best solutions would come when people could bring their full selves into all spaces. #MinneAsianStories is born from this desire to wholly embrace people for who they are, so that we can build better solutions that are more inclusive, just, and equitable.”
I hope you’ll take a moment out of your busy schedules to sit with all the 31 Asian Minnesotan stories from our 2020 #MinneAsianStories collection. I found them remarkable, unique and healing.
In community,
Bo Thao-Urabe
Executive & Network Director
ECONOMICS
Asian Minnesotans are experiencing the current crisis in a unique way. Like other BIPOC communities, we are facing barriers in accessing health, education and economic resources. We have an additional challenge of being collectively singled out as “Chinese” and the cause of the current COVID-19 crisis – a dangerous stigma that leads to racist and xenophobic targeting. This combination of challenges puts our community at grave risk of negating all the positive progress Asian Minnesotans have made.
In our recent poll taken during our Economic Stimulus Conversation with Asian Minnesotans last week, 82% of the respondents indicated that ‘access to economic relief and other financial assistance’ was the number one concern that they had for their community; followed by ‘safety (racism related to COVID-19)’. When the question was asked again about concerns for themselves, the vast majority selected ‘safety’ as the primary concern.
Locating and understanding the complexity of these concerns for Asian Minnesotans in this current crisis is important. That’s why we are partnering with a number of leaders and organizations to address the layers of challenges faced by the community at this time.
The following are resources from our zoom session:
- Dr. Bruce Corrie’s blog – COVID-19 economic relief using an equity lens,
- Resources available from Hmong American Partnership (HAP) and Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA),
- DEED hosts calls with the community every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 4:00 pm CT
- Call-in number 415-655-0003
- Code: 969-724-973 (Same every day)
- Slides from the Small Business Administration (SBA) with links and information about SBA programs,
- And the Small and Disadvantaged Business Opportunity Council will host a week of virtual workshops and matchmaking between small businesses and government agencies next week (Monday, May 4 to Thursday, May 7).
If you or someone in your network identifies as a small business owner, we invite you to complete this short survey to help us deepen our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 on your business. We are also organizing a group of small business owners, in partnership with us, in order to proactively advocate for better support for micro and small businesses.
If you are interested in joining, please contact KaYing Yang, Director of Programs and Partnerships at KaYing@caalmn.org.
EDUCATION
What do you think about distance learning so far? Let’s share and discuss what’s working/not working? What can be done better?
Join us on Thursday, May 7 from 4:00PM to 5:00PM. We will hear from students about their experiences with distance learning. Parents and students are welcome. In fact, we welcome families to join the meeting together! Please register using this link.
SAFE & WELCOMING COMMUNITIES
As we enter into Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this year, we remember that it’s also the 45th anniversary of Southeast Asian resettlement to the United States following the fall of Saigon, the Khmer Rouge genocide, and the bombings of Laos, our communities continue to tell stories and experiences of hardship as they deal with this current crisis.
Our immigrant and refugee communities continue to worry about the lack of protection they have. After four and a half decades, many Southeast Asian refugee communities are still facing hardships. Inadequate support during resettlement, experiences of racism and bullying, becoming targets of law enforcement’s Asian gang task forces that led to incarceration, immigration detention and deportation have plagued Southeast Asian refugee communities. Today, Minnesota has an estimated 1,050 Cambodian, Laos, and Vietnamese individuals with removal orders.
An impacted Hmong community member says, “As we face this pandemic, I feel like I have been in crisis for the last 28 years; living in limbo and fearing deportation. I am scared to be taken away from my family either by this virus or ICE.”
He, like many Southeast Asian community members from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, as well as our newly arrived refugee communities from Burma, Nepal, and Bhutan, are also essential workers in manufacturing workforces, who have been enduring hazardous conditions. The StarTribune reported Nang Tai Mai expressing that the use of masks and handwashing stations were lax, saying, “Most of our Burmese communities who work at JBS are scared to go to work, including my husband.”
A week after the closing of the JBS plant in Worthington, MN an announcement came out from MN congressional delegation applauding the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking plants open. This came shortly after Nobles County report COVID-19 positive cases reached 900, numbers that surged due to the JBS outbreak.
Immigrants and refugee communities are continuously left out of relief aid and become targets in policy and rule making. President Trump signed a proclamation to suspend immigration into the US, which blocks most family reunification visas, including immediate relatives living outside the country. Asian community members who have waited years to be reunited with family members will be among those who will be most impacted by this order. This kind of deliberate action against immigrants further harms communities during this pandemic.
A community member expressed concern for their child, who transferred their status from H4 to F1 visa (a dependent of an H1B specialty work visa to a student visa) in order to study abroad for a semester, but now cannot return to the US to be with the family. An international student expressed frustration that there is a misperception in the community and within institutions that “[international students] have the means” to survive this pandemic. This is a global pandemic and families in other countries are also suffering; some have been unable to transfer funds to their children, while others do not qualify for any relief funding.
We are concerned about the safety, protection, and rights of community members, particularly essential workers, those with deportation orders, international students, and others whose status is in jeopardy during this health crisis. We are communicating with unions, MN Department of Labor, OSHA, legal partners, as well as impacted organizers from the Latinx and African communities, to advocate for the protection and safety of our community members and ensure welcoming environments.
To work with us on these issues, please reach out to Jenny Srey, Lead Organizer, at Jenny@caalmn.org.
STRONGER TOGETHER FUND
We awarded 11 Asian Minnesotan non-profits with Stronger Together funds to support their important work to serve the most vulnerable community members at this time. Additional funding opportunities will be announced soon.
SPARK LEADERSHIP FUND
It’s been tremendous to be able to support BIPOC leaders who are using their expertise, network and influence to meet urgent community challenges at this time. We’ve provided funds for 27 projects through the Spark Leadership Fund. These leaders are exactly what our communities need. Their initiative and thoughtfulness are what will get us through this time. This week we are proud to support:
2020 Spark Leadership Recipients: Ini Augustine, Nausheena Hussain, Marie Michael, and Xay Yang (left to right)
Ini Agustine will help close the distance learning gap by making sure that students and families have access to needed technology equipment and are supported in their online learning.
Nausheena Hussain will ensure that families can still participate fully in Ramadan. She’s providing Iftar Boxes so families won’t need to worry about where their meal is coming from when breaking the fast.
Marie Michael is hosting intimate community spaces for BIPOC front line workers to connect, grieve and build resilience together. The space will help heal, grow, and build for what’s yet to come.
Xay Yang is using the funds to build power with a group of women who have been impacted by deportation by offering them resources, tools and skills building.
If you’ve got an idea that addresses an urgent need, apply today! We will accept applications until funds run out.
TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER
Join us on Friday, May 29 from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM for our second Self & Community Care Exchange. At the first exchange, we saw how important and needed this space was. We intend to continue holding this exchange so that we can continue to take care of each other and our community. Don’t miss out on this second session where we will be learning from the wisdom and resilience of Asian Minnesotan leaders with different abilities. We will also be joined by poet and author, Sun Yung Shin, to help ground our session. We look forward to being in space with you again.
We also know and have heard from our young leaders that they’ve been facing many challenges. That’s why our BOBA leaders will host A Place for Us: Collective Youth Healing Space. This virtual gathering will be a place for Asian American youth to connect, process, and heal together during this crisis. If you are a young person, or know of any young people who may need this space – please invite them to join on Friday, May 15 from 3:00-4:30 PM.
WITNESS OR EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATION? REPORT IT.
If you have experienced or witnessed discrimination, please complete this online form to report it, or call 651-539-1133 | 1-800-657-3704 | 1-833-454-0418. Language interpretation services are available by phone.
POLICY ALERT
Watch the Minnesota House Judiciary Committee hearing on Monday, May 4 at 8:00 AM. Bo Thao-Urabe, CAAL Executive & Network Director, will testify in support of HF 3837 a bill to strengthen our State’s ability to address crimes motivated by hate. Contact your legislators and stand with us in support of HF 3837. Not sure who represents you, type in your address HERE to find out.
- Live stream via House website: https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/live/1
- Facebook live: https://www.facebook.com/MNHouseInfo/
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/RpbRvaeDjdc
Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, CAAL will use all donations raised in 2020 to address and support our community to respond and recover from this crisis. We know that CAAL is only as strong as our community is; that’s why we are putting all our donated funds towards supporting leaders, organizations, reporting about the State of Asian Minnesotans and combating racism and xenophobia.
Make a donation during the month of May and your donation will be matched.
Every dollar you donate turns into $2.