Paths Forward on
Education, Economics, and Immigration
When CAAL was created, we asked communities to tell us what they would want a group of leaders to be working on that would make the future of Minnesota more vibrant and prosperous for Asian Americans. Through a process of engagement, diving into data, and prioritization, the community identified the top two issues for our network of leaders to work on – education and economics. In 2019, we were asked to take up immigration.
On these three community priorities we created agendas that combine research, community mobilization, and policy strategies aimed at lifting up community-centered solutions, increasing investments to community, and changing systems to ensure inclusion, fairness, access, and equity.
Civic Leadership
Civic Leaderships is our central approach to advancing our community priorities, because we aim to build a strong and powerful Asian Minnesotan community who actively and fully participates in shaping our democracy. Our focus on leaders aims to maximize the skills, resources and lived experiences of individuals to work together to achieve social justice. We also aim to change the way Asian Minnesotans lead with their experiences and work in solidarity with other Indigenous and communities of color to achieve fairness, equity and accountability. Learn more!
Economics
A prosperous future is only afforded every Minnesotan if we ensure that no one is left behind in our economy. For Asian Minnesotans, economic data indicate that we have one of the highest income inequalities, and that our economic complexities often are generalized, so Asian Minnesotans may not be getting the help they need to get out of poverty or build wealth.
Our economic work brings leaders together to look at data, policy, and program designs and implementations. We then build shared agendas that can work better to address poverty and wealth building. Learn more!
Education
Asian Minnesotans are among one of the youngest Minnesotan populations with an average age of 29, a decade younger than the general population. Stereotypes, such as the “model minority myth” means that Asian Minnesotan children are often excluded from education equity work. Combined with the fact that over 40+ ethnic groups make up the Asian Minnesotan population means we have to fight to be seen, included, and invested in.
Our K-12 education work focuses on powering up students, parents, educations, and communities to ensure education data is disaggregated, quality education is provided for English learners, investments are made to ensure educators and curriculum reflect our students, and parents are effectively engaged. Learn more!
Immigration
The increasing anti-immigrant/refugee/asylee momentum has grown from the fringes to the mouths of our nation’s leaders, and it is having chilling and traumatizing effects in the Asian Minnesotans and other communities. For this reason we launched our Safe and Welcoming Communities work to address the immigration concerns of Asian Minnesotans, as well as to work with communities, decision makers across sectors, and service providers to build communities that value the lives and contributions of Asian Minnesotans who have come here from all parts of the world. Learn more!
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