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October 20, 2023October 20, 2023

NAPABA, the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, and the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago Statement in Response to the Act of Hate in Plainfield, Illinois

For Immediate Release: October 17, 2023 Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy

WASHINGTON – On Sunday, an unimaginable nightmare visited a Palestinian American family in Plainfield, Illinois, a suburban region outside of Chicago. Local law enforcement officials have accused the family’s landlord of murdering a six-year-old child and attempted murder of the child’s mother in their home. The Will County Sheriff’s Office concluded that the perpetrator targeted the family because of their Islamic faith.

No words can capture the anguish and devastation that this vile act of hate has brought. We send our deep, heartfelt condolences to the family, and we stand with the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities throughout the United States.

Acts of hate must have no quarter anywhere. As the nation responds to the current conflict in the Middle East, we must not overlook our common humanity. Hate, whether in the form of anti-Asian hate, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, white supremacy, or any other act of bigotry must be condemned across the board.

On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its national crime statistics for 2022, reminding us that our work to eradicate hate must continue. With unrelenting focus, NAPABA, the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, and the Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago are committed to do so.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022

NAPABA Awarded Open Society Foundations Grant to Increase Civic Participation in AAPI Communities

Released February 8, 2022

Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that the Open Society Foundations has selected it to receive funding for boosting civic participation in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Muslim, Arab, and South Asian (MASA) communities.

Leveraging and organizing our power, strength in numbers, geographic diversity, and in-language reach of NAPABA’s nearly 90 affiliated AAPI bar organizations and their members, our community is able to make a difference. Our goal is to equip our members with the tools to increase AAPI engagement in voting through non-partisan voter registration, election protection, and voter education.

“Open Society Foundations’ support of NAPABA builds upon our strategic plan to increase AAPI engagement and empowerment nationwide, especially as our communities continue to grow. The five-year grant will be instrumental in ensuring that NAPABA has the resources to bolster the ability of our affiliated bar associations to reach local communities around the country and support a sustainable investment in creating engaged AAPI communities,” said A.B. Cruz III, acting president of NAPABA. “We are grateful for their support in building a stronger voice for the AAPI community.”

In December 2021, Open Society Foundations announced its investment of $42.5 million over five years to AAPI and MASA communities to engage in nonpartisan efforts. The investment is part of the foundation’s 10-year campaign to build and protect a multiracial democracy.

The Open Society Foundations grant is the fifth grant over the last year that NAPABA has been awarded to advance the work of its programs.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

March 14, 2016

AAARI-CUNY Lecture Series: We Too Sing America

From the Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI) at the City University of New York (CUNY):

Please join us for a talk on, We Too Sing America – Deepa
Iyer in Conversation with Zohra Saed, on Friday, March 18, 2016, from 6pm to
8pm, at 25 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor, Room 1000, between 5th & 6th
Avenues, Manhattan. This talk is free and open to the general public.

Author and nationally renowned activist Deepa Iyer, in
conversation with Brooklyn based Afghan American poet Zohra Saed, will discuss
her book We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants
Shape Our Multiracial Future.

Many of us can recall the targeting of South Asian, Arab,
Muslim, and Sikh people in the wake of 9/11. We may be less aware, however, of
the ongoing racism directed against these groups in the past decade and a half.
In We Too Sing America, Deepa Iyer catalogs recent racial flash points, from
the 2012 massacre at the Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, to the violent
opposition to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and to the Park 51
Community Center in Lower Manhattan.

Iyer asks whether hate crimes should be considered domestic
terrorism and explores the role of the state in perpetuating racism through
detentions, national registration programs, police profiling, and constant
surveillance. She looks at topics including Islamophobia in the Bible Belt; the
“Bermuda Triangle” of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim hysteria; and the
energy of new reform movements, including those of “undocumented and
unafraid” youth and Black Lives Matter.

Deepa Iyer is an activist, writer, and lawyer with a strong
commitment to intersectional, community-based, racial justice issues in the
United States. The former Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading
Together (SAALT), Deepa is currently the Senior Fellow at the Center for Social
Inclusion where she provides analysis, commentary and scholarship on how to
build equity and solidarity in America’s changing racial landscape.

Zohra Saed is a Brooklyn based Afghan American poet. Her
poetry and essays have been published in numerous anthologies and journals.
Zohra is a doctoral candidate at The City University of New York Graduate
Center. As a Lecturer, she initiated the following courses at Hunter College:
Arab American Literature; West Asian American Literature and Film; and Central
Asian Film and Literature.

To RSVP for this talk, please visit
www.aaari.info/16-03-18Iyer.htm. Please be prepared to present proper
identification when entering the building lobby.

If you are unable to attend the talk, it will be live
webcasted on our website, www.aaari.info,
beginning 6:15PM EST, and also available the following week as streaming
video and audio podcast. See you on Friday!