Tag: asian american

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ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND 2014 SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Founded in 1974, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a national organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all.

LEGAL INTERNSHIPS

Internships for the summer of 2014 are available in the following program areas:

  • Anti-Trafficking Initiative – legal research and writing on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as outreach, community education, and advocacy on the rights of exploited and abused workers.
  • Community Health Care Initiative – legal research, community education and outreach in the areas of immigration, government benefits, language rights, and health care access;
  • Economic Justice for Workers – legal research, advocacy and direct representation on behalf of Asian immigrant workers experiencing wage-and-hour, retaliation, and workplace safety violations in the restaurant, nail salon, domestic worker, and other low-wage industries.   
  • Educational Equity – legal services, policy work, community education, research and litigation concerning educational equity, juvenile justice, affirmative action, student free-speech and police surveillance, and anti-Asian harassment;
  • Housing Justice Project – community outreach/education, community planning, research, and litigation on housing and land use issues affecting low-income Asian immigrant communities;
  • Immigrant Access to Justice: litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by 9-11, including special interest detainees, special registration, voluntary interviews by the government, the 9-11 absconder initiative, and local and state enforcement of immigration laws.
  • Voting Rights – legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and the redrawing of local, state and federal district lines; produce reports and organize public forums; assist in organizing legal trainings.

Description of Summer Internship Program:The summer program is ten weeks, from approximately June 2 through August 8.  Interns work full-time and are supervised by attorneys in specific program areas.  Depending on the program area, interns will work on litigation, legal and policy advocacy, community outreach and education, or client intakes; each program area differs in emphasis.  Summer interns attend weekly brown bag lectures on a range of public interest legal topics along with interns from other legal defense funds and civil rights groups.  The position is unpaid.  However, in previous years many AALDEF interns have been successful at securing independent funding.  Academic credit can be arranged.

To Apply:

  • Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to be received by AALDEF on or before Friday, January 31, 2014 at the address below.  Please indicate in your cover letter the top three preferred program areas.  Only law students qualify for AALDEF’s legal internships.  Applications may be faxed or emailed.
  • Any bilingual ability should be stated in the application.  Bilingual ability is helpful but not required.  Gujarati, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Indonesian and Urdu-speaking applicants are especially urged to apply.
  • Applications will be reviewed upon receipt until the January 31, 2014 deadline.  Interviewing will take place on a rolling basis.  Only applicants who have been granted interviews will be notified of their advancement in the application process. 

Summer Internship Search (Legal)
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor
New York, New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303  Email: [email protected]

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AALDEF: Asian American Voters Not Tied to Political Party in Key States

New Poll: Asian American Voters Not Tied to Political Party in Key States

November 14, 2013 – According to the results of an exit poll in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, Asian American voters are open to candidates of both political parties in key states. The nonpartisan multilingual exit poll of 2,290 Asian American voters was conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) after the mayoral election in New York and the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

“Asian American voters in Virginia, many of whom are not enrolled in any political party, could be a decisive voting bloc in the 2014 midterm elections,” said AALDEF executive director Margaret Fung.

AALDEF released preliminary results of its exit poll conducted at 24 poll sites in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Of those surveyed in total, 62% were enrolled in the Democratic Party, 10% were enrolled in the Republican Party, and 26% were not enrolled in any party.

However, in the close race for governor in Virginia, 45% indicated that they were not affiliated with any party, 41% were affiliated with the Democratic Party, and 11% affiliated with the Republican Party.    

In New Jersey, a majority (54%) of Asian American voters favored Republican Chris Christie over Democrat Barbara Buono (42%).51% polled were enrolled as Democrats, 37% said they were not enrolled in any party, and 11% were enrolled as Republicans.

New York had the highest number of registered Democrat Asian American voters, with 70% were enrolled in the Democratic Party, 18% not enrolled in any party, and 9% enrolled in the Republican Party.

“There is tremendous political diversity within the Asian American community,” said Glenn D. Magpantay, Director of AALDEF’s Democracy Program. “Issues and candidates drive the Asian American vote, rather than party affiliation. For candidates concerned with the issues that matter most to our community, the Asian American vote is up for grabs.”

Contact:

Ujala Sehgal

212.966.5932 x.217

[email protected]

Read more at http://bit.ly/aaldef_extpll

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AAARI: Microaggressions and the LGBT Community

This talk is free and open to the general public.

Dr. Kevin Nadal will discuss his new book, That’s So Gay!: Microagressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community. People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) experience subtle forms of discrimination, also known as microaggressions. Microaggressions are commonplace interactions that occur in a wide variety of social settings, including school or the workplace, among friends and family, and even among other LGBT people. These accumulated experiences are associated with feelings of victimization, suicidal thinking, and higher rates of substance abuse, depression, and other health problems among members of the LGBT community.

In his book, Dr. Nadal provides a thought-provoking review of the literature on discrimination and microaggressions toward LGBT people. Dr. Nadal’s books also includes advice for mental health practitioners, organizational leaders, educators, and students who want to adopt LGBT-accepting worldviews and practices.

Kevin Nadal is an award-winning professor, psychologist, performer, activist, and author, who received his doctorate in counseling psychology from Columbia University in New York City. Currently, Dr. Nadal is an Associate Professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice- City University of New York, where he is also the deputy director of the Forensic Mental Health Counseling Program. He is the author of the books Filipino American Psychology: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice (2011, John Wiley and Sons) and Filipino American Psychology: A Collection of Personal Narratives (2010, Author House), a co-editor of Women and Mental Disorders (2011, Praeger), and the author of That’s So Gay: Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community (2013, APA Books).

To RSVP for this talk, please visit www.aaari.info/13-11-08Nadal.htm. Please be prepared to present proper ID when entering the building lobby. For those unable to attend, you can view the live webcast on our homepage beginning at 6:15PM EST, or access the streaming video and audio podcast the following week. 

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FAM (FILIPINO AMERICAN MUSEUM) PRESENTS ITS INAUGURAL PROGRAM IN NEW YORK CITY ON OCTOBER 29

Performance by Fil-Am Artist Stephen Decker

Third Streaming

10 Greene Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013

between Grand and Canal Streets

open 4-10PM, reception at 7PM

(New York City – October 21, 2013) FAM (Filipino American Museum) —the first museum focused on examining the connection between contemporary Filipino American arts and the roots and traditions of the Philippine diaspora— will have its debut in New York City on October 29, 2013. A start-up committed to presenting cultural programs in stimulating and unprecedented ways, FAM is dedicated to seeking out what it is to be Filipino in America.

In the spirit of a diverse people, FAM’s roving programs serve as a fluid, user-generated, inquiry-based space. An untold American story, FAM presents its findings through live performances, exhibits, installations, community forums, online content and otherwise.

To kick off the founding of FAM, the public is invited to participate in a one-night event: a new sound and light performance by Queens-based, Filipino American artist Stephen Decker. While FAM will focus initially on New York City, it intends to grow the audience slowly and into other local communities. It aims to capture this national voice by serving a broader audience through original programming online. 

FAM contextualizes its work within a broader Asian American perspective. In seeking new and exciting work in the Filipino American community, FAM will explore the ways in which that work intersects with broader audiences. The goal is to frame this conversation by asking questions and letting the range of answers lead the exploration. FAM is focused on bringing these stories to a general audience and capitalizing on the diversity of the Filipino American community.

“Filipinos in America have been impacting US culture for centuries,” according to Nancy Bulalacao, a founding member of FAM. “The community is diverse, passionate, and distinguishes itself in mainstream culture in ways that I think are not often recognized. FAM intends to capture these stories and weave a narrative that acknowledges the past, present, and future contributions of Filipino Americans in this country.” 

The earliest documented arrival of Filipinos dates to 1587 in California. Filipinos make up the second largest Asian American population, numbering at 3.4 million nationwide. Today, Filipinos make their home in all corners of the United States.

FAM’s founding committee is comprised of professionals and individuals from the worlds of the visual arts and museums, fashion, design and film. The advisory board is made up of prominent Asian American cultural leaders that provide guidance and support to the founding committee. Advisors include author and historian Luis Francia, attorney Rio Guerrero, actor Ching Valdes-Aran, and Museum of Chinese in America co-founders Charles Lai and John Kuo Wei Tchen. 

About the Inaugural Event by Stephen Decker

Stephen Decker’s Salvaging the Aether, a one-night sound and light piece will transform Third Streaming, an alternative art space in SoHo, into a conduit for interpenetrating sound signals. From street intercom transmissions to long distance radio frequencies, these amoebic presences will inhabit the space inside the gallery, making audible what is already in the air. Decker’s live orchestration of found and constructed sound will be built around noise-making objects like a short wave radio transmitting Morse code, wind chimes attached to a disco ball motor, and a sub-woofer interacting intimately with baoding balls.

Filipino Americans have made important contributions to alternative music, especially in the development of West Coast hip hop. Beginning in the 1990s, DJ Q-Bert and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz crew were at the forefront of creating sci-fi themed tracks composed of fast speed record scratching. Their re-purposing of existing material echoes techniques deployed by Decker, and that is common in other Filipino cultural forms like craft arts and building construction, where appropriation is the product of both convenience and expression.

Stephen Decker (b.1987) is an artist currently based in New York. While in attendance at Yale’s MFA sculpture program he initiated a number of sound works for radio broadcast on pirate frequencies. Most recently his work has been performed for Listening Room at the Studio Museum Harlem and Crypsis at Distillery Gallery in Boston.

FAM (Filipino American Museum)

Website filipinoamericanmuseum.com

Email [email protected]

Facebook facebook.com/filipinoamericanmuseum

Twitter @famnewyorkcity

For high res photos, interviews or any additional press inquiries please contact Nancy Bulalacao at 917-319-3119 or [email protected].

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AALDEF Volunteer Trainings to Defend Asian American Voting Rights

Volunteer Trainings to Defend Asian American Voting Rights
Sign up by Oct. 23.

Trainings for AALDEF election monitoring are now on-line. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is seeking volunteer attorneys, law and undergraduate students, and community volunteers to assist in monitoring poll sites during the elections in NYC, NJ, and Virginia on November 5 to ensure compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act.  Attorneys and law students can receive pro bono hours or free CLE (including ethics) credits.

Volunteers will inspect poll sites for required language assistance, interview voters, and document instances of anti-Asian American voter discrimination.  Bilingual ability in an Asian language is helpful but not required.

Lunch/lite dinner will be provided.  All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time that they help.  Sign up by WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, at  http://www.aaldef.net/volunteer_monitor_form.aspx

TRAINING DATES AND LOCATIONS

NEW YORK
Tues, Oct. 22 at 12N – Shearman & Sterling, 599 Lexington Avenue, at 53rd Street, NYC
Tues, Oct. 22 at 6PM – NYU Law School, Furman Hall Room 324, 245 Sullivan Street, NYC
Wed, Oct. 23 at 1PM – Brooklyn Law School, 205 Joralemon St., Room 505, Brooklyn, NYC
Mon, Oct. 28 at 12N – Columbia Law, 435 West 116th Street, Room 107, Manhattan, NYC
Tues, Oct. 29 at 12N –  Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, 51 West 52nd Street at 6th Avenue, NYC
Tues, Oct. 29 at 12:45pm –  New York Law School, Room TBD, 185 West Broadway, NYC
Wed, Oct. 30 at 6PM – Weil Gotshal & Manges,767 5th Ave at 59th Street, NYC

NEW JERSEY
Thurs, Oct. 24 at 12N – McCarter & English, 100 Mulberry St., 4 Gateway Center, Newark, NJ
Thurs, Oct. 24 time TBD – Rutgers Law School, Room TBD, Newark, NJ

WASHINGTON DC
Thurs, Oct. 24 at 6PM – Dickstein Shapiro, 1825 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC
Fri., Oct. 25 at 12N  – Dickstein Shapiro, 1825 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: 
Glenn D. Magpantay or Jerry Vattamala at [email protected],[email protected] or call 212-966-5932.

NATIONAL CO-SPONSORS: 
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)

STATE/LOCAL CO-SPONSORS:
Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL)
Asian American Society of Central Virginia (AASOCVA)
Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC)
Chhaya CDC
Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia (CAPAVA)
MinKwon Center
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)–DC and NY Chapters

LEGAL CO-SPONSORS: 
Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY)
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater DC (APABA-DC)
Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA/NJ)
Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY)
Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY)
South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY)
South Asian Bar Association of Greater DC

 

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