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
Read more at http://bit.ly/aaldef_extpll
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.
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].
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
Press Release: Moon Festival Honoree Gala | Honorees Announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2013
AABANY APPLAUDS NAAAP-NY’S SELECTION OF ALICE YOUNG AS THE 2013 CORPORATE LAW HONOREE AND YANG CHEN AS A 2013 COMMUNITY EXCELLENCE AWARDEE FOR FIRST ANNUAL MOON FESTIVAL HONOREE GALA
NEW YORK – October 15, 2013 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) applauds the National Association of Asian American Professionals (“NAAAP”) New York’s selection of Alice Young as the 2013 Corporate Law Honoree and Yang Chen as a 2013 Community Excellence Awardee.
NAAAP New York will recognize Ms. Young and Mr. Chen along with other honorees and leaders in the Asian American community during its first annual Moon Festival Honoree Gala to be held at Gotham Hall in New York City on Friday, October 25, 2013. The Moon Festival Honoree Gala will honor New York’s most influential Asian & Pacific Islander Americans (“APIA”) in various professions, including media, public service, entrepreneurship, culinary arts and corporate (law). Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was also named NAAAP-NY’s 2013 Public Service Honoree. Proceeds from the event will benefit the NAAAP-NY Scholarship Fund, a program instituted over a decade ago to benefit APIA scholars in the greater New York metropolitan area. The Honoree Reception will be hosted by Richard Lui, MSNBC Anchor.
“We congratulate Alice and Yang for being recognized by NAAAP-NY for their outstanding professional achievements and influence in the APIA community in New York. Alice has been a consummate professional and a leader in corporate law for nearly four decades and Yang has quickly become a well-known and trusted leader in the greater APIA community,” said Mike Huang, AABANY’s President.
Alice Young is Special Counsel and Chair of the Asia Pacific Practice at Kaye Scholer. She advises multinationals and entrepreneurs on their business activities and investment considerations in the United States and throughout Asia, including complex cross-border transactions and sensitive legal and governmental strategies, and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). She also assists clients in identifying potential Asian partners and resources. She has been lead advisor on projects in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, India and the Philippines. She has been in private practice for more than thirty-five years.
Alice has been based in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo and speaks Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and French. She is a member of the Board of Directors and on the Executive and Examining Committees of Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. (USA); member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Axis Capital Holdings Limited (AXS); Lifetime Trustee of the Aspen Institute and The Asia Foundation and Give2Asia. Alice is listed in Who’s Who, Crain’s “Top 100 Minority Executives” (one of only three corporate lawyers named), by Avenue Asia magazine as one of the five most influential Asian-American corporate lawyers in the United States, and by Harvard Law Bulletin as one of the top 50 women graduates of Harvard Law School.
Alice was in the first class of women graduates of Yale College, where she majored in East Asian Studies. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Alice was a member of the East Asian Legal Studies Program.
Yang Chen is the Executive Director of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), a position he has held since August 2009. Mr. Chen is AABANY’s first Executive Director. He has been active in AABANY for many years, having served on the Board and numerous committees, including the Judicial Affairs (now Judiciary) Committee, of which he was a chair. Mr. Chen served as AABANY’s President in 2008. Before becoming AABANY’s Executive Director, Mr. Chen was a partner in the firm of Constantine Cannon, a law firm specializing in antitrust and complex commercial litigation. He was among the group that founded the firm in 1994, which started as Constantine & Associates. Before joining Constantine Cannon, Mr. Chen was an associate in the New York office of McDermott, Will & Emery and before that he was associated with Breed, Abbott & Morgan (now Winston & Strawn). Mr. Chen is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the United States District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and Binghamton University.
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The Asian American Bar Association of New York was formed in 1989 as a not-for-profit corporation to represent the interests of New York Asian American attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, paralegals and law students. The mission of AABANY is to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession.
NAAAP New York is the founding chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). The organization was founded over thirty years ago, and today has thousands of members in 27 chapters across North America. As a 501©(3) non-profit organization, NAAAP is dedicated to developing and advancing Asian Americans across all industries and career stages by providing premier career-oriented and cultural programming.
Additional information about NAAAP New York’s 2013 Moon Festival Honoree Gala is available at http://naaapny.org/10-25-2013-moon-festival-honoree-gala/
AABANY Labor & Employment Committee in Formation
On Wednesday, October 9, 2013, sixteen Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys attended AABANY’s general interest meeting for Labor and Employment Law practitioners to discuss the formation of a new committee to promote the education of work place issues affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community. The group also discussed ways to promote the professional development of APA lawyers practicing Labor and Employment Law through networking events, continuing legal education (CLE) programs and community outreach initiatives. The group will be planning a career panel for attorneys and law students interested in labor and employment law and a program to address “hot topics” in labor and employment law affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community.
Attendees at the meeting included attorneys representing employees/unions, employers/management, and federal, state and local government agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and New York State Department of Labor.
AABANY thanks Dechert LLP for hosting and providing refreshments for the meeting and Littler Mendelson for providing dinner for the attendees. If you are interested in participating in the group’s next event or would like further information about how to get involved, please contact William Ng at [email protected] or Amy Luo at [email protected].