AABANY Intern Han Wen Zhang Livestreams Justice for Asian Women Rally from Times Square

On March 16, Stand with Asian Americans held a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta shootings. From 6:30pm to 8:00pm, more than 1,000 attendees gathered in Times Square to remember the victims and call for change. The event was part of a nationwide series of rallies held in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Sacramento, San Francisco, Twin Cities, and Washington, D.C.

AABANY intern Han Wen Zhang participated as the New York City livestreamer. The livestreams from each city were woven into a national 12-hour webcast titled Break the Silence: Justice for Asian Women.  The program featured speeches from community leaders, government officials, and training videos on personal safety and bystander intervention.

The New York City rally included a lineup of speakers and performers, including Executive Director of the Asian American Federation Jo-Ann Yoo, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Min Jin Lee, Governor Kathy Hochul, Chinese American rapper Bohan Phoenix and actor and musician Perry Yung.

Attendees and passersby were given colorful posters based on Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya’s public art series “We Are More.” Event organizers also passed out yellow whistles, with “We Belong” inscribed on one side. To learn more about this event, please visit https://www.asianjusticemovement.org/awr.

NAPABA Shares March 16 Remembrance Events

Dear NAPABA Community,

We pause to remember the lives of eight people lost, including six Asian women, in the Atlanta-area shootings one year ago. As we continue to grapple with the continued impact of anti-Asian hate and violence on our communities, we hope you are taking care and finding space for reflection and healing. We invite you to join and share events from the NAPABA community and affiliates.

Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association: 
March 16 Remembrance Event “Lest We Forget”

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 | 5:00 – 7:00 pm ET
Location: Nelson Mullins – Atlanta, GA

Join GAPABA in partnership with The AAPI Crime Victims & Education Fund, The GAPABA Law Foundation, NAAAP-Atlanta, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta. Register for the event here.


All proceeds go towards the AAPI Crime Victims & Education Fund. If you would like to make an extra online donation, you may do so here.

Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado: 
“One Year Later: Honoring the Victims of Anti-Asian Hate”
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 10:00 – 11:30 am MT
Location: Aurora, CO and virtual via Zoom

On March 15, 2022, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado is hosting a press conference and panel discussion at the Colorado School of Public Health’s Injury & Violence Prevention Center where members of the media and community are invited to learn about the issues impacting the AAPI community and what the community needs in order to end gun violence and hate crimes. Following the press conference, a panel will discuss resources for coping with the trauma associated with community victimization, and tools for where we – as a community – go from here. Register here to attend in-person or via Zoom.

Asian American Bar Association of Houston and Asian American Bar Foundation of Houston: 
“Break the Silence: Justice for Asian Women” 
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | 6:00 pm CT
Location: Discovery Green, Downtown Houston

On March 16, 2022, the Asian American Bar Association of Houston is sponsoring the Houston component of the National Asian Women’s rally on the one-year anniversary of the tragic Atlanta spa shootings. 

Similar rallies will take place simultaneously in Atlanta, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Sacramento, Washington D.C., and other cities around the country. The Houston rally will be held at Discovery Green in downtown Houston at 6:00 pm CT. 

The goal of the event is to uplift the experiences of API women by acknowledging the complexities of their struggles, demanding change, and celebrating women’s strength. Conscious of the anniversary of the Atlanta shootings, and the one too many tragedies in over the last year, this event is meant to emphasize that the violence enacted on API women’s bodies does not solely define their identities and existence.

For more information about the event, please visit aabahouston.com

AAJANY Statement on Anti-Asian Violence

We are heartened by the expressions of solidarity against anti-Asian bigotry and violence from our brothers and sisters across the many bar and judicial associations. We too express our condolences to the families of all victims in Atlanta and to all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have experienced violence of any kind based on their ethnicity.  To quote the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”   

– Asian American Judges Association of New York State 

AABANY Issues Statement on Atlanta Shootings

The Asian American Bar Association of New York expresses its pain and sorrow at this latest act of violence in Atlanta involving shootings of members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. We extend condolences to the families of the victims in these shootings. In this time of increased violence and harassment against the AAPI community, we commend the quick apprehension of the suspect. We urge law enforcement officials to conduct a full investigation, working with community organizations Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) that will be able to offer culturally and historically guided assistance in how hate crimes impact and affect AAPI communities.

Register for the Southeast Regional Conference in Atlanta, GA!

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Atlanta, GA | April 12-13, 2018
Hosted by Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA)

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REGISTRATION
Registration for the Southeast Regional Conference, hosted by Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, is now open! The conference will take place at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead and kick off with GAPABA’s Annual Gala on April 12 followed by continuing legal education sessions on April 13. Click here to register.

HOTEL
GAPABA is proud to partner with the InterContinental Hotel Buckhead for the Southeast Regional Conference & Gala. The InterContinental is offering a block of discounted rooms at a rate of $189 plus taxes and fees. Click here to make a reservation.

GOLF TOURNAMENT
GAPABA is also hosting a Golf Tournament on the morning of April 12 to benefit the NAPABA Law Foundation and GAPABA Law Foundation. Click here to learn more about the Golf Tournament.

SPONSOR THE CONFERENCE
Consider sponsoring the Southeast Regional Conference. View our sponsorship packages here.

Visit us at www.gapaba.org/gala to learn more about the Southeast Regional Conference.

AABANY at NAPABA National Convention 2011

NAPABA’s 23rd Annual National Convention: Sustainability took place last week in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Omni CNN Center from November 17 through 20.  Among the more than 1100 attorneys from around the country was our contingent from New York.

AABANY was well-represented at the NAPABA National Convention. 

Judge Denny Chin, past AABANY President and currently the only active APA Federal appellate circuit judge, was the keynote speaker at Saturday night’s installation banquet.  Judge Chin shared his experiences as a district court judge, regaling the capacity crowd with fascinating, funny and sometimes touching stories from the wide variety of cases he presided over in his fifteen years on the bench as a United States District Court Judge.

Don Liu, General Counsel of Xerox and AABANY member, introduced Friday’s plenary luncheon speaker, Yale Law School Professor and best-selling author Amy Chua.  Don himself was honored with NAPABA’s prestigious Trailblazer Award on Friday evening.  In a moving and heartfelt acceptance speech, Don honored his recently-deceased father as a trailblazer in his own right.

At Saturday night’s installation banquet, NAPABA presented its Best Under 40 award recipients, and AABANY was represented by Director Bobby Liu, General Counsel at MD Sass, and Pauline Yeung-Ha, Co-Chair Solo and Small Firm Committee and name partner at Grimaldi & Yeung.  Also honored was My Chi To, Secretary of AALFNY (Asian American Law Fund of New York) and partner at Debevoise & Plimpton.

On Thursday, at the NAPABA Bar Leadership Institute, AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen was the luncheon speaker, talking about AABANY’s experience as the first affiliate with a full-time executive director.

On Friday, Judge Chin led the AABANY re-enactment team in a program entitled “Race, Color and Citizenship: Ozawa and Thind,” which re-created two Supreme Court cases from the 1920s in which the Court upheld the denial of naturalization to two Asian Americans on the basis of race and color.  The cast, led by Judge Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin, was comprised of AABANY members, including many AABANY Directors: Vincent Chang, Yang Chen, Francis Chin, Lauren Lee, Susan Moon, Esther Nguonly, Liza Sohn, Vinoo Varghese, Jessica Wong and Michael Yap.

Throughout the conference, many other AABANY members, including many past AABANY leaders, spoke on or moderated various panels, including: Sylvia Fung Chin, John Flock, Parkin Lee, and Hon. Doris Ling Cohan.

Congratulations also to Hofstra Law School which was recognized on November 18 as the NAPALSA (National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association) Affiliate of the Year.  NAPALSA held several programs and meetings during the NAPABA National Convention.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the NAPABA 2011 National Convention, and congratulations to all the honorees.  You do AABANY proud!

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Photos from the 23rd Annual National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Convention at the Omni CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 17-20, 2011.