Tag: civil rights

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PRESS RELEASE: NAPABA CONDEMNS ARIZONA LEGISLATION THAT BOLSTERS BUSINESSES’ ABILITY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST LGBT PEOPLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          February 24, 2014 

Contact: Emily Chatterjee                                                   (202) 775-9555

NAPABA CONDEMNS ARIZONA LEGISLATION THAT BOLSTERS
BUSINESSES’ ABILITY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST LGBT PEOPLE
Calls on Governor Jan Brewer to veto bill

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) strongly urges Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto legislation passed by the Arizona state legislature last Thursday that, under the guise of religious freedom, would enable discrimination against individuals who identify as LGBT.

“NAPABA has a long-standing commitment to supporting the civil rights of all members of our community, including our LGBT brothers and sisters,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of NAPABA. “While NAPABA respects the sincerely held religious beliefs of all people, religion has unfortunately been misused by some historically as an excuse to oppress people of color and people of other religions. For many it justified slavery, segregation, and the criminalizing of interracial marriages. The employment of a religious justification to now excuse the discrimination of LGBT people is just as reprehensible.”

If Governor Brewer does not veto Arizona House Bill 2153/Senate Bill 1062 by this coming Friday, Arizona will soon allow individuals and for-profit corporations to discriminate against anyone if they claim to be acting in the name of their religious convictions. This includes refusing services to members of the LGBT community and denying equal benefits to women in the workplace. On its face, it could be used as justification for discriminating against anyone, on any grounds, so long as a free religious exercise claim is asserted.

“As a long-time citizen of Arizona and as a former President of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association, I believe that this bill does not represent our state, and we categorically denounce this and all legislation targeting disenfranchised groups, including the LGBT and immigrant communities,” said George C. Chen, president-elect of NAPABA. “Religious freedom is an important part of our society, but this bill is about legalizing discrimination, not about religious freedom. Governor Brewer needs to veto this bill.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 67 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, 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 color in the legal profession.

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Is Empathy Enough? Racial Justice and the Moral Imagination in the 21st Century

Join the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture and the Fordham Theatre Program for 

Is Empathy Enough? Racial Justice and the Moral Imagination in the 21st Century

Monday, February 24, 2014, 6 p.m.
Fordham University, Pope Auditorium
113 West 60th Street, New York NY 10023

Racial justice remains elusive a half century after the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. Where law falls short, could an enriched culture of empathy produce the needed transformation in the American conscience?

Join us for a forum that mines the arts, history and theology to explore the power—and weakness—of empathy as a force for social change.

Featuring
Pun Bandhu, award-winning actor and founding member of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition
Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, author of Racism and God Talk: A Latino/a Perspective 
Ariela Gross, author of What Blood Won’t Tell: A History of Race on Trial in America 
Aimee Meredith Cox, Department of African and African-American Studies, Fordham University

RSVP to [email protected]
Free and open to the public
_____________________

This forum coincides with the Fordham Theatre Program’s production of

We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 
By Jackie Sibblies Drury
Directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh

For schedule and ticket information go to FORDHAM.EDU/THEATRE
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WHIAAPI Forum on Faith-Based and Community Leaders: 9/21

Save the Date

New York AAPI Forum with Faith-Based & Community Leaders

Saturday, September 21, 2013

The City University New York Murphy Institute, 25 West 43rd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036

9:30 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will convene federal officials and faith-based and community leaders in a day-long forum to share key Administration policies on economic growth, immigration, education, and civil rights. The forum will provide leaders and the broader AAPI community critical information and a better understanding of federal resources and services.

The focus of the WHIAAPI Community Forum is to accomplish three key goals:

1.    Establish a space where faith-based and community leaders can meaningfully engage and interact with federal officials; 

2.    Identify policy and programmatic areas of concern, receive feedback, and share local success stories and practices that benefit the AAPI community;

3.    Share opportunities for leaders to collaborate with the Obama administration.

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Training for Election Voter Hotline

As you know election day, Tuesday, November 6, 2012, is fast approaching and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association’s Civil Rights Committee (MBBA-CRC) is working hard to ensure that everyone who desires to vote is armed with the correct information to make their vote count!

As attorneys, we are well equipped to answer voters’ questions and it is incumbent upon us to protect the right to vote. Our vote is a vote that many fought long and hard to be counted. We are asking our members to stand up and donate their legal minds to ensure that all who desire to vote in this historical election will have the opportunity to vote.

Please joing MBBA and The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law to educate voters via the Election Protection hotline on Monday, November 5, 2012 and Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

We will train for the hotline on Thursday, October 25, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Proskauer Rose LLP, Eleven Times Square, New York, NY. If this date is not suitable for your schedule, we will have other training dates. However, we strongly urge you to train on that date so that we can train as a collective.

Please register for the training at http://signup.lawyerscommittee.org/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?event_KEY=59351 Once you have registered for the training, we ask that you email Cenceria Edwards- Chair MBBA-CRC at [email protected] confirming your attendance.

Upon completion of the training, you will be able to register with the MBBA team for the hotline shifts for November 5, 2012 and November 6, 2012. The shifts are between 3-5 hours.

If you should have any questions regarding this training, please email Cenceria Edwards at [email protected].

Help the MBBA make a difference and protect this constitutional right. Protect the vote!

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AALDEF Night at the Theater: Hold These Truths

Join the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund for a night at the theater!

Hold These Truths

A one-man show inspired by the true story of Japanese American civil rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi.  Agonizing over the forced removal of Japanese Americans to concentration camps during World War II, Gordon journeys toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs – and a confrontation with its failures.  www.EpicTheatreEnsemble.org/HoldTheseTruths
 

Monday, October 22, 6:30 PM*
Epic Theatre at the 14th Street Y
344 E. 14th Street, NYC

With a special Q&A after the performance with playwright Jeanne Sakata and former Acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal

Tickets: $35 
To purchase tickets, call 212.966.5932 x212.

* * *

Jeanne Sakata made her playwriting debut with her solo play, Hold These Truths (formerly Dawn’s Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi), which received its world premiere in November 2007 in Los Angeles. The play was also the inspiration and theatrical centerpiece for the 2009 civil rights symposium on the Hirabayashi case at the University of Tennessee, “Civil Liberties, National Security and the Legacies of the Japanese Removal and Incarcerations.”

Neal Katyal is a partner at Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC.  He previously served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States and as a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center.  Katyal has argued several cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, including Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), a constitutional challenge to the military tribunals at Guantanamo. 

*Note early curtain time. The event will end in time for you to watch the presidential debate that evening!

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In Our Own Words: Narratives of South Asian New Yorkers Affected by Racial and Religious Profiling

March 22, 2012 6:30PM – 8:30PM | 42 Broadway, 20th Floor | New York, NY 10004

Since September 11th, policies and practices instituted in the name of national security have violated civil rights of South Asian, Muslim, and Sikh community members. Whether it is the NYPD’s monitoring of Muslim communities, airport officials subjecting Sikh and Muslim travelers to additional security screenings, or immigration enforcement programs targeting our community, the lives of everyday South Asian New Yorkers have been profoundly altered.

Join us on March 22 for a community briefing to mark the release of the upcoming report In Our Own Words: Narratives of South Asian New Yorkers Affected by Racial and Religious Profiling. Through surveys, focus groups, and interviews with over 600 South Asian community members in Brooklyn and Queens, the report reveals how profiling has affected individuals’ personal lives and the community’s collective identity.The report is the result of a joint documentation project by seven New York-based and national organizations: Coney Island Avenue Project; Council of Peoples Organization; DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Moving; The Sikh Coalition; South Asian Americans Leading Together; South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!); and UNITED SIKHS.

The community briefing will feature community members sharing their personal experiences and advocates providing recommendations to address profiling.  

Light refreshments will be served

To attend, please RSVP to [email protected] with “Profiling Briefing” in the subject line by no later than March 19

Attendees must RSVP due to security protocol at the venue.

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Building Our Legacy: The Murder of Vincent Chin – A Trial Reenactment

Thursday, February 16, 2012
6:00 – 9:00 PM
Fordham Law School,
140 West 62nd Street
South Lounge, Lowenstein Cafeteria.
The Vincent Chin Trial Reenactment is part of a series of historic Asian American trials, which Judge Denny Chin has edited and adapted from actual court transcripts.  The public outcry and media attention surrounding the trial prosecuting the murderers of Vincent Chin served to catalyze the birth of the modern Asian American civil rights movement.  Come see Fordham APALSA’s production of this historic trial, which will be accompanied by a reception and Q&A discussion with Judge Denny Chin.

Please RSVP using this link. 

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