Official blog of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities have been experiencing a troubling increase in bias incidents and hate crimes. This program will provide interfaith leaders with the opportunity to express unity and support for the AAPI community and explore concrete ways that clergy can be proactive in confronting bias, discrimination and hate crimes.
Please register for the webinar here at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wRi2OgDoTlCho3NKdoyqoQ
On March 15, AABANY and NYU APALSA hosted a conversation with Josh Hsu and Suzanne Kim in Furman Hall at NYU Law School. The discussion focused on Asian Pacific American attorneys’ engagement in public service.
Josh Hsu is the deputy chief of staff for Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA). The discussion was moderated by Suzanne Kim, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Suzanne Kim is also a co-chair of AABANY’s Academic Committee.
Professor Kim interviewed Josh Hsu about various topics, including Hsu’s professional development, Hsu’s experience with working on the Hill and Asian American attorneys’ involvement in public service — mainly the lack thereof. Josh Hsu recounted how he received the clerkship offer from Judge Chin. As a law student, Josh drafted an article entitled “Asian American Judges: Identity, Their Narratives, & Diversity on the Bench” for Professor Mari Matsuda’s class, and to his surprise, he received Judge Chin’s comments on his draft, which is how Josh connected with Judge Chin and later received a clerkship offer from him. This experience made Josh realize that there is more than one way to make connections and enter into public service.
After the conversation, the floor was opened up for mingling. Attendees of the event actively engaged in more intimate and in-depth conversations with each other and with Josh Hsu.
We thank Josh Hsu for sharing his insights and knowledge with us as an APA in public service and encouraging others to join him on his path. We wish him best of luck on the Hill. We thank Suzanne Kim for facilitating the conversation and NYU APALSA for co-sponsoring the event. Last but not least, we thank everyone who joined us on a Friday night and for sharing your enthusiasm about APA engagement in public service.
Community-based groups and organizations are eligible to receive a $200 stipend from the Council for hosting a Community Conversation by registering to be a featured site. Featured sites must register their event in advance and complete a final evaluation, including attendance information. Facilitators at featured sites are required to attend a free 60-minute facilitator-training webinar. Training webinars will be offered at the following throughout the summer and fall; see the Council’s webinars page to learn more and sign up.
For more information about hosting a Community Conversation, contact Senior Program Officer Erika Halstead ([email protected] / 212.233.1131).
From New Netherland to New York, immigrants from every part of the world have made their home in our state. Community Conversations invites New Yorkers to explore our shared history as immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, and to discuss the ways that immigration continues to shape the experience of being American today. Each conversation uses a short text as a starting point for discussions about cultural understanding and our roles as active citizens in a diverse and democratic society.
There are community conversation toolkits for children, young adults, and adults. All of the toolkits contain everything you need to host these “do-it-yourself” discussions, including: texts suitable for each audience; a set of sample questions; guidelines for starting and sustaining good conversations; tips for hosting a conversation; and a sample participant evaluation. Anyone can register and download the toolkits for free from our website.