October 4-5, 2002

Emerging Civil Rights Issues in the
Asian American Community

Co-sponsored by:
The Civil Rights Project and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center

	The country is in the throes of the largest migration in American history.

On October 4-5, 2002 CRP hosted a roundtable to provide a forum for a strategic planning session on current civil rights issues, to help map advocacy and research agendas for the coming decade, and to consider the broader role of Asian Americans in advancing racial and ethnic integration in America.

The roundtable was designed for a select group of scholars, lawyers, and civil rights advocates for the purposes of:

• Reviewing current and emerging civil rights priorities in the Asian American community and developing strategies for furthering these priorities;
• Examining to what extent advocates find existing policy research useful in their work and to what extent current research agendas correspond to advocates’ interests and needs;
• Identifying new research needed and effective means for researchers and advocates to collaborate and work on Asian American civil rights issues;
• Examining current advocacy strategies and barriers to their effectiveness; and
• Assisting The Civil Rights Project and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center to identify how we can be most helpful in supporting and furthering the Asian American civil rights agenda.

Research

The Civil Rights Project has commissioned papers from Jerry Kang, UCLA School of Law; Peter Kiang, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Claire Kim, U.C. Irvine; Taeku Lee, U.C. Berkeley; Paul Ong, UCLA; and Aryani Ong, formerly with the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, that will provide background information for participants.

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AGENDA: TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

Friday, October 4

I. Welcome and Introductions

Professors Gary Orfield and Christopher Edley, Jr.
Co-Directors, The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University
Don Nakanishi, Director, UCLA Asian American Studies Center
Angelo Ancheta, Director of Legal & Policy Advocacy Programs, The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University

II. Establishing a Foundation: The Census, Public Opinion, and Current Advocay Priorities
Before we began the Roundtable discussion, we began with brief presentations of research and results from an informal survey in order to provide a starting point for the larger conversation.

Moderator: Don Nakanishi

Asian American Demographics and Civil Rights
Paul Ong, University of California at Los Angeles

From Myth to Mobilization: Public Opinion Among and About Asian Americans
Taeku Lee, University of California at Berkeley

A Look at Asian Pacific American Organizations: The 2002 Public Policy Agendas by Aryani Ong
Angelo Ancheta, The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University

III. Post 9/11 Advocacy and Research Priorities
How extensive has the increase in discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans post 9-11 been? How will post 9-11 actions, such as the enforcement of the PATRIOT Act, affect future work on Asian American civil rights issues? How have advocacy and research priorities changed since 9-11?

Moderators: Angelo Ancheta & Gary Orfield

Memorandum Regarding APA Civil Rights in a Post 9-11 World
Jerry Kang, University of California at Los Angeles School of Law

Karen Narasaki, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium

IV. Asian American Civil Rights in the Next Decade
In this session, we focused on identifying future advocacy strategies (legal and political), policy ideas, and research proposals for the next decade in light of recent demographic, political, and economic changes. We asked roundtable participants to offer concrete ideas and refinements to existing priorities around Asian American civil rights issues. Areas for analysis included: education, youth issues, health, needs of the aging, community economic development, housing, and others.

Moderators: Angelo Ancheta & Christopher Edley, Jr.

Umbrellas in Heavy Storms are Left in the Streets: Checking Southeast Asian American Realities in Pan-Asian American Agendas
Peter Kiang, University of Massachusetts Boston

V. Asian American Civil Rights in the Next Decade, Cont.

Moderators: Don Nakanishi & Gary Orfield

VI. Review and Synthesis of the Day's Discussion

VII. Working Dinner

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Saturday, October 5

I. From Ideas to Reality: Cross-Racial Coalitions and Democratic Participation by Asian Americans
In order to implement policy ideas and advocacy strategies, we will likely need to create and maintain coalitions with other minority groups. What are strategies for creating, maintaining, and working in successful cross-racial coalitions? Can we make them work beyond single issues?

We also need to look at the current state of Asian American participation in voting and politics. What tools are currently being used to encourage political participation? What are strategies for increasing democratic participation in the next decade? What additional research is needed?

Moderator: Don Nakanishi

Asian Americans are People of Color, Too…Aren’t They? Cross-Racial Alliances and the Question of Asian American Political Identity
Claire Kim, University of California at Irvine

Chinese for Affirmative Action
Diane Chin

II. Priority Setting and Next Steps
We summarized and tried to come to consensus about the advocacy and research priorities for the next decade as identified during the roundtable discussion. As we concluded, we collected ideas for research to be commissioned, items CRP could produce to assist advocates, and ask for people’s commitment to continue the work on refining a civil rights research and policy agenda for the next decade.

Don Nakanishi, Angelo Ancheta, & Gary Orfield