Asian American organizers are set to visit Springfield on Wednesday to advocate for language and immigration services and education equity, among other causes.
The Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment Coalition has gathered over 300 members to take part in this year’s Asian American Action Day events.
Anooshka Gupta is a community organizer with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago and the lead organizer of the event. She said the day of action is a chance to make the voices of the community heard.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for all of us to come to Springfield, because it’s an opportunity for us to show that Asian Americans are not apolitical, that we are a force to be reckoned with, and that our stories and our voices matter.” Gupta said. “And so it’s also really important that our legislators hear directly from us and get a pulse of what's happening on the ground.”
The coalition is advocating for multiple initiatives including the Language Equity and Access Act (SB 3762) and $40 million in the state budget for immigrant services. They are also calling for $2 million per year to support the implementation of inclusive history mandates — building on previously successful initiatives like the TEAACH Act.
“The hard part of passing bills is not just in the advocacy to get it done,” said Grace Pai, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago. “It’s in the implementation. And we know that many school districts are facing challenges with incorporating Asian American history because, and it's fair, you know, their teachers have not learned Asian American History.”
She added that similar efforts are being made to incorporate Native American history and LGBTQ history, and these resources can support those inclusive history mandates as well.
Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, said doing this work has allowed the strength of the Asian American community to keep growing.
Her organization successfully advocated for a majority Asian American ward in Chicago.
“Being able to see Asian Americans being together to ask for, to actually demand political power is very powerful,” Chan McKibben said.
