Our Bureau
Washington, DC
The Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) successfully hosted its inaugural 2023 National AANHPI Unity Summit from September 25-27, 2023 in Washington D.C. The summit served as a crucial platform for Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) organizations and leaders to come together and collaborate on pressing community issues. The event drew over a hundred diverse and multigenerational crowd of AANHPI community leaders.
During the Unity Summit on September 26th, event attendees passionately advocated with their congressional members and senators for five important bills: Teach Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander History Act (H.R. 3434 and S. 1702); Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act (S. 129); Afghan Adjustment Act (H.R. 4627 and S. 2327); Preemption of Real Property Discrimination Act (H.R. 3697); Eliminating Backlogs Act (H.R. 1535). These bills encompassed critical areas such as discrimination, civil rights, hate crime prevention, immigration, and the promotion of Asian American history education.
The later bill H.R. 1535 will eliminate the backlog of permanent visas, which affects 1.6 million on the waiting list, of which 1.1. million are from the Indian community. Once enacted, the bill will use the unused visa numbers in the past years for those on the waiting list. It is a bipartisan bill. So far only 10 House of Representatives have signed. Congressional and Senate Offices were visited by AAUC officials as well as the attendees to promote the legislative agenda.
Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), a member of AAUC, joined hands for the Summit, which was addressed by Connecticut’s Senior Senator Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Illinois). Rep. Grace Meng (New York), Rep. Judy Chu (California), and Rep. Shri Thanedar (Michigan).
Additionally, the summit marked the launch of the online AAPI community Hub powered by ESRI ArcGIS technology, creating the largest network of AAPI nonprofit organization, totaling approximately 15,000 members.
Several distinguished individuals received well-deserved recognition for their outstanding contributions during the summit:
US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi was honored with the Dilip Singh Saund Political Leadership Award.
US Rep. Grace Meng received the Norman Mineta Public Service Award.
Dr. Romesh Japra was celebrated with the Community Service Award.
Mr. C. C. Yin was acknowledged as Philanthropist of the Year.
Ms. Tammalivis Salanoa and Ms. Jessica Wu were both presented with the President’s Young Person and Youth Awards, respectively.
During the congressional reception, Sen. Blumenthal of Connecticut and other congressional members emphasized the significance of elevating our community’s voice within the House and Senate. The reception enjoyed a strong turnout, with the presence of visiting House and Senate staff members. The event concluded with a mesmerizing classical sitar recital by a talented young musician.
On September 27th, a delegate of 20 community leaders had the privilege of attending a White House Briefing to engage in discussions addressing the issues raised during their congressional visit.
