Asian American Unity Summit in Washington, DC, on Sep 19-20

The Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) is hosting the 2024 National AANHPI Unity Summit on 19-20 in Washington DC to advocate a host of issues ranging from racial discrimination to hate crime prevention and immigration. The cohosts of the summit include ten other local and national as well as global AAPI organizations.

The summit aims to provide a platform for Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) organizations and leaders to interact and collaborate on issues vital to their communities, according to a media release.

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), a founder member of AAUC which takes up and campaigns on broad issues of Asian Americans, is a co-host of the summit.

On Sep 19 morning, a delegation of 70 individuals will attend a White House briefing to discuss issues concerning diverse communities, followed by a White House tour for 100 Summit attendees.

That afternoon, representatives of the Department of Justice will meet and listen to community voices at the Crowne Plaza Hotel which will be followed by a youth session discussing racial bias in school and cross-cultural identities.

During the Unity Summit on Sep 20, the AAUC will advocate for various causes such as racial discrimination, civil rights, hate crime prevention, immigration, and Asian American history education.

The summit will also support a bill co-sponsored by Indian American Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi to eliminate the backlog of legal immigration cases, an issue that significantly impacts the Indian community, particularly those awaiting permanent residency

About 1.2 million Indian applicants in the immigration backlog face a wait time of 100 years to get a visa number unless discriminatory immigration adversely affecting Indian as also the Chinese and Filipino applicants are changed.

There are two bipartisan bills in the Congress (HR-6543 and S-3269) which could reduce this long waiting period. These bills are included in the AAUC Summit agenda.

The summit will also mark the launch of the mobile responsive online AAPI community hub. During a press conference on Sep 20, the AAUC will present its resolution on the alien land laws. Additionally, the AAUC will also highlight the power of the online AAPI community hub.

Several distinguished individuals will be recognized for their contributions during the summit:

US Rep Judy Chu will receive the Political Leadership Award;

US Rep Andy Kim will receive the Public Service Award;

Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society, SEWA-AIFW, Team Aids, and Elizabeth de Leon-Gamboa will be honored with the Community Service Award;

Evan Chen will be recognized as Philanthropist of the Year;

JencyMalena Mesik and Suraj Kulkarni will receive the President’s Young Person and Youth Awards, respectively.

Attendees from across the country representing diverse AAPI ethnicities and age groups will have networking opportunities with leaders from multicultural ethnic groups through in-person interactions.

The AAUC has made significant contributions to the AAPI community by organizing national conferences, assembling a diverse working board, developing monthly newsletters and podcasts, and creating an online hub that connects over 15,000 AAPI nonprofits across all 50 states, according to the release.