Thursday, June 21, 2007

National Townhall on Hate Crimes, June 19 - July 14

Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (www.apaforprogress.org) presents...
National Townhall on Hate Crimes


June 19th-July 14th
Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston and more.

In June 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin was killed in Detroit by two unemployed white autoworkers. This hate crime, motivated by anti-Japanese sentiments, served as a rallying cry for the Asian American community and is often considered the beginning of a pan-Asian American movement. Twenty five years later, Asian Pacific Americans for Progress and local partners around the country look back in time and assess where we are now. Each event will include a special screening of the Academy-Award nominated documentary, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" and panels with local community leaders.

Receptions in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles sponsored by
Imaginasian TV. Official media sponsor: Asianweek

NEW YORK
June 19, 6:30 PM
Co-sponsored by the Museum of Chinese in the Americas
MOCA (70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor)
John Liu (New York City Councilman), Liz Ouyang (Executive Vice President, OCA), Darwin Davis (President and CEO, New York Urban League)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI
June 19, 6:00 PM
Co-sponsored by the Asian Victimes Relief Fund
St. Mary Magdalen Family Center, 1213 52nd St., Kenwood
Dan Levy (Chief Legal Officer, Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights) Pravina Ramanathan (Asian American Liaison, Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights), Ingrid Scott-Weekly (Director, City of Grand Rapids Equal Opportunity Dept.)

CHICAGO
June 20, 6:30 PM
Co-sponsored by the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (JAHHM), Japanese American Citizens League, Organization of Chinese Americans
JAHHM, 800 South Halsted, Chicago
Bill Yoshino (Midwest Director, JACL), Diana Lin (VP, Asian American Institute), Myron Quon (Legal Director, Asian American Institute)

DETROIT
June 23, 9:00 AM
Sponsored by the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Allstate Foundation
Co-sponsored by the American Citizens for Justice, Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs and APAP
Chinese Community Center, 32585 Concord Drive, Madison Heights, MI 48071
This full-day event is being organized by the Detroit Chapter of OCA as part of their Initiative on Hate Crimes. APAP is proud to be a co-sponsor. In addition to the screening of "Who Killed Vincent Chin?", there will also be a series of panels and a visit to the gravesite at Forest Lawn Cemetary. Panelists include Frank H. Wu (Dean, Wayne State Law School), Roland Hwang (President, ACJ), Stephanie Lily Chang (ACJ) and many more.

WASHINGTON, DC
June 23, 10:30 AM
Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 901 G. Street (Chinatown)
Co-sponsored by South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow (SAALT), Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), Sikh American Legal Education and Defense Fund (SALDEF), University of Maryland's Asian American Studies Program, and the DC APA Film Festival.
Moderated by Eric Byler (director, Americanese and Charlotte Sometimes). Keynote by Larry Shinagawa (Professor, Univ. of Maryland)

BOSTON (QUINCY)
June 23, 2:00 PM
665 Hancock St., Quincy, MA
Co-sponsored by Asian American Resource Workshop, American Chinese Federation, Chinese Progressive Association

LOS ANGELES
June 24, 2:00 PM
Co-sponsored by National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (NCPD), Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, South Asian Network, Muslim Public Affairs Council
NCPD, 111 Center St.
Hamid Khan (Executive Director, South Asian Network), Stewart Kwoh (Executive Director, APALC), Robin Toma (Executive Director, LA County Human Relations Commission), Renee Tajima (Director, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?")

SAN FRANCISCO
June 27, 6:30 PM
Co-sponsored by Chinese Historical Society
Chinese For Affirmative Action, 17 Walter U Lum Place (across from Portsmouth Sqare; on Clay between Grant Ave and Kearny St.)
Helen Zia (author and activist), Honorable Yvonne Lee (Member of the SF Police Commission and former Commissioner of the President's Commission on Civil Rights), Malcolm Yeung (Staff Attorney, Asian Law Caucus), Kavneet Singh (Managing Director, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund

PORTLAND, OR
July 7, Time TBD
Location TBD
Co-sponsored by Thymos

RALEIGH/DURHAM
July 14, 2:00 PM
Co-sponsored by the National Association of Asian American Professionals-North Carolina and North Carolina Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Korman Communities - Theater, 300 Seaforth Drive, Durham, NC 27713

Additional events in other cities to come. Contact
www.apaforprogress.org if you would like to host your own screening and discussion.  Please distribute.