May 27, 2025 • 8 mins
As we close out AAPI month 2025, we highlight some relevant organizations doing amazing work in that realm.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to stuff
we never told you production if I Heart radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And we are at the end of the twenty twenty
five AAPI History Month in the US, so we thought
we would talk about a few AAPI organizations that are
working to advocate for their community in the US. And
of course, as we usually say, these are just a
few of the many, many, many many different organizations around
(00:39):
the country. However, this is a shorter segment, y'all know this,
so we have to make a short list. So we
picked three of the organizations that we wanted to talk about,
not because they're any better or worse or whatever whatnot.
It's just because we found these and we're like, yeah,
we'll talk about these. So there's that caveat. So let's
talk about the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center or I'm
(01:00):
going to call it Sea rec SEARC. So they begin
in nineteen seventy nine and it's currently based in California,
and they've been working and advocating for the refugees in
this area and the nation. Honestly a bit more about
them from their site. Sea REX start began in nineteen
seventy nine as the Indo China Refugee Action Center in
(01:20):
response to the war and US militarization in Southeast Asia.
By nineteen seventy five, hundreds of thousands of people have
been forced to flee their homes in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
Families sought to escape unimaginable violence and persecution, finding safety
across borders and oceans. Seawright's founders wanted to ensure that
the United States welcome these refugees with dignity, and since
(01:43):
then they have expanded to working for civil rights and
protections for the Southeast Asian community. So here's our mission
statement from that site. Sea rec is a national civil
rights organization that builds power with diverse communities from Cambodia, Loos,
in Vietnam to create a socially just and equitable society.
As representatives of the largest refugee community ever resettled in
(02:05):
the United States, SAX stands together with other refugee communities,
communities of color, and social justice movements in pursuit of
social equity, and with their work, they've been able to
bring attention to the needs and lives of the refugees
in their communities and as a part of the advocacy.
They have collaborated with different organizations to bring the most
accurate information and educational services for them and their allies.
(02:28):
Within their work, they provide services for change within educational policies,
data equity, immigration policies, healthcare policies, and so much more so.
They actually recently collaborated with a Center for Asian American
Media or CAM to premiere a docu series titled Southeast
Asian American Journeys. So this is again from their site.
This landmark series, part of the Our Roots, Our Power campaign,
(02:50):
commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Southeast Asian American or SEAA refugees,
resettlement and uplifts unique stories of communities, strength, survival and
self determination. So there's a lot that they're doing. You
should definitely check them out. They do talk about things
like how the Census really do a bad job in
counting just Asian people as one big group of people
(03:12):
when the needs are so different in vast I agree
with that. And then next we have the Asian Americans
Advancing Justice or AAAJ. Their organization has been around since
nineteen ninety one in Washington, DC, and this is from
their site Advancing Justice that AAJC dot org rooted in
the dreams of immigrants and inspired by the promise of
(03:35):
opportunity Asian Americans. Advancing Justice AAJC advocates for an America
in which all Americans can benefit equally from and contribute
to the American dream. Our mission is to advance the
civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build
and promote a fair and equitable society for all, and
it goes on. Advancing Justice is the voice for the
(03:56):
Asian American community, the fastest growing population in the US,
fighting for our civil rights through education, litigation, and public
policy advocacy. We serve to empower our communities by bringing
local and national constituencies together and ensuring Asian Americans are
able to participate fully in our democracy. So this organization
is made up of four sex including Advancing Justice Atlanta,
(04:18):
Advancing Justice Chicago, the aj SOCOU which is located in
southern California, and then the original AJ and so about
the different organizations as says. To achieve our mission, we
work together as equal and independent partners under one name,
speaking with one unified and powerful voice, to promote justice,
empower our communities, bring local and national constituents together and
(04:40):
strengthen our multi racial democracy. And I will say under
the first administration of Trump, the AAAJ Atlanta worked tirelessly
for the refugees and the immigration population and making sure
and creating a lot of legal help as well as
policy changes. Actually helped build what is now called sanctuary cities,
(05:03):
which is under attack. If you don't know about that,
that's another conversation. And they've been working hard again to
push for equal rights and protection of Asian American communities.
Each organization have been working to ensure that they are
protecting the community within the country, offering services such as
legal services for immigration issues, civil rights litigation, and to
protect and empower refugees and of course people of color,
(05:25):
and working to fight within policy advocacy. So again, a
lot of amazing work. And one more before we stop
talking about these organizations for today, because we're gonna keep
talking about them. AAPI Women Lead. This organization is another
one of my favorites, and I've been following with them
for a little while now, so if you have then
you should go check them out. So who are they?
(05:48):
According to their site aapiwl dot org, AAPI Women Lead
is a queer, feminist, survivor led and former sex worker led,
community based intergenerational organization that works to end and violence
against Asian, Native, Hawaiian and Pacific islender an HPI women, girls,
and non binary communities. Our organization is led by inn
(06:09):
HPI women, girls and non binary communities in solidarity with Black,
Indigenous and other communities of color. So they use like
transformative justice as a part of ending the violence and
also creates solidarity community within their organizations and again for
the people that they advocate for, they really push to
be unified. It's led by co founders doctor Cunny One
(06:30):
and Jenny. It doesn't have our last name, so Jenny,
thank you Jenny. And they've been working to uplift Asian
women and again non binary communities through stories, education and
advocacy as well as research. Again a little bit about
their approach from their site quote. Our approach is a feminist, matriarchal, queer,
community driven, and community and survivors center. Our work is
(06:50):
rooted in relationships, transformative justice, and solidarity. We are informed
by our communities collective needs, expensive knowledge and progressive, radical
and powerful approaches to creating a new world and a
bit more about their work. They say, through community driven
research and education, healing, wellness and power building programs, as
well as our community events, our organization amplifies and creates
(07:12):
platforms to build upon the histories of resistance of Asian, Native,
Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women girls in our gender expansive communities,
and to mobilize towards progressive social change. Our work encourages
our community to tell their stories, to heal, and to
organize towards the end of violence against and within our communities,
and to create a new world. If you don't remember
the violence that happened against the Asian women in Atlanta
(07:34):
several years ago, this was kind of one of the
reactionary responses in coming together and understanding that this bigger
picture of intersectionality when it comes to fighting together for
the rights of everyone, is to start at the most prosecuted,
as we talk about when we talk about solidating with
the black communities, solidarity with the black women. This is
their kind of initiative, so really amazing work. If you
(07:57):
have a chance, you should go and check all these sides.
They do have Instagrams, they do have, you know, all
the social media. I think if you have mom tiktoks,
let me check that out as well. And of course
if you have any suggestions let us.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Know, Yes, please do, let us know. We're always looking
for those. You can email us at Hello at Stuffwenever
Told You dot com. You can find us on Blue
Sky at mom Stuff podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
at stuff Whenever Told You. We're also on YouTube. We
have a tea public store, and we have a book
we can get wherever you get your books. Things is
always too. Our super ducer, Christina, our executive producer My
(08:31):
and your contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
for listening. Stuff Never Told You is production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts my heart Radio, you can check out
the heart Radio app Apple Podcast wherever you listen to
your favorite shows
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to stuff
we never told you production if I Heart radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And we are at the end of the twenty twenty
five AAPI History Month in the US, so we thought
we would talk about a few AAPI organizations that are
working to advocate for their community in the US. And
of course, as we usually say, these are just a
few of the many, many, many many different organizations around
(00:39):
the country. However, this is a shorter segment, y'all know this,
so we have to make a short list. So we
picked three of the organizations that we wanted to talk about,
not because they're any better or worse or whatever whatnot.
It's just because we found these and we're like, yeah,
we'll talk about these. So there's that caveat. So let's
talk about the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center or I'm
(01:00):
going to call it Sea rec SEARC. So they begin
in nineteen seventy nine and it's currently based in California,
and they've been working and advocating for the refugees in
this area and the nation. Honestly a bit more about
them from their site. Sea REX start began in nineteen
seventy nine as the Indo China Refugee Action Center in
(01:20):
response to the war and US militarization in Southeast Asia.
By nineteen seventy five, hundreds of thousands of people have
been forced to flee their homes in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
Families sought to escape unimaginable violence and persecution, finding safety
across borders and oceans. Seawright's founders wanted to ensure that
the United States welcome these refugees with dignity, and since
(01:43):
then they have expanded to working for civil rights and
protections for the Southeast Asian community. So here's our mission
statement from that site. Sea rec is a national civil
rights organization that builds power with diverse communities from Cambodia, Loos,
in Vietnam to create a socially just and equitable society.
As representatives of the largest refugee community ever resettled in
(02:05):
the United States, SAX stands together with other refugee communities,
communities of color, and social justice movements in pursuit of
social equity, and with their work, they've been able to
bring attention to the needs and lives of the refugees
in their communities and as a part of the advocacy.
They have collaborated with different organizations to bring the most
accurate information and educational services for them and their allies.
(02:28):
Within their work, they provide services for change within educational policies,
data equity, immigration policies, healthcare policies, and so much more so.
They actually recently collaborated with a Center for Asian American
Media or CAM to premiere a docu series titled Southeast
Asian American Journeys. So this is again from their site.
This landmark series, part of the Our Roots, Our Power campaign,
(02:50):
commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Southeast Asian American or SEAA refugees,
resettlement and uplifts unique stories of communities, strength, survival and
self determination. So there's a lot that they're doing. You
should definitely check them out. They do talk about things
like how the Census really do a bad job in
counting just Asian people as one big group of people
(03:12):
when the needs are so different in vast I agree
with that. And then next we have the Asian Americans
Advancing Justice or AAAJ. Their organization has been around since
nineteen ninety one in Washington, DC, and this is from
their site Advancing Justice that AAJC dot org rooted in
the dreams of immigrants and inspired by the promise of
(03:35):
opportunity Asian Americans. Advancing Justice AAJC advocates for an America
in which all Americans can benefit equally from and contribute
to the American dream. Our mission is to advance the
civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build
and promote a fair and equitable society for all, and
it goes on. Advancing Justice is the voice for the
(03:56):
Asian American community, the fastest growing population in the US,
fighting for our civil rights through education, litigation, and public
policy advocacy. We serve to empower our communities by bringing
local and national constituencies together and ensuring Asian Americans are
able to participate fully in our democracy. So this organization
is made up of four sex including Advancing Justice Atlanta,
(04:18):
Advancing Justice Chicago, the aj SOCOU which is located in
southern California, and then the original AJ and so about
the different organizations as says. To achieve our mission, we
work together as equal and independent partners under one name,
speaking with one unified and powerful voice, to promote justice,
empower our communities, bring local and national constituents together and
(04:40):
strengthen our multi racial democracy. And I will say under
the first administration of Trump, the AAAJ Atlanta worked tirelessly
for the refugees and the immigration population and making sure
and creating a lot of legal help as well as
policy changes. Actually helped build what is now called sanctuary cities,
(05:03):
which is under attack. If you don't know about that,
that's another conversation. And they've been working hard again to
push for equal rights and protection of Asian American communities.
Each organization have been working to ensure that they are
protecting the community within the country, offering services such as
legal services for immigration issues, civil rights litigation, and to
protect and empower refugees and of course people of color,
(05:25):
and working to fight within policy advocacy. So again, a
lot of amazing work. And one more before we stop
talking about these organizations for today, because we're gonna keep
talking about them. AAPI Women Lead. This organization is another
one of my favorites, and I've been following with them
for a little while now, so if you have then
you should go check them out. So who are they?
(05:48):
According to their site aapiwl dot org, AAPI Women Lead
is a queer, feminist, survivor led and former sex worker led,
community based intergenerational organization that works to end and violence
against Asian, Native, Hawaiian and Pacific islender an HPI women, girls,
and non binary communities. Our organization is led by inn
(06:09):
HPI women, girls and non binary communities in solidarity with Black,
Indigenous and other communities of color. So they use like
transformative justice as a part of ending the violence and
also creates solidarity community within their organizations and again for
the people that they advocate for, they really push to
be unified. It's led by co founders doctor Cunny One
(06:30):
and Jenny. It doesn't have our last name, so Jenny,
thank you Jenny. And they've been working to uplift Asian
women and again non binary communities through stories, education and
advocacy as well as research. Again a little bit about
their approach from their site quote. Our approach is a feminist, matriarchal, queer,
community driven, and community and survivors center. Our work is
(06:50):
rooted in relationships, transformative justice, and solidarity. We are informed
by our communities collective needs, expensive knowledge and progressive, radical
and powerful approaches to creating a new world and a
bit more about their work. They say, through community driven
research and education, healing, wellness and power building programs, as
well as our community events, our organization amplifies and creates
(07:12):
platforms to build upon the histories of resistance of Asian, Native,
Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women girls in our gender expansive communities,
and to mobilize towards progressive social change. Our work encourages
our community to tell their stories, to heal, and to
organize towards the end of violence against and within our communities,
and to create a new world. If you don't remember
the violence that happened against the Asian women in Atlanta
(07:34):
several years ago, this was kind of one of the
reactionary responses in coming together and understanding that this bigger
picture of intersectionality when it comes to fighting together for
the rights of everyone, is to start at the most prosecuted,
as we talk about when we talk about solidating with
the black communities, solidarity with the black women. This is
their kind of initiative, so really amazing work. If you
(07:57):
have a chance, you should go and check all these sides.
They do have Instagrams, they do have, you know, all
the social media. I think if you have mom tiktoks,
let me check that out as well. And of course
if you have any suggestions let us.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Know, Yes, please do, let us know. We're always looking
for those. You can email us at Hello at Stuffwenever
Told You dot com. You can find us on Blue
Sky at mom Stuff podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
at stuff Whenever Told You. We're also on YouTube. We
have a tea public store, and we have a book
we can get wherever you get your books. Things is
always too. Our super ducer, Christina, our executive producer My
(08:31):
and your contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
for listening. Stuff Never Told You is production by Heart Radio.
For more podcasts my heart Radio, you can check out
the heart Radio app Apple Podcast wherever you listen to
your favorite shows
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