On November 2, 2023, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand hosted the New York Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Summit in Washington, D.C. where hundreds of AAPI leaders gathered in the nation’s capital to discuss opportunities and challenges impacting the community. Members of the Columbia China Center for Social Policy were invited to attend the Summit and join statewide leaders within and beyond the APPI community. Other members of the NY delegation, including Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and Congresswoman Grace Meng, were in attendance to offer supportive and congratulatory remarks.
The Summit concentrated on three main themes:
1. “Advancing Opportunities in AAPI Communities” featured representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Census Bureau and highlighted language access and a lack of data disaggregation as two main challenges of AAPI subpopulations;
2. “Confronting anti-Asian hate and discrimination” challenged evolving definitions of hate crimes and discrimination through a dialogue about the decreasing trends in hate crimes data and the contrasting daily experiences of AAPI community members; and
3. “Grants and Government Contracting Opportunities” introduced relevant funding opportunities and offered guidance on securing resources for organizational sustenance.
This gathering of AAPI leaders reinforced the China Center’s dedication to research that aims to represent the diverse AAPI community through our disaggregated data and nuanced narratives. Led by Dr. Qin Gao, the State of Chinese Americans Survey project jointly conducted with Committee of 100 published a full report that shed light on the diverse experiences of nearly 6,500 Chinese Americans across demographic backgrounds and regions. The report revealed that, in 2022, nearly three out of four Chinese Americans experienced racial discrimination in the previous 12 months. Another report showed alarmingly high levels of racism-related vigilance from being constantly on guard among Chinese Americans in New York City and California during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Columbia China Center was honored to be invited to this groundbreaking event by Senator Gillibrand’s team and looks forward to continuing research that supports and represents the AAPI community and all its diversity.
To find out more about the China Center and its research, click here. To support the work of the China Center, please donate here (select the China Fund for Social Policy and Social Work).
