The Biden administration will formally move to “reinvigorate" the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) with a focus on anti-Asian bias and violence, the White House announced Tuesday.
“The President will re-establish and expand the initiative’s initial mandate to coordinate across federal agencies to combat anti-Asian bias and violence, especially anti-Asian violence at the intersection of gender-based violence,” according to a fact sheet obtained by The Yappie. “The initiative will have an expanded mandate to promote inclusion, belonging, and opportunity for all Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.”
President Joe Biden will also appoint a permanent Director to lead the initiative, and administration officials are set to meet with AAPI advocacy groups to shape the federal office’s mission and structure. WHIAAPI is currently led by Laura Shin and housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Asian American advocates had been pressing the administration to revamp WHIAAPI before the attacks in Atlanta, which left six Asian women dead.
In a February memo delivered to senior White House staff, AAPI Progressive Action urged Biden to swiftly reestablish the initiative by executive order and broaden its scope to “meet the needs and challenges facing the AAPI community today."
"Our community's input is crucial to solving the multiple, increasingly dire crises we are facing," AAPI Progressive Action's Executive Director Varun Nikore said in a statement to The Yappie. "The decision to re-establish the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is a promising first step in making sure AAPIs are served and represented on the issues and policy decisions that affect our lives."
This story was updated to include a statement from AAPI Progressive Action.
