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$156.5 million of the FY 2021-22 California state budget will go towards initiatives combating anti-Asian hate after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a historic measure into law this month.
The unprecedented funding package, known as the “API Equity Budget,” comes after two months of advocacy from the 10-member California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (APILC), Stop AAPI Hate Coalition, and 150 community organizations.
The yearlong surge in anti-Asian hate has hit California especially hard. 2,640 of the 6,603 self-reported hate incidents from March 2020 to March 2021 occurred in California, according to Stop AAPI Hate. It's negatively affecting Asians' mental health, too.
The bulk of the funding—$110 million—will be allocated to grants for hate crime victim support and crime prevention services, according to a statement from Stop AAPI Hate.
Blocks of $10 million each will go to:
- Stop AAPI Hate to improve hate crime reporting and tracking services.
- The AAPI Data project for collection of demographics and public opinion data.
- School programs addressing bias and hate.
- Ethnic media outlets serving the California AAPI community.
An additional $5 million will fund social media peer networks to address bullying and mental health, while $1.5 million will go toward a Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs workgroup focused on addressing educational attainment for first-generation, low-income AAPI students.
California’s API Legislative Caucus (APILC) initially sought $200 million when it unveiled the API Equity Budget on May 12. Leaders of 150 community organizations, including Stop AAPI Hate and the Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council, co-signed a letter in support of the measure shortly after.
The Democrat-controlled state legislature passed the proposal a month later as part of the state’s massive budget plan, which community leaders urged Newsom to finalize with the full API Equity Budget intact.
Ultimately, a quarter of the proposal was cut, including $10 million for a statewide hate incidents hotline, $20 million for the development of local Chinatowns and other ethnic hubs, $10 million for the establishment of a state “Interpreters Corps,” and $10 million for the creation of an Office of Racial Equity.
AAPI legislators and advocates still applauded the final $156.5 million budget, which followed federal legislation on the issue, as a crucial investment in the AAPI community.
“For the first time, California has prioritized investments in AAPI safety and equity in its statewide budget, including historic funds for community-centered solutions, restorative justice, and culturally competent mental health services,” Angela Chan, policy director and senior staff attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, said in a statement.
“These investments are unprecedented in the state’s history, and will go a long way to ensure that our state remains deeply inclusive and is able to harness the talents and contributions of everyone who calls California home,” added Karthic Ramakrishnan, chair of the California Commission on APIA Affairs and founding director of the AAPI Data Project.
Other community leaders emphasized the need to target larger, underlying issues affecting the AAPI community as well as immediate needs.
“This funding is essential in addressing both the pandemic-related hate our community is facing and the racial inequities that have too long shaped the lives of California’s AAPI community,” said Vincent Pan, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA).
“The challenge to root out systemic racism will not be completed overnight, but we now have the tools to expand services, invest in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, increase anti-bias education, and better track and prevent these cowardly attacks,” Assemblymember and APILC Vice Chair Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) said.
Despite the pandemic, a record $75.7 billion surplus from the previous cycle made the spending measures in the $263 billion budget possible. Experts attribute the surplus to $26 billion in federal aid, robust budgeting in previous years, and a tech industry that has boomed in the past year.
“The passage of the API Equity Budget represents one of the most powerful responses to anti-AAPI racism in the country, modeling a holistic approach for lawmakers here and everywhere to address both the causes and manifestations of racial injustice,” said the CAA.
