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Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. Send tips and feedback to [email protected] and support our work by making a donation.
— Edited by Shawna Chen
In Focus
“I want to remind you that solidarity is actually our inheritance. This relationship between communities of color is also not new. We are not the first, we’re not the last.”
—Activist Bobby Roy
Sacramento’s first-ever Blasian March was a reminder—and amplifier—of longtime solidarity between Black and Asian communities, The Sacramento Bee’s Samson Zhang reports.
Over 120 people rallied to highlight unity amid years of historical tensions and commemorate 19-year-old Black and Hmong American Darell Richards, who was shot and killed by Sacramento police while having a panic attack.
AAPI Nation
👉 Here's what else is happening across America…
🏙️ AAPI-serving organizations will receive $30 million to help combat Asian hate crimes in New York, NextShark’s Carl Samson reports. The historic fund will serve to protect vulnerable communities and increase Asian representation in the state.
- AAPIs make up 11% of New York’s population, but hate crime spikes have persisted across the state, particularly in New York City.
⚾ Meanwhile: Shohei Ohtani has made history once again, becoming the only baseball player in MLB history to achieve three consecutive seasons of 100 hits and 100 strikeouts, Angels News’ Scott Geirman reports. The 29-year-old Japanese pitcher was also named an All-Star as both a pitcher and hitter for his third straight season.
🔍 An August working paper found that Asian American students are 28% less likely to be admitted to selective colleges compared to their white peers with similar academic qualifications, Higher Ed Dive’s Laura Spitalniak writes.
📢 Pacific Islander leaders in San Francisco are pushing for greater representation in city governance, citing disparate outcomes in their community. About 70% of the city’s Pacific Islanders live in public housing—they also tend to have lower median incomes compared to other ethnic and racial groups, San Francisco Chronicle’s Harry Mok notes.
🗳 New laws criminalizing voting assistance could disproportionately target Asian Americans, Independent’s Ayanna Alexander reports. The voting laws, already passed in six predominantly Republican-led states, impose criminal penalties and fines for individuals and groups helping people register to vote.
- “If there’s not access, in terms of language, we can’t get to as many people, which particularly affects AAPI voters,” warned Leah Nash, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
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