Reflections on 2022: Top 12 Highlights
As this year comes to an end, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC reflects on the ways we supported and empowered our communities this year in our fight for a more equitable and inclusive future for all.
2022 has been a momentous year for our communities and our country, and we have been with you every step of the way.
1. China Initiative Ends But Efforts to Combat Unjust Profiling of Asian Americans and Immigrants Continues
After years of advocacy spearheaded by Advancing Justice | AAJC, allied civil rights organizations and academic groups, on February 23, the Department of Justice ended the China Initiative and announced a series of changes to their national security approach to address concerns of profiling of Asian American and immigrants by our communities. This is a critical step forward to addressing the cyclical and historic profiling of Asian Americans and immigrants.
Advancing Justice | AAJC continues to push for substantive changes to protect our communities and call for government accountability for victims of unjust profiling and targeting. This year, we launched the Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security program, submitted an amicus brief with Advancing Justice — ALC and mobilized community support for Professor Xiaoxing Xi’s appeal to hold the government accountable for their discriminatory investigation and wrongful prosecution. We also prevented amendments that would further harm our communities from being included in federal legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
2. Combatting Mis/disinformation Targeting the Asian American Diaspora
To combat the spread of mis/disinformation targeting the Asian American community, Advancing Justice | AAJC has been tracking messaging trends across various social media platforms to gain a better understanding of disinformation campaigns and its impact on our communities.
In April, Advancing Justice | AAJC testified before Congress at the hearing, “A Growing Threat: The Impact of Disinformation Targeted at Communities of Color,” held by the Committee on House Administration and highlighted our findings. Together with our partners, we launched the Asian American Disinformation Table and released the first landscape report on mis/disinformation within and about Asian/Asian American diasporic communities. Leading up to and during the midterm elections, Advancing Justice | AAJC continued to monitor election narratives that sought to manipulate and divide our communities and shared resources with the public on how to report mis/disinformation online.
3. Mobilizing Our Communities and Amplifying Our Voices
This summer, Advancing Justice | AAJC co-organized the Unity March, the first large-scale, Asian American-led multicultural rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Together with our allies, we spoke on issues affecting Asian Americans and all communities of color over the past years and ended with a multi-pronged call to action to advance the fight for socioeconomic and cultural equity, racial justice, and solidarity.
Advancing Justice | AAJC continues to engage our youth through our bi-annual Youth Leadership Summit, a multi-day leadership development program for young leaders that focuses on advocacy, communications, and civic engagement around policy issues impacting our communities from college campuses to Capitol Hill.
4. Successfully Defended Voters from Oppressive Voting Legislation
Throughout 2022, Advancing Justice | AAJC played key roles advocating for equity and justice through litigation, most notably in the areas of education and voting rights. In AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition v. Hobbs, we filed a lawsuit representing AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition in challenging two voter suppression laws in Arizona that target naturalized voters. We filed a complaint in August 2022, and shortly thereafter filed a preliminary injunction (PI) challenging one of the laws. In response, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and all 13 counties in Arizona agreed to not implement the law for the 2022 elections.
5. Fought for Education Equity and Access for K-12 Students in the Courts
Advancing Justice | AAJC filed numerous amicus briefs with our civil rights partners in support of education equity in K-12, notably in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board and in Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, which was dismissed in July by the court after citing our amicus brief to allow School Board changes to admissions policies that made them more inclusive to all students.
6. Demanding Action from Biden Administration to Combating Hate-fueled Violence
In a key moment of solidarity, a diverse group of national organizations representing racial, ethnic, and religious groups convened at the White House for the United We Stand Summit to combat hate-motivated violence. As one of five multi-racial national organizations, Advancing Justice | AAJC and our civil rights partners urged President Biden to hold a convening to address hate-fueled violence after a series of violent attacks against marginalized communities in our country. We are heartened by the swift response to concerns from communities impacted by hate and look forward to continued action by the administration to create conditions where all communities feel safe and are able to thrive.
7. Ensuring Asian Americans are Informed and Protected Throughout the Midterm Elections
As our communities headed out to the ballot box, Advancing Justice | AAJC provided in-language election resources, fact sheets, and live assistance through our multilingual voter hotline in partnership with APIAVote. Our goal is to help our community stay informed and protected and to ensure the rising political influence of Asian Americans is not overlooked. This year, we saw a 70% increase in calls compared to the 2018 midterm elections as our communities made their voices heard at the ballot box.
Advancing Justice | AAJC, APIAVote, and AAPI Data released the 2022 Asian American Voter Survey measuring Asian American sentiment and attitudes on the issues top of mind in the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. Asian Americans are a diverse community representing over 50 different ethnicities and 100 different languages. Collecting this information is critical to know where our communities stand and to ensure that we are not left out of the voting rights conversation.
8. Defending and Supporting Affirmative Action in Higher Education with Allied Communities of Color
On October 31, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two cases that will determine the future of affirmative action in college admissions. In August, Asian Americans Advancing Justice submitted two amicus briefs in support of race-conscious admissions, which expands access to educational opportunities for all students, including Asian Americans, and takes into account the entirety of a student’s attributes and lived experiences. On oral argument day, Advancing Justice | AAJC was proud to rally before the steps of the Supreme Court alongside our civil rights partners, allies, and Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Asian American students and alumni from across the country in support of a future where there is equity and diversity in education.
9. Improving Language Access for Our Communities by Providing In-Language Resources
Given that one in three Asian Americans has limited proficiency in English, providing in-language access to information, resources, and services is critical for our communities.
Advancing Justice | AAJC worked with the Federal Communications Commission in providing in-language resources on the Affordable Connectivity Program to help get low-income Asian American families online. Together with Right To Be and the Advancing Justice affiliation, we continue to offer Bystander Intervention trainings to stop anti-Asian and Asian American and xenophobic harassment in six Asian languages. We also worked with our partners to produce a series of in-language animated videos to introduce bystander intervention methods on how to recognize harassment and safely intervene to share with wider audiences.
To ensure that our communities have access to information that helps protect their data following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we developed one-pagers in 14 languages on digital security for abortion access and health care privacy. Leading up to the midterm elections, we provided updated in-language election resources and fact sheets on your rights to language access to help Asian Americans get ready to vote and stay informed.
10. Expanding Support to Community-based Organizations Nationwide
This year, we continued to expand our efforts to support Asian American communities nationwide through subgrants to build the capacity of community-based organizations serving Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities across the country. In 2022, we have redistributed over $6.6 million to 57 organizations across 25 states working to address issues faced by their communities such as racial justice, community safety, gender-based violence response, digital divide, immigrant rights, and voting rights, among others. This important work done by community-based organizations are crucial to providing long-term solutions and lasting change.
11. Launch of Wholestory Education Campaign
In response to increased attacks on our ability to tell the whole histories of Asian American, Black American, Indigenous, and Latino/Latinx American communities in schools and have honest discussions about diversity, racism, and sexism, Advancing Justice | AAJC launched the Wholestory Education (WE) Campaign to track legislation and policies aimed at restricting the teaching of diversity and histories of communities of color and provide resources for individuals and organizations to begin, supplement, or further advocate for inclusive history in their communities. As part of our launch, we held a convening to learn about the current needs of our community, challenges they faced, and to discuss alternatives for providing a more comprehensive, honest, and empowering education in K-12 schools.
12. Advocacy for Legislative Solutions to Family Immigration and Citizenship
Advancing Justice | AAJC continues to advocate for family immigration and push Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for all so that our communities and loved ones can be reunited and stay protected. Together with the Value Our Families coalition, we spearheaded multiple weeks of actions to call for clearing of immigration backlogs and support for visa recapture policies. As the future of DACA lies in uncertainty, we doubled-down on our efforts to demand Congress deliver on citizenship before the end of year for our dreamers and immigrant communities.
Thanks to you, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is able to continue our mission and advocate for our communities nationwide on many different issues. As we head into the new year, please consider making a contribution — and a lasting impact — to continue our fight for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and beyond: Donate Today.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC has a mission to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Visit our website at advancingjustice-aajc.org.
