In a groundbreaking move on February 29th, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC), and Microsoft teamed up to launch the Asian Resource Hub, marking a major step in combating the rising tide of hate directed at Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. This digital platform is like a superhero with two special powers: first, it shines a light on the alarming surge in anti-Asian sentiment through carefully collected data from various reports, and second, it provides a one-stop shop of culturally relevant services and resources accessible in different Asian languages. You can check it out at asianresourcehub.org, and guess what? It’s free for everyone to use!
Connie Chung Joe, the CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, stressed just how vital this hub is right now, especially with everything going on with COVID-19. She said, “The Asian Resource Hub is our way of tackling the discrimination our community faces head-on. It’s so important for AAPIs to have access to trustworthy resources that speak our language and respect our culture, whenever we need them. The impact of hate and discrimination can be really tough and complicated.”
Using storytelling and some high-tech wizardry from Microsoft’s PowerBI data visualization platform, the Asian Resource Hub lays out public data about the AAPI community. They’ve gathered info from places like StopAAPIHate.org, StandAgainstHatred.org, the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI reports, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and even local cops. The goal? To show how the AAPI community has been doing before, during, and after this whole COVID-19 mess. And they’re doing it in a way that’s not boring – with cool graphics and all – to help folks better understand the challenges faced by these communities.
John C. Yang, President of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, pointed out that we’re seriously lacking good data that tells the real story of hate incidents and what people are going through. “The Asian Resource Hub is our way of saying, ‘Hey, let’s fill in these gaps and give our community the knowledge and tools to tackle these challenges.’ Huge shoutout to Microsoft for helping us make this happen.”
But wait, there’s more! The Asian Resource Hub also features a handy-dandy resource directory. It’s got over 60 AAPI community-based organizations (CBOs) from 21 states, all checked out and vetted. These organizations offer services like legal help, social support, and ways to get involved in your community, all tailored to fit your cultural and language needs.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) aren’t just regular nonprofits – they’re like the superheroes of the civil rights world, fighting for Asian American rights since way back. Established in 1991, Advancing Justice – AAJC is the big boss of Asian American policy advocacy, based in Washington D.C. And AJSOCAL, founded in 1983, is like the local hero, fighting for Asian American rights and justice right in our own backyard. They’re all about making sure the most vulnerable members of our community get the support and justice they deserve.
For more juicy details, check out www.advancingjustice-aajc.org (Advancing Justice – AAJC) and www.AJSOCAL.org (Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California).
