Contacts:
Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC, 267-334-5918 (English)
Jubum Cha, YKASEC, 718-460-5600 (English, Korean)
Yongho Kim, KRC, 323-937-3718 (English, Korean, Spanish)
Youngsun Song, KRCC, 773-506-9158 (English, Korean)
A Time To Reflect On Our History & Build America’s Future Together
Korean Americans Celebrating APA Heritage Month
(Los Angeles, CA) May is Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month—a celebration of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. Korean Americans recently marked the 100th anniversary of our presence in the United States wherein we have firmly set our roots and begun to foster a strong sense of cultural identity as Koreans Americans. May is a time for us to forge an equally strong sense of identity & unity as Asian Pacific Americans. To that end, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Flushing have sought to establish a legacy of working in partnership with other Asian Pacific American communities from our active participation in the National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans & APIA Vote to campaigns such as the We Are America Picture Postcard Campaign (2006) and the National APA Mobilization for Just and Humane Immigration Reform in Washington DC (2007). Most recently, the passage of HR. 121, Rep. Mike Honda’s legislation calling on the Japanese government to apologize for its sexual enslavement of “comfort women,” many from Korea, during World War II was not just about addressing historical wrongs but also about diffusing historic tensions within the Asian Pacific American community, particularly the older generation.
In recognition of APA Heritage Month and in this spirit of coming together at a critical political time when America’s future is at stake, NAKASEC and its affiliates are organizing events that promote civic participation and community empowerment. We encourage Korean Americans, APAs and other communities to celebrate APA Heritage Month by attending one of the educational and cultural events below to learn more about our history and issues that face us today.
1)
Legalization for All March for the Rights and Immigrants and All Worker, a public march commemorating International May Day during which KRCC is
organizing a contingent of Asian Pacific Americans
May 1, 2008, 12:00 p.m.
Meet at Union Park (Ashland & Lake), Chicago, IL
For more information, contact Youngsun Song (youngsun@chicagokrcc.org)
2)
Special screening of “Two Homes, One Heart,” a film directed and produced by middle- & high-school students who participated in KRC’s 2007 Summer
Youth Empowerment Program at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
May 6, 2008, 5 p.m.
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA
For more information, contact Yongho Kim (yongho@krcla.org)
3)
29th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, the largest Pan Asian outdoor event on the East Coast. YKASEC will be distributing immigrant rights
advocacy-related materials.
May 10, 2008, 12 – 6 p.m.
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, East 47th Street and 2nd Avenue, New York City, NY
For more information, contact Jubum Cha (education@ykasec.org)
4)
Asian American Civic Engagement Panel, organized by the Chicago Foundation for Women, will feature KRCC’s civic engagement best practices in educating & mobilizing Korean Americans.
May 13, 2008, 6 – 8 p.m.
One East Wacker Drive, 20th floor, Chicago, IL
For more information, contact Youngsun Song (youngsun@chicagokrcc.org)
5)
National CAPACD 9th Annual Convention, will feature a “how-to” workshop led by NAKASEC & KRC for community-based organizations to set up a comprehensive civic education program, as well as a panel on youth organizing and an immigrant rights policy roundtable.
May 15 – 17, 2008, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sheraton Park Hotel, 1855 South Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim, CA
For more information, contact Sookyung Oh (soh@nakasec.org)
6)
APIA Vote! Presidential Candidates Town Hall, a public event where the invited presidential candidates will for the first time address APA communities and our issues
May 17, 2008, 4 p.m.
Bren Events Center at University of California, Irvine
For more information, contact HyunJoo Lee (hlee@nakasec.org)
7)
“The Movement of People: Building a New Agenda from Asia to the U.S.” international symposium, organized by NAKASEC, KRC, the May 18th Memorial Foundation and Young Koreans United featuring speakers from Australia, the Philippines, South Korea and the United States on the topic of migration & labor with a lens on movement building of Asians and Asian Americans.
May 31, 2008, 9 – 4:30 p.m.
Korean Education Center, 680 Wilshire Place, Los Angeles, CA
For more information, contact Sookyung Oh (soh@nakasec.org)
