OUR COMMITMENT

A sampling of some of our most notable endeavors and programs since 1979:

Leadership Development & Economic Empowerment 

Each year we impact approximately 500 people through these programs.

• Conducted Leadership, Community Awareness, Economic development programs, seminars, & conferences for AAPI high school, college students, professionals, and entrepreneurs
• OCA-GH Internship Program for Leadership Development & Civic Engagement
• College Prep Days for high school students, Reading Olympics book program, Career Roundtables for High School and College Students
• MAAP-Mentoring Asian American Professionals program

 

Employment Rights 

• Supported one of the 1st major class action lawsuits filed by APAs in a classic glass ceiling employment discrimination case that impacted the hiring of thousands of potential APA employees in Houston corporations as well as the potentially discriminatory layoffs of APAs at NASA in the 1980’s.
• Worked with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Department of Labor on an educational outreach project entitled “TIGAAR — The Information Group for Asian American Rights” and co-produced/distributed nationally, a free educational video on employment-related civil rights;

 

Advocacy & Civic Engagement 

Our Citizenship & Immigration programs have impacted 4000 families since 2007 and our Civic Engagement Programs have reached out to 30,000 Households this past year, 

• Organized legal clinics and educational programs on: Legal Issues for low income AAPI families, Citizenship & Immigration Assistance Forums (since 2007), Identity Theft & Financial Literacy, Workplace Rights, Affirmative Action, Hate Crimes, Scholarships, Voting Rights Act Sec. 203 Compliance and lawsuit participation (currently partnered with Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) on suit against State of Texas on Voting Right Act violations regarding restriction on Assistants & Translators)
• Organized Poll Monitoring & Exit Surveying for Houston sites since 1994
• worked in partnership with community partner organizations to effectively increase the number of AAPIs participating in elections each year through outreach efforts including non-partisan Candidate Forums and civic participation education
• Published multilingual AAPI Pro-Bono Legal Resource Guide and Community Resource Guide; Wrote op/ed articles/letters to the media on AAPI issues
• Led public awareness campaigns on issues such as the Los Angeles Lakers Center Shaquille O’Neil racial taunting of Houston Rockets Center Yao Ming, the Los Alamos Wen Ho Lee “Spy” incident, and the boycott/protest of retailer Abercrombie & Fitch’s racially biased line of T-shirts with derogatory, stereotyped images of APAs
• Conducted Census 2000 & 2010 Community Outreach
• Conduct monthly advocacy issues trainings TEA Talks program (Together Empowering All)

 

Coalition Building 

• Served on the Use of Force and Memorandum of Understanding Task Force with the Houston Police Department in coalition with the NAACP, CAIR, LULAC, TOP, and ADL as a part of the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice (GHCJ) working to change the Grand Jury Selection process in Texas
• Initiated collaborations to establish the Coalition Against Asian American Bashing (CAAAB), and the Asian American Women’s Forum, and co-sponsored/co-organized events to host the AAPI White House Initiative and Candidates Forums
• Founding member of Empowering Communities Initiative to increase capacity of AAPI organizations for civic engagement

 

Cultural Awareness & the Arts 

Our Cultural programs reach 2000+ people each year and continues to grow.

• Organize the Annual Houston AAPI Film Festival & Quarterly Arts/Cultural programs (since 2004) to educate the public on the stories and contributions of the Asian American Pacific Islander experience and community
• Supported AAPI cultural awareness programs such as the national exhibition of Angel Island, “Gateway to Gold Mountain”, The H.T. Chen APA Dance Company, David Henry Hwang’s new version of Flower Drum Song; co-organize the APA Author Book Talk Series

 

Community Service 

• Participate in annual community service projects such as CARE Coalition July 4th Festival & Elementary School Supply Backpack project, and Annual APA Seniors Holiday Luncheon.