This is from our May 6, 2025, e-newsletter.

Donald Trump’s second First 100 Days were a disaster. A poll released on April 24 by Stop AAPI Hate revealed incredibly low support for where this administration is taking our country, with “only around 1 in 10 AA/PI adults believe racial and economic challenges for AA/PI communities will improve in the next four years under the Trump administration.”

“The best way to make a difference is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for the next election. Go out and make a difference right now,” said President Obama earlier this year. “Because through your action, you will fill others with hope. And you might just fill yourself with hope.” Visit CAPA21.com for ideas on what you can do.

We’re restarting our regular emails to engage CAPA21 supporters in ways that don’t depend solely on upcoming political contests. Together with you, we have more to offer than just raising money for candidates and grassroots efforts. We can uplift the efforts of our CAPA21 extended family of leaders, donors, and supporters – as well as AANHPI electeds and community champions.

Our emails will include calls to action against the Trump administration’s continued assaults against Americans and our Constitution, news about our CAPA21 board, updates from elected officials, and news about our donors. If you are a donor and have news about yourself that you’d like to share, or if you’re a supporter with suggestions for a future newsletter, please write to us at team@capa21.com. Thank you!

Read our latest newsletter.

Dear CAPA21 Donors and Supporters,

Los Angeles is my home and our house was not far, but far enough, from the furthest reaches of the Eaton Fire. I grieve for so many who lost their lives and the thousands of my fellow Angelenos who lost their homes. The devastation is overwhelming. I posted some ways to help the victims of the fires on Instagram.

The ongoing tragedy in Los Angeles is for now putting national politics on the backburner, but I felt it important that CAPA21 reach out to you as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris leave office.

It’s a terrible coincidence that the inauguration of Donald Trump takes place on the same day when our nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today contrasts two diametrically opposed Americans: Dr. King, the iconic civil rights champion who advocated radical change through nonviolence – and Trump, who represents the worst our country can offer and whose transgressions fill volumes.

I know many of us are still despondent about the loss of our federal government to MAGA Republicans. We can see the political hurricane of chaos about to be unleashed. We saw a preview with last week’s confirmation hearings on MAGA Cabinet nominees.

The next four years will be incredibly difficult – maybe the most politically and civically challenging period in our lives.

But let’s remember that our AANHPI immigrant and indigenous forebears faced and overcame much worse …

– Filipino farmworkers in Central California oppressed by growers, 
– Vietnamese refugees forced to flee their wartorn homeland, 
– Korean business owners in LA caught between (and the victims of) white oppression against Black Americans,
– Chinese railroad workers exploited and killed so rail titans could lay down tracks across the continent,
– Japanese families unconstitutionally rounded up and incarcerated during World War II,
– Native Hawaiians whose kingdom was illegally overthrown on January 17, 1893.

The list can go on. The point is AANHPIs have conquered tremendous obstacles throughout our unique American histories. We can … we must, do it again.

Let’s pick ourselves up, push forward, and stand strong.

Tamlyn Tomita
Chair, CAPA21