CAPA21

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

Like you, we’re still reeling from the devastating outcome of Tuesday’s elections. There’s much more to share in the coming days but we wanted to first express our appreciation again for your incredible support.

We are grateful to all our generous donors, but especially CAPA21 Chair Tamlyn Tomita and Daniel Blinkoff, Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. and Sandra O. Ocampo, Clement Kong, Craig Yamada MD and Monice Kwok MD, and Sam Kong Fang.

Many of you gave generously and repeatedly to defend our democracy. We appreciate ALL our donors no matter the amount and value every dollar donated. We’re grateful to the many people throughout the year who offered to fundraise for us, including Chizu’s Corner, Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, and Greg Pak.

We commend the staff and volunteers of all the groups we funded. These organizations produced hundreds of thousands of voter contacts, door knocks, calls, mail pieces, and digital touches and together have built a foundation for the future of AANHPI voter empowerment across the country.

Asian American Advocacy Fund in Georgia
Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance (API PA) in Pennsylvania
APIA Vote Michigan
AZ AANHPI Advocates in Arizona
Freedom Action Now in Wisconsin
North Carolina Asian Americans Coming Together
One APIA Nevada (OAN)
Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (PIVOT) nationally
Rising Voices in Michigan
Southeast Asian Action (SEA Action) in Wisconsin
Tamlyn shared this with us:

Resilience.
The bamboo has a tanzaku, a written wish attached to it, and the bamboo always sways and bends in the wind, never breaking.
It’s bamboo time.

We lost the election, but together with you, we built a powerful coalition to repudiate Trump’s authoritarian moves.

Let’s take some time to grieve … and then get back to work.

Thank you again for your incredible support.

ASIAN AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRACY and CAPA21

AA4D: Kathy Ko Chin, Dianne Fukami, Carole Hayashino, Debra Nakatomi, Dan Nguyen-Tan, Vincent Pan, Lia Shigemura, Eddie Wong, Helen Zia, and Hoyt Zia

CAPA21: Tamlyn Tomita (Chair), Dale Minami, Maeley Tom, Ginger Lew