This President’s Day, members and staff spent the day at the state capitol for our 9th annual Day of Action. Coinciding with the 76th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, we brought with us the spirit and understanding of our communities’ struggles for justice, delivering a strong and powerful message that ALL of our families deserve the rights, resources, and recognition to thrive. Attendees spoke with legislators about our 2 policy priorities: Paid Family and Medical Leave (HB 4160) and fighting the dangerous threat of anti-immigrant ballot initiatives like Initiative Petition 22, and reiterated the importance of protecting our past legislative wins. We couldn’t have done this without community members such as yourself, telling powerful stories of your own experiences and advocating for concrete policies that make our communities stronger. Here are a few Day of Action highlights:
- 35 attendees (who braved snow and ice!) from various ages, cultures, and ethnicities packed the room.
- 23 legislative meetings with Senators and Representatives.
- Special Guest appearance by Representative Carla Piluso, Veteran Senate Staffer Carol Suzuki, Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OCAPIA) Commissioner Jackie Leung (also APANO member)
Want to continue advocating with us? Here are a few chances coming up quickly:
- Saturday, March 10th: Daylong Civic Engagement Norman Y. Mineta Leadership Institute Training in Portland co-hosted by APANO and APIAVote. Sign Up Here
Contact Field Director Kathy Wai for more details: kathy[at]apano.org. - Thursday, March 15th (6-8PM): March Member Meeting on to discuss immigrant rights messaging campaigns here in Oregon. RSVP Here.
Contact Field Organizer Robin Ye for more details: robin[at]apano.org.
We know that many of you want to keep engaging with us, especially as immigrant, refugee, undocumented, and LGTBQ communities are continually being attacked in Oregon. If you’re interested in getting more involved in our Advocacy and Civic Engagement work, or more information on our policy priorities, contact Field Director Kathy Wai at kathy[at]apano.org. We can’t wait to see you for an even bigger Day of Action 2019!
This programming message is brought to you by APANO Communities United Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization.