Stop Discriminatory Bill H3361

Stop Discriminatory Bill H3361

A letter to Rhode Island Senators about Ethnic groups’ subdivision

A letter to Rhode Island Senators about Ethnic groups’ subdivision

Source: http://posts.careerengine.us/p/598a92be5e046d49f59960e9

By Luke Lu

Honorable Senator XXX,

It has come to the attention of some, especially those amongst the Southeast Asian communities of New England, that recently the State of Rhode Island has signed a new bill into law, RIS0439, which advocates have proclaimed as the "All Students Count Act". This act calls for the dissemination of educational performance data from various groups of students, and to subdivide these groups into further categories to achieve this. However, the title of the act is woefully misleading, as by 'groups of students', this bill actually aims solely to subdivide the already diminutive "Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander" student body into a plethora of new categories determined by "ethnic divisions", while neglecting to do the same for the other groups that account for 96 percent of the Rhode Island population. Supporters of the bill state that this act is essential to recognize the diversities within the Southeast Asian population and how different socioeconomic and ethnic conditions have effected educational performance, and point to the"underserved but overachieving community" of Southeast Asians, stating that the act would in fact be a great educational boon to the Asian community by spotting apparent "underlying ethnic divisions". As a matter of fact, the Huffington Post even recently wrote in their article [Rhode Island House Passes Act That Would Expose Asian-American Achievement Gap] the following: "Southeast Asian-American activists are celebrating a Rhode Island act that could have a huge impact on the underserved students in their community."

However, despite being a relatively average thirteen-year-old Asian American student in my community, when this act was brought before the attention of my family and myself, we were by no means celebrating. Quite on the contrary, actually. When I perused over the bill and later read the subsequent Hufffington Post article, I was quite appalled. While I must commend the article and the interviewed Quyen Dinh for bringing light to many issues of the Asian-American community, such as lack of English proficiency, problems of poverty for immigrants, high PTSD rates amongst students, etc, the resulting product of the equation presented still failed to add up. As Chinese American and Southeast Asian activists opposed to the bill have already stated long before myself, the Asian American community accomplished the "Achievement Gap" through hard work and effort rather than a clear ethnic divide. Also, the perceived gap in achievement still does not equate to academic success (as also mentioned in many pro-actarticles), but dividing the Asian student body into even more parts only achieves to complicate the terrible grievances of poverty, language divide, cultural disconnection, and depression that face many students. What is perhaps the most distasteful part of the act to many is the fact that the proposed ethnic divisions do not equate to national divisions, nor often to even the ethnic identities of the peoples forced into the program. There are many reasonable claims of how this information is both unnecessarily and unasked for by the Asian community, and could potentially stimulate only more ethnic divisions along with further unwarranted or even corrupt actions. This tax-intensive data collection program also forces Asian-American students such as myself and countless others to tabulate ethnicity based upon the ethnicity of one's parents, which could be mixed or not even accurate in the slightest.

As a matter of fact, this process is always inaccurate in identifying ethnicities. This article being read here is supposed to depict not just the stand point of immigrant parent activists, but equally that of American-born citizen students such as myself who are often oblivious to this issue, which included myself until recently. And from the perspective of a Chinese Asian American, I identify as an Asian before as a Chinese, and always an American before an Asian American. I, along with so many others far more or less achieving than I (mostly moreso) and far more or less fortunate than I, have all had the fortune of being born an American. By the sweat and toil of immigrant parents seeking a better future for all their children, to the blood and hope of the Revolution, the American identity is not something that can be seized so easily from myself, nor any Chinese-American, nor any Asian-American, nor any American or hardworking immigrant, whether they be born here, born elsewhere, but always born free. Thusly, the ethnic divisions imposed upon the Asian American community in Rhode Island, California, and elsewhere is only a prelude to unjust divisions of all Americans everywhere. As Martin Luther King Jr. once famously spoke as he broke the chains of inequality in the African American Civil Rights Movement, that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere", so too must we as Americans and immigrants, parents and students alike, say the same about the ethnic divisions imposed against Asian Americans in this "All Students Count Act". But it must not be only an Chinese battle, as the primary engagement is being waged now, nor an Asian battle, as the war is becoming, but rather an American battle to call down educational data collection depending upon race, ethnicity, or what not. It may be a foolish claim. It may be a child's hope. It may be a flawed stance. It may be a controversial position. And it may be an impossibility. But starting with RI S0439, perhaps, peacefully by word of mouth, a claim, a hope, the impossible, may become a reality.

Sincerely yours,

Luke Lu

How California AB 1726 was rolled out?

The following two graphs provide our readers how the Notorious California AB 1726 law was rolled out. This law divides Asian Americans into 20 subgroups in government data collection effort.

From Boston Global : Stop Dividing Asian Americans and Bill H 3361

Today's protest is covered by Boston Globe.  Thank you for the report.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/06/protesters-picket-national-legislators-summit-boston/2X4WOTyVp6LbaUdPBVhRsM/story.html?from=groupmessage

Some questions from audience:
1) why Asian only?
2) Is this similar to Muslim Registry or Jews Registry in Germany in World War II? 

Otherwise, for second or third generation Americans, why does the government need know your so called county of origin, especially for Asian Americans?

Stop Massachusetts Bill H 3361

Stop H3361 in Boston on 2017-8-6

Boston Protest, We are Here 2017-08-05

Tomorrow, we will gather around to protest Asian American Data Disaggregation Effort from Lawmakers.

Location: Westin at Waterfront, 425 Summer St, Boston 02210
Meet Time: 8:30 AM

We will be there to support a more inclusive society. Dividing Asian Americans into 20 plus subgroubs and zoom in the subtle differences, creating the sense of foreigners, are totally wrong.

We all are Americans.

Boston Protest at National Conference of State Legislators 8/5/-8/9

支持细分的组织会于8/5/2017 – 8/9/2017 期间在Boston的National Conference of State Legislators的 年度Legislature Summit上有组织推动细分。这是各个州的state legislator （州参，众议员）参与的，5500人的年度大会，具体agenda可以在这里找到。
http://www.ncsl.org/meetings-training/legislative-summit-17.aspx

东岸的朋友已经在Boston组织抗衡的行动对抗这些细分组织。我们全国的同胞，应该远程支持，提前给自己的州参，众议员写email，发传真，提前警告。起到deterrence的作用。这里可以输入家庭地址，查到自己的州参，众议员：
https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

我们已经写好了信，供大家参考，需要时可以各自更改。红色的地方需要重新customize。务必8/5，礼拜六之前发出。www.weunitedtogether.blogspot.com

This maybe the first such global initiative for us, like Boston Tea Incident in 1773.

Signatures of MA Residents Opposing Asian American Disaggregation Bill H3361

Signatures of MA Residents Opposing Asian American Disaggregation Bill H3361

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZQUGbXl8IxBEQuyIjEeuASDI5IE7RuBeTjEywMZ4zXQ/viewform?from=groupmessage&edit_requested=true

Signatures of MA Residents Opposing Asian American Disaggregation Bill 麻省居民反对亚裔细分议案H3361 签名

By George Hu

我们麻省居民非常强烈地反对H3361 议案基于下列和更多原因:

1）这个议案是以出生或祖先国籍区分美籍亚裔，对亚裔造成歧视。这个议案违反美国宪法。

2）麻省的亚裔人口只占总人口的5%；白人人口占72%。白人的祖先国，语言文化背景组成很复杂，可是白人(正确地）并没有按照这些因素细分, 因为他们懂得维护统一反对分裂的重要性。H3361议案要把只占人口5%的亚裔进一步以国家，地区和文化背景细分，是对亚裔极其不公平的。

3）美国居民个人祖籍信息是联邦，州政府已经收集的个人信息。这个议案要求政府再特别针对亚裔收集更为详细的个人信息，这对亚裔是歧视性的和极其不公平的。

4）这个议案要把亚裔美国人单独分类，让我们和我们的孩子没有美国人的自豪感和主人地位，是极其错误的政治标签。

5）我们亚裔的孩子，还有孩子的孩子，将会被政府强迫回答这样一些歧视性的，极其不公平的问题：你的父母亲是从哪个国家来的？你的祖父母是从哪个国家来的？而不能堂堂正正的说，我是从美国来的！我是一个美国人！在美国出生长大的我们的孩子们，从来没有认为美国不是他们的祖国，为什么要遭受这样不公平的歧视？！

6）这个议案一旦成为法律，将开出细分其它裔族美国人的先例，比如中东，苏联，前东欧，拉美等移民将陆续面临这样的歧视和不公平的新法律, 从而使得美国社会更加分裂。我们需要一个团结统一的美国，而不是一个分裂的充满歧视和冲突的美国！

我们在此签名强烈抗议这个由Quincy 议员 Tackey Chan 和相关州议员提出的，不合法，不公平的议案！我们强烈要求所有其他的州议员否决此议案！

July 27, 2017

We, the residents of Massachusetts, strongly oppose this Asian American Disaggregation bill for concerns including, but not limited to, the following:

1) This bill is a racial discrimination by treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. It is unconstitutional.

2) Asian Americans account for only 5% of the population in Massachusetts; White Americans account for 72%. The countries of origin, language and culture backgrounds of White Americans are complex. Yet White Americans (rightly so) did not subdivide themselves based on these factors, because they understand the importance of maintaining unity and opposing division. This bill singles out Asian American and Pacific Islanders, a mere 5% of population in total, into even smaller groups based on ethnicity, nationality, language and culture backgrounds. It makes no sense and it is extremely unfair to the Asian Americans.

3) Such nationality, ethnicity and culture characteristic data for every American is readily available at state and federal personal records. This bill singles out Asians, and demand the government to collect more detailed personal data from this small group of people. It serves no clear purpose with regard to the whole society, but it is discriminatory and extremely unfair to Asian Americans.

4) This bill perpetually makes Asian Americans feel less "American". It hurts Asian Americans’ feelings. It is discriminatory labeling to our children and our children’s children. It is WRONG!

5) Our children, and our children’s children, will be forced by the government to answer very unfair questions such as: “Which country were your parents from?” “Which country were your grandparents from?” And our children will not be allowed to proudly answer “I am from America!” “I am an American!” Why should our children, born and raised in America, who would never for once think this is not their motherland, suffer such unfair treatment?!

6) This bill, if becomes law, will set a precedent to pass new laws to discriminate and isolate other Americans with unique ethnic, culture and countries of origin: people with backgrounds from Middle East, East Europe, Russia, Latin America, and so on. The effect will be a divided America with wide spread of alienation and discrimination. We need a united America, not a divided America full of discrimination and conflicts!

We signed here to strongly protest this bill presented by Mr Tackey Chan, a representative from Quincy, and other representatives who sponsored this bill, and we strongly urge the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, to vote down this bill.

Say No to AAPI Data Disaggregation at NCSL 2017 Legislative Summit

From AAGC

Say No to AAPI Data Disaggregation at NCSL 2017 Legislative Summit

Senator Connelly,

When you visit Boston for the NCSL 2017 Summit, most likely you will be approached to support an initiative called “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Data Disaggregation”.  

The “AAPI Data Disaggregation” initiative (the Initiative) is rooted in Obama’s Executive Order (EO) 13515.  It openly calls 24 federal agencies to initiate “strategic plan” using “innovative approaches and methodologies to further disaggregate race and ethnicity data”.  At the minimum, it seeks to identify the AAPI by country of origin of “Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, among others”.  

When implemented in California through AB1726, the granularity of data collection goes so far as to mandate self-identifying the region of one’s country of origin, the dialect of one’s native language spoken at home.  And all this is being done to the Asian Americans who were born and raised in the United States.

Lobbyists of the Initiative claim “some disadvantaged Asian Americans” will benefit from special resource allocation in healthcare and education, which, however, by itself comes at a socioeconomic cost of discrimination against fellow citizens under the guise of “seeking equality”.  In a not-so-remotely-impossible scenario, this dangerous practice could be expanded to other areas, such as employment, higher education, or even basic needs, to form a de facto, race-based “quota” system.

Why do the majority of Asian Americans campaign vigilantly against the Initiative?  Because it contradicts our American ideology in all fronts:

1. The Initiative violates the 14^th Amendment, “equal protection of the laws”, by singling out a particular ethnic group through policy-making;
2. It violates American citizen’s privacy by mandating identification of one’s race and ethnic background.  The 19^th Amendment declares that the fact that a right is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution does not mean that the government can infringe on that right;
3. It undermines the American value of equal opportunity and meritocracy that is gender neutral, race neutral – a true intent of Affirmative Action;
4. It further advances an unsustainable, progressive public policy of “divide and conquer”. There is clearly a lineage between this progressive agenda and the “Cloward-Piven Strategy” to overthrow capitalism, create chaos, in order to create a social state;
5. Moreover, there is precedent political risk – a risk that demographic data could be abused for political motives if likened to Hitler’s Jews Registry – data were lethally weaponized to retaliate opponents and murder Jews.

The Initiative imposes high administrative costs, unmeasurable political risk, and little to no practical returns (if not negative).  As such we, the majority of Asian Americans, ask you to REJECT the AAPI Data Disaggregation initiative.  Meanwhile we will closely monitor legislative actions across the country and welcome your inquiries.  Please feel free to send your inquiry to info@asiangop.org.

Write to DOE and oppose more divisive policy towards Asian Americans

Please write to the following lady against the divisive work on Asian Americans. The project is called Asian American and Pacific Islander Data Disaggregation Initiative.

Here is my letter

Dear Melissa,

I have strong objection to this initiative. It further divides American to sub groups and could not create a better society.  As it stated at the website https://www2.ed.gov/programs/d2/index.html: The D2 Program provides grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) in consortia with local educational agencies (LEAs) to obtain and evaluate disaggregated data on English Learner (EL) AAPI subpopulations beyond the existing seven racial and ethnic categories within the school community. The disaggregated data will be used to identify targeted strategies for closing educational opportunity gaps.

Many disadvantaged group can and should be helped by their social-economical situations. It is simple and direct.  Your agency just could not say one racial group could not achieve something and need help because of race. It is usually people's education, social and economical background prevent them achieving better.

I want to check whether this program is still live and giving out funds to schools. At the same time, how can I get a copy which schools or agencies are/were getting funding before?

Thanks a lot.

-----------------------------------------------

Contacts

Name:	Melissa Escalante
E-mail address:	Melissa.Escalante@ed.gov
Mailing address:	U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition Lyndon Baines Johnson Building 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 5C153 Washington, DC 20202-6510
Telephone:	(202) 401-1407
Toll Free:	1-800-872-5327 or 1-800-USA-LEARN
Fax:	(202) 260-1292

Departmetn of Education Divides Asian Americans

https://sites.ed.gov/aapi/aapi-data-disaggregation/

President Obama established the President’s Advisory Commission to work with all the agencies of the federal government to improve the health, education and economic status of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Hailing from all over the nation and from a wide range of disciplines, the Commission members represent the diverse AAPI community.

When they compare, they lump all white  together. That is wrong. All communities should be treated equally.

The Department of Education should abolish this program which creates more division among Americans. 

 

New York divide Aisan American more

Bill to Disaggregate Asian American, Pacific Islander Data Passes New York Assembly

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/bill-disaggregate-asian-american-pacific-islander-data-passes-new-york-n775556

 Quoted:

Controversy has followed some previous efforts elsewhere to pass measures legislating data disaggregation. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed a bill into law in September requiring that its state Department of Public Health break down data collected by ethnicity or ancestry for Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Islander groups.

 But Brown vetoed similar legislation in 2015, writing at the time that “dividing people into ethnic or other subcategories may yield more information, but not necessarily greater wisdom about what actions should follow."

Niou’s bill requires state agencies to collect data for Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Nepalese, Burmese, Tibetan, and Thai.
Pacific Islander groups covered include Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Fijian, and Tongan.
“Government resources should be used efficiently to help those who need it the most,” Niou said. “Better data means better service for our communities.”

 

 

 

Stop Massachusetts Bill 3361

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H3361

An Act requiring state agencies to collect Asian American aggregate data

By Mr. Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3361) of Tackey Chan and others relative to identifying Asian American and Pacific Islander ethnic groups residing in the Commonwealth . State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.