Posted by 4U on July 17, 2000 at 23:34:30:
Norm Mineta Confirmation Hearings
The Honorable Norman Mineta's confirmation hearing before the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for his appointment as
U.S. Secretary of Commerce is planned for Wednesday, July 19, 2000, at 9:30
AM, in the Rm 253 Russell Senate Office Building. The Committee Chairman is
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) & the Ranking Minority Member is Sen. Ernest F.
Hollings (D-SC). For the latest updates on this hearing, you can contact the
Committee
by calling (202) 224-5115 or visit
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/schedule.htm.
White House Initiative Town Hall Meeting
The White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
invites the participation of all community organizations and interested
individuals to the Western Region Community Town Hall Meeting on July 24,
2000 from 9:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Hall of
Administration. The Town Hall Meeting will cover the Western Region,
including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Please forward
this email to your contacts in these areas. Written testimonies may also be
submitted by those individuals and organizations who are not able to travel
to Los Angeles or videoconference sites.
Listed below are the locations that have been confirmed thus far for the
Video-Conference Sites. Please check the website at www.aapi.gov for updates.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Department of Housing and Urban Development
625 Silver Avenue, SW Suite 100
Albuquerque, NM 87102-3185
Dallas, Texas
1301 Young Street 75202
Denver, Colorado
1961 Stout Street 80294
Houston, Texas
Department of Housing and Urban Development
2211 Norfolk, Suite 2000
Houston, TX 77098
Fresno, California
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Fresno Area Office
The Crocker Building
2135 Fresno Street, Suite 100
Fresno, CA 93721-1718
Las Vegas, Nevada
Department of Housing and Urban Development
333 North Rancho Road, Suite 700
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106
Phoenix, Arizona
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Two Arizona Center
400 N. 5th Street, Suite 1600
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Portland, Oregon
Department of Housing and Urban Development
400 SW Sixth Avenue Suite 700
Portland, OR 97204
Sacramento, CA
Department of Housing and Urban Development
925 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-3702
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HATE CRIME LEGISLATION MOVES TO THE HOUSE
With strong grassroots pressure, President Clinton has urged the Speaker
of the House to bring the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) to the floor for
a vote before the August recess. Last month, the Senate, in a strong
bipartisan showing, voted over-whelmingly to pass this legislation that would
strengthen federal hate crimes law.
In his message to the Speaker, President Clinton noted the 'countless
acts of bigotry and hatred,' naming the following victims: James Byrd, Jr.,
an African-American man who was brutally dragged to his death, Mathew
Shepard, a gay college student who died after being beaten and tied to a
fence, Ricky
Byrdsong, an African-American who was former basketball coach at
Northwestern University, and Won-Joon Yoon, a Korean graduate student
at Indiana University, who were both killed, and Joseph Ileto, a Filipino
American postal worker who died at the hands of a white supremacistin Los
Angeles.
NaFFAA encourages calls to your US representatives to pass this bill.
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Florida Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Affirmative Action Ballot Initiatives
NaFFAA welcomes the recent action by the Florida Supreme Court to
invalidate Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action ballot initiative in
Florida.
The Florida Supreme Court, in effect, confirms what supporters of
affirmative action have been saying for years: Connerly's anti-affirmative
action initiatives are intentionally misleading and mask their real intent
which is to end existing affirmative action policies. The Florida Supreme
Court ruled that each of the four anti-affirmative action ballot initiatives
sponsored by Ward Connerly violated the Florida Constitution. As a result,
none of the initiatives will appear on the November ballot.
Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights (LCCR), hailed the Court's ruling as 'a great victory for all
Floridians and all Americans committed to equal opportunity.' Henderson
praised the efforts of the broad-based coalition that united to oppose the
anti-affirmative action initiatives, saying that 'both local and national
civil rights organizations deserve tremendous credit for their outstanding
response...This campaign set a model of national-local collaboration for
future campaigns to preserve equal opportunity.'
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JACL PASSES RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT FILIPINO AMERICAN VETERANS
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) passed a resolution at their
June 27th National Convention that supports the struggle of Filipino American
veterans. In a letter to NaFFAA, Vice President Ryan Chin stated that he
wants to work with NaFFAA to “ensure that Filipino American Veterans are
honored and recognized appropriately.”
The JACL has been instrumental in the past with other key issues for the
Asian American community.
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NaFFAA DISAPPROVES OF “MR. WONG”
NaFFAA joins the Organization for Chinese Americans (OCA) in protesting
the Icebox, Inc.’s racist cartoon, “Mr. Wong.” Icebox, Inc. currently runs
a weekly program on their website (www.icebox.com) entitled 'Mr. Wong' which
features a stereotypical Chinese American man who serves as a butler for a
rich white American socialite named Miss Pam. The portrayal of this Asian
Pacific American character is stereotypical in every way. He speaks with an
unrealistic accent and has no pride, allowing his boss to step all over him.
OCA is leading a letter-writing campaign protesting the blatant racism
and insensitivity. “NaFFAA deplores any kind of humor that perpetuates
negative stereotypes of any ethnic group. NaFFAA joins OCA in urging Icebox
Inc. to pull out Mr. Wong from its website immediately,” stated Jon
Melegrito, Executive Director of NaFFAA.
Send your letters to the following people:
Steve Stanford, CEO and Co-Founder, Icebox, Inc
Jonathan Collier, Co-Founder and Co-of Production, Icebox, Inc.
Howard Gordon, Co-Founder and Co-President of Production, Icebox, Inc.
Rob LaZebnik, Co-Founder and Co-President of Production, Icebox, Inc.
Gary Levine, President, Icebox, Inc.
Pam Brady, Creator, Mr. Wong
Kyle McCulloch, Creator, Mr. Wong
Icebox, Inc.
3453 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
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BOOK ON FILIPINO WOMEN OVERSEAS LAUNCHED
Nineteen Filipino women put their voices and stories to paper in the
newly published book, FROM AMERICA TO AFRICA: VOICES OF FILIPINO WOMEN
OVERSEAS. The book was launched at the Stewart Mott House in Washington,
D.C. on July 12 by Mely Nicholas, publisher of the book. NaFFAA Eastern
Region Chair Loida Nicolas Lewis, one of the authors, also attended. The
book is available on amazon.com
In essays especially written for the book, the women describe, discuss and
reflect on their lives and their work, and the lessons they have drawn from
being Filipino women abroad. The writers include a Muslim nurse in Saudi
Arabia, an information technology expert in the government of Ontario,
Canada, a nuclear safeguards inspector in Vienna, a former Ambassador to the
United Nations in both Geneva and New York, a writer of history in Chile, a
women's rights advocate in Eastern Europe, a television broadcaster in
Singapore, a missionary nun in Cameroon, Africa, a visual artist and a
translator of books in France, a domestic helper turned magazine editor in
Hong Kong, and a development consultant in Italy. Seven of the writers are
based inthe United States. They include the CEO of a giant multinational
corporation, an animal rights' crusader, a fictionist, a yoga teacher, an
inner-city activitist, a child care specialist, and an
obstetrician-gynecologist.
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FIL-AM RUNNING FOR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS – SAN FRANCISCO
Filipina-American Myrna Viray Lim is a candidate for the Board of
Supervisors (District 11) in San Francisco. Lim is a business owner, a
Former Commissioner of the Small Business Advisory Commission-San Francisco,
a 16-year corporate banking veteran, a graduate of University of
California-Berkeley, a board member of the National Women's Political Caucus,
and a member of the State Democratic Party Central Committee.
Lim is holding a campaign fundraiser for citizens and residents in
District 11 on Saturday, July 22 at the Balboa High School Auditorium, 1000
Cayuga Avenue, from 5:00p.m. to 7:30p.m. KAI, a popular Asian-American
recording and concert group with a strong mainstream appeal, will lead the
festivities in this benefit concert.
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FIL-AM AWARDED LAW SCHOLARSHIP
Granada Hills, California resident Izabelle B. Reyes was among the twenty
minority law students who were awarded the first American Bar Association
Legal Opportunity Scholarships early July. The ABA scholarships are aimed at
increasing the number of racial and ethnic minorities who enter the legal
profession.
Reyes addressed ABA members during the 2000 Annual Meeting in New York,
July 6 through July 12. Reyes received her undergraduate degree from UCLA
and will attend UCLA’s School of Law.
ABA President William G. Paul of Oklahoma and his firm, Crowe & Dunlevy
established the scholarship with a $100,000 contribution. The fund is now
over $1 million with contributions from individuals, law firms, corporations,
and ABA entities.
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SMITHSONIAN JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: PROJECT DIRECTOR
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) is offering
a position for Project Director. Responsibilities include: negotiating with
organizers and lenders regarding the content, development, and budget of
proposed exhibitions, working with team members, designers, fund raisers,
writers, editors, content specialists and others to develop plans and methods
for exhibition themes, format and production. Salary ranges from
$35,310-$45,900. Opening date: July 11, 2000. Closing date: August 1, 2000.
For more information, contact Stacey Suyat at suyats@si.edu
INTERNSHIP OPENING AT NOW LDEF/IMMIGRANT WOMEN PROGRAM
The Washington, D.C. Public Policy Office and Immigrant Women Program of
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund is offering volunteer public policy
internships for fall 2000. The intern will serve as legislative assistant,
researching and analyzing legislation, among other tasks. Issues covered
include violence against women, reproductive rights, poverty and welfare
reform, child care, affirmative action and educational equity. Interns in
the Immigrant Women Program will work on similar issues from the perspective
of immigrant women, as well as immigration law reform and cultural diversity
issues. To apply, please send resume and cover letter to the attention of
Rachel Little, Administrative Policy Assistant, NOW LDEF, 1522 K Street, NW,
Suite 550, Washington, D.C. 20005. Include desired start dates and time
availability. A $150 stipend is offered to cover expenses.
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TURN UP THE HEAT – NaFFAA FUNDRAISER
NaFFAA is hosting its summer fundraiser for the Youth Leadership Program
on August 12 from 6:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. at Ft. Meyers Community Center in
Arlington, Virginia. Tickets for the dinner/dance are $25. Enjoy the night
and support the future leaders!
RSVP by August 5 with Valerie Garcia at (202) 986-9330 or Tessie
Calderon at (703) 312-7361. Make checks payable to “NaFFAA” and mail to:
1444 N. Street, Washington D.C. 20005.
NaFFAA CAPITAL REGION MEETING
The NaFFAA Capital Region meeting, originally scheduled for July 29, has
been moved to Saturday, August 19 at the Manila Café in Springfield,
Virginia. For more information, contact Maurese Owens at (703) 684-4923.
Agenda for the meeting: Capitol Region's participation in the National
Convention, Regional Convention, August 2001, Virginia Beach, VA, Political
versus Social and Cultural Participation and Involvement Guidelines for
NaFFAA.
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NaFFAA 2000: Making Our Power Count
The 4th National Congress
Theme: “Making Our Power Count”
Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2000 at Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada
For more information, contacts: NaFFAA National Office Tel. 202-986-9330
Rozita Lee, Convention Chair, Tel. 702-732-3631
Email RozitaLee@aol.com
Pre-registration Fee Delegate: $175.00 (covers all conference materials,
breakfast, meals, and gala dinner). After September, the registration fee is
$200. Please make all checks payable to NaFFAA and mail to: NaFFAA National,
1444 N. Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005
Special rates until Aug 28: $85.00 Single/Double.
Call Bally’s Hotel Tel. 1-800-833-3308 code BBNFF
Special Airfare Rates:
Call Capricorn Travel, 202 408-8868 or Rizal Travel 312-664-1414
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National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
1444 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20005-2814
Tel. 202-986-9330
Fax 202-986-9332
e-mail: info@naffaa.org
url: http://www.naffaa.org