PAC Election ... coming soon

The Upcoming Election for 80-20 PAC!

Dear Fellow Asian Americans, 80-20 PAC will hold an extremely important election in November, which will elect a President, a Treasurer, a Secretary and a Nomination Committee Chair, and all board members.  If you are already a PAC member, please exercise your right to vote solemnly. If you still have not joined the PAC, you will need to join first to earn this privilege.  According to the latest PEW report, we are the most rapidly rising racial/ethnic group in the United States: between 2000 to 2015, our population grew a whopping 72%! Optimistically, we will have our own political voice very soon, if not now. However, to achieve this goal, we MUST participate in every aspect of American society, and politics is a major part of American socio-political fabric. As the nation's largest Asian American political organization, we have fought tirelessly on your behalf, whether to shatter the workplace bamboo ceiling or to eliminate the college admission barrier. Thus, 80-20 PAC is your most desirable route for political participation. Please vote in November, or join now in order to vote in PAC elections!

Sincerely, Yin-Long (YQ) Qiu Co-Coordinator and V.P. in Charge of Chapters yinlongqiu@gmail.com Kathleen To Co-Coordinator and Secretary kto@tstar.net

80-20 is a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans

Website  About Us Get Involved

Have you joined yet?

Why Join or Rejoin 80-20?

Some of you might have heard of 80-20, and possibly have mixed feelings about this organization. I have been involved in 80-20 for almost 20 years. I have been a life-time member for about 15 years. When I was in Ohio, we worked together to establish several local chapters of 80-20. In my observation, 80-20 is the most impactful Political Action Committee (PAC) among all the Asian American organizations in the advocacy of equal opportunities and civil rights for us.  I wholeheartedly invite you to join or rejoin this most influential organization. Professionally, I have been teaching a few cross-cultural courses. For example, one of the courses I taught at a university was Asian and Asian American Experience and Perspectives. The first anti-immigration act was passed in 1882—i.e., the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, ultimately relocating and interning 120,000 Japanese men, women and children who were American citizens. What can we learn from these cases? History may repeat itself. Immigration is politics, and ethnic or racial politics means racial and ethnic power. As an effective PAC, 80-20 definitely helps to fight for our rights and equality politically in the United States. It is true that some of our new Asian American immigrants are very successful in education, business and STEM areas – Science (including physical and medical sciences),Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, but we still experience implicit bias or covert racism. Our children still have fewer opportunities of being accepted into top private or public colleges or universities. Though many of us are often perceived as good and competent employees, we cannot avoid the glass ceiling effect. That is, we are less likely to be appointed as part of top- or senior-leadership teams, in comparison to European American women or African American men. Sometimes, as good STEM staff members, we are negatively stereotyped as techno-slaves. What shall we do?  To change the negative stereotypes about Asian Americans and to gain equal opportunities, we have to get more active in mainstream American public and political affairs. No one fights for us except ourselves. Joining and rejoining 80-20 is one of the most influential ways to get involved in mainstream American public and political affairs. Yueh-Ting Lee 80-20 life-time member

80-20 PAC can only be as strong as you want us to be.  It's time for your action! Please join 80-20 PAC, or upgrade your membership to Life Membership!

80-20 is a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans

Website  About Us Get Involved

Summer Membership Drive: Part 5

Summer Membership Drive: Part 4

Summer Membership Drive: Part 3

Summer Membership Drive: Part 2

Summer Membership Drive: Part 1

I am not a token Republican!

An Insider's View of 80-20

Before I joined the board of 80-20, I was told that this was a group of Democrats. And that I would be the token Republican who will give the organization a bipartisan facade. Given the hyper-partisan nature of our current political climate, it is understandable that many see politics as an us-against-them, no-holes-barred, zero sum, contact sport.  After attending two board meetings and getting to know some of my fellow board members, I am very pleased to discover that 80-20 consists of civic minded citizens who all want to make America better for everyone. This is not a board beholden to any political party. We are ready and willing to work with members of all parties on the part of their agenda that are also consistent with our vision. During the board meetings, we discussed a wide range of issues. We talked about how Asian Americans are systemically discriminated against in the college admission process. We talked about how best to unite recent immigrants and long-established Asian American communities. And we talked about strategies to elect public servants who can adequately represent the interests of the communities they seek to represent, and more importantly, how to keep those politicians honest in fulfilling that obligation. Today, the diverse and growing communities of Asian Americans, while thriving, are still facing many institutional and social obstacles. Some of these issues must be solved with education and outreach, other issues will require strategic political involvement and activism. With 80-20, we are confident that we can build a strong team that will contribute much to that shared mission. We welcome you to the team, too. Sincerely, George Yang  Board of Directors, 80-20PAC San Francisco Bay Regional President, California Congress of Republicans County Captain, Republican Presidential Campaign, 2016 Vice Chair, South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition, 2013 Republican National Delegate, 2012 Former CEO of ETA Tech, Inc. in El Monte, California

Our Journey Is Not Over

How did we come to America?

According to a comprehensive nationwide survey published by the Pew Research Center in 2012: "Asian Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are more satisfied than the general public with their lives, finances and the direction of the country, and they place more value than other Americans do on marriage, parenthood, hard work and career success." Asians didn't come to this country as students in elite universities, nor did they get their first jobs as professors, doctors and high-tech engineers. In fact, many came as laborers to work on the Intercontinental Railroad. Others worked long and hard for pittances at unrewarding, menial jobs. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, and it was not until 1965, when the Hart-Celler Act was passed, that Asians (and some other minority groups) were allowed to immigrate to the US in significant numbers, to then become US Citizens. In spite of the glowing description of Asian American successes by the Pew Report, Asian Americans have not reached parity with other racial and ethnic groups. There is still a "bamboo ceiling" over our heads in the corporate, academic, political and judicial worlds, and we are not as well organized to "empower" ourselves as other ethnic minorities. This is the reason for the existence of the 80-20 PAC. We are a national, nonpartisan, Political Action Committee dedicated to winning equal opportunity and justice for all Asian Americans through a SWING bloc vote, ideally directing 80% of our community's votes and money to the presidential candidate endorsed by the 80-20 who better represents the interests of all APAs.  Our mission is clear. 80-20 will work hard to educate and promote voter participation, encourage our members to participate in and contribute to APA communities, and to participate as a united voting block to break the "bamboo ceiling." We cannot succeed without your enthusiastic support and your contributions. The more members we have, the greater our political leverage. Sincerely, Joel Wong Board of Directors, 80-20PAC joelinwong@aol.com

Fighting Florida's Racist Constitution

Systemic Discrimination in Florida

ASIANS CANNOT OWN LAND/REAL PROPERTY IN FLORIDA Did you know? Can you do something about it? Sure, you Can! The Constitution of Florida, Article 1 Section 2 states:  "All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal before the law and have inalienable rights, among which are the right to enjoy and defend life and liberty, to pursue happiness, to be rewarded for industry, to acquire, possess and protect property; except that the ownership, inheritance, disposition and possession of real property by aliens ineligible for citizenship may be regulated or prohibited by law.  No person shall be deprived of any right because of race, religion, national origin, or physical disability." On the first reading, without paying attention to the underlined part, it looks OK.  But, if you look at the part underlined, which through the definition of Citizenship directly implies Asians, it creates a serious problem.  The Naturalization Act of 1870 limited US Citizenship to "white persons and persons of African descent"  thus effectively barring Asians from citizenship.  This law is reminiscent of the Alien Land Laws enacted in 1913 in California, prohibiting Koreans to buy or lease farm lands.  This kind of restriction became a countrywide phenomenon where all the States in the union passed similar laws, including Florida in 1926.  Then some sanity prevailed, the California Supreme Court ruled these laws unconstitutional, and states started modifying these restrictions from 1956 onward. New Mexico did away with its restrictions in 2006.  Florida is the only State where these discriminatory and racist laws remain on the books.  Florida does have a provision to revisit its Constitution with a view to revising it, every twenty years, through a Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC).    CRC was constituted again in 2017 and has begun its listening tour. On Thursday, April 6, 2017 a presentation was made to the commission to repeal this law, often known as the Alien Land Law.   80-20 was part of the presentation.  More presentations of this kind are needed to appeal to the good sense of the CRC, emphasizing that such discriminatory & racist laws have no place in a civilized society like the USA.  The residents of the State of Florida can do it by writing to the CRC at admin@flcrc.gov or by making a presentation wherever the CRC is meeting.  Floridian Asians, this is your chance to get it fixed! In fact, for Asians to have a voice, it is essential that they be united.   One of the easiest ways to do that is by joining 80-20 PAC, where a Volunteer Board keeps an eye on issues that negatively impact the welfare of the Asian Community. To join 80-20, please follow the previous link, or click on    Sincerely, Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal 80-20PAC Board Member

Helping Ourselves

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

Recent incidents of hate crimes committed against the Asian Community are stark reminders of past atrocities, racism and discriminatory practices used by the majority in power in this country. Some of us still remember the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and 1924 Immigration Act denying entry to virtually all Asians.  The case of US vs. Bhagat Singh Thind in 1923 declared Asian Indians ineligible for naturalized citizenship.  The Alien Land Law of 1913 in California and subsequently by all other states declared Asians ineligible to own land. The Japanese internment is still vivid in our memory. The complete list is much longer confirming that Asians have not been treated fairly for a very long time. The saga of these discriminatory and racist practices continues even in 2017.  The shooting incidents of Indians in Kansas and New Jersey; an Indian CEO not getting a proper treatment because of his skin color.  Since the last incident did not get viral as it was not caught on any smart phone, but was reported by News India Times.  I will add a short detail here: "In a shocking and bizarre incident, a Caucasian female stewardess on a United Airlines flight earlier this year, held the arm of an Indian American CEO, Shankar Iyer, flying on a golf trip from Newark, New Jersey to San Diego, California, and told him, "I normally don't associate this color with such entitlement," adding, after pointing to her arm, "You have to be this color for such things." The retort came after Iyer informed the stewardess he is a Premier 1K member and might be entitled to discounted/complimentary snacks, having ordered a box of pita chips with hummus. The incident happened on January 25, 2017 on flight UA - 1621, from Newark to San Diego." Likewise, another newspaper India West has reported several such incidents: "Indian Tourist Fatally shot in Yakima" Washington; "Store Burned in Racially Motivated Attack" in North Carolina. It seems like a big conspiracy.  Every entity including government, corporations, and individuals are carrying out these acts.  Why CNN would engage in Hindu bashing by creating a show like BELIEVER which has neither an educational value nor a spiritual one - worse than fake news! Dear members of the Asian Community, how long do you intend to tolerate this kind of treatment!?   You cannot fight it alone!!  Even the mother does not feed the child unless he cries!!! We need to cry now.   Just wake up and join:  We must face these tragedies together.  United We Stand. Sincerely, Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal 80-20PAC Board Member