History

Overview

AACI began in 1973, when a group of citizens of Santa Clara County gathered to express discontent and share common concerns about their experiences as Asian Americans. These community leaders founded a pioneer organization committed to the powerful belief that diverse members of the euphemistically labeled "Quiet Minority" could unite, that their individual experiences and strengths could combine to create a single voice and that with this voice they could assert the rights and advocate for the betterment and well-being of all Asian Pacific Americans.

Following are a few representative highlights from AACI's history:

Health and Human Services

Time and again, research has shown that language and cultural barriers prevent Asian/Pacific Americans and other minorities from seeking and receiving effective services. To eliminate these barriers, AACI employs counselors, social workers, and other mental health professionals who are fluent in multiple Asian languages/dialects and knowledgeable about the respective cultures. At the same time, AACI advocates for increased accessibility to mainstream services.

AACI first received Comprehensive Employment Training Assistance (CETA) funds for community services in 1974 and county funds for a pilot mental health program in 1976. Since then, AACI's mental health and human services have expanded to encompass over ten distinct programs that serve clients' varied needs, from emergency shelter for battered women to job preparation training. AACI now provides health and human service programs for over 40,000 client visits, being one of California's largest social service providers targeting Asian/Pacific Americans. In 1990, United Way recognized AACI's accomplishments by presenting the agency with the prestigious VIDA Award for "significantly improving the lives of those they serve."

Education

From the beginning, AACI actively advocated for equality in education. Over the years, AACI has addressed stereotyping of Asian/Pacific Americans in curriculum materials, raised awareness of the cultural and historical contributions made by Asian/Pacific Americans to America's development, and combated racism within educational institutions.

AACI's first major advocacy effort, a three-year battle for textbook reform, resulted in the State Board of Education's 1976 directive, and eventual legislation that adopted screening and recommendation of textbooks by local multiethnic committees prior to adoption by the state. It was a hard-won victory, one that would not be fully secure for another four years. In 1980, members of the State Department of Education tried to disband the screening committees under the conception that sufficient improvement had been made. AACI's immediate response, supported by 82 other organizations, won the retention of the screening committee procedure. After the victory, a contingent from the coalition of 82 groups formed a new advocacy organization, Asian/Pacific American Advocates of California (APAAC), which became a national organization, Asian/Pacific American Coalition (APAC U.S.A.).

In addition to the textbook battle, AACI sponsored numerous presentations on Asian/Pacific American culture and history, such as the "Farewell to Manzanar" forum, at which panelists discussed their experiences during the WWII era, the "Why America?" assembly in which five elders detailed for posterity their early experiences in America, and conferences on Asian art, music, and family issues. Some of AACI's board members have also taught classes at the local colleges on Asian/Pacific American history and contemporary issues. In 1991, AACI cosponsored a community forum on education in Cupertino with a panel that included Congressman Norm Mineta, school superintendents, and Board Members.

AACI's educational goals have included ensuring representation for Asian/Pacific Americans within the educational system. Early on, AACI worked with community members to obtain bilingual counselors at De Anza College, Foothill College, and San Jose State University. AACI worked for the retention of De Anza's only Chinese language teacher, spoke up against the elimination of Asian/Pacific American administrators within the local school districts, and documented the need for dropout prevention services among Asian/Pacific American students in East San Jose. AACI has also offered professional development workshops for Asian/Pacific American education professionals and fought college admission quotas that denied access to deserving Asians.

Lastly, AACI has helped secure the appointments and supported the election of Asian/Pacific Americans to educational bodies, including the State Board of Education, the State Curriculum Commission, Regent of a University Board, and district school boards.

Advocacy

AACI's commitment to advocacy on behalf of Asian/Pacific Americans has included areas of employment, civil rights, immigrant rights, and political representation. One year after formation, AACI fought its first case of employment discrimination. Robert Kam, a 10-year employee at a Bay area hospital, was passed over for promotion to a supervisory position, an action he and AACI leaders had reason to believe was due to the stereotype that Asians lack communication skills and leadership ability. AACI provided personal support, collective advocacy, and legal assistance in bringing the case to a just and successful resolution.

AACI's involvement on the issue of unequal employment advancement and unjust promotion practices in the Bay area continued. AACI's study on "Glass Ceiling" phenomenon, based on a survey of hundreds of Asian/Pacific American professionals in the Bay Area, was published in the fall of 1993. Already, the study's preliminary findings have vividly exposed the problems' depth and persuasiveness and have facilitated action towards eliminating the barriers.

One of the most notable advocacy successes by AACI in safeguarding health services for Asian/Pacific Americans in California was the 1991-92 victory in reversing a State Department of Mental Health (DMH) directive declaring para-professionals ineligible to provide therapeutic counseling to the emotionally ill. Since there are few licensed bilingual/bicultural Asian mental health professionals in the United States, the directive would in effect deny services to most poverty level, non-English/limited English speaking Asians in California. AACI played a key role in securing this history victory.

In the area of civil rights, AACI has been active both locally and nationally. In 1982, following the racially motivated baseball bat murder of 27-year old Chinese American Vincent Chin by two disgruntled Detroit auto workers, AACI acted as a western regional coordinating center. After the two men's acquittal, AACI organized the nationwide expressions of outrage and pressed for legal conviction through the United States Justice Department.

In 1989, AACI acted locally to ensure that hate crimes were being properly identified and documented for public review by spearheading a coalition of minority and civil rights groups to successfully urge the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to enact a hate crime ordinance. Now, the County Sheriff's Office is required to identify and document hate crimes, forwarding their quarterly reports to the Board of Supervisors and the County of Human Relations Commission. This year, AACI was a cosponsor for "Creating a Hate-Free Community" workshop in which AACI representatives actively participated on the panels. In yet another area of civil rights violation, AACI opposed the use of an all-Asian mug book by the San Jose Police Department in 1990. The book was the department's only racially-based photo album and contained photos of some men who had never been convicted or even arrested. It was soon discontinued. AACI has also advocated for more minority hiring in the department.

AACI's interest in fostering Asian/Pacific American involvement in the electoral process led to the formation of the AACI Community Empowerment Task Force in 1991. The group's responsibility was to address political redistricting (the adoption of new county and city political boundaries) in both Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose. Task force members participated in the County's redistricting commission, provided demographic information and ensured that perspectives vital to fair representation of the Asian communities were heard. Today, AACI continues to advocate for community empowerment through candidate forums, voter registration, and campaigns, all of which encourage collective self-determination and self-definition through individual voter actions. AACI also advocated for fair representation of APA's in local decision-making boards through participation in the democratic process. AACI's initial success in securing 16 appointments in its first two years has continued, for a total of over 100 appointments and elections to school, city, and county boards.

Community Involvement

Although AACI's strengths lie in its Pan-Asian nature, AACI strongly believes in the empowerment of single-ethnic community programs which will be able to assume leadership in advocating for their specific and unique concerns. Since 1981, AACI has funded or mentored 10 single-ethnic Asian/Pacific American organizations: Cambodian New Life Association (1981), Association of Vietnamese Americans Inc. (1983), Association of Laotians, Inc. (1985), Association of Concerned Ethnic Chinese, Inc. (1987), Association of Lao Mien, Inc. (1987), Association of Filipino Americans (1987), Chinese Senior Alliance (1987), Vietnamese Senior Alliance (1987), Khmer Santepheap (1990), and Filipino American Network of Services (1991).

AACI fosters close ties with non-Asian minority groups. Coalition efforts have included the fight to defeat the 1986 ballot establishing English as California's official language as well as memberships on San Jose's Anti-Gang Task Force, United Way/Community Foundation's Youth Initiative Task Force, Santa Clara County's Strategic Vision Coalition, Community Partnerships of Santa Clara County, the East San Jose Fight Back Drug Abuse Coalition, "Kids in Common," San Jose Downtown Rotary, and Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network.

AACI continues its work in the millennium, calling for unity of purpose and spirit among Asian/Pacific Americans and all communities, encouraging charity within the community by providing avenues for involvement and direct services to the disadvantaged, and working for justice by speaking up whenever wrongs are committed and taking proactive steps to prevent future inequities.