You don’t have to wait for AAPI Heritage Month to support organizations dedicated to honoring and helping Asian American and Pacific Islander Americans. Here’s a list of 6 AAPI orgs that you can support and connect with right now.
After the wave of violence and discrimination that the AAPI community suffered during the COVID 19 pandemic, three organizations: the AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University, launched the Stop AAPI Hate coalition.
According to the site, the org is dedicated to “track and respond to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.”
Their mission is “to advance equity, justice, and power by dismantling systemic racism and building a multiracial movement to end anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) hate.”
The Asian Arts Initiative, located in Philadelphia’s Chinatown North, is described as a “multidisciplinary arts center offering exhibitions, performances, artist residencies, youth workshops, and a community gathering space.” Their goal is to merge cultural expression and social change, “using art as a vehicle to explore the various AAPI heritages and to steamroll hate.”
This organization offers valuable resources to AAPI artists scholars and arts professionals, which include fellowships and grants.
The Asian Cultural Council is a nonprofit determined to provide opportunities for cultural exchange to artists, scholars, and arts professionals in Asia and the United State. Its objective is to be a “convener around the importance of cultural exchange to create a more harmonious and peaceful world.”
If you want to learn more about the resources available, check its website:
Eradicating the stigma around mental health is the goal of the Asian Mental Health Collective. This org helps support mental health in the AAPI community by providing resources, hosting events, and sharing stories to further educate around these issues.
Its mission is to “normalize and de-stigmatize mental health within the Asian community,” and their aspiration is to make “mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide.”
The NQAPIA is a “federation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations.”
Established in 2005, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance looks to empower LGBTQ+ Asians and Pacific Islanders through policy advocacy, and representation.
Its mission is to “advance an intersectional justice and equity agenda, and ensure LGBTQ+API representation everywhere.”
Asian American Women Artists Association is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the work of AAPI women artists in the arts through activities such as events, lectures, and member exhibitions.
AAWAA was founded in 1989 in San Francisco by Betty Kano, Flo Oy Wong, and Moira Roth. Since then, it has been an important place for “artists, organizers, and volunteers dedicated to advancing the visibility of Asian American women in the arts.”
Visit the official website to learn more about this nonprofit