Family Is Still Family: AAPI pride ad campaign to launch

ASAM NEWS

THE NATIONAL QUEER Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) will debut its pro-LGBTQ family campaign in the Midwest for the first time Tuesday (Feb. 13), reports NBC News.

Family Is Still Family, is co-produced by the Asian Pride Project. The multilingual public service announcements in support of the Asian American Pacific Islander LGBTQ community will be playing on Chicago ethnic media TV networks through Feb. 28. The PSAs are part of NQAPIA’s larger Family Acceptance Campaign.

The stories in the ads focus on Asian American and Pacific Islander parents of LGBTQ children expressing their acceptance of their children through messages of love and support, closing powerfully with “After all, family is still family, and love is still love.” These PSAs are intended to promote understanding and alleviate some of the fears AAPI LGBTQ children may have about coming out, as Glenn D. Magpantay, executive director of NQAPIA, notes can be an especially difficult task within Asian families.

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“The country is so divided right now, the hate is just so intolerable and we need to bring communities together,” said Magpantay. “We need the support of our parents and families to be there with us.” The ads are expected to reach over 53,000 Asian households in the Midwest, airing in Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, and Hindi on Crossings TV Chicago.

NQAPIA has been receiving a sharp increase in calls following the Orlando nightclub massacre, the election, and the inauguration of President Trump. “So many people are coming to us for help, support, and information,” Magpantay said. “We hope that our campaign will promote that understanding of why we need to be safe and eventually also why we need to stand together in this difficult time.”

Magpantay released a special message after Trump's election:

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NQAPIA also plans to host a news conference on Feb. 16 for the launch of the Midwest campaign; there will be testimonies from parents of LGBTQ children. “Now more than ever we need the support of allies, we need understanding from others on our experiences and the discrimination and harassment, not only LGBT people face, but South Asians, Muslims, transgender people,” Magpantay said.

The Family Is Still Family ads first launched in San Francisco and Los Angeles 2 years ago. In May 2016, NQAPIA began its campaign in New York City. The ads continued to air on American televisions stations throughout June 2016, LGBTQ Pride Month. This month, in Chicago, will mark its Midwest debut.

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