Grace Meng seeks vice chair position for DNC

REP. GRACE MENG  (D-N.Y.) is running for the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, a position she has held since the summer of 2016.

Meng, as a politician of color, hopes to position herself as a bridge between the factions of the Democratic Party, which has been searching for answers since their disastrous performance in the November election.

Rep. Grace Meng

“Democrats must continue to invest in communities of color and emerging communities, and we must engage our base — fourth-generation steel workers and first-generation Americans alike,” she stated.

Democrats have been debating among themselves the future of their party: continue to emphasize outreach to the growing minority blocs and women; or reach out to Trump's supporters, white, disaffected blue-collar vote.

She received the endorsement of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) recently.

“Grace’s representation on the DNC marks an important shift for representing AAPIs in the Democratic Party on the national stage,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “With an incoming administration that has polarized our nation already and with a need to strengthen the Democratic Party with more leaders of color, strong allies in government like Grace will be hard to come by.”

“Throughout my life, I have dedicated my work towards racial, social, and economic justice. Representative Grace Meng doesn’t just share my vision but, both as a member of Congress and as DNC Vice Chair, she’s proven that she knows how to make progress towards achieving our goal of a more equal and just society. I’m proud to support her campaign for re-election and look forward to continuing our work to better our party and our country,” commented APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana.

“APALA has a long history of elevating voices in the AAPI community and building coalitions to fight for immigrant and minority communities.,” said Meng. “I’m honored to receive APALA’s endorsement and support as I fight to expand and strengthen the coalitions already built by organizations like APALA, and to create new lasting, meaningful partnerships between existing communities and the Democratic Party.”

Rep. Meng is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Small Business, and recently spearheaded legislation to eliminate the term “oriental” in federal law.

Just a couple of days before the Inauguration of the 45th President, she announced that she would not be attending the ceremony, joining four other AAPI members of Congress.

“I respect the office of the President and our nation’s peaceful transfer of power,” said Meng. “But the President-elect must get the message that his antagonistic and divisive comments are unacceptable. We cannot tolerate attacks on women, minorities or a civil rights icon.”

She represents the Sixth Congressional District of New York encompassing the New York City borough of Queens, where she was born. Meng is the first Asian/American Member of Congress from New York State, and the only Congressmember of Asian descent in the entire Northeast.

Asian/Pacific American group plans 'checkpoints' in Washington, D.C.

A passenger is checked at the airport.

FIFTEEN YEARS ago, the United States changed when terrorists attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

President Bush warned us that the war against terrorism would be unlike any war we have ever experienced. At the time, most Americans had no idea how different the tactics would be and how our country would react.

I'm reminded of this every time I go through airport security, because of my dark complexion, goatee and shaved head, I draw the special attention of the guards. They tell me I'm picked at random as they pat me down, but I know better. It has happened too often to be random.

What I go through, though, is nothing compared to what thousands of our fellow citizens must undergo.

On the 15th anniversary of September 11th, organizers with the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and KhushDC will take part in a performative action so other people will be able to experience the impact of Islamophobia and the legalized profiling of LGBTQ South Asian, Muslim and Black communities.

"We are creating 'checkpoints' in high-traffic areas of Washington D.C. that replicate the various 'checkpoints' experience every day by South Asian, Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Black people experience every day – being stopped when passing through TSA, being denied service because of religious markers, being called terrorists, being kicked off of flights, etc. Black Muslims experience this profiling at an even higher frequency, leading to brutality or death at the hands of law enforcement," stated a press release from NQAPIA,
Numerous studies have documented the impact of Islamophobia. 

• A Gallup poll found that nearly half of all Muslims - 48 percent - reported that they, personally, had experienced racial or religious discrimination in the past year. 
• In a Columbia University survey, 28 percent of Muslim high school students in New York reported being stopped by police as a result of racial profiling. 
• A labor market study found a 10 percent decrease in earnings for Muslim and Arab men immediately after 9/11, with the effects greater in areas with a higher incidence of hate crimes. 

The "checkpoints" will be set up this Sunday, Sept. 11 between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. across D.C. in Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Verizon Center (Chinatown), and other locations.

 

“I feel the aftershocks of 9/11 every day," said NQAPIA’s Organizing Director Sasha  W. "From profiling at the airport, to verbal harassment on the street, to surveillance outside my apartment, the policies enacted in the wake of 9/11 have legalized the profiling and surveillance of my people. I cannot feel ‘safe’ until the legalized profiling, surveillance, and harassment end.”  

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