DNC: Day 5 - Diary of a Hillary Volunteer 'It made my heart swell'

Red, white & blue balloons dropped to the music of Jessica Sanchez's 'Stronger Together.'

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

LAST NIGHT, I wrapped my first Democratic National Convention (DNC) and I was not disappointed. Throughout, I felt that I was at the center of a once in a lifetime opportunity and a true turning point in our history as a country. I will openly admit my prejudice: if I am asked to imagine the president in a split-second they can be of any race, but almost never do I see a woman. I hope that this bias will change very soon when Hillary becomes president, so that my children never grow up with the same inherent biases that have conditioned me over the years.

Yesterday’s events all lead up to the acceptance of the nomination by Hillary Clinton, but there were some major highlights for AAPIs along the way. Congressman Ted Lieu, a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, introduced General George Allen to speak on national security issues. It made my heart swell to see an immigrant of Chinese heritage shown as a soldier and a statesman, effectively countering narratives that Asian men are weak and cannot be warriors or leaders. Giving the Congressman a chance to introduce a prominent military figure like the General gave our community great visibility that I am thankful for.

Nick Lee, significant other Monica and her sister Liz.

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth also gave strong remarks about her sacrifices for the country while serving in the Army. She recounted the story of losing her legs during an attack on her Blackhawk helicopter, and how living as a wounded warrior helped encourage her to make positive change for veterans in the same situation. 

Her presence, like Congressman Lieu’s, was an important step towards correcting some of the false notions about Asian women as well. Asian women are so often sold short of their skills, intelligence, and bravery, all because they are over-sexualized and objectified to the point of dismissal by the mainstream of American media and culture. 

She also spoke to the importance of the yesterday’s nomination for women and girls, saying, “My [daughter] Abigail already knows women can fly helicopters in combat. And in 102 days, when we elect Hillary, my daughter’s first memories of a president will be a woman.”

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1,  

RELATED: Day 2 -Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Message to Sanders supporters

RELATED: Day 3 - Remembering Joe Mantano

RELATED: DAY 4 - Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Now is our time!

However above all else, Khzir Khan was the one who stole the show. Paired with his impassioned story of his son’s valor in combat, Khzir’s rejection of Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and illegal ban on Muslims played an important role by finally putting forth a symbol of Muslim American patriotism. Unfortunately, most Americans need a symbolic and sympathetic figure to represent a minority groups struggle because otherwise they may never bother getting to know any members of that community. Though there have been many Muslims who have served our country honorably, the media had yet to latch onto an example of a person who was easy to sell to viewers. 

That changed immediately after Khzir Khan’s speech in which he excoriated Trump by saying, “Let me ask [Donald Trump]: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” before pulling out a pocket version for dramatic effect. “In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law’.”

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It is also important that we recognize the AAPI background of Khzir and Humayun Khan. Though they emigrated from the United Arab Emirates, their ethnic background is Pakistani, making them members of the AAPI group. It is no secret that in the Asian American community we sometimes do not embrace all aspects of our community. Often, an East Asian will fail to see a South Asian as “Asian American” because of the color of their skin or different cultural customs. 

However, if we truly want to live up to the inclusive vision we have for our community and build our power through numbers, we must educate others, no matter how societal norms for how an Asian American should look dictate.

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(Nick Lee, of Chinese Americans for HIllary, wrote this diary for AsAm News.)

DNC: Day 4 of Diary of A Hillary Volunteer - Now is our time!

Rep. Judy Chu of California.

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

MY THIRD DAY at the DNC began with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, where elected officials kept driving home the theme, “Now is our time”. Secretary Julian Castro gave stirring remarks that stressed the importance of the AAPI electorate and their role in the new minority-majority country that America will become. To me, this signifies a new generation of politician. One who knew not only how to communicate with his own community, but also with other communities of color. The AAPI and Latino communities have many important issues in common, such as immigration, and I hope that politicians like Castro are the beginning of a greater understanding, kinship, and collaboration between communities of color.

One of the major highlights of the evening events was a short video segment on the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) followed by speeches from the members. The video referenced back to major historical injustices wreaked on the AAPI community including the Chinese Exclusion Act and the unlawful incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. These examples are significant because in each instance the government failed to protect its AAPI citizens because of their race. Both the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese/American incarceration are incidents where xenophobia enabled our government to strip its citizens of the fundamental rights of citizenship such as due process and birthright citizenship because of their ethnic background.

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1,  

RELATED: Day 2 -Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Message to Sanders supporters

RELATED: Day 3 - Remembering Joe Mantano

What struck me about the remarks from the members of Congress was how almost each one broke some kind of barrier and all were elected within my short lifetime. Mazie Hirono is the first AAPI woman senator, Judy Chu is the first Chinese/American woman in Congress, and Bobby Scott is the first Filipino/American elected to Congress from within the continental United States. Its incredible to me that thinking back only two decades ago, none of the members who spoke were in Congress and there were only a sparse number of AAPIs in Congressional history. This imparted a real sense of how far the community had come in gaining political power and how this election could be the next step towards advancing on those gains significantly.

Though President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Senator Kaine had rousing, celebratory speeches, the most emotionally charged event of the night for me was seeing one of the mothers of a victim of the Orlando Pulse shooting speak. Christine Leinonen mourned her son Christopher and decried the scourge of gun violence, pledging to support Hillary as her son had done before his death. She memorably said of her son, “his paternal grandparents were born in a Japanese internment camp. So, it was in his DNA that love always trumps hate.” This powerful testimony alone showed why it is so important that Hillary Clinton wins in November. A young Asian American man like myself was killed for being LGBT, and every member of Congress that has voted to protect assault weapons and the killers who them openly endorsed that killing.

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For a community whose history has been marginalized for as long as AAPIs, to have your history and community referenced and validated on such a large, national stage is so important. Republicans like to make the case that Asian/Americans are natural conservatives since many own small businesses and they are the “model minority,” wealthy, and well-educated. However, it makes no sense to me how this could ever be true once one knows the truth of our history. Our community has only ever become stronger by increasing progressive values, not decreasing them. Through struggle for recognition and rights we have lifted ourselves from the shadow of our own history and are edging towards the mainstream.

The politics of today’s Republican party are far distant from the party of Lincoln and are now much more closely aligned with the policies of Chinese Exclusion and Japanese internment camps. Donald Trump’s Muslim-ban policy’s closest cousin is the Chinese Exclusion Act, showing that he is a poor student of the history of the AAPI community. Additionally, his approval of Japanese/American incarceration in WWII, despite no evidence that Japanese Americans were disloyal to America, shows that he has failed to learn from America’s past mistakes. As we move towards the election, AAPIs should keep this in mind when they consider their choice in the voting booth.

(Nick Lee, a member of Chinese Americans for Hillary, will be sharing his thoughts all week with AsAmNews readers.)

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DNC: Day 3 - Diary of a Hillary vounteer; remembering Joe Montano

Volunteers at the AAPI Media Team pause for a moment of silence in memory of Joe Montana.

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

THE DEMOCRATIC National Convention (DNC) is a place where you wake up early to work, push it to your physical and intellectual limit all day and then stay up all night watching speeches, going to parties, or sometimes both. Every night you go to sleep late and wake up tired. It is exhausting, yet eye-opening all at once.

Though our team is close to twenty people, the work is close and collaborative. Each day, our irrepressibly cheerful leader Toby Chadhuri works hard to make sure that even though we all have a lot of work to do, we share a detail about our day, our night, or our personal lives. His motto is, “if you have to work with each other, you have to know one another.” He lives by this motto by taking the time to answer our questions no matter how big or small, a kindness rarely seen in any work space and least of all in the fast-paced world of politics.

This lesson has already proved to be incredibly valuable, particularly when we learned we lost a colleague that was supposed to work the Convention with us. Joe Montano, a veteran of many great campaigns and efforts to effect positive change in our society, passed away suddenly over the weekend. Though he had fought fiercely throughout his life for the Democrats, he had never experienced a Democratic National Convention before in his life. Philadelphia was set to be his first one.

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1,  

RELATED: Day 2 -Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Message to Sanders supporters

Joe Montano

Though I was not close to Joe, he was one of the first people who truly welcomed me to DC. I met him at a networking event for AAPIs and he agreed to meet at a local restaurant. There he answered all the boring, silly questions that many recent college grads in DC have about getting a job, getting involved in politics, and how to move from an internship into full-time employment. Even though he was much older than me, he spoke with youthful enthusiasm about his work bringing people together on campaigns, moving from battleground state to battleground state to fight for the Democratic cause. Every now and then, there was a glimmer in his eyes that paired with his frequent grin showed the raw energy and passion that fueled his work.

Like many 22-year olds, I took this opportunity for granted and we fell out of touch until we reconnected volunteering for Hillary a few months ago. I remember he exclaimed to me as he rushed out the door to another event, “we need to get out there and do more than phone bank, we have to knock doors and meet people so she can win Virginia!”

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The news of Joe’s passing weighed heavily on all of the Media Team when we found out Monday morning. Just two weeks ago we had met at the DNC headquarters in DC and performed an exercise to get to know each other. The exercise consisted of writing down the ten lenses through which we see the world through on a piece of chart paper, and explaining why they were important to us. I learned that Joe grew up as a Navy brat, that he was very close with his siblings, and that he felt strongly about being a Virginian. These small details, no matter how insignificant in the moment mean so much to me now that I know he is gone.

Last night, Hillary made history. I rooted around the floor of the convention for half an hour looking for one of the few and precious signs passed around labeled “History” so I could cherish the moment. However, I do all this with the knowledge that history was only made because of the work of fighters like Joe. Individuals that rise to the challenge of creating the environment necessary to successfully nominate the first ever woman candidate of a major party for President of the United States. To know them is a gift, and to fight to complete their life’s work is a gift to their memory.

(Nick Lee of Chinese Americans for Hillary, will be sharing his thoughts all week with AsAmNews readers.)

DNC: Day 2 of a Diary of a Clinton volunteer - A message to Sanders supporters

Actress Constance Wu of 'Fresh Off The Boat' spoke to the AAPI people at the Democratic National Convention.

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

AS A VOLUNTEER, I knew we would hit the ground running the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), but I was not entirely prepared for exactly how fast. We started work at 9 am and after a short meeting we headed straight downstairs to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, essentially a rally for the AAPI Democrats in attendance at convention. Armed with an iPhone and the Periscope app, my job was to get as close as possible to the stage and livestream the event without my arm giving up on me. This gave me a front row view to the speakers and their messages to the AAPI community.

The best way to describe the atmosphere at the AAPI Caucus was one of excitement, excitement at the prospect of a new day for AAPI visibility in this election. For many of the local delegates and volunteers from around the country, seeing so many AAPIs in one room that are equally passionate about politics must have been an uncommon occurrence. Congresswoman Judy Chu’s favorite line that “we are going from being marginalized, to becoming the margin of victory,” was received with cheers and applause from the collection of delegates and supporters who gathered around.

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1

Congressman Mike Honda also delivered powerful remarks that celebrated how far the party and our community had come by speaking directly to AAPI historical experiences. He proclaimed, “If we had a [Democratic] party like we have today, I would have never been sent to [the internment] camp. If we had this Democratic Party back in the 1880s we would not have had the Chinese Exclusion Act. If we had parties like this, with our sentiment, Native Americans would have a better break, Native Hawaiians would have a better break.”

Nick Lee

Constance Wu also spoke out about the growing power of AAPI choice from her perspective as an actress on the hit sitcom Fresh Off The Boat . She attributed the rise of new shows prominently featuring Asian Americans as a product of increasing Asian American power. “This shows that Asian American voting and attention matter,” she explained. “They would have never picked up those other shows if our show hadn’t garnered a large audience that was really hungry for that content.”

Being in that room, surrounded by dozens of other AAPIs who were equally excited about a Democratic victory in 2016 helped lend credence to the theme of the Caucus: “Our Time Is Now”. There is a hunger in the AAPI political community to be legitimized in the eyes of the media, government, and larger political sphere. In the words of Congressman Ami Bera, “We’re a rising electorate. This is a coming of age election for the AAPI community. Let’s make 2016 our year.”

Later on that night, I received credentials to see some of the brightest superstars of the Democratic Party speak. Even though I have called DC home for two years and hardly blink when I see a Congressman, I was left mesmerized by the power that they brought to the arena. Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Michelle Obama all laid out powerful progressive visions of an inclusive society formed on tolerance, justice, and fairness; a vision that appealed to my liberal instincts and did not shy or back away from issues.

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However, what spoke to me most powerfully from the evening was seeing a crying Bernie supporter on the Jumbotron, as her candidate spoke fervently about the need to support Hillary in November. In that moment, I saw myself in her eyes and realized how hard all of the Sanders supporters present must have worked to try and get their candidate the nomination, and also how incredibly disappointing it must be to never reach your highest ambition. I thought back to those late nights spent making phone calls to strangers and striving to get Hillary the nomination, and remembered that they must have done much of the same.

Even though I still strongly believe Hillary would be the best president, I sympathized with the Bernie camp and their struggle to try and enact their vision of progressive change in America. Today reinforced the notion that the goals and ambitions of a Clinton presidency are far more similar than they are different from Bernie’s. Bernie’s campaign slogan “A Future to Believe In” spoke to me, because I felt that last night was an important step in healing the differences of the past and uniting in a common goal. I am looking forward to working with Bernie supporters going into November, where we need their passion and hard work to ensure that there is a future that we can all believe in.(Nick Lee of Chinese Americans for Hillary will be sharing his thoughts all week with AsAmNews readers.)

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DNC: Diary of a Clinton supporter, Day 1

Nick Lee volunteered for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

MY NAME IS NICK and I am 23-years old, a fourth-generation Chinese/American, and a proud Democrat. This blog will cover my journey through my first Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia and also the first time my party has nominated a new candidate for president in my adulthood. During the Convention, I will be volunteering my time with the AAPI Media Center, a part of the larger DNC press operation.

One of the most interesting aspects of my work organizing and my first night at the DNC has been the diversity of volunteers in our Democratic AAPI community. The ethnic background of volunteers ranges from Chinese to Hmong, Indian to Indonesian and everything in between all striving towards a common goal of electing Democrats around the country.

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Growing up Asian/American, it becomes evident from an early age that inclusive spaces like these are neither easy to create nor easy to maintain. I feel very privileged to be a part of this even though I feel like I have much less experience than many others.

My introduction to politics was early, since my father was a political appointee in the Clinton administration. However I, like many others in my peer group, had my coming of political age when Obama was elected president in 2008. Seeing a person of color as president for the first time in high school was an edifying moment where I realized that there was a potential for a person who looked like me to rise to the highest levels of government.

As a part of AAPIs for Hillary, I have met many other passionate volunteers whose journey began much earlier than mine did. Some of the very first to welcome me on board were people that worked with my father two decades ago in the Clinton White House. It is impressive to me that these people are still on the frontline nearly 16 years later, and still striving to assist and train the younger generation like myself. Not all were as lucky as I was to have politics as casual dinnertime conversation, and I look up to those individuals especially because their passion is so organic and real. 

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It seems like Hillary’s slogan “Stronger Together” is especially true of the Democratic AAPI community. Not only is our DNC crew diverse in our ethnicities and languages, but also in our backgrounds and the way and time we came to belong to the Democratic party. With all this diversity, it can be surprising that we work well together, but what I am realizing is that many of our stories are more similar than different. Many of us wanted to create easier lives for immigrants like our ancestors and ourselves. Many of us were brought into the fold by relatives, friends, or significant others. It is personal for us, and I am glad to be surrounded by this energy going in. I am extraordinarily excited for day one of the DNC, wish me luck!

(Nick Lee will be sharing his thoughts all week at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.)