Who is Biden picking for the White House AANhPI Advisory Commission?

Twenty-three leaders in the AANHPI community have been recommended as commissioners to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

The 23 appointees announced by President Joe BIden Monday represent a wide swath of the AANHPI community coming from cultural, labor, health, business and nonprofit sectors.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, co-chairs of the White House Initiative on AANHPI and President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, issued a joint statement following President Joe Biden’s announcement of his intent today to appoint 23 leaders to the Commission:

“As co-chairs of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, we offer our sincerest congratulations to the 23 commissioners who have been newly appointed today. They are distinguished leaders and experts from across the country, representing communities and private and public sectors nationwide, representing the diversity of the AA and NHPI populations. 

"We look forward to working together to provide independent recommendations to the President and the Federal government on ways the public, private and non-profit sectors can collaborate to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities.”

"I am pleased to see the President has appointed a group of highly-qualified individuals to be Commissioners," said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. "Like the AANHPI community, this group of appointees comes from diverse backgrounds, each bringing with them their unique experiences and expertise, all of which reflect the dynamism and vibrancy of our community. I am confident that together, this Commission will help raise the profile and represent the needs and interests of all AANHPI communities nationwide.”

The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for AANHPI communities. The Commission is also charged with advising the President on policies to address anti-Asian xenophobia and violence, ways to build capacity in AA and NHPI communities through federal grantmaking, and policies to address the intersectional barriers that AANHPI women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities face.

The commission appointees are: 

Amy Agbayani

Dr. Amefil (Amy) Agbayani is an Emeritus Assistant Vice Chancellor for student diversity and equity, University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Agbayani was born in the Philippines and received her education from the University of the Philippines, East West Center and the University of Hawai’i. She is a former chair of the Hawai’i Civil Rights Commission, conducts research on AANHPI in higher education, member of the Patsy T.Mink PAC and The Legal Clinic for immigrant justice Hawai’i.

Teresita Batayola

Teresita Batayola is the President and Chief Executive Officer of International Community Health Services, Washington state’s largest Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit health center providing comprehensive health care to all those who need affordable care, especially immigrants and refugees. Batayola is an advocate for health care access, equity, and addressing social determinants of health. ICHS has received awards for its high quality of care and Batayola has been recognized in the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Award for Outstanding Business & Philanthropic Contributions, Woman of Courage Undaunted from the University of Washington Women’s Center, and the Filipino Women’s Network’s Most Influential Filipino Woman in the World.

Ajay Bhutoria

Ajay Bhutoria is a Silicon Valley technology executive, community leader, speaker, and author that has been recognized for his work. He is a passionate advocate for the South Asian and AAPI communities in the areas of small businesses, educational opportunities, immigration issues, and technological advancement. His expertise in the areas of organizational transformations and change management has supported critical advancements within the AAPI community, and he is committed to the creation of a compassionate and empowering environment for all.

Luisa Blue

Luisa Blue retired from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in August 2020 after serving as an Executive Vice President for four years, one of the highest ranking AAPI officials in the labor movement. During her term was responsible for the SEIU Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Engagement and Leadership program, a member of the Racial Justice Task Force, chair of the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, and chair of the Ethical Culture Committee. She served on the SEIU Executive Board prior to her election as Executive Vice President. Luisa continues to be active in the community and serves on the Asian Health Services Community Board, a Trustee on Alameda County Health Systems Board of Trustees, and Vice President of the AAPI Victory Alliance Board. Luisa is the proud grandmother of seven grandchildren.

Kimberly Chang

Kimberly Seu Gin Chang, MD, MPH, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai`i in a six generation kama`āina family, is a board-certified family physician in Oakland, California, at Asian Health Services, a federally qualified community health center. Dr. Chang has dedicated her 20+ year career to focusing on the health of the underserved AANHPI community, including people vulnerable to and affected by human trafficking and exploitation, developing national clinical and health policy recommendations for this issue. Dr. Chang has received numerous awards, most recently the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2020 Emerging Public Health Professional Award and the 2021 UCSF Alumni Humanitarian Service Award. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbia College of Columbia University, her medical degree from the University of Hawai`i, her MPH from Harvard with the Commonwealth Fund Minority Health Policy Fellowship, and her residency training at UCSF. Dr. Chang currently serves as the Vice Speaker of the House for the National Association of Community Health Centers, and as expert faculty for Health Partners on Intimate Partner Violence + Exploitation at Futures Without Violence.

Emily Chen

Emily Chen is Chief of Research at Olshan Realty and manages the Private Wealth Real Estate Services, providing brokerage expertise along with research and consulting capabilities. She co-founded the Olshan Luxury Market Report, a weekly real-time snapshot of the Manhattan residential real estate market, which became the industry standard and revolutionized how the market is analyzed and evaluated. A former National Big Sister of the Year, Chen serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and is on the Executive Committee. Chen is a graduate of Georgetown University and Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Stand Up for Georgetown.

Kerry Doi

A 4th generation Japanese-American born on a Hawaiian plantation, Mr. Kerry Doi has spent his life combatting hate and solidifying his commitment to social and economic justice. For over 46 years, Mr. Doi has dedicated his work to the cause and the community development space through his leadership at Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) – one of the nation’s largest Asian-led community development organizations serving 40,000 minority, low income individuals annually through workforce, small business, environmental justice, affordable housing, and early childhood education. He has served on numerous local, state, and national boards including his current appointments as Chair of the CA Community Economic Development Association, Vice Chair and Treasurer of the LA Housing Partnership, and member of the LA County Small Business Commission.

Grace Huang

Grace Huang, J.D., is a Taiwanese-American attorney who has advocated on behalf of the rights of survivors of domestic and sexual violence for almost 30 years as a legal services lawyer, attorney in private practice, and policy advocate. She currently is the Director of Policy at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, where she focuses on federal policy to address the needs of survivors in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Ms. Huang serves on the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence, on the Washington State Women’s Commission. Ms. Huang also co-chairs the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors, working to address the needs of survivors of gender-based violence in the immigration system.

Victoria Huynh

Victoria Huynh is currently the Senior Vice President of the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS), the largest nonprofit in the Southeast to focus on issues and concerns of AANHPI communities, especially women, children, and families. For more than a decade, Huynh has advocated for equitable language access, promoted local civic engagement, protected immigrant rights, championed cultural competency, and developed vital social service programs within the immigrant and refugee communities in Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Huynh’s experiences in her limited English proficient (LEP) Vietnamese Refugee household, fuels her passion for community building, strategic planning, and policy work within immigrant and refugee spaces. She is an MBA candidate and currently serves as consultant, board member, and panelist on various boards influencing state and local funding, nominations, and programs that impact communities of color.

Mia Ives-Rublee

Mia Ives-Rublee, MSW, is currently the Director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress. She obtained her Master’s in Social Work at University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. She was also recognized as one of Glamour Women of the Year in 2017, She the People’s 20 Women of Color in Politics to Watch in 2020, and received the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the UNC School of Social Work. Ives-Rublee works at the intersection of disability, race, and gender, helping promote equity and opportunity for marginalized communities through policy and organizing.

Kamal Kalsi

Dr. Kamal Singh Kalsi, LTC, USAR is an emergency medicine physician from New Jersey that has served in the Army for 20 years and was awarded a Bronze Star medal for his work taking care of hundreds of combat casualties on the front lines in Afghanistan. He has transitioned into the Army reserves, and now serves as a senior advisor for Policy Vets and a Fellow of the Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council. He founded the Sikh American Veterans Alliance (SAVA) in order to promote diversity, religious freedom, and service.

Michelle Kauhane

Michelle Kauhane is the Senior Vice President of Community Grants & Initiatives at Hawaii Community Foundation. Previously, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement where she engaged in lending and investment services deploying capital in underserved native Hawaiian communities statewide. Michelle has a background in non-profit management, organizational leadership, community based economic development and public policy advocacy. She has served on numerous local and national boards and currently sits on the Community Advisory Council at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco to offer perspectives on the economic and financial service needs of low- and moderate- income populations in Hawaii. She is a graduate of Gonzaga University.

Daniel Dae Kim

Daniel Dae Kim is an award-winning actor, director and producer. In addition to his series regular roles on TV’s LOST and THE HOT ZONE: ANTHRAX, Kim starred as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center’s Broadway production of the KING AND I. In addition to his numerous credits as an actor, he is developing both film and television projects as a producer with his company, 3AD. His current projects include THE GOOD DOCTOR currently airing on ABC. Recently, he also turned to advocacy, joining the Asian American Foundation, where he serves a Co-Chair of the Advisory Council. Mr. Kim can next be seen as an actor in the live action adaptation of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. He currently lives in Hawaii with his family.

Kevin Kim

Kevin D. Kim is a seasoned attorney, entrepreneur, and public servant. He is a co-founder of Abakidz, a mental math program. In public service, Mr. Kim was the first Korean American to win a NYC primary election as a 2009 Democratic nominee for a NYC Council seat, then served as the first Asian American commissioner of the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), and now serves as the first Korean American Member of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) where he chairs the Audit Committee. He has served on the boards of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY), American Red Cross – Queens Chapter, Friends of THIRTEEN, International Student Conferences, Inc. (ISC), Korean American Community Foundation (KACF), and the Fordham Law School Voting Rights and Democracy Project (Advisory Board). Mr. Kim received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a member of the Columbia Law Review.

Sarah Min

Sarah Min is an advocate and former media executive. Min promotes the advancement of mission-driven organizations who are transforming how to use technology, media and person-to-person outreach to mobilize people and change perceptions about women and people of color. From 2013-2019, Min was an independent consultant, working with clients such as HBO, Penguin Random House and other nonprofits, Previously, she served as Executive Vice President for, Marketing & Corporate Development for ScrollMotion, an enterprise software company. Min also was the Managing Editor of Vibe and Domino magazines, a director at media company Bertelsmann, as well as President of literary publishing company McSweeney’s. She serves as a director on nonprofit boards, including Color of Change and EMILY’s List, and has been engaged in grassroots organizations, including the Korean American Community Foundation and the Asian American Power Network. Sarah holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Simon Pang

Emigrated from Singapore in late 1989, Pang has been in banking industry since 1981. Pang is currently an Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Royal Business Bank. He is active in community service and was appointed to positions in statewide nonprofit organizations, including California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, California Highway Patrol Citizens Advisory Board member, Los Angeles County Sheriff Youth Foundation Board member, US-Sino Friendship Association President, US-Sino Aviation Heritage Foundation Honorable Chairman. He has also served as a National Governing Board Member and National Diversity Coalition Advisor with the national nonprofit Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs.

Ai-jen Poo

Ai-jen Poo is an award-winning organizer, author, and a leading voice in the women’s movement. She is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Director of Caring Across Generations, Co-Founder of SuperMajority, Co-Host of Sunstorm podcast and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation. Ai-jen is a nationally recognized expert on elder and family care, the future of work, and what’s at stake for women of color. She is the author of the celebrated book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.

Naheed Qureshi

Naheed Qureshi is Head of Policy Partnerships at Instacart. Ms. Qureshi has had an extensive 20-year career in civil rights, including serving as a founding board member and later deputy director of Muslim Advocates and as co-chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Hate Crimes and Bigotry Task Force. Ms. Qureshi started her career in the U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General’s Honors Program and has also worked at the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the City of Los Angeles, and the national legislative office of the ACLU. Ms. Qureshi received a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. The daughter of immigrants from Pakistan, she was raised in Wisconsin and is an avid Packers fan.

Raynald Samoa

Dr. Raynald Samoa is an endocrinologist at the City of Hope and his current research projects include a faith-based community-centered diabetes prevention program in the San Gabriel Valley investigating a social-connectedness modified approach. Dr. Samoa served as the Lead for the National Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response Team and has authored several manuscripts describing the impact of COVID-19 on Pacific Islander communities. He has testified to the House of Representative Ways and Means Committee during a session entitled the disproportionate impact of  COVID-19 ON communities of color. He currently is the technical assistance lead for the Healing Association of Pacific Islander Physicians, a professional organization associated with the National Association of Organization of Pacific Islander Organizations.

Sonal Shah

Sonal Shah is a social impact and innovation leader that has launched and led social impact efforts in academia, government, and the private and philanthropic sectors for over 25 years. She is the Founding President of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), starting the largest philanthropic effort to serve the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Prior to TAAF, Shah founded and led Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, providing students a first-hand opportunity to work on social impact projects in the public, private, and social sectors. She served as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and created the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, worked on international development at the Department of Treasury, and led social impact efforts at Google and Goldman Sachs. She serves on the boards of TAAF, Oxfam America, the Century Foundation, and the National Democratic Institute.

Smita Shah

Smita N. Shah is an engineer, entrepreneur, and civic leader serving as President and CEO of Chicago-based SPAAN Tech, Inc, a multi-disciplinary firm with expertise in public and private infrastructure projects including transportation, aviation, and facilities. Shah serves in various roles with the Chicago Plan Commission, M.I.T., the Museum of Science and Industry, After School Matters, Delhi Chicago Sister Cities Program, YPO, the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She is a member of the board of MacLean Fogg Company and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago. Shah earned her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University, her Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from M.I.T., and a Post Graduate Certificate in Management Studies from Oxford University.

Robert Underwood

Robert A. Underwood is a former Member of Congress representing Guam for 10 years. He is also President Emeritus of the University of Guam and has the distinction of being the longest serving President of the university. He has served the nation as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the founding Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Scholarship Fund. As a scholar and activist, he has served his region and his people as a passionate advocate for the respect and maintenance of the Chamoru language and the empowerment of the peoples of Micronesia.

KaYing Yang

For more than three decades, KaYing has been a social justice advocate who has built and led community organizing, public policy engagement, and development efforts locally, nationally, and globally. She began her career as a community organizer and executive manager providing social services and advocacy for the protection of refugees and immigrants in Minnesota at the Women’s Association of Hmong and Lao. She then went on to defend and promote immigrant and human rights by serving in a number of organizations including the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the International Organization for Migration, the International Finance Corporation, and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders in Minnesota. All of her work comes from a deep experience having come to the United States as a Hmong refugee at the age of seven in 1976 where she experienced firsthand the struggles faced by communities experiencing generational trauma and poverty.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Democrats fight back Republicans' efforts to suppress voters' of color

SCREEN CAPTURE

Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono speaking on the Senate floor.

After West Virginia's Sen. Joe Mancin has apparently doomed President Biden's Build Back Better plan with his refusal to vote for it, Democrats began shifting their attention to voting rights.

Hawaii's Senator Mazie K. Hirono spoke on the Senate floor about the urgent need to pass voting rights legislation on Dec. 16. Given Republican’s refusal to do their jobs and protect the fundamental right to vote, Hirono urged her Democratic colleagues to act on filibuster reform in order to advance voting rights legislation.

“Before President Trump, Republicans at least tried to pretend their laws weren’t blatantly discriminatory. But now they aren’t even attempting to hide the fact that they are purposefully trying to make it darn near impossible for Black people and other people of color, elderly individuals, students, working families, and people with disabilities to vote,” Senator Hirono on the Senate floor.

“The fact that Republicans continue to claim that these voter suppression tactics are necessary to protect election integrity would be laughable if it wasn’t so deeply damaging to our democracy," said Hirono. "We all know that countless investigations have uncovered absolutely no evidence of systemic or widespread voter fraud. We all know that the 2020 election was the most secure election in our nation’s history. And we certainly all know this not about voter fraud, it’s about advancing a political agenda by denying large swaths of Americans their fundamental right to vote. 

"If this isn’t un-American, I don’t know what is. 

"Which is why voter suppression is the most urgent crisis facing our country today. And which is why, it is the single most pressing issue the Senate must address,” she added.

Mancin's adament refusal to back the BBB angered Hirono. “A 50/50 Senate is really problematic. I’ve used the word ‘sucks.’ It definitely enables one or two people to hold things up. So, yes, I am frustrated.”

So the Democrats, blocked by a single senator from a state with fewer people than the San Francisco Bay Area, the Democrats are renewing their focus on voting rights. 

"If we can get the congressional voting rights done, we should do it," President Biden said Wednesday in Kentucky, adding: "There’s nothing domestically more important than voting rights."

Protecting voting rights has been a major aim of the Democratic s since Biden took office, but their multiple efforts to pass voting rights have been repeatedly filibustered by the Senate GOP.

With the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Insurrection coming up, and Mancin again holding a critical vote in his pocket, Georgia's sen. Raphael Warnock issued a powerful speech last Tuesday.

Warnock called for the Senate to use the same mechanism that allowed the chamber's Democrats to lift the debt ceiling with a simple majority to do the same to address voting rights.

"Before we left Washington last week, we in this chamber made a change in the Senate's rules in order to push forward something that all of us think is important: We set the stage to raise the nation's debt ceiling," Warnock said Tuesday. "And yet as we cast that vote to begin addressing the debt ceiling, this same chamber is allowing the ceiling of our democracy to crash in around us."

"Be very clear: last week we changed the rules of the Senate to address another important issue, the economy," Warnock said. "This is a step, a change in the Senate rules we haven't been willing to take to save our broken democracy, but one that a bipartisan majority of this chamber thought was necessary in order to keep our economy strong."

"The judgment of history is upon us," Warnock said. "Future generations will ask, 'when the democracy was in a 911 state of emergency, what did you do to put the fire out?' Did we rise to the moment? Or did we hide behind procedural rules?"

Hirono followed up Thursday with a salvo of her own in her Senate speech below:

Here's a transcript of her speech:

“M. President, the foundation of American democracy is built upon the sacred right to vote, and there is no doubt that right is under attack today. This year alone, 550 voter suppression bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country.

“In Texas, it is now illegal to compensate workers who help voters who don’t speak English and for election officials to encourage eligible voters to apply to vote by mail. In Fulton County, Georgia—a county that historically votes Democratic—the number of ballot boxes has been reduced from 38 to 8. That’s one ballot box for every 100,000 voters. And in Florida, ballot drop-off boxes can only be utilized during early-voting hours and boxes must be located at either a county’s elections office or early-voting sites.

“Republicans have even gone so far as to make it illegal to hand a bottle of water to voters waiting in line. I truly want to know how you can even pretend to justify that law?

“But when you shut down or severely limit the hours of polling locations, remove eligible voters from the voting list, create unnecessary hurdles to vote, and eliminate Election Day registration, who do you think this hurts?

“Before President Trump, Republicans at least tried to pretend their laws weren’t blatantly discriminatory. But now they aren’t even attempting to hide the fact that they are purposefully trying to make it darn near impossible for Black people and other people of color, elderly individuals, students, working families, and people with disabilities to vote.

“The fact that Republicans continue to claim that these voter suppression tactics are necessary to protect election integrity would be laughable if it wasn’t so deeply damaging to our democracy. We all know that countless investigations have uncovered absolutely no evidence of systemic or widespread voter fraud. We all know that the 2020 election was the most secure election in our nation’s history. And we certainly all know this not about voter fraud, it’s about advancing a political agenda by denying large swaths of Americans their fundamental right to vote.

“If this isn’t un-American, I don’t know what is.

“Which is why voter suppression is the most urgent crisis facing our country today. And which is why, it is the single most pressing issue the Senate must address.

“We need to pass Build Back Better. And we need to fight against attacks on a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, attacks on unions, and so much more. Because battles for rights that we thought we had won, don’t stay won.

“But we won’t succeed in preserving these hard won rights if we don’t protect the right to vote. To quote my friend and colleague, Senator Warnock, “voting rights are preservative of all other rights.”

“We are nearing the one-year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. This violent insurrection and mob violence was the direct result of blatant lies told by the former President and his supporters about systemic fraud and a “stolen election.” We are still learning the consequences of that day, but we know for certain this act of domestic terrorism was an attack on free and fair elections in this country. Yet, Republicans continue to spread the same lies about election fraud and push through legislation at the state level to silence Americans across the country.

“Congress must take action to restore the integrity of our voting system and make sure every American’s voice is heard and counted. And we’ve tried. We’ve tried four times to stop these unconstitutional state level laws from undermining our elections.

“We’ve tried to pass common sense reforms that would allow all eligible voters to vote by mail; make Election Day a federal holiday so all working families can vote; and establish federal criminal penalties for deceiving voters with false and misleading information about voting.

“And most importantly, we’re tried to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would give the Department of Justice the tools to keep these blatant voter suppression laws from being enacted in the first place. Only one Republican joined us in voting for this bill. The same bill that was being touted as bipartisan.

“It’s crystal clear by now that Republicans have absolutely no interest in protecting the right to vote. For Republicans, voter suppression and gerrymandering is their path to victory. Democrats cannot sit back and allow a political party to maintain power by denying Americans their right to vote.

“Quoting Senator Warnock again, 'as we cast that vote to begin addressing the debt ceiling, this same chamber is allowing the ceiling of our democracy to crash in around us. We figured out a way to save our economy, we can figure out a way to save our democracy.'

“Filibuster reform is the path Democrats need to take to fight back against the Republicans all out voter suppression assault on our democracy. I call on my Democratic colleagues to act.

Thank you M. President.”

Psychologists apologize for the profession's role on enabling systemic racism

As part of the nation’s historic reckoning on racism, the American Psychological Association is apologizing to communities of color for its role — and the role of the discipline of psychology—in contributing to systemic racism.

The association’s governing Council of Representatives adopted an apology at its October meeting, acknowledging that APA “failed in its role leading the discipline of psychology, was complicit in contributing to systemic inequities, and hurt many through racism, racial discrimination, and denigration of communities of color, thereby falling short on its mission to benefit society and improve lives.”

“For the first time, APA and American psychology are systematically and intentionally examining, acknowledging and charting a path forward to address their roles in perpetuating racism,” said APA President Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD. 

The apology sought to comprehensively denounce the eminent institution’s history of promoting white supremacy within the United States and position the association to effectively remedy these harms through commitments to anti-racist psychological practices.

“APA is profoundly sorry, accepts responsibility for, and owns the actions and inactions of APA itself, the discipline of psychology, and individual psychologists who stood as leaders for the organization and field,” the apology states.

The resolution, which passed unanimously, acknowledges that “the governing body within APA should have apologized to people of color before today. APA, and many in psychology, have long considered such an apology, but failed to accept responsibility.”

The apology credits a broad cross-section of APA’s members, including elected and appointed leaders, for bringing the apology to communities of color to fruition. The effort included soliciting public comments and conducting listening sessions and surveys.

The work was spearheaded by the APA Task Force on Strategies to Eradicate Racism, Discrimination, and Hate and its five-member Apology Advisory Subcommittee, composed of eminent psychologists who were chosen for their knowledge and expertise.

At the same meeting, the Council of Representatives adopted two additional resolutions, one delineating APA’s and psychology’s role going forward in dismantling systemic racism in the United States and the other pledging to work to advance health equity in psychology. The former directs APA’s CEO to develop a long-term plan to prioritize, operationalize and ensure accountability for achieving the goals identified in the resolution. This is to be presented to the Council by August 2022.

“These resolutions are just the first steps in a long process of reconciliation and healing. This important work will set the path for us to make real change and guide the association and psychology moving forward,” said Kelly.

"I think it's important to acknowledge the systemic role of racism in our society, because we can't just rely on the survivors of violence or the survivors of discrimination to to develop strategies," said Filipino American psychologist Kevin Nadal, distinguished a professor at the City University of New York, according to  Newsy.

In offering the apology for the harms committed, “APA acknowledges that recognition and apology only ring true when accompanied by action; by not only bringing awareness of the past into the present but in acting to ensure reconciliation, repair, and renewal,” the resolution states. “We stand committed to purposeful intervention, and to ensuring that APA, the field of psychology, and individual psychologists are leaders in benefiting society and improving lives.”

The three resolutions just adopted all build on Harnessing Psychology to Combat Racism: 

Adopting a Uniform Definition and Understanding, a resolution the Council passed in February. That was a definitional resolution on racism that provided guidance to psychologists and APA to consider four levels of racism—internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural—in their efforts to counter racism within individuals and across societal systems. 

It also instructed APA to “undertake an analysis of psychology’s history, with the goal of understanding the harms that marginalized racial groups have experienced and the actions necessary to create a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive association, discipline, and society going forward.”

In sum, the APA's historical review of psychology’s harms to people of color indicates that psychologists have, in both the past and present:

• Established and participated in scientific models and approaches rooted in scientific racism;
• Created, sustained, and promulgated ideas of human hierarchy through the construction, study, and interpretation of racial difference;
• Promoted the idea that racial difference is biologically based and fixed;
• Used psychological science and practice to support segregated and subpar education for people of color;
• Created and promoted widespread use of psychological tests and instruments that discriminated against people of color;
• Failed to take concerted action in response to calls for an end to testing and psychometric racism;
• Supported the widespread use of educational assessments and interventions that were lucrative for the field of psychology, but harmed people of color;
• Provided ideological support for and failed to speak out against the colonial framework of the boarding and day school systems for First Peoples of the Americas;
• Created, sustained, and promoted a view of people of color as deficient or damaged;
• Applied psychological science and practice to oppose “race-mixing” and to support segregation, sterilization, and antimarriage laws, using the ideas of early 20th century eugenics;
• Failed to represent the approaches, practices, voices, and concerns of people of color within the field of psychology and within society
• Failed to respond or responded too slowly in the face of clear social harms to people of color

In this era of hate against Asian Americans, over 10,000 hate incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, raising stress and fear among AAPIs with a corresponding surge in the need for mental health services in the community. However, according to a recent study, only 8.6% of Asian Americans sought any type of mental health services or resource compared to nearly 18% of the general population nationwide.

"Psychological science has shown that discrimination exists and hurts," said Priscilla Lui, PhD, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Southern Methodist University.

"Having family support, bystanders who are active and white allies can certainly help reduce the negative impact and confront racism. And I hope that we can use this knowledge base, expand it and also continue to inform ways to address racism and discrimination, resolve health disparities and then also change social norms."

Miss America talks about being Korean American and representing

Korean American Emma Broyles was crowned Miss America Thursday.

As Miss Alaska, Emma  Broyles is the first Korean American to win the Miss America competition Thursday in the pageant's 100-year history.

"Being the first Korean Miss America, that we know of, is really cool because I think about when I was younger and I was growing up and not really seeing Korean women who looked like me in popular media," says Broyles, 20 in an interview with People. "I remember I was ashamed of my heritage and I was avoiding embracing it at all costs.

"Now that I'm older, I've really been able to embrace my ethnicity and embrace my background, embrace the journey that my grandparents made 50 or so years ago," she continues. "And I think that having a woman who's kind of an underdog — being only 20 from Alaska and being half-Korean — is representative of all that Miss America stands for."

Broyles, 20, is a Service High School graduate in Anchorage and currently in her junior year at the Honors College at Arizona State University where she’s majoring in biomedical studies and minoring in voice performance, according to the Miss America Organization.

Broyles said being crowned Miss America is “an incredible dream come true,” according to a statement announcing her win from the organization.

"I hope at least one person out there feels like they can see themselves in me and feel inspired," she said.

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, her hometown newspaper, she was asked about her Korean heritage and family.

"Being what we know of to be the first Miss America of Korean descent is another really cool thing because I think it represents all of the the positive change that we’ve seen in Miss America in the past 100 years," Broyles told the ADN.

"I mean, even just in the past decade, we’ve seen such a diverse group of Miss Americas, and to be representing Asians all over the United States is a really, really cool and a really special moment for me.

"My grandparents, they came to America about 50 years ago — right before my mom was born — with this idea that they wanted their kids to be able to live that American Dream and have every opportunity possible. They actually moved straight to Anchorage, Alaska, so they’ve been here for quite a while, which is why my family has our roots in Anchorage, Alaska, and all of their other family members came from Korea to Anchorage, Alaska.

"So I have a huge Korean family in Anchorage, and it’s really, really neat because my grandpa was actually the president of the Korean Alaskan organization.

"And it was a really cool win for my grandparents as well, I think, to see their Korean granddaughter making strides and being in a competition like Miss America. And you know, there were so many other Koreans on that stage with me, which — it was a really cool experience, and I feel so grateful for my heritage and for the ability to represent other Korean Americans all across the country. And I think my grandparents are especially grateful and especially excited.

“As a Korean American, I am so grateful for the opportunity to compete alongside so many brilliant, talented women,” she said. “I hope to live up to the legacy, serve as a positive role model for women of all ages and make the Miss America Organization proud. It’s been an honor to represent the great state of Alaska and I look forward to making a significant impact through my social impact initiative on the national stage.”

For winning the Miss America crown, Broyles, a first-year student at Arizona State University, will get a $100,000 scholarship and earn a six-figure salary during her one-year reign.

The Miss America pageant, which has moved away from the emphasis on physical appearance to placing more importance on leadership, talent and communication skills, was not held last year because of the pandemic and it wasn't held for several years in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was moved from its traditional site in Atlantic City, N.J. and held at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

Broyles is unusual among pageant winners in that she openly talks about her flaws.  "I think that people tend to put Miss America on this pedestal and say, 'Wow... she's living this fabulous, glamorous life.'"

During the contest, she told the judges and audience that she wants people to view Miss America as real person. Broyles revealed that she has ADHD and suffers from a form of OCD. "I am real. I have flaws... and because of that, I am a better person."

Don't underestimate the power of 'Survivor' winner Filipina Canadian Erika Casupanan

SCREEN CAPTURE

Filipina Canadian Erika Casupanan reacts when she is announced winner of 'Survivor.'

The latest version of pioneer reality show Survivor was unlike any other season: the winner was of Filipino descent.

Erika Casupanan, 32, of Canada made history when she was chosen the winner of Survivor Wednesday night pocketing the $1-million prize.

“I wanna say that it’s actually a three-way tie between breaking the drought of a woman winning, being the first Canadian winner, and being the first person of Filipino descent to win American Survivor,” she said.

The diminutive Casupanan, a former communications manager, played under the radar developing relationships and gaining the trust of other players who continued to keep the Filipino Canadian around for her vote.

She was more than happy to do their bidding all the while developing her own game plan. By the time the other players realized they had underestimated her, Casupanan's role had grown in importance and was among the final three that inclded to male players, 

“I know that I’m a smaller player, people look at me and probably think I’m not going to be able to physically contribute to the tribe," she told Entertainment Weekly. "So, I had to figure out a game play for mitigating that potential risk but at the same time not being a physical threat, not being out in front as someone who could potentially go out and win a bunch of competitions. I knew that that was my strength too. So I thought, if I know that people are going to look at me and they’re not really going to think that I’m a big threat then how do I use that to really go undercover and fly under the radar,” said the articulate Casupanan.

In explaining her strategy to the panel made up the players she helped oust, she had developed this skill in the corporation boardrooms where others in the room thought she was an intern because of her physical appearance, (short, brown and Filipino) all the while she was in charge directing the discussion.

In preparing for her participation, she got her self physically fit, enrolled in gym classes, took swimming lessons and took up boxing; listened to podcasts and watched every episode of Survivor.

She also quit her job as communications manager.

“It was a sacrifice but it was also one of those things where I felt like it was time for that chapter to end," she told EW.

"What better opportunity is there to start a new fresh chapter then go do the craziest adventure of life? It meant changes in my lifestyle. Something that I use to define myself is now gone. It really set me up to be able to enter the game knowing there was no strings attached. I just am the way that I am,” she said unabashedly.

What will Casupanan do with her winnings?

“My parents worked so hard to make sure I’m in a position to make my dream of winning Survivor come true. So my number one priority is my parents,” she continued. “And then my number three priority is buying some really expensive handbags,” she laughed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Streamy Awards Bretman Rock, Bella Poarch

STREAMY AWARDS

Bretman Rock, center, accepts his Streamy from hosts Larray, left, and Issa.

Asian Americans captured some of the biggest awards for the equivalent of the Oscars for new online media. 

The 11th Annual Streamy Award "honors excellence in online video and the creators behind it."

Filipino American Bretman Rock won two awards: Show of the Year and Uncripted Series for his fashion and lifestyle show "30 Days With: Bretman Rock"  streamed on YouTube.

YouTube creator and singer Bella Poarch, a Filipino American, was named  Breakout Star of the Year.

Jabberwockeez, the dance group whose members are mostly Filipino Americans won the best dance video for their performance during the Super Bowl half0time show.

Yoleendadong won a Streamy for Comedy for her Tik Tok account where much of Canadian Leenda Dong's act is performing as a cartoonish Vietnamese immigrant, including a thick Vietnamese accent.

The most prestigious award, Creator of the Year, went to YouTuber MrBeast.

Fittingly, the awards show was streamed on YouTube on Dec. 11. YouTube star Larray served as tonight’s Master of Ceremonies.

For complete list of Streamy Award winners, click here.

Campaign launched for a US postal stamp honoring Larry Itliong

What a Larry Itliong stamp might look like.

A former postal worker is spearheading an effort to have labor leader Larry Itliong on a U.S. postal stamp. 

Alfonso Salazar, a retired postal service employee, created an online form for people to indicate their support.

Ssalazar was inspired to launch his campaign last October when Itliong was inducted into the California Hall of Fame and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Oct. 25, Itliong's birthday, be observed as Larry Itliong Day in the state.

He first learned about Itliong in 2014 when the motion picture Cesar Chavez hit the theaters. The movie created a controversy because in the final cut, the role of Itliong and Filipinos were relegated to the background.

Even though he is a Mexican American, he believes Itliong deserves to be on par with Cesar Chavez. The two men were instrumental in the 1965 Grape Strike that led to formation of the United Farm Workers by joining the Filipino farm workers with the Mexican workers. Chavez was granted a stamp in 2003. 

It was Itliong who convinced Chavez to join the grape strike started by the Filipino farm workers.

“I know (about Itliong), but I don’t know if the nation knows about him,” he said. “This is a good way for people to learn about him.”

“His actions and beliefs taught me to stand up for what I believe in even when it seems impossible or too difficult. It should never be about me. It should always be about 'We,'” said Itliong's daughter Patty Itliong Serda from an interview introducing the book about her father, “The Journey for Justice.”

In his 34 years working for USPS as a graphic artist, Salazar said he never saw a stamp honoring a Filipino.

The online petition as well as a letter proposing the Itliong stamp will be sent to Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations for new stamps. The approval process may take years.

Cesar Chavez, left, and Larry Itliong, right, founded the United Farm Workers.

Salazar hopes the online petition will generate community support, which the committee takes into consideration in evaluating a new stamp. It helps to have wide support not only from Filipino community leaders but from activists in the labor movement, allies from all races and politicians. When Chavez's stamp was approved, it had the support of then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the U.S. and State Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, and the Hispanic Caucus. 

“You learn the history for each stamp that comes out, and during the 34 years I’ve been [at USPS], I’ve gotten to learn a lot about our history here,” Salazar told the Inquirer. “It’s almost like, if stamps were like a quilt that represented the United States, then you have to include Filipino Americans as part of that quilt. Otherwise, there’s a piece missing.”

To learn more and to add your name to keep up to date on this USPS commemorative stamp effort for Larry Itliong, visit: www.realitymaniacs.com/larry-itliong

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

Anti-Asian crimes explode 361% in New York City

On Dec. 1, a man hurled anti-Asian-slurs at an Asian woman waiting for a subway train. Security cameras show that a man approached the lone woman on a nearly empty subway platform, insulted her and then slapped her on the face as she tried to escape.

A video of the unprovoked attack was released Sunday. The 58-year old woman refused medical assistance but the incident is being investigated by New York City's Anti-Hate task force.

Verbal and physical attacks against Asians have been increasing in frequency on the subway and streets of New York.. The latest attack at the 174th Street 2 and 5 subway station has been added to the total of 129 anti-Asian attacks in New York City, according to new statistics collected by the New York Police Department's Hate Crime Review Panel, a civilian group that helps law enforcement identify potential hate crimes, 

Incidents targeting people of Asian descent has increased 361% this year, which has two weeks to go. In 2020, there were only 28 reported hate crimes against AAPI. Nationallly, an FBI report found anti-Asian hate crimes increased 73%.

The alarming increase “is consistent with a general surge in racism against Asian Americans, first of all," said Russell Jeung, co-founder of the hate incident reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate. "It’s consistent with the increase in crimes during the epidemic. And then thirdly, reflective of the Asian American community more likely to report."

Stop AAPI Hate, a community-based organization, reports that there have been over 10,000 hate incidents since it began collecting self-reported bias incidents in March of 2020, when the pandemic hit the U.S. 

The NYPD report  reflects a nationwide trend of increased attacks against Asians in the last two years, spurred in part by the pandemic whose origins have been traced to China and the rise of white supremacist sentiment and partially blamed on the Trump administration's use of "China Virus," or "Kung Flu," in referring to the coronavirus.

“The anti-China rhetoric, the white supremacy — that does influence all sectors of society and that Asians are portrayed as outsiders either to the country or to a neighborhood,” Jeung said. 

Overall, the NYPD reports that there have been over 500 hate crimes this year resulting in 250 arrests. The number of hate incidents are probably higher but have not met the legal requirements to be labeled as a hate crime, which has to have evidence that the attack was based on the victim's race, ethnicity or religion.

While hate crimes against Asians saw the biggest jump, the study found hate crimes directed towards Jews jumped from 121 to 183, while hate crimes based on sexual orientation jumped from 29 to 85.

Former Filipino American congressman will not run for office in 2022

TJ Cox discusses his future plans.

TJ Cox, the first Filipino American representing California in Congress, will not be running for office in 2022. 

TJ Cox, who represented District 21 in 2018-2020 will not run against the Republican who beat him in 2020.

Instead, Cox has endorsed state Assemblymember Rudy Salas, a Latino American, against Republican Rep. David Valadao. Prior to his endorsement of Salas, there was much speculatoin whether or not Cox would seek to regain the seat that he narrowly lost to Valadao in 2020.

"There’s no question that Rudy gives us our best shot of flipping a seat from red to blue here in the Valley,” Cox told KGET. “No one knows their district better than Rudy. No one has delivered more for their district than Rudy. This year alone he has delivered over 50 million dollars for public safety, water and education. He’s raised wages for farmworkers and lowered healthcare costs for families. His track record as a fearless and independent representative for the Valley will serve him well in Congress.”

Democrats have called Valadao’s seat one of the most vulnerable in the nation. The district will likely have different boundaries that will include more Democratic voters under the redistricting plan based on the population data from the 2020 Census.

Chris Mathys, the former Fresno city councilman, is challenging Valadao from the right. Many Republican groups are upset over Valadao because he voted to impeach Donald Trump.

Delano Mayor Brian Osorio and former Assemblywoman-turned-lobbyist Nicole Parra, both Democrats, are also in the race.

Filipino Americans have historically underrepresented in Congress. Cox, who represented the 21st Congressional District for a single term, 2018-2020, was one of the few Filipino Americans elected to Congress. Virginia's Rep. Bobby Scott is the only other current member of Congress who is of Filipino descent.

The former Congressional representative who ran a job-training program prior to his election, is rebranding his old PAC known as “TJ Cox for Congress” into a new one called the “Rising Electorate PAC.”

In an interview with 17 News, he said he hopes the campaign will reach younger voters, single women, and communities of color.

“Our goal and our mission is to organize, to coordinate, and to directly fund voter registration efforts,” he said.

“If you look at Kings, Tulare, and Kern County — that is a population of 1.5 million people — there are only 25,000 more Republicans than Democrats. We intend to register two times, three times that many so that when the midterms come around, we’re more than prepared to take back not only my seat, but the Devin Nunes seat and the Kevin McCarthy seat as well,” Cox continued.

Prior to entering politics, Cox used his experience as a businssman and engineer to creat the Central Valley Fund, which raises money for projects such as health clinics, job-training projects and affordable housing located in economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout the Central Valley.

Miss India wins Miss Universe contest

MISS UNIVERSE

Harnaaz Sandhu, Miss India, won the Miss Universe contest.

A 21-year old model and actress from the Punjab region of India was crowned Miss Universe Sunday.

Harnaaz Sandhu, representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, won the title over Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira, followed by Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.

"Having a huge stage to speak your mind demands a lot of courage —courage to hold on to your ideas and your perception that you refuse to change because of others,” said Sandhu, the first Punjabi to win the contest.

“I got to know in that competition what it meant to be representing your country. I developed a purpose and since then working on achieving it,” she said.

Before Sandhu, only two Indians have won the Miss Universe crown. First, Sushmita Sen won the title in 1994. Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe six years later in 2000.

Although the pageant continues to include competitions in swimsuit and national costume, it was the thoughtful responses that Miss India gave to questions throughout the contest that won over the judges.

On climate change, she said: "Honestly, my heart breaks to see how nature is going through a lot of problems, and it's all due to our irresponsible behavior. This is the time to take actions and talk less, because each action could either kill or save nature. Prevent and protect is better than repent and repair, and this is what I'm trying to convince you guys today."

After she was named to the top three, her advice to young women: "I think the biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves," she told Harvey. "To know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let's talk about more important things that are happening worldwide. I think this is what you need to understand. Come out, speak for yourself, because you are the leader of your life. You are the voice of your own."

In the weeks prior to Sunday’s finale, pageant contestants were tested for the coronavirus every 48 hours and required to obey strict mask requirements.

Eilat, Israel was chosen for the pageant's site because of the country's strict health restrictions and its high immunization rate. A call for a boycott because of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians failed to materialize. Indonesia and Malaysia did not send contestants but they cited it was because of failure to meet the health restrictions, not for political reasons.

BTS' anti-hate tweet is the most shared tweet of the year

South Korea's BTS is one of the most popular pop-singing groups in the world.

The K-pop boy band BTS' tweet against anti-Asian hate is the most shared tweet of 2021. According to Twitter their message was shared over a million times.

BTS’ heartfelt tweet came as violence against Asian Americans was rising around the country as DonaldTrump repeatedly used phrases such as “China/Chinese virus” and “kung flu” to refer to the coronavirus. Among the tragedies was a series of shootings in Georgia March 16 that left eight dead, six of whom were of Asian descent.

In their tweet, the group, consisting of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, recounted the hate and ignorant bias that they personally experienced.

"We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. We have endured expletives without reason and mocked for the way we looked," the group wrote.

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected."

The group posted the tweet on March 29, following a series of shootings earlier that month at Atlanta area spas killing 8 people, six of whom were Asian women.
There were more than 9,000 incidents of hate targeting Asian Americans from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic through June 2021, according to the community-based organization #StopAAPIhate which collated the self-reported hate incidents, ranging from verbal harassment to the mass shooting in Georgia.

Additionally, the hashtag #BTS was the most used hashtag by Twitter users, speaking to the international popularity of the South Korean group and the group's vast "Army" of fans.

For those who can't read or enlarge the letter, here's an enlarged reproduction:

Maria Ressa blasts social media as she receives Nobel Peace Prize

Maria Ressa warned against the role of unfettered social media in spreading lies and division.

The crucial role of journalism in a free democratic society was the message of  the two journalists -- Maria Ressa and Dmetry Murotov -- who received the Nobel Peace Prize Friday.

"Our greatest need today is to transform that hate and violence, the toxic sludge that's coursing through our information ecosystem, prioritized by American internet companies that make more money," said Filipina American Ressa as she received the coveted award.

She accused U.S. social media giants like Facebook of spreading a "flood of toxic sludge" sowing division and hate through their platforms.

"Our greatest need today is to transform that hate and violence, the toxic sludge that's coursing through our information ecosystem," said Ressa, the first Filipino American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

The 58-year old co-founder the online news outlet Rappler in the Philippines has long been a vocal critic of social media that she accused Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of weaponizing by hiring trolls to spread lies and half-truths against her and Rappler because of their criticism of Duterte's extrajudicial was on drugs that has fostered vigilante violence throughout the Philippines.

READ or WATCH Maria Ressa's Nobel Peace Prize speech.

"The attacks against us in Rappler began five years ago when we demanded an end to impunity on two fronts: Duterte's drug war and Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook," she said.

“These American companies controlling our global information ecosystem are biased against facts, biased against journalists,” she said. “They are — by design — dividing us and radicalizing us.”

The 2020 elections in the U.S. and the upcoming Presidential election in the Philippines in 2022 are war zones with democracy in the two countries at stake, she has warned earlier.

"You have to know what values you are fighting for, and you have to draw the lines early -- but if you haven't done so, do it now: where this side you're good, and this side, you're evil," she told her Nebel audience in Oslo, Norway. "Some governments may be lost causes, and if you're working in tech, I'm talking to you: How can you have election integrity if you don't have integrity of facts?"

The social network has been under intense scrutiny in recent years for how its algorithms promote content. CEOs and representatives of Facebook, Twitter and other media giants have been grilled by Congressional committees for their role in spreading false information. U.S. civil rights organizations have tried to convince Facebook leadership that it must address the use of its platform to spread voter disinformation, to intimidate and incite hate against vulnerable populations, and to otherwise undermine democracy. 

Ressa and her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was a young girl became an American citizen in 1973. She worked for CNN before founding Rappler.

Murotov, 60, is the editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s most outspoken national newspaper, for more than 25 years. He warned about the escalation of war rhetoric and the rise of authoritative leaders.

“The world has fallen out of love with democracy,” Muratov said in his acceptance  speech. “The world has become disappointed with the elites in power. The world has begun to turn to dictatorship.”