Over 100 community organizations across California — including several based in Sacramento — are calling for the governor to expand California’s investment in strategies to prevent violence against Asians, support those harmed by such violence and implement educational programs for understanding and acceptance.
In a letter released Monday morning, organizations are asking for an additional $40 million atop Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed $10 million investment in his May Revise, which would “support services for victims and survivors of hate crimes and their families and facilitate hate crime prevention measures in consultation with the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.”
Sacramento organizations like Asian Resources, Inc., Hmong Youth and Parents United, My Sister’s House and Slavic Sacramento are among the letter’s signatories.
The groups say $10 million isn’t enough, and point to the importance of such funding for quick mobilization — like in-language community outreach, counseling services and legal assistance — when community tragedies occur, like the Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay shootings earlier this year.
“Your commitment to this cause will undoubtedly foster a safer, more inclusive and tolerant society for all Californians,” the letter reads. “Your leadership at this critical moment, amidst xenophobic legislation in other states, can push back against harmful scapegoating of Asians and Asian Americans.”
Racism impacting Asian and Pacific Islander communities doesn’t just manifest in physical violence, and remains common: A report from Stop AAPI Hate published last month found that over 49% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have experienced discrimination and potentially illegal treatment. Further investment would build on California’s API Equity Budget, a $166.5 million investment made by the state in 2021 after an uptick in violence against Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
“[Racist] incidents persist, highlighting the need for renewed and increased support to tackle the systemic issues underlying the hateful violence,” Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the AAPI Equity Alliance and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, told CapRadio. “We believe it's necessary to provide additional resources to support victims to implement comprehensive violence prevention strategies.”
The Stop AAPI Hate report defines discrimination as experiences that violate civil rights laws in specific settings. It found some of the most common settings where discrimination occurred included the DMV, public transit, public high schools and restaurants.
“There's so many different ways in which in our everyday lives, we've been hit by discrimination, and that just simply cannot be allowed to continue,” Kulkarni said.
The requested $50 million could go to a variety of different programs. 2021’s API Equity Budget prioritized funding AAPI data collection efforts and API community resources through grants distributed by the California Department of Social Services and the Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander American Affairs.
Last year, API Equity Budget funds came through Assembly Bill/Senate Bill 178 and Assembly Bill/Senate Bill 183, which were focused on improving access to in-language higher education, public hearings and news. If the signatories’ ask of $50 million is met, the total API Equity Budget for 2023-24 would be slightly over the final 2022-23 allocation, which amounts to $45 million.
Currently, the state reports a $31.5 million budget deficit for the coming year, though Newsom reassured during the May Revise presentation that delayed tax revenues — due to pushed-back deadlines from this year’s winter storms — would come in later this year.
Grassroots and nonprofit organizations work in tandem with the AAPI Legislative Caucus to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The caucus’s 2023 priorities dovetail with those of the letter’s signatories, and are focused on “the development of culturally competent and linguistically accessible resources, refusal of harmful stereotypes and systemic inequities, and production of equal opportunities for AAPI empowerment.”
The group aims to push for legislation like Assembly Bill 1638, which would require emergency agencies — in communities where at least 10% of residents speak a non-English language — to provide in-language services for those residents.
“These policies are important to make our community feel safe and welcomed in the place they call home,” said Assembly member Evan Low, Chair of the AAPI Legislative Caucus, in an April press release. “We need to make sure California is rolling out the welcome mat for everyone and we're going to do this together.”
Kulkarni said the caucus has been working cooperatively with community organizations since the initial proposal for an API Equity Budget in 2021.
And she said it’s supported the organizations’ request for additional investment.
“Given their relationship with our community organizations, [they know] how critical that funding is to getting the resources and services everyday Californians need to live their lives,” she said.
Lawmakers have until June 15 to pass a budget, which the governor must sign by the end of the month.
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