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October 22, 2010
Part One
Earning the Asian-American Vote
“Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure is to betray it.”
–Germaine Greer–
GETTING OUT THE VOTE
The upcoming November election will be one for the ‘books’. For the first time in years nearly every office (state, county, local) will be literally ‘up for grabs’ with many new faces in the lineup. For Filipinos and other Asian-Americans this election will be the deciding factor in whether elected officials will take Asian-American voters seriously. Aforementioned in previous articles the Asian-American vote is often overlooked for the reason that Asian-Americans in their efforts to assimilate into mainstream American society and culture dilute their power base. Save for Chinatown no other Asian neighborhoods exist in Chicago nor any other county in Illinois. Asian civic and fraternal organizations in Illinois are urging Oriental-Americans to take a more active interest in the American political process and vote in appreciable numbers on Election Day November 2nd.
Another factor as to why politicians ignore Asian-American issues is that many appear to have lost their individual and collective sense of what it means to be Filipino or Asian. A similar situation has haunted the African-American community since racial integration became law during the middle years of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Many middle class Blacks in their attempts at seizing slices of the American political/economic pies turned ‘Oreo’ (black/yellow on the outside white on the inside), ‘Uncle Tom’ sellouts. Many aspiring middle class Latinos face similar problems regarding issues of race and assimilation.
ASIAN AMERICAN INSTITUTE
The Asian American Institute was established in 1992 as a pan-Asian, 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. In their own words their mission is to ‘empower the Asian Pacific American community through advocacy, by utilizing research, education and coalition building. Current programs include Voting Rights, APA Empowerment Initiative, APA Resource Guide and advocacy against hate crimes. Our motto is to: EDUCATE, EDVOCATE, AND EMPOWER and with your help, we hope to continue this education process.’
Last Thursday I was privileged to have represented The Weekly Mega Scene newspaper at a conference at AAI’s Uptown offices. MegaScene was one of the several Asian-American publications in attendance. Reader I won’t bore you with a repetition of the meeting’s minutes. I’ll leave you with a brief recap of the agenda. Go to their website for details.
After lunch main speaker the Rev. Ms. Sung Yeon Choi-Morrow AAI community activist spoke about the dire need for Asian-Americans to vote during the upcoming yet oft neglected mid-term elections. She stressed the seriousness of why Asian-Americans should become political. Ms. Choi-Morrow elaborated on why legislators casually ignore Asian-Americans at the polls. As I recall she cited poor voter turn-out a prime cause. Members of other Asian-American communities took turns presenting their ethnic group’s efforts in empowering their respective communities via the ballot box. To my knowledge I was the lone Filipino present at that very important event. The Koreans, the majority Asian group in attendance, directed the event. They generously distributed their The Korean American 2010 Election Guide to attendees.
Representatives from ‘Downtown’ (local state, county, and city offices) were on hand to explain the new voting procedures for this year’s mid-term elections. Members of the Board of Election Commissioners for Chicago distributed a number of samples and flyers filled with vital information that voters will need prior to and on Election Day to acquaint themselves with the issues, candidates, and new voting procedures. Reader if you want to learn more about the new electoral procedures, how to obtain and cast absentee ballots, a list of all candidates and their supposed qualifications, view a demo on how to use the new voting machine, and many other helpful hints go to: www.chicagoelections.com.
After the hour long meeting there was a question and answer session, photo-ops, and round table discussion of Pan-Asian political issues. If you want to know more about the AAI their address, phone number, website, and email address is listed below.
Asian American Institute
4753 North Broadway, Suite 904
Chicago, IL 60640
tel 773.271.0899
fax 773.271.1982
Email: aai@aaichicago.org
WHO TO SEE
Again if you want to know more about the new ballot casting procedures, where to vote, a sample ballot, residency requirements, voting early, and many other pertinent election information please go to:
Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago
69 W. Washington St. (Suite 800)
Chicago, IL
Tel 312.269.7900
Website: www.chicagoelections.com
EVENTS AROUND TOWN
The Devon neighborhood community is hosting a get-out-and-vote rally. Their flyer heading reads: ‘If you are Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Vietnamese, Afghani, Korean, or Iraqi please join us for a community event…’ I assumed the AAI flyer included Filipinos. Contact the AAI for details to this and other pre and post Election Day events. This rally is scheduled for Saturday October 30th. Go to the AAI website for location and other details to this event.
The AAI issued a call for volunteers to go out and garner the vote. This will be a four day (October 30th through November 2nd) mini-campaign. Contact Mr. Brandon Lee (Brandon@aaichicago.org on this one. The AAI has several projects taking place simultaneously all of which are seeking volunteers. Again contact Mr. Lee via his email address listed above.
TIME FOR A REAL CHANGE
Reader, aren’t you tired of the bull**** you get every election time? The lies those suited rich crooks spew forth election season? Do you have ideas on how to cut the BS? The answer is RUN FOR OFFICE YOURSELF. Next week I’ll conclude with a step-by-step instruction on how you can run for political office. I’ll walk you through the complicated maze from getting on the ballot Step A (going up to the clerk at the desk opening with “Duh’ since you don’t know ‘squat’ (S***) about running for political office all the way to Step B “And the winner is____!” I’ll discuss what forms you’ll need, hiring your ‘sergeant major’ (campaign manager), filing your candidacy papers, possible filing fees, who to see, what ‘friends’ to make, in short it’ll be a mini version of the Dummies Guide to Running for Office though to my knowledge I don’t think the publishers of the ‘Dummies’ series ever wrote this type of book.’ Maybe I should write it. That’s it for this week’s Mega Scene’s Philippine Adventures. GOD be with you, your family, and PLEASE register and vote.