April 16, 2021

Duckworth Hosts Roundtable in Support of the AAPI Community with AAPI & Black Faith Leaders

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) hosted a roundtable in support of the AAPI community with AAPI and Black faith leaders. The roundtable, which was livestreamed on the Senator’s Facebook page, came after a year of spiking hate crimes and discrimination towards the Asian-American community, as well as continued police violence and systemic racism endured by Black Americans.

“I’d love to be able to say that anti-Asian bigotry isn’t American—or isn’t normal—but the reality is, for the AAPI community, it is inextricably woven into their everyday American experience,” Duckworth said. “I want to thank the members of the today’s call and prayer for standing united with the AAPI and Black communities as we continue to endure the awful impacts of generations of racism and a heart-wrenching year. The burden of racism can’t fall on individuals or groups alone, and we are stronger when we call for justice together.”

This week, President Biden appointed a new senior-level AAPI liaison position in the White House, after assuring Senator Duckworth in late March that it will do much more to elevate AAPI voices and perspectives at the highest levels of government as well as advance policy proposals that are relevant and important to the AAPI community.

Duckworth was joined virtually by Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church Chicago, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago Commissioner Josina Morita, Minister & Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) Sung Yeon Chiomorrow, Lead Pastor at Urban Voice Church Rev. Mark Chan, Executive Director of Alliance for Jewish Renewal SooJi Min-Maranda, Pastor Gina Cherian of Willow Creek South Lake, Dr. Ali Yurtsever of Turkish Community, Aisha Ghori Ozaki of the Illinois Muslim Civil Coalition, Ari Hart of the Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, Michael Eaddy of the Church of God in Christ, Rabbi Michael Siegel of the Anshe Emet Synagogue, Rabbi Shoshanah Conover of Temple Sholom of Chicago and Rev. David Swanson of the New Community Covenant Church.

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