Reviving Sisterhood | Expressions Narrative Project Reviving Sisterhood‘s Expressions Narrative Project is a platform dedicated to the voices and perspectives of Muslim women, from activists and artists to professors and political representatives. Over 50 women have contributed their personal narratives and opinions. Topics include voting, leadership, philanthropy, reclaiming one’s power, faith and activism, community care, and advocating for change. Visit the website to view the project and read individual stories. Visitors are also invited to submit their own stories using a form on the webpage.
APM Research Lab | MN’s Diverse Communities: Perceptions of Policing On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin while in police custody. His death was a catalyst for large-scale protests throughout Minnesota and far beyond that lead to renewed scrutiny of how the state’s police interact with people of color and calls for broad transformation to policing and the criminal justice system. But it was a moment that made clear, too, that not all Minnesotans experience the same Minnesota. This report is the first of several APM Research Lab will issue in coming weeks from the Minnesota’s Diverse Communities Survey, conducted from April 26 to June 14, 2021, in close proximity to the much-publicized trial of Derek Chauvin, which concluded on April 20th. Among other topics, the survey asked Minnesotans about their attitudes toward and experiences with the state’s police force and criminal justice system. Findings from this part of the survey are summarized below with additional detail available in a longer report on the subject. Click here to access the report, graphics drawn from the survey, key findings, and to leave a comment.
CAAL | Fireside Chat: Suni Lee Making History Fireside Chats are informal conversations between staff at the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and network leaders on issues and topics impacting our Asian Minnesotan community. In this Fireside Chat, held on August 6, 2021, former CAAL Executive & Network director Bo Thao-Urabe and Representative Kaohly Her discuss the significance of local olympian and gold medalist Sunisa Lee’s win for the Hmong community and the importance of uplifting the perspective of women and girls. Find out more about upcoming Fireside Chats and about CAAL on their website.
Reviving Sisterhood | Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota In 2016, Reviving Sisterhood kicked off its Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota series — a storytelling project to amplify girls and women in our community who aren’t waiting for permission to change the world. The project includes a series of video shorts, a collection of stories, and a podcast/radio show, as well as a set of illustrations. Each story features a Shero — a female trailblazer who is creating change in her community. She takes risks, she challenges misconceptions and addresses injustices. Sheroes are on a mission to build a better world, and the Sisterhood is here to support them and uplift their voices. View the Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota here. A Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota educational guide was also created in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) is available to download through PBS Learning Media. The guide includes lesson plans and discussion questions for children and students grades 6-12.
CAAL & HPHA Report: A Race to Close the Disproportionate COVID-19 Death Rates in Minnesota’s Asian Community This report is written for policy makers, healthcare providers, and systems, and community leaders to provide insights and recommendations that can immediately improve ongoing efforts to address COVID-19 infections, prevent further deaths, and ensure that future prevention strategies are responsive and relevant when serving Asian Minnesotans. This report uses preliminary data on COVID-19 mortality rates among Asian Minnesotans. It draws attention to the disproportionate number of COVID-19 mortality rates among Hmong, Karen, and Karenni residents to demonstrate the critical importance of data disaggregation. Download the report here.
Asian Minnesota Alliance for Justice: CAAL Response This event is hosted by the Asian Minnesotan Alliance for Justice (AMAJ), a collective of Asian American organizations dedicated to fighting for solidarity and justice in MN. The events in Georgia last week were devastating to our community. In the last year, and particularly the last few months, we have seen an increase in attacks and violence directed towards Asian American communities around the United States. This includes attacks targeting our elderly in Asian communities, it includes verbal and physical harassment in public and private spaces, includes 33 Vietnamese community members who were just deported by ICE, and it includes the deaths of Christian Hall and Angelo Quinto, who were recently killed by the police. This is all anti-Asian hate and violence. Our communities are in pain and looking for support. This moment demands all of us, as Minnesotans, to come together to think critically about the moment we are in and move us towards a place of healing and justice. Join us for a public community event to hear from leaders and community members about what has been occurring in Minnesota and nationwide, hear from victims of hate, and work together with us to take action against violence and hate. Speakers include U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, CAAL Network & Executive Director Bo Thao-Urabe, and others Honoring the Lives Lost in Atlanta. To our non-Asian allies, we urge you to take action against anti-Asian violence and hate. #StopAsianHate… Posted by Coalition of Asian American Leaders – CAAL on Thursday, March 18, 2021 Dear CAAL Leaders, We are devastated by yesterday’s horrific mass shooting in Georgia, where a gunman shot and killed… Posted by Coalition of Asian American Leaders – CAAL on Wednesday, March 17, 2021
IHRC | Documenting the Impact of COVID-19 on Immigrants and Refugees in the U.S. Through a partnership with the Sahan Journal, a nonprofit digital newsroom dedicated to providing authentic news reporting for and about immigrants and refugees in Minnesota, the Immigration History Research Center is also creating digital stories documenting the experiences of immigrants and refugees during the pandemic and posting them here: STORIES FROM THE PANDEMIC. They highlight fact-based research and reporting from reputable national media sources and think tanks supplemented by ethnic and local media. The IHRC also include perspectives from experts, scholars, and political commentators and provide a summary analysis of emerging trends and issues. IHRC use a variety of methods to identify sources, including Google news alerts and immigration-related newsletters and digests, such as Migratory Notes and ImmigrationProfBlog. They select sources to provide both depth and breadth. Diverse perspectives and opinions – political and otherwise – are included whenever possible, especially when they highlight the trajectory behind certain policies and the experiences of immigrants and refugees themselves. As research on COVID-19 is new and emerging, some sources are webinars, podcast episodes, blog entries, and opinion pieces featuring immigration experts or created by immigrant-serving organizations. And HRIC have drawn inspiration from similar projects tracking COVID-19 developments like the YELLOW PERIL TEACH-IN RESOURCES (organized by Professor Jason Chang), the COVID Racial Data Tracker (The Atlantic), COVID-19 Migration-Related Developments Initiative (Center for Migration Studies), Black America and COVID-19 Lib Guide (Harvard University,) and the Mapping At-Risk Immigrant Communities and Access to Health Care project (Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative.) The IHRC welcome your suggestions! Use this form to suggest additional sources. Use this form to suggest additional topics and/or future project directions.
COVID-19 Work & Resources Coalition of Asian American Leaders‘s COVID-19 Work & Resources Page includes their COVID-19 relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts, how you can work with CAAL to combat racism and xenophobia, where to report discrimination that you have witnessed or experienced, and community resources that are available (mutual aid, teaching materials, government resources, and nonprofit/philanthropic resources). Visit the COVID-19 Work & Resources Page here View this post on Instagram COVID-19 does not discriminate based on race, where you come from, your immigration status, or anything else. Call the Discrimination Helpline at 1-833-454-0148 if you have witnessed or experienced discrimination because of COVID-19. A post shared by CAAL (@caalmn) on Apr 6, 2020 at 9:41am PDT
CAPI’s Basic Needs Programs CAPI connects immigrants, refugees, and our communities with the nutrition, health, and human service resources they need to thrive. We offer a nutritious, culturally-specific food shelf while serving as a gateway to resources that move people toward greater economic stability and health. Through our food and nutrition programs, we promote healthy communities, partnerships, community involvement, and volunteerism. Visit their website for more program information CAPI’s Fresh Produce Distributions will be held on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month. The distributions will begin on July 10th and end on October 9th, 2020 from 1-2:30pm. Distributions are first come, first serve based on numbers handed out beginning at 12:30pm. Participants may arrive at 12:30pm and after to receive a number. Numbers will not be handed out before that time. The SNAP program is intended as a supplement to help individuals and families purchase healthy and nutritious foods. Eligibility for the program depends on your household size and income. CAPI provides screening and application assistance for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) for people of all ages. CAPI is a satellite distribution site for the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS), which is Minnesota’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program. This is a USDA program administered by the Minnesota Department of Health. The program is designed to provide a monthly box of healthy and nutritious foods to low-income individuals over the age of 60 at no cost. The CAPI Gardens Project empowers immigrants and refugees, particularly immigrant and refugee women, to become community leaders through gardening and small-scale farming. The gardens create access to and utilization of affordable, healthy, fresh, and culturally suitable food for Hmong, Laotian, and other Southeast Asian immigrant families. During the growing season, CAPI supports 325 urban gardeners as they raise 4,500 pounds of fresh produce from 15 community gardens. Produce is distributed to each gardener, with the remaining produce sold at a mini-farmers market. More than 2,500 lbs. of produce were distributed through the CAPI Asian Food Shelf.
CAPI’s Economic Empowerment Programs CAPI offers employment and financial services to create pathways to economic independence for immigrants, refugees, and American-born clients. To create these pathways, CAPI staff provide culturally competent, linguistically appropriate, individualized services and tailored employment and/or financial plans for each client. CAPI’s Economic Empowerment programs serve over 900 people. Visit their website for more information CAPI’s Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)—funded through Hennepin County—strives to guide individuals toward employment while focusing on families. CAPI staff provide intensive case management, training and job coaching, and placement and retention services. The Career Pathways program helps unemployed and underemployed refugees and immigrants find employment through credentialed training, paired with individualized career planning, work readiness, job search, placement, and retention services. In partnership with Hennepin Technical College and MCTC, CAPI offers FREE NA training to earn a nursing assistant certificate and begin a career in healthcare. This course reoccurs every several months. In partnership with TSC Connect, LLC, CAPI offers a hand soldering skills course. Upon successful completion, participants will graduate with the industry-recognized IPC-A and IPC-J-STD certifications. In partnership with Century College and Osseo ABE, CAPI offers a foundational manufacturing certificate designed to help individuals begin a career in the manufacturing industry. Participants will learn basic manufacturing and warehouse skills, while also completing the OSHA-10 outreach training program. CAPI has staff available to assist in connecting our clients to quality employers. Participants will also find help in resume building, gaining interview skills, and learning about professionalism at work. With funding provided by DEED, CAPI is able to provide job placement services, credentialed training in hand soldering, and a nursing assistant certificate for the Southeast Asian community. CAPI currently has a Hmong speaking Navigator on staff ready to assist.