Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA/NHPIs) have long experienced discrimination and interpersonal and structural racism. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian violence has been made more visible by the media, reminding people of Asian descent that their safety and well-being in America is still precarious. (We use the term AA/NHPI to acknowledge the distinct identities of these communities.)

In a recent report, we identified more than 400 AA/NHPI stakeholders. From these stakeholders, we designed 24 interviews and four focus group meetings to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in AA/NHPI communities. We also reviewed existing literature and administered a survey to better understand the priorities, challenges, collaborators, opportunities, and knowledge gaps for these stakeholders’ organizations and the broader community. We talked with people across sectors, including philanthropy, business, government, social services, and grassroots organizations and classified the AA/NHPI ecosystem into 13 types of organizations with distinct roles in protecting and advancing AA/NHPI communities.

From our conversations, we distilled four key lessons to address the challenges confronting AA/NHPI communities:

  1. Multiyear, collaborative funding is necessary for sustained policy wins
  2. Disaggregated data can help to address diversity and equity within and across AA/NHPI communities
  3. Investments in multiracial coalition building can advance common goals
  4. Changing the narrative can promote collaboration and build capacity

Read the full article about supporting AA/NHPI communities by Jessica Shakesprere, Jacqueline Rayfield, Jein Park at Urban Institute.