The Need For AAPI Civic Engagement In Public Discourse

At a time when hate and violence against AAPIs is on the rise, and with the elections and census on  the horizon, AAPI Civic Engagement Fund believes building the narrative power of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) is essential. Stories of communities mobilizing together against injustice or inhumane policies are urgently needed. Too often the voices and spirit of progressive AAPIs are absent in any such public discourse.

The report also calls for funders to address these challenges by funding AAPI groups–particularly those that are local, bi-multi-lingual/biliterate, and working with harder-to-reach populations– to build an infrastructure for communications to become a strategic function of their overall work. Funders can also support resources to conduct more studies on how AAPIs get their information and how AAPI community groups’ use of communications can contribute to the testing, development, and execution of new strategies and tactics in this dynamic field.

The scan includes a demographic profile on AAPIs; literature review on AAPI media consumption, community-led media, and the capacity of community groups; top lines from survey of AAPI Civic Engagement Fund Cohort; strategies, tactics, and advice from content creators, trainers, and communications practitioners.