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February 3, 2022
Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday introduced the AAPI LA initiative, which he said is aimed at giving a voice to the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Los Angeles.
“The overarching goal is to support a community that has been historically misrepresented, disregarded and often referred to as the ‘invisible minority,’” according to the initiative’s website.
The AAPI LA initiative will convene organizations, community leaders and corporate partners to increase outreach and collaboration with the AAPI community.
“Los Angeles is a place where everyone belongs and where we value the contributions of all our diverse neighbors,” Garcetti said in a statement. “With AAPI LA, we are lifting up the voices of AAPI Angelenos and reaffirming our commitment to ending hate and discrimination in our city for good.”
The initiative also seeks to give the AAPI community an outlet to share their stories as anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents have risen during the pandemic. A main component of the initiative is a podcast focusing on the Asian American experience in Los Angeles.
“After living in LA for more than 20 years, my family personally experienced a racist incident during this pandemic. Some of my AAPI friends have experienced much worse, making the divisiveness and hate in our city very real to me,” said AAPI LA Advisory Board co-chair Dan Lin, who is also the CEO of the production company Rideback. “By joining AAPI LA, I hope that we can do our part to make LA a more harmonious place to live and embrace the diversity of cultures that makes living here so special.”
The initiative is a partnership with the Asian Pacific Community Fund.
“Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF) is honored to be AAPI-LA’s fiscal partner to support our joint vision of providing a greater voice for the L.A. Area AAPI Community,” Executive Director Chun-Yen Chen said in the statement issued by the mayor’s office. “Together we can build a healthier and stronger AAPI community.”
