AAPI residents, reps push for voter rights, diversity recognition
As part of May's celebration of Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, members of the community assembled Wednesday at the General Assembly for a day of advocacy. The event was hosted by North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) and called NCAAT in Action.
"We need to be a squeaky wheel to say, 'We are here, and we deserve to be recognized,'" said Rep. Maria Cervania (D-Wake).
The group has three main issues they’re focusing on: the establishment of an independent redistricting commission, protecting voters’ rights and incorporating more ethnic studies and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
"We want our students to learn about the backgrounds of their AAPI heritage," said Rep. Ya Liu (D-Wake).
Liu sponsored a bill to integrate AAPI history into K-12 curriculum. It never made it to the House floor during the 2023-24 session. She said they will “continue to push” for it.
“There wasn’t enough interest and didn’t get an opportunity to be heard in the committee,” she said.
This comes as major education institutions like the University of North Carolina System are moving to cut diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
That's a move that Chavi Khanna Koneru, executive director of NCAAT and NCAAT in Action, disagrees with.
"I acknowledge that, but if you look at that, there’s more people in this state that would be represented by comprehensive ethnic studies than cutting DEI initiatives," she said.
Critics of DEI argue that the programs are unnecessary, costly and fear some training includes political undertones, which they say is unfair.
Amita Gupta said, "People actually do believe in DEI and want to support it, but a lot of times, they don't know what to do."
Wednesday's day of advocacy offered them that opportunity, to make themselves heard by state lawmakers.
Koneru also spoke out against a bill that would force sheriffs to cooperate with immigration and customs enforcement. Instead, she said state laws should make North Carolina safer and more supportive of immigrants.
“The Asian American community is one of immigrants, children of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. When we talk about the rapid growth of Asian American community in North Carolina, we’re also talking about the rapid growth of immigrant populations in our state,” she said.
WRAL reached out to GOP leaders about the group's concerns regarding DEI, ICE and independent redistricting, but did not get an immediate response.
