Women’s Equality Day also calls attention to women’s continuous efforts in achieving full equality. Please take this time to reflect on how we can all support and advocate for the passage of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Happy Women’s Equality Day!

NAPAWF has been deeply touched by Joannie’s life and work. She was a fierce activist and friend to many. Please join us in a moment of reflection for our sister Joannie Chang. A NY memorial ceremony was held yesterday in Brooklyn and one is being planned in San Francisco in the near future.

To read more about Joannie, here are links to the San Francisco Chronicle’s article from yesterday and to Luna’s blog.  Also, a fund has been started by Joannie & Luna’s friends to help with medical expenses and to help their twin daughters.  Donations can be made here.

(NAPAWF Bay Area’s Tribute to Joannie @ Sunday Skate Swagger in Golden Gate Park)

Informative and real, this rap highlights our community’s (surprising) choice of contraceptives, unplanned pregnancies, and more.

Find out more by reading the lyrics below, or to hear the performance,  click the “play audio” button click here.

Song Title: GO NAPAWF

(INTRO)

no more talk tallk talk, we gon rise..

we gon walk walk walk, with arms high..

we gon run run run with each stride…

then we’ll jump, jump, jump to the sky…

it’s a grassroots movement, i’m a tell you why.

cause the RE-Revolution will not be televised..

(PRE-VERSE)

hey hey  hey, i got something to say,

concerning api women’s health today..(2x)

(VERSE 1)

ladies pay attention, cause what i’m about to mention,

is simply not a sentence, but it’s an intervention,

prevention of unwanted pregnancies,

no more slave to ignorance, cause we breaking free,

don’t be shocked, be alarmed, what i’m phrasing next.

so amazin’, all the asians engaged in sex…

40 do without condoms, numbers not deceptive..

40 use withdrawal method as a contraceptive..

and thats a percentage, not just word of mouth,

so you know that it’s nothing to laugh off about….

if u don’t believe me, napawf can vouch. so

get the message out..let these numbers go south...

and this ain’t partisan, not no left or right,

cause the stats tell it best, nothing left to write,

so it’s time to take a stand, this is precious life

so it’s time to take a stand, this is precious life..

(CHORUS)

who are we who are we, now tell em who we be?,

the napawf class, C-Y-W-C,

what we want what we want, is for you just to see,

some issues in the API Community…

one more time, who are we, we’ll tell you who be,

napawf fullerton-CYWC,,

what we want, what we want is for you just to see,

some issuess in the api community…

(VERSE 2)

let’s stand up and fight-unite, for what’s right…

with our might, with our sight, let’s shine a new light…

til it is too bright…we”ll reach a new height…

and truth is what we write, cause u know it’s true life…

no time to be complacent, time is wasting,

erasing the lies, and the truth we’ll chase then,

tasting the facts, now we’ll spread it like a virus,

starting with yourself,  and we’re headed where the sky is,

love is your guide, we’ll fly high like a pilot,

if u know the truth, then why would u hide it?,

no …..more disguises…no…can’t be divided…

api community, time to be decisive…

time just to inform, many are misguided

information’s free, but who will pro-vide it?,

again this is life, not a hollywood show,

so should everybody know, yeah it ought to be so,

and to every single women,  mind, body, and soul,

yo

time for us to  care, be aware of what is there,

information we should share…..so more lives we can spare…

if you feeling what i’m saying..lemme hear you say yeahhhhh…

(Chorus) 1x

(BRIDGE-SPOKEN WORD)

what is going on ?, perhaps it’s trapped fears,

that are keeping people strapped, let me make the stats clear,

our napawf class asked who had a pap smear

in the past two years, and the gap was crazy,

apis were 53, but for whites it’s 80,

see we’re lagging way behind,  api community,

time for us to come together, cause it’s time for unity

it’s time to plant the seed, cause u know it’s true indeed,

if u wanna make a change, then it starts with u and me,

CHORUS

Come again? Professor Liu has an impressive academic and legal background and has demonstrated that he supports a constitutional right to privacy.  And, his background is an inspiring story for all Asian Pacific Americans.  If confirmed, Professor Liu would be the only Asian or Pacific Islander among the 25 active federal appellate court judges in the Ninth Circuit. That statistic is particularly troubling given that over 12% of the population of the Ninth Circuit is API.  We need more judges like Professor Liu on the federal court! Click here to read more about Professor Liu’s background and qualifications.

Join NAPAWF and NARAL in urging your Senator to confirm Professor Liu.

ASAM 330 Interview – API Reproductive Health California Young Womens Collaborative NAPAWF Hey, hey, hey, I’ve got something to say
CYWC was interviewed by Titan Radio today!

Congrats to our Titan Radio team: Stephen, Yvonne, and Juliane for representing our CYWC class!

Congrats to CYWC Fullerton’s Titan Radio Team: Stephen, Yvonne, and Juliane for representing our CYWC Fullerton!  These 3 were interviewed by Titan Radio for the research they have been involved in for the past year on API women’s health.

//

“This bill is an unacceptable endorsement of unconstitutional racial profiling by the government, and threatens to tear apart immigrant families in Arizona,” said Miriam Yeung, Executive Director of NAPAWF.  NAPAWF condemns the passage of this bill and expresses deep concern that the momentum from anti-immigrant forces may cause similar bills to pass across the country, putting more and more immigrant families and communities at risk.  This new law serves as a stark reminder that comprehensive immigration reform is badly needed at the federal level to ensure that immigrants have access to a fair and just path to citizenship.

What can you do?

• Sign this petition, circulated by Reform Immigration For America, asking that the President and Congress enact comprehensive immigration reform to ensure that the rest of the nation does not follow Arizona’s harmful precedent.
• Contact Arizona Governor Jan Brewer with the following message: “I am outraged that you signed SB 1070. This law legalizes discrimination and racial profiling by law enforcement.  I ask that this law be rescinded immediately.” Her office can be reached at (602) 542-4331 or azgov@az.gov.
• Participate in a May Day rally near you.  Click here to find a rally near you.
• Write your Senator urging him or her to prioritize comprehensive immigration reform today! If you need help with a sample letter, let us know.

In solidarity,
NAPAWF

Washington, DC – In late February, President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Liu, currently a professor at the University of California – Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, would be the youngest judge on the court by 16 years, if confirmed by the Senate.   He would also be the only Asian American among the 175 federal appellate judges to serve on any of the Courts of Appeals.

Professor Liu’s confirmation is especially important to the Asian Pacific American community because there are currently no Asian Pacific American judges among the approximately 175 active federal appellate court judges nationwide.  Professor Liu is the second Asian Pacific American nominated to the federal appellate courts by President Obama, who earlier nominated Judge Denny Chin for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  If confirmed, Professor Liu would be the only Asian Pacific American among the 25 active federal appellate court judges in the Ninth Circuit. That statistic is particularly troubling given that over 12% of the population of the Ninth Circuit is Asian Pacific American.  Moreover, it has been over five years since there has been an active Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge and only four Asian Pacific Americans have ever served as federal appellate court judges.

Professor Liu’s background is an inspiring story for all Asian Pacific Americans.  He was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Taiwanese doctors recruited to work in the United States by American medical institutions seeking assistance in serving underserved areas.  Living in Georgia and then Florida in the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s, Professor Liu did not learn to speak English until kindergarten because his parents worried that he and his brother would acquire an accent if they were taught at home.

Finally, Professor Liu has demonstrated his respect for the right to privacy and a woman’s right to choose in a prominent recent publication, Keeping Faith with the Constitution, which is in line with NAPAWF’s values and mission to advance and achieve reproductive justice for Asian Pacific Islander women and girls.

NAPAWF strongly supports this nomination and urge senators to give Prof. Liu a fair hearing. Based on his public service, and his long and illustrious record protecting civil rights, Goodwin Liu is highly qualified to serve on the Ninth Circuit.

Eliminating the wage gap is of critical importance to API women, whether they are single mothers, supporting older relatives, or just trying to put themselves through college. Imagine the businesses that could be started, the homes bought, and the family members sent to higher education if we achieved pay equity! API women can’t afford the wage gap anymore.

Urge your Senators to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, prohibits retaliation against workers who disclose their wages, strengthens data collection on pay information, and rewards good behavior of employers who treat their employees fairly.

In solidarity,

NAPAWF