Asian Americans for Equal Rights (AAER)，产生于2017年夏天反对麻省提案H3361的草根运动，是一个总部位于麻省的非营利性组织。
我们的目标是服务亚裔美国社区，鼓励积极参与社会事务，及对本地社区做出贡献。
我们反对由麻省众议员陈德基提出的 法律草案 H.3361 ，这个法律草案专门针对亚洲居民，要求居民及其后代必须按照2010年的国家人口普查的要求，填写家族的出生地,特别是五大亚洲国家的移民的：包括中国人，印度人，越南人，韩国人和“其他”亚洲人。
中文版网站还在更新中。请先看博文（右上菜单，或者右侧分类博文）， 或者英文网站。
Our mission is to advocate for the equal rights of Asian American and all Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “if we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.”
Representative of the AAER quoted Dr. King in the speech at the National Solidarity Rally in Boston Common on May 31, 2021. Click here for the speech.
We are not quite there to work at the world level, but any issues within the United States are within our scope.
Challenges Facing Asian Americans
Asian Americans face three challenges:
- As a racial minority, Asian Americans share the same disadvantages as other minorities.
- Perpetual foreigner bias. Asian Americans have been in this land for over 160 years and yet we are still considered foreigners. Helen Yang gave a speech at a community event about the perpetual foreigner bias and its harm.
- Model minority. Don’t be fooled! Being called a model minority is not compliment. We don’t want to be anybody’s model minority.
First Foray into Advocacy
For many of us, the summer of 2017, was our first foray into political and civil rights advocacy, when the proposed Massachusetts house bill H.3361 stirred tremendous fear about racial profiling.
Asian Americans for Equal Rights (AAER) was born in 2017 out of the need to coordinate the efforts across many communities in Massachusetts to fight against the data disaggregation bill MA H. 3361.
Click here for the story.
Working with the Census Bureau
Proponents of the data aggregation bill claim that they are copying it from the census form. This claim can’t be more wrong.
Click here for the story.
What is Critical Race Theory and Why Are We Against It?
In short, the Critical Race Theory emphasizes systems of power and oppression, that people are either oppressors or oppressed based on their race.
Click here to learn more.
Equal Rights
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776 in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. We understand today that “all men” means “all people”.
Asian Americans, as with other groups, have endured horrific injustices throughout the history of the United States, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that lasted 60 years, and the Japanese Internment during the WWII.
However, it is our belief that racism is never about Black versus Whites versus Asian. It has always been right versus wrong. Even during the dark eras, many stood up against the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Click here for more.
The Sun Poem
Sara Ting, who also likes Dr. King’s quote that “our loyalties much transcend our race, our tribe and our class”, also spoke at the National Solidarity Rally on May 31, 2021 in Boston Common. Impressed by the Sun poem and her message of unity, the AAER wants to help her and the World Unity Inc. to spread the message. Click here to learn more.
Celebrating Asian Americans
Asian Americans are first and foremost Americans. We are not foreigners and we are certainly not invaders.
Click here for the proclamation from the Lexington Human Rights Committee, which one of our board members contributed to.
Click here to learn more.
Civic Engagement
The summer of 2017 was also the first time that many of us learned the name of our State Representative and State Senator and met them for the first time.
Prior to that, our civic engagement had been at the town level, volunteering on town boards and committees and running for school committees. The advocacy against the data disaggregation bill has really opened the door for us.
Click here to learn more.