API Equality – Northern California is an American

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

advocacy

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

whose mission is to build the power and increase the visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer

Asian Pacific Islander Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from ...

(LGBTQ API) community. The organization was founded in 2004 in response to a large rally against same-sex marriage organized by the Chinese Christian community in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. It organized the first ever contingent in support of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

to appear in San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade and was a founding member of the campaign against California’s anti-same-sex marriage ballot initiative,

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in court ...

. Its current programming includes its LGBTQ API leadership development program and the Dragon Fruit Project.

History

On April 25, 2004, a largely Asian American and Christian crowd of more than 7,000, organized by Chinese Christian leaders, rallied in San Francisco to protest the legalization of same-sex marriage. API Equality – Northern California was founded in 2004 in response to this rally to provide a voice from the API community in support of

. At its inception, it was called “Asian Equality” and was a national ad hoc coalition of API individuals and organizations that advocated for same-sex marriage. API Equality – Northern California has since evolved into a multi-issue organization working for equality and justice in Northern California and in the state’s API and LGBTQ communities. API Equality – Northern California is fiscally sponsored by

Chinese for Affirmative Action Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) is a San Francisco-based advocacy organization. Founded in 1969, its initial goals were equality of access to employment and the creation of job opportunities for Chinese Americans. The group broadened its missi ...

, an API civil rights organization based in Northern California that advances social justice for the Chinese and API communities. API Equality – Northern California now includes Monna Wong (Executive Director), Tracy Nguyen (Program Coordinator), and Sammie Wills (Program Assistant).

Accomplishments

* 2005: Organized the first contingent in support of same-sex marriage in the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade, which is the largest Asian cultural event in North America and reaches millions of spectators in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the world. * 2007: With sister organizatio
API Equality – LA
spearheaded the development of an Asian American amicus brief signed by over 63 local, state, and national API organizations in support of the California same-sex marriage cases. * 2007: Was a founding member of both the Let California Ring and Equality for All/

No on Prop 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment, state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the California state elections, November 2008, Novem ...

Campaigns. * 2010: Launched ongoing intensive summer

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

program to develop the next generation of LGBTQ API social justice and cultural change leaders. * 2011: Organized the first queer and Asian

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organized via t ...

in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown with over 100 participants. * 2012: Conducted first-of-its-kind qualitative research in

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

communities on LGBTQ issues and people. * 2012 to Present: Launched Dragon Fruit Project with

Amy Sueyoshi Amy Sueyoshi is the provost of San Francisco State University. Sueyoshi is a trained historian specializing in sexuality, gender, and race. Her publications and lectures focus on issues regarding race and sexuality such as cross-dressing, porn ...

, Associate Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. The Dragon Fruit Project is an intergenerational

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people w ...

project that explores LGBTQ API people and their experiences with love and

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

in the 1960s-1990s. Interviews and documents from the Dragon Fruit Project have been on exhibit at the

GLBT History Museum The GLBT Historical Society (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society) (formerly Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California; San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society) maintains an extensive collection ...

in San Francisco since 2014.

References

External links

* http://www.apiequalitync.org {{DEFAULTSORT:API Equality - Northern California Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco LGBT organizations in the United States 2004 establishments in California