Dec 10th - Letter to Commissioners

December 10, 2021

Dear Commissioners,

On behalf of the Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE) and over

200 organizations, businesses, and individuals, I am writing to thank you for making changes

to the CD210 map at the December 8, 2021 meeting. The Commission’s decision to draw

CD210 in a way that protects Asian American voting rights signifies that the Commission

hears and understands the community’s desire to progress forward. These changes to center

the Asian American community as the largest minority community, include Asian American

majority cities, and increase the Asian CVAP in the current CD210 map will ensure that the

voting rights of the West San Gabriel Valley’s (WSGV) Asian American community are

protected.

The original draft map of CD210 split the Asian American community, which resulted in an

outcry from community members throughout San Gabriel Valley. CAUSE quickly began

bringing together civically-minded individuals, businesses, and organizations who wanted their

voices heard by the Commission and knew they would be stronger and louder together.

This network, built over decades, was able to mobilize quickly through social media, phone

calls, ethnic media, and traditional media, reaching hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

Supporters of the CAUSE Joint statement included a diverse range of intergenerational

supporters such as longtime community leaders, influential elders, business owners, student

clubs, immigrant-led organizations, interns, and private citizens who rallied around the notion

that action was needed to protect the voting rights of the WSGV Asian American community.

As the Commission may choose to revisit the CD210 map between now and the certification of

the final maps, please ensure that Asian American voting rights and political representation

are protected in the WSGV by:

• Centering the Asian American community as the largest minority community

• Maintaining the Asian CVAP to as close to 35% as possible

• Keeping cities with Asian American and Pacific Islander majority, Monterey Park, Alhambra, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Temple City, and Arcadia, together

Of those who have signed onto CAUSE’s joint statement, they know they have a home with

CAUSE to advocate for Asian American political representation and voting rights. Now, they

also know that the Commission stands with them as well.

Thank you again for your service, and, most of all, thank you for listening to our community.

APA Values are Environmental Values

Environmentalism has historically centered on whiteness and has often excluded people of color. Indeed, one of the founders of the Sierra Club, John Muir, had racist views, calling Mexicans “dirty” and using racial slurs to describe African-Americans (Fox). Ignoring centuries of Native American beliefs and practices that conserved Yosemite, Muir believed them to be primitive savages (Nobel). Such exclusion exists even today. In an instagram post, a Black environmental activist, Leah Thomas, noted that “Not only was I often the only Black person at [environmental] events, but I felt invisible. It seemed like they acknowledged everything but my Blackness” (Jones). This is not just limited to Black communities--APA (Asian Pacific American) communities are also often excluded from the conversation. Lisa Cardhan, an art curator of an exhibit that examines the intersections of environmental justice and APA identities, noted that “aunties saving wrappers and jars feel it’s more of an immigrant thing… but when white folks do that, they call it ‘reduce, reuse, recycle” (Mok). Not only is it time to bring more APA voices to the table of environmental work, but it is also time to elevate and highlight APA values as models that are inherently compatible with environmentalism.

Not only is it time to bring more APA voices to the table of environmental work, but it is also time to elevate and highlight APA values as models that are inherently compatible with environmentalism.

One example of an APA value that aligns strongly with environmentalism is collectivism. Collectivism is a mindset in which group goals and priorities are emphasized more than individual concerns. This mindset has been found to be adopted more in East and Southeast Asian countries compared to Western countries. One example, the Bayanihan spirit refers to “communal unity, work, and cooperation towards a single goal” (Imelda). Originating from a rural practice in the Philippines, groups of 15 - 20 people would literally lift and move a fellow community member’s home from one place to another. Similarly, bayanihan is necessary in environmental work in which millions of individuals make sacrifices for an overall greater good. Indeed, a study found that “individualist orientation rated climate change more intractable and reported a greater incidence of climate change inaction than did individuals with more collectivist orientation” (Xiang, et al.). In another study, Asian American members who strongly identified with their ethnic identity had greater concerns on environmental impacts on the community as a whole while White individuals who strongly identified with their ethnicity had greater concerns for how the environment would affect them individually (Burn, et al.). 

Environmental values are also reflected in Pacific Islander communities. Not only have academic studies confirmed Pacific Islander psychological orientation towards a collective concern for everyone, but also environmental collectivist practices. Kerekere is a Fijian custom in which basic resources are shared and surpluses do not accrue (Podsiadlowski and Fox; Fache, et al.). For Native Hawaiians, “Mālama ʻĀina” means “to care for and nurture the land.” More than just a saying, it is also a cultural value that encourages individuals to respect the environment around them and promote sustainability in their local ecosystems. Claire Anterea, Convenor of the Climate Action Network in Kiribati, said that “we call the sea in Kiribati our Mother Ocean” because of their extensive relationship with the ocean to sustain not only their stomachs but also their entire livelihood that surrounds them (“Pacific Islands…”). Tongan and Fijian anthropologist Epeli Hau’ofa best said “[The] sea is our pathway to each other and to everyone else, the sea is our endless saga, the sea is our most powerful metaphor, the ocean is in us” (Fache, et al.). In short, multiple Pacific Islander communities have collectivist values that support the environment rooted in strong relationships with the nature around them. Why should their narratives continue being ignored?

Saving and preserving the environment requires all communities across the globe to participate. Academic studies and cultural expressions of collectivism, like Bayanihan, show that environmentalism is built into APA values. Pacific Islander cultural values and relationships with nature also shows that APA communities have been engaging in environmental conservation far longer than the modern environmental movement. It’s time that the APA community gets a voice at the table--the Earth needs them.

References

Burn, Shawn Meghan, et al. “Gender, Ethnic Identity, and Environmental Concern in Asian Americans and European Americans.” Human Ecology Review, vol. 19, no. 2, 2012, pp. 136–145. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24707752. Accessed 29 July 2021.

Fache, Elodie, et al.. “Introduction: Pacific Islanders, “custodians of the ocean” facing fisheries challenges”. Pauwels, Simonne, and Elodie Fache. Fisheries in the Pacific: The challenges of governance and sustainability. Marseille: pacific-credo Publications, 2016 (pp. 7-18) Web. http://books.openedition.org/pacific/420.

Fox, Alex. “Sierra Club Grapples with Founder John Muir's Racism.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 24 July 2020, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sierra-club-grapples-founder-john-muirs-racism-180975404/. 

Imelda. “The Bayanihan Spirit.” The Mixed Culture, The Mixed Culture, 25 Sept. 2013, themixedculture.com/2013/09/25/filipinos-bayanihan/. 

Jones, Rachel. “The Environmental Movement Is Very White. These Leaders Want to Change That.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 29 July 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/environmental-movement-very-white-these-leaders-want-change-that. 

Mok, Aaron. “What Can the Environmental Movement Learn from Asian American Art?” Sierra Club, Sierra Club, 18 May 2021, www.sierraclub.org/sierra/what-can-environmental-movement-learn-asian-american-art

Nobel, Justin. “John Muir's Early Travels Reveal Some Ugly Truths about American Exploration.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 26 July 2016, www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-mised

“Pacific Islands: The Ocean Is Our Mother.” World Bank, World Bank, 29 Aug. 2012, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/08/29/pacific-islands-the-ocean-is-our-mother.ucation-of-john-muir. 

Podsiadlowski, Astrid, and Stephen Fox. “Collectivist Value Orientations among Four Ethnic Groups: Collectivism in the New Zealand Context.” New Zealand Journal of Psychology, vol. 40, no. 1, New Zealand Psychological Society, 2011, pp. 5–18.

Xiang, Peng, et al. “Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 10, Feb. 2019, p. 187. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00187.

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This piece is written by Andy Li, Byron Briones, Sasha Hussain, and Sean Tan as part of the 2021 CAUSE Leadership Academy program. 

The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA), is a nine-week paid internship program for college undergraduates that prepares the next generation to lead and represent the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. Founded in 1991 as the California Asian American Student Internship Coalition (CASIC), CLA’s goal is to develop a pipeline of civic leadership for the APA community. Graduates of this program have gone on to run for political office and become leaders in politics, business, and nonprofits.

Read more about this year’s Leadership Academy cohort here.