AAU exists so that people of Asian ancestry in Philadelphia exercise leadership to build their communities and unite to challenge oppression.
AAU supports youth to become individually, socially, and politically aware; to exercise their voice; and to participate in active struggles for justice.
AAU fights for time and space to honor, celebrate, and remember so that our communities will have roots, embrace memories and know the power of passing on traditions.
“Building community strengthens our capacity to fight for justice. When we create a street festival, teach folk arts, grow a community garden, or build a school – we create connections among people, honor the knowledge of the elders in our communities, activate people, and value our own cultures. This work is fundamental to social justice work.”
— Ellen Somekawa
The Philippine Folk Arts Society Rondalla promotes awareness of the culture and traditions of the Philippines through folk music, traditional dances, language, and cultural celebrations. In this moving video titled Hatinggabi ("midnight"), the performers invite us to pause and reflect so that we may determine how to move together into a brighter tomorrow - as one community - persevering through uncertain times. Click here to watch the full performance: youtu.be/04JswQyyO7c
Folks Arts Cultural Treasures School (FACTS) has been a long-time community partner of AAU's Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival! The FACTS Teachers' Choir sings and dances together, encouraging their students and communities to raise their voices. Click here to watch the full performance: youtu.be/lJf5_G-AaDQ
Folks Arts Cultural Treasures School (FACTS) Teachers
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Folks Arts Cultural Treasures School (FACTS) has been a long-time community partner of AAU's Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival! The FACTS Teachers' Choir sings a...L&M Dance Studio in Chinatown has been teaching traditional and contemporary dance styles to students of all ages since 2016. The diverse styles are featured in these performances, one set to a classical piece and the other to ITZY's "마.피.아. In the Morning".
Click here to watch the full performance: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzlLZo5BzKY
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L&M Dance Studio in Chinatown has been teaching traditional and contemporary dance styles to students of all ages since 2016. The diverse styles are featured...Did you know that the first collegiate Chinese a cappella group in the U.S. was founded in Philly? PennYo, based at the University of Pennslylvania, has been sharing Chinese cultural music since 2002. Check out their vocals-only version of Jay Chou's Black Humor! Click here to watch the full performance: youtu.be/oJmlRxwHvow
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Did you know that the first collegiate Chinese a cappella group in the U.S. was founded in Philly? PennYo, based at the University of Pennslylvania, has been..."KyoDaiko is a community taiko drumming ensemble based in the Philadelphia area. Their songs use the powerful Japanese drums to blend traditional rhythms and modern improvisation. Click here to watch the full performance: youtu.be/s6pl8Rfp91w
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"KyoDaiko is a community taiko drumming ensemble based in the Philadelphia area. Their songs use the powerful Japanese drums to blend traditional rhythms and..."Since 2011, Modero has been sharing Indonesian culture through traditional dances and intergenerational community-building. In this powerful performance, Sinta Penyami Storms and Nikedila De Wanda offer a glimpse into the lives of Indonesian immigrants, using the language of Hip-Hop and Balinese dance. Click here to watch the full performance:https://youtu.be/EJTKgs4gSFY
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"Since 2011, Modero has been sharing Indonesian culture through traditional dances and intergenerational community-building. In this powerful performance, Si...Musicians and educators Phan Gia Anh Thư and Ngô Thanh Nhàn bring Vietnamese folk stories and songs about Mid-Autumn Festival (Têt Trung Thu) to life with a dazzling combination of folk paintings, storytelling, costumes, and songs. Click here to watch the whole performance: youtu.be/46640WwFLvg
Ngô Thanh Nhàn and Phan Gia Anh Thư
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Musicians and educators Phan Gia Anh Thư and Ngô Thanh Nhàn bring Vietnamese folk stories and songs about Mid-Autumn Festival (Têt Trung Thu) to life with a ...The booming sound of drums, cymbals, and gongs can only signal one thing - the start of the Chinese lion dance! Students of Shi Cheung's Hung Gar Kung Fu School bring the lion to life with music and movement, blessing us with good luck and fortune for this Mid-Autumn Festival.
Click this link to watch the full performance: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zABSU4XNokQ
Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy Lion Dance
www.youtube.com
The booming sound of drums, cymbals, and gongs can only signal one thing - the start of the Chinese lion dance! Students of Shi Cheung's Hung Gar Kung Fu Sch...Welcome to AAU's 2021 Mid-Autumn Festival! This year, our communities have continued to come together in new ways to keep each other safe, healthy, and strong. We are moving forward from a year with too many local incidents of anti-Asian bias and violence, to this Festival where we are able to share with everyone pride in our cultures. As we kick-off our mix of virtual and in-person programming for the 26th Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival, we are remembering and looking forward to times when we can come together again in-person, filling the streets of Chinatown with our joy and celebrations. This year, each day leading up to September 21, we will showcase online beautifully-crafted videos from beloved local performers and artists. First up, enjoy FACTS Teacher and artist, Eric Joselyn's, storytelling about why our families and communities celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival.
Click this link to watch the full video: youtu.be/IdWPzgXb7cM
Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival
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Welcome to AAU's 2021 Mid-Autumn Festival! This year, our communities have continued to come together in new ways to keep each other safe, healthy, and stron...Asian Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing demographic in PA and yet historically under-engaged by candidates, political institutions, and our state and local governments! That’s why we're building the first ever state-level issue and policy platform that reflects the shared values and needs of the AAPI community, from the bottom up! But we need to hear from you. Fill out the #AAPIPASurvey to let us know what matters to you: surveyhero.com/c/AAUsurvey
Mid-Autumn Festival moon grows fuller and families gather together, Asian Americans United is getting ready for our 26th annual Chinatown celebration. This year, for continuing Covid-19 safety, AAU will be hosting a combination online and in-person Festival. Beginning on September 16th, we will be releasing daily video performances by featured local artists to celebrate our Asian cultures and community.
SAVE THE DATE! As the Mid-Autumn Festival moon grows fuller and families gather together, Asian Americans United is getting ready for our 26th annual Chinatown celebration. This year, for continuing Covid-19 safety, AAU will be hosting a combination online and in-person Festival. Beginning on September 16th, we will be releasing daily video performances by featured local artists to celebrate our Asian cultures and community.
Then on Saturday, September 18th, AAU will host in-peron lantern-making (4:30pm) and our traditional lantern parade (6:00 pm). This year's Lantern Parade will lift up our community’s urgent need for an end to anti-Asian hate and violence and for healing and safety for all of Philadelphia's communities. The Lantern Parade will begin and end at the 10th and Vine Street Plaza and will travel through Chinatown and to the ICE office to advocate for family reunification. All participants must be masked throughout the Lantern Parade event.
We hope you can join us online or in person! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks!
Happening today at 2 - please come out and demand that ICE #FreeThemAll. Bring lots of water - stay hydrated it will be hot today!! #iceoutofpa
🚨ACTION ALERT 🚨
This Thursday (Aug 12) at 2 pm ET, join us outside the Philly ICE office to demand #ReleasesNotTransfers. York’s contract with ICE may be up, but we’re not done fighting for the releases of our loved ones! Come through ready to chant and demand ICE #FreeThemAll now!
[ID: Around the edges of the image are black chain links on top of a yellow background. The top half of the image reads #RELEASESNOTTRANSFERS
Juntos MILPA - Movimiento de Inmigrantes Líderes en Pensilvania New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia - Nuevo Movimiento Santuario VietLead
Happening TODAY - keep the pressure on to demand the release of community members that are still being held in York County Prison before they are transferred. #ReleasesNOTTransfers#ReleaseOurLovedOnes
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Love your Community; Get Vaccinated!
Come before August 31th for your first dose and receive a $5 gift card from Asian Americans United! *First come, first served*
If you are interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation offers walk-in vaccination events every Tuesday (10AM-12PM) at Crane Chinatown until the end of September, 2021. All are welcome; no appointment necessary!
8月31日之前来接种第一钎疫苗的可以获得AAU的五元代金券（先到先得）。详情请咨询AAU亚裔联合会： 215-260-7996
如果您有兴趣接种新型冠状病毒肺炎疫苗，PCDC每周二（上午10点至下午12点）在鼎华中心（1001 Vine St.）提供免预约疫苗接种活动，直至 2021 年 9 月底。
欢迎所有人； 无需预
Almost 90% of Philly’s Asian residents are vaccinated. In the rest of Pa., health officials aren’t sure
www.inquirer.com
The state's data shows only a quarter of Asian American and Pacific Islander residents have gotten shots, and the Department of Health says it may be an undercount.URGENT - Take Action
We are in solidarity with the hunger strikers being held in ICE detention at York County Prison that are demanding a stop to transfers and deportations. Officials responded to their peaceful hunger strike with force - sending six armed prison officials to end the strike with tasers and firearms.
Take Action NOW and call for a STOP to transfers and deportations.
#ReleasesNOTTransfers #ReleaseOurLovedOnes
On Tuesday, 7/13, at 7 pm, First Lady of PA Frances Wolf, Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson and the Governor Wolf's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs will host Vax Facts Virtual Q&A Discussion for the Asian Pacific American (APA) Community, a virtual conversation to answer questions about COVID-19 and vaccines from members of the APA community.
Facilitator by Stephanie Sun
On Tuesday, 7/13, at 7 pm, First Lady of PA Frances Wolf, Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson and the Governor Wolf's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs will host Vax Facts Virtual Q&A Discussion for the Asian Pacific American (APA) Community, a virtual conversation to answer questions about COVID-19 and vaccines from members of the APA community.
WHERE: www.facebook.com/pagacapaa/
☎️⚡️ Join us this Tuesday and Thursday for a phone zap to demand that ICE release our community members from York County Prison! We will be on the Zoom from 3-5 pm ET on both days, so feel free to hop on, and we can support you as you call, email, and tweet officials.
Zoom registration for both phone zaps in our toolkit: bit.ly/rolotoolkit (also linked in our bio)
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Please join this phone zap if you can and put pressure on ICE to let our loved ones go!!!
York County is cutting its contract with ICE at York County Prison, but community members are still being detained and now are being transferred out of state, away from family and legal representation. Enough! Release our loved ones now!
www.facebook.com/events/2236996533103593/?ref=newsfeed
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Join the Cambodian community and our supporters THIS AFTERNOON at 3PM in Mifflin Square Park to hear from Cambodian Community Leadership and Experts, The Police Department, and Elected Officials. >>> If it rains, we will move the event indoors directly across the street to Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple (6th & Ritner Street)
Call to action! Demand York County Prison STOP transfers and RELEASE our loved ones NOW! Call in to the Philadelphia ICE office and/or join the rally in front of the ICE office on Friday @ 4
actionnetwork.org/letters/release-our-loved-ones?source=direct_link&
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Call to action! Demand York County Prison STOP transfers and RELEASE our loved ones NOW! Call in to the Philadelphia ICE office and/or join the rally in front of the ICE office on Friday @ 4
actionnetwork.org/letters/release-our-loved-ones?source=direct_link&
The James and Grace Lee Boggs Foundation seeks funds to preserve the historic home of James and Grace Lee Boggs on the Eastside of Detroit as a community museum to honor the Boggses’ revolutionary lives and works. The Boggs Museum will be a dynamic site of history, culture, and activism, offering lessons from past struggles for today’s movement builders working to reimagine everything and shake the world with a new dream. Sharing the building with the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership and coordinating activities with the James and Grace Lee Boggs School (K-8) down the street, the museum will be embedded within a movement-oriented neighborhood that inspires people of all ages to transform our selves and our societal structures through radical models of education, urban farming, cooperative ownership, collective care, and self-governance. We seek to demonstrate what our world will look and feel like when we prioritize collective life and humanity over capitalist profit and exploitation.
📢📢📢 READ MORE & DONATE HERE: givebutter.com/BoggsHouse
After nearly 30 years for fight, York detention center has decided NOT to RENEW the contract with ICE to stop people for the immigration agency ！！！
Thank you Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition (PICC) Juntos VietLead MILPA - Movimiento de Inmigrantes Líderes en Pensilvania New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia - Nuevo Movimiento Santuario... AND Many many leaders.
County official: After nearly 30 years, ICE ends contract with York prison
www.yorkdispatch.com
ICE detainees will no longer be housed at York County Prison.Are you a Philly resident and received your COVID-19 vaccination? You can enter a lottery to receive a cash prize!
36 vaccinated Philadelphians will win cash prizes up to $50,000. In each of the three drawings on June 21, July 6, and July 19:
Two residents will win $50,000
Four residents will win $5,000
Six residents will win $1,000
All Philadelphians who would like to participate in the sweepstakes are encouraged to register on phillyvaxsweeps.com to sign up. Names will be drawn from a pool of those who register and those in an existing residential database.
According to the US Census Bureau, between 47,206 and 87,732 Philadelphia citizens of voting age would benefit from expanded language accommodation. Take action for immigrant ballot access in Philadelphia!
➡️Sign the petition here in English: bit.ly/languagepetition
➡️In Chinese: bit.ly/cnlanguagepetition
Stories From Palestine... from CAIR - Philadelphia Chapter TONIGHT at 6pm !
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Virtual Celebration
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.2021 Pennsylvania Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Hi all! A few weeks ago AAU Volunteers, led by our equitable development organizer Jenny Chen, came to work on our community garden. They filled beds with compost and planted cultural crops. This is land that was transformed years ago from a trash-filled vacant lot by AAU youth leaders and FACTS students. Swipe to see pictures of the making the garden 🌼
86% of the students in PA public schools attend school districts that the state is not adequately funding - and that’s according to state law. Check out the #FundOurSchoolsPA map to see and share data for your district.
Find out more and get involved at FundOurSchoolsPA.org
In honor of AAPI Heritage month, Philly Fighting Asian Hate will take place at the Rail Park on May 22-23.
The event will provide free self-defense classes for the Philly’s AAPI community taught by 3rd generation disciple of the Ip Man Wing Chun Kung Fu family, Grandmaster Eng.
The event's mission is to fight against anti-Asian hate, and empower the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through self-awareness and self-defense training and education. The event is community focused, and volunteer-run and operated.
Participants will learn basic self-awareness and self-defense techniques to protect and defend yourself in this 50-minute class. You can learn more and register for a time slot below:
Event Details:
Philly Fighting Asian Hate
Date: May 22-23, 2021 (Rain date: May 29-30)
Location: The Rail Park (1200 Noble St, Philadelphia, PA)
Learn more and register here: bit.ly/phlfah
Polling place close at 8pm today( however, if there on the long line, even pass 8pm you still have right to vote)
It's time to blowing whistle for our community's voice and safety
Join The Yellow Whistle project with my community!
Even Mr. Gu did not registered with any party, but he still want to vote in today's primary election ballot questions. #phillyaapivote
And he is happy that we bring him and his friend The Yellow Whistle s.
These two elders never missed a vote since they become citizens.
And we make sure they received The Yellow Whistle
How to use the voting machine in Philadelphia (Indonesian)
Please tag your community members who may need this.
For The Ones I Remember by Deborah Wei.
Listen to this powerful poem about AAU's history of organizing against anti-Asian violence in Philadelphia by one of our founders, Deborah Wei.
Happy AAPI Heritage Month! To celebrate, AAU staff will be sharing stories and talking about the organizers we look up to all month long. Look out for future posts!
An important piece by Joyce Xi. We appreciate Joyce for continuing the long, hard work to have her family's story be heard and for bringing it into context with anti-immigrant and anti-Asian violence struggles.
"Mainstream narratives around anti-Asian violence have often overlooked a simple fact: The same federal government that recently expressed sympathy for Asian American communities has long perpetuated harm against our communities, and continues to do so.
As the country moves from righteous outrage toward the longer-term work of protecting our communities, we must also look at the bigger picture. Truly combating anti-Asian racism will require addressing the government’s role in it."
The FBI wrongly accused my father of spying for China. Government has a role in anti-Asian violence.
www.usatoday.com
My dad’s wrongful prosecution is emblematic of anti-Asian violence by the U.S. government.This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.