Hoosier Asian American Power grassroots nonprofit launches at Bloomington event

Hoosier Asian American Power (HAAP), a new nonprofit aimed at building power and implementing policy changes for Asian Americans in Indiana through grassroots organizing, held its launch event at Bloomington’s I Fell Gallery last Thursday.

The organization, which is currently pending 501(c)(3) status, emerged as an outgrowth of National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum’s (NAPAWF) Indiana chapter, according to HAAP co-chair Melissa May Borja.

Borja, an Indianapolis-based professor of Asian/Pacific Islander American studies at the University of Michigan who also works in refugee resettlement work, said HAAP will build on the work of NAPAWF Indiana, launching this year with a particular aim toward political organizing and coalition-building ahead of the 2024 election.

“We – when we were NAPAWF Indiana – did the first statewide voter outreach to Asian American voters in Indiana,” Borja said. “We did it in five different languages, and we had volunteers ranging from girls in a sorority here at IU, to grandmas in California who still phoned in to try and help us with our work. So we’re really excited about doing work in the coming year to get out the Asian American vote.”

Coalition building during the pandemic amid a rise in Asian hate

Borja said NAPAWF Indiana “got off the ground” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely in reaction to a spike in anti-Asian American hate crimes and increased anti-Asian American sentiments in broader political discourse.

Borja said emerging as a online-first organization allowed the group to coalition-build across the state, with members primarily in the Indianapolis metropolitan region and Bloomington. But as HAAP launches, Borja said the group is looking to expand its reach across the state.

“We hope to expand our outreach and our geographic presence, knowing that Asian Americans are very present in Fort Wayne, in northwest Indiana,” Borja said. “We also know that Asian American Hoosiers live in places where they are the margin of victory, so places like Hamilton County, places like the southside of Indianapolis –  there are a lot of Asian American voters there who I’m not convinced politicians are reaching out to.”

Borja said HAAP’s work this year, especially leading up to the election, will focus on voter education and registration, base-building, and grassroots community events.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of political education, base-building events, and making sure that Asian Americans in Indiana get to know each other, get to know our history, get to know the significance of our community, and building from there,” Borja said.

Speaker emphasizes the importance of local organizing

HAAP’s launch event featured a conversation between HAAP co-chair Michelle Dahl and Chinese-American journalist and activist Helen Zia. The two discussed the history of anti-Asian racism in America, the power of community organizing, and the importance of feminist Asian-American leadership in grassroots work.

During the conversation, Zia highlighted the importance of local organizing in making change within communities.

“I know I’m here from California – that’s not Indiana,” Zia said. “You know your cultures and your communities best, you know how to reach people, so they feel like, “Yeah, we could create a beloved community here in Indianapolis, or in Bloomington, or Terre Haute.”

Borja said the timing of HAAP’s January launch is significant, coming one year after a Chinese-American IU student was stabbed repeatedly on a Bloomington transit bus – an ongoing case that’s now being treated as a federal hate crime.

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“What I think is significant about this moment is we’re an example of a community that’s been vulnerable to attacks here in Indiana, but also all across the country, and we’re resilient, and strong and ready to get to work to make change,” Borja said. “We’re not afraid. We’re here, and we’re ready to do the work.”

Hoosier Asian American Power key issues: racial equality, voting, and reproductive justice

Borja said HAAP will follow in NAPAWF Indiana’s footsteps in engaging in three key issues: racial equity, voter protection, and reproductive justice. HAAP’s website says its work will involve promoting policies and programs that build safe communities for Asian Americans in Indiana, engaging in voter registration drives and voter protection efforts, and working closely alongside other organizations serving Asian Americans in the region, such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago.

During their conversation Dahl and Zia spoke about the challenges of activism and feeling overwhelmed by tackling multiple issues.

“If you’re in this business, you see a burning building, and you’re like, ‘I’m gonna go put this fire out right now,’” Dahl said. “And it took me years to figure out that I was also on fire.”

Zia encouraged activists – especially young activists – to choose specific goals they can work towards to start.

“If you see something that will make the world better, change it. You have an obligation to change it,” Zia said. “You just change it one step at a time.”

HAAP’s first general membership meeting, which is open to new members, will be hosted over Zoom on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Prospective members can register for the event at hoosieraap.org/events/ or by emailing contact@hooiseraap.org.

Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Hoosier Asian American Power holds launch party in Bloomington