Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)

Thank you for covering our work building community resilience in Oakland! Read more at the link in our bio 🔗

"'Our communities are primarily monolingual, immigrant, working-class renters who live on the front lines of environmental injustice – heavy industrial pollution, high traffic corridors, unsafe housing, and unsafe workplaces, and climate change,' explains Shina Robinson, APEN’s resilience hubs manager. With plans to add new solar panels, backup battery power, and HVAC systems, the long-planned Lincoln Center resilience hub will act as a safe place for people to turn to during wildfires, heat waves, or other extreme weather challenges."

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Repost • Trees make shade and fuel fires. Water slakes thirst and floods homes. Seeing the flip side of everything can deepen resilience. In this month’s stories, the Bay Area tackles the complexities of climate resilience, challenging assumptions and finding innovative ways to work together.



Photos: Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Marin Wildfire, VTA
Art: Liana Finck

ICYMI: Last week, 75+ volunteers with 8 different community organizations helped us pack 5,800 emergency kits to distribute to working-class families in Oakland. The kits included basic materials that could save lives in an emergency including flashlights, first aid kits, and masks 😷

Thank you to for taking these gorgeous photos and to all of our partner organizations who helped make this possible: Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Friends of Lincoln Square Park, Communities For A Better Environment, Friends of San Antonio Park, Sogorea Te' Land Trust, Asian Health Services, East Oakland Collective, and Collective Resilience.

They say that we cannot build what we can’t imagine.

As we build community resilience hubs in our neighborhoods, we’re grateful for the rich imaginations of writers and artists like Jamie Liu and .pen.

Thank you for reminding us of the wisdom of living things and showing what it can look like when our communities are resourced and come together to weather the storms.

🐝☀️🎨

Link to the full cli fi story in our bio

Our hearts go out to the family of Victoria Lee - and to all those killed by police violence this year, including Sonya Massey, Yong Yang, Win Rozario, Nyah Mway, and Easter Leafa, a 16-year-old girl from America Samoa who was killed by police last week in Anchorage. This has to stop.

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Repost • End state violence against our communities now.

Our team mourns the loss of 25 year old Victoria Lee in New Jersey, who was have a mental health crisis when she was killed by the police. Victoria's family did so much to try to minimize harm and instead were met with aggressive police violence for their daughter who was not a threat to them or herself.

From 2015-2020, 1 in 4 of all fatal police shootings involved someone with a mental illness. Our communities need an abundance of resources and effective support for systemic change and immediate care. The state continues to respond with violence - especially against our disabled communities.

We hold these institutions responsible. And we continue to demand a new world.

When we say ending violence against our communities, we mean ending state violence, ending police violence, ending ableism, and creating a world where our communities can be safe and well.



IDs in comments.

Our education work is made possible with your support. Thank you for making it possible. To continue our education and research work, donate at aapiwl.org/donate.

Please support our friends over at as they celebrate their 20th anniversary!! Donate at lavenderphoenix.org/donate 💜❤️💚

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Reposted from 🗣️Ain’t no power like THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE ‘cuz the power of the people DON’T STOP!! (say what?!) 🗣️

👀Have you met some of our members at an action recently for or seen us at SF City Hall demanding city officials to redirect hundred of millions dollars back to our communities??   👀

✊ , we practice interdependence and innovation anytime we connect to keep each other safe. Whether it’s training hundreds of QTAPIs to intervene in violence without the police, to securing each other’s digital safety needs, our Community Safety team guides us through it all!! ✊

🔥 Will you support LavNix to continue keeping our community safe for the long haul? 🔥

We need  🌱YOU 🌱to reach our goal of raising $50,000 from individual grassroots donors by Aug. 24th!!! 💸 💪🔥

📋 SIGN UP at bit.ly/2024lavnixfun to attend one of our last online fundraising trainings on August 22nd! All experience levels are welcome 😄

💸DONATE at lavenderphoenix.org/donate 

📸Image description: there is a collage of 3 different images – 1) a crowd of QTAPI organizers holding a banner that reads: WE’RE ASIANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS TRANS & PROUD 2) a crowd of QTAPI organizers with their left fists raised, marching with a purple banner that reads: Police Out of Pride 3) a selfie of QTAPI organizers, some of them are raising their fists and wearing a purple LavNix shirt. The photos are on top of a dark textured background, with drawn orange flames framing the design and a white LavNix phoenix logo in the top left corner. Text reads: “Sustain the Flames of Change. Join us to raise $50,000 by 8/24! Donate at lavenderphoenix.org/donate.”

***r

This Sunday, 12:30pm. 15th & Broadway, Oakland. Sonya Massey. Say her name!!

We rebuke this entire system that allows Black women to be gunned down in their own homes by people we pay to — and are brainwashed to believe — “keep us safe”.

We will also bring the memory of Alexander Antonio Lopez into this space, who was murdered in our own community by SFPD just last weekend.

Join us for a vigil and community gathering featuring healers, performers, and speakers ❤️🕯️💐

Alt text: Black flyer with painted yellow background and stylized image of Sonya Massey encircled by flowers. Text reads: “Justice for SONYA MASSEY And Alexander Antonio Lopez, Recently Murdered by SFPD. National Day Of Mourning | Sunday, July 28 | 12:30-2:30PM. 15TH & Broadway, Oakland. March and vigil featuring healers, performers, and speakers.”

This year, APEN members joined a group of 12 Chinese immigrant seniors to dive deep into the question of what makes our communities safer.

They visited SF Chinatown, West Oakland Health Center, the Black Panther Party Museum, and San Quentin prison to learn how different groups are approaching safety.

Next Sunday, we're excited to co-host the premiere and panel for “Love Has Two Meanings,” a short film documenting their journey with and

After the film showing, we’ll hear from some of the elders about their experiences and learnings.

🔗 RSVP at the link in our bio

🗓️ Saturday, August 3rd, 12:30-2pm (doors open at 12:15pm with light refreshments)
📍Oakland Asian Cultural Center

Our APEN Night Market was such a beautiful celebration – thank you to everyone who attended or supported our 30th anniversary celebration from afar! Together, we celebrated 30 years of grassroots organizing, power building, and transformation.

For everyone who attended – we deeply appreciate it, and we hope you had as much fun as we did. This event wouldn’t have been possible without our Asian immigrant and refugee members that drive our vision and work, our staff and board who planned the event, our generous sponsors, and our community of supporters near and far. Thank you.

We also want to acknowledge that this has been a challenging year for many of us, as rising fascism and climate catastrophes threaten the people and places we love. In times like these, it is more important than ever to celebrate what we have built together – and forge powerful connections as we fight for a Just Transition.

Lastly: to keep growing our grassroots organizing for environmental justice over the next 30 years, we need your support. If you haven’t already, please consider becoming an APEN monthly donor today: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/apen30?recurring=1

All photos by the amazing Ryan Sin

🚨 Deadline extended! 🚨

If you already registered for our Night Market this Saturday but haven't purchased food tickets yet, this is your chance to skip the line and get your food at a discount!

The event is currently at capacity, which means there could be long lines purchasing the food tickets you will need to exchange with vendors for food at the event. To make things a little smoother, we're extending the deadline to purchase food tickets ahead of time to July 19 and encouraging our community to buy food tickets ahead of time at a discount. Please head to apen.us/foodtix to get yours!

We are so grateful for all the enthusiasm our partners, community, and allies have shown for APEN’s 30th Anniversary. For 30 years, APEN has fought and won campaigns to make our communities healthier, just places where people can thrive — and we are so excited to celebrate that legacy with you at our APEN Night Market this year.

Unfortunately, due to limited capacity we have had to close registration for our upcoming Night Market event on July 20. We did not expect such overwhelming interest and apologize to anyone who was not able to register in time to attend!

If you already registered, we CAN'T WAIT to see you this Saturday! 🎉 Please keep an eye out for more details via email over the next day or two.

If you weren't able to register in time, we would love to see you at a future event in one of our organizing regions (Richmond, Oakland, or Los Angeles). Thank you so much for supporting our work!

In community,
Team APEN

🚨 JUST DROPPED 🚨 Here’s what you can eat and buy at our Night Market 😋

We are so excited to announce the amazing food and community vendors that will be featured at our APEN Night Market on July 20. From Hong Kong-style street food and Lao-Thai noodles to beautiful prints, jewelry and other trinkets from small businesses with local roots, we’re getting ready for a night filled with good food, good times, culture, community, and connection.

For a limited time, food tickets are 20% off! Register for free today to save your spot — and make sure to get your food tickets right after you register to take advantage of the discount.

In addition to the amazing food vendors and small businesses included here, we are thrilled to share that the event will feature dance and music performances (details coming soon!), a wellness space, kids activities hosted by the Museum of Children's Art, body workers, a photobooth, tarot card readings, and a tea bar hosted by . You really don’t want to miss it! 😉

Register at apen.us/30

Already registered? Grab your food tickets today at apen.us/foodtix 🎟️

🚨🍉 Action Alert to Protect Free Speech on College Campuses 🍉🚨

SB 1287 is a dangerous bill that seeks to restrict and suppress the 1st Amendment rights of students to free speech and assembly on California’s college campuses. Instead of working to promote tolerance of divergent views, SB 1287 invites censorship disguised as civility. There is a critical vote coming up in the California Assembly Judiciary Committee on July 2, so we need you to TAKE ACTION NOW!

Tell your CA legislator and the Assembly Judiciary Committee to protect student speech on campus and vote NO on SB 1287 at the link in our bio!

: Preserve CA's leadership towards a healthy environment for all through the crisis! Support a robust, equitable in the final agreement! lat.ms/4aVC7kG

We're urging Gavin Newsom and Speaker Robert Rivas: Don’t let the ⏰ run out! Place on the ballot a robust, equitable !

CA's climate policies set the standard WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY 💵💵💵 FOR ACTION. bit.ly/4bMTlS9

We needed to pass a equitable and robust climate bond yesterday. Let's make sure knows the power of 180+ environmental justice, climate, sustainable ag, water, etc. organizations. Equitable

Dear Speaker Robert Rivas Mike McGuire Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel Scott Wiener: Last year, Gavin Newsom's May Revise said CA needed a bond “to advance the climate and opportunity agenda.” Nothing has changed. Stabilize & boost climate action 💵💵💵 thru the crisis with a !

We, a coalition of 180+ environmental justice and climate organizations, stand together to demand that the climate bond must invest 40 PERCENT of bond funds towards disadvantaged communities.

Gavin Newsom Speaker Robert Rivas Mike McGuire Scott Wiener Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel: Preserve CA's leadership towards a healthy environment for all through the crisis! Support a robust, equitable in the final agreement! lat.ms/4aVC7kG

Tomorrow!

Join us for an art-build this Saturday, June 15th as we prepare to turn out to Richmond City Council to support the initiative.

Paint a banner or a sign and make a friend.

Where: RYSE Center
3939 Bissell Ave. Richmond, CA
When: SAT Jun 15
11 AM - 2 PM

¡Mañana!

Unase este sábado para una construccion de arte para apoyar el iniciativo .

Pintar una pancarta y haz una amiga mientras nos preparamos para manifestarnos en el Concejo Municipal de Richmond!

Where: RYSE Center
3939 Bissell Ave. Richmond, CA

DONDE:
SAB 15 de junio
11 AM - 2 PM

We've got a big announcement: food tickets for our APEN Night Market are now 20% off! 😋😋

If you haven't registered yet for our Night Market on July 20, make sure to register now at apen.us/30 to save your spot

Already registered? Head to apen.us/foodtix to get your tickets for 20% off by July 12! Each food ticket can be exchanged for a small, delicious sample plate from one of our amazing vendors at the event 🌃🍡🥟🍱

We're hiring a Managing Director! APEN's Managing Director will be responsible for overseeing our internal management strategies and building alignment across our leadership teams.

Find out more and apply to this and all of our open positions at apen.us/jobs 🌟

Do you know someone who would be a good fit? Please send this their way!

In honor of APEN's 30th anniversary, APEN Co-Founder Peggy Saika recently spoke to us about APEN's very first campaign — a multilingual educational program in Richmond on how to safely catch and cook fish.

"In every community we organized with, we would start by listening, learning, and building trust in the community, not by swooping in and telling people we knew what was best for them."

Read more at apen4ej.org/peggy

📸: APEN organizer Torm Nompraseurt educating community members about safe fishing in 1996

I want to share a story about APEN’s first campaign - Asian Pacific Environmental Network In every community we organized with, we would start by listening, learning, and building trust in the community, not by swooping in and telling people we knew what was best for them.

"When I started listing out all of the horrible things Chevron has done to our community and never been held accountable for, I started to feel angry, and it felt important and empowering to have my voice heard. In that moment, I knew: together, we are more powerful than Chevron. We just have to get organized and lift our voices together."

Ally is one of our incredible youth leaders, and in honor of APEN's 30th anniversary, Ally wanted to share a little bit with you about their experience organizing with APEN in Richmond. Check out the full story at apen4ej.org/ally

📸: Denny Khamphanthong

I was so nervous — but I spoke anyway. Here’s how to support youth leaders like me right now - Asian Pacific Environmental Network I know that if people like me don’t stand up for our Richmond community, nobody will.

This , young Asian Americans across the county — including our members — are rising up in solidarity with Palestine.

"The legacy of U.S. wars waged throughout Asia has historically shaped generations of solidarity-building between Asian Americans and all peoples facing the brunt of U.S. militarism. And as the U.S. continues to fund Israel, militarize the Pacific, and exacerbate tensions with China, young Asian Americans have a particular role to play in challenging the ever-growing U.S. war machine."

Read more:
https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2024/05/08/war-asian-americans-palestine-aapi (link in bio!)

Article by Cathi Choi with , photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images

In honor of APEN's 30th anniversary, we asked former APEN Executive Director Miya Yosh*tani to share a memory of her early years at APEN. Swipe for highlights ➡➡

For 30 years, APEN has been building the leadership of California's working-class Asian immigrant and refugee families. Please consider joining Miya and donating in honor of our anniversary at apen.us/give30.

Read Miya's full story at apen.us/miya.

📸 by and Denny Khamphanthong

🔊To all students mobilizing against the genocide in Gaza: We fully support you 🔊

The courageous actions we’ve watched in the past weeks from students have inspired us and shown the way time and time again young people are the changemakers and visionaries that contribute to all our liberation.

Join us in supporting the Berkeley encampment here: bit.ly/CampSupportLogistics

❗️🗣️ CALL TO ACTION! Show up and show out to get Richmond City Council divest from genocide, companies involved in the prison-industrial complex, the arms and weapons industry and the border and surveillance industries.

✊🏾 Join us TONIGHT, April 30th at 5:30 PM, Richmond City Council Chamber. Wear your kuffiyeh and Palestinian solidarity apparel to stand in unity!🇵🇸

🔗Use our Toolkit in our bio to make a public comment in person, by email or on zoom.

(En Español) 
❗️🗣️ ¡LLAMADO A LA ACCIÓN! Preséntate y destácate para exigir que el Consejo Municipal de Richmond se desvincule del genocidio, de las empresas involucradas en el complejo industrial penitenciario, en la industria de armas y municiones, y en las industrias fronteriza y de vigilancia.

✊🏾 Únete a nosotros MAÑANA, 30 de abril a las 5:30 PM, en la Cámara del Consejo Municipal de Richmond. ¡Usa tu kufiyya y prendas de solidaridad palestina para estar unidos! 🇵🇸

🔗 Utiliza nuestra Guía en nuestra biografía para hacer un comentario público en persona, por correo electrónico o en Zoom.

 

 

Reposted from

There's never been a better time to apply to work with APEN ⏰ ⏰

This is a big year for APEN's Civic Engagement Program, and we have a *bunch* of open Outreach Worker and Outreach Team Lead positions — including remote positions as well as positions in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. In particular, we are looking for applicants who are bilingual in English and Cantonese or Mandarin.

Find out more and apply to all of our open positions at apen.us/jobs

there’s some extra addition & subtraction happening in our communities: Big Oil adds pollution, extracts profit. 😤💸

this earth day, join us to urge Richmond representatives —from the City Council on up to Congress — to make

go to

apen.us/earthdaypledge
apen.us/earthdaypledge
apen.us/earthdaypledge

JUST DROPPED: Registration for our APEN Night Market this July is now open!

It's APEN's birthday this year, and we're inviting you to celebrate with us. Join us on July 20 in Downtown Oakland for a festive, family-friendly night market with food, drinks, local vendors and artists, and performances.

Registration is FREE, but space is limited -- so make sure to save your spot. Register at apen.us/30 📝

📸: Brooke Anderson Photography: Stills of Our Stories & Struggles

! We're celebrating Earth Day and closing out the month of April with a community cleanup on April 27th at Emerald Necklace in the San Gabriel Valley 🌎

Join us to learn about how trash and litter pollute our waterways, impact our local ecosystem and how we can come together as a commuity to help cleanup our neighborhoods.

RSVP at www.apen.us/LAearthday2024

APEN is hiring for remote positions across California as well as positions in Oakland and Richmond! Find out more about all of our positions and apply at apen.us/jobs.

Not the right fit for you, but know someone who might be interested? Please help us reach the right people by sending this their way ☺️