August 22, 2009 – Over 50 community activists from an array of LGBTQ and mainstream API civil rights and service organizations attended API Equality – LA’s workshop, Crossroads: The Intersection of API and LGBT Civil Rights. Hosted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), the participants represented groups that included the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center, OCA, the Korean Resource Center, Search for Involved Pilipino Americans, and Chinese American Citizens Alliance.

“Our goal for this program was two-fold:  to advance API Equality-LA’s mission of working for marriage equality through education and advocacy and to strengthen our relationships with our allies in the API community.  We canvassed our endorsers at the outset to clarify the issues that were of concern to LGBT and non-LGBT constituents,” said Greg Matsunami, Co-Chair of the Public Education Committee and event coordinator.

Karin Wang, Senior Vice President at APALC, provided historical context to anti-miscegenation laws (laws forbidding the marriage between interracial couples) and Proposition 8 (which rescinded the fundamental civil right of same-sex couples to marry). Drawing parallels, Wang thoughtfully wove together the histories of these two marriage equality movements.

Los Angeles City Clerk June Lagmay joined with historians Eric Wat and Alice Y. Hom to provide a colorful and lively history of API LGBTQ history, spanning from the early 1950s to present time.

Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong provided a snapshot of the major religions practiced by Asian Americans and their stances on homosexuality. With warmth and humor, the Reverend spoke of the challenges facing efforts to engage faith communities on LGBTQ issues.

Immigration attorney and advocate Ally Bolour described the startling realities of persons applying for asylum in the U.S. based on homophobic persecution in their countries of origin. Bolour also discussed the proposed federal bill, the United American Families Act, that seeks to allow LGBT citizens to sponsor their permanent partners for legal status in the U.S.

Marshall Wong, Co-Chair of API Equality – LA, roused the crowd with his stirring words: “To those who are feeling the understandable sting of disappointment, just remember: The road to full equality has twists, turns and occasional road-blocks. We know this fight is not over and we’re in it until the end. It’s only a matter of time. Victory once again will be ours.”

Attendees left the event inspired to act upon the knowledge gained at the workshop. Esther Choe, a legal assistant at APALC, commented, “It was a wealth of information, especially the rich historical background of API LGBT civil rights struggles dating back to the 1960s. I personally wanted to learn more about the faith issues surrounding the marriage equality debate and what resources were available to engage in civil dialogue with Korean Americans in the faith community.”

Ten years ago this month, Southern Californians were shocked by the tragic murder of Filipino American letter carrier, Joseph Santos Ileto, and the wounding of five people at the North Valley Jewish Community Center by a white supremacist, Buford Furrow. The family of Joseph Ileto, led by mother Lillian and younger brother Ismael, was thrust into the spotlight and became instant activists, telling their story to the media and audiences from coast to coast, calling for justice for Joseph and all victims of hate violence. They turned their grief into strength, supported legislation that would add gays and lesbians as a protected class to federal hate crime laws and called for tougher gun control.

One of the disappointments they faced was that some media and even sympathetic elected officials repeatedly focused on the survivors of the Jewish Community Center, and neglected, or in some cases ignored Joseph’s death. The Ileto family and their supporters called on the press to provide inclusive and balanced coverage.

Ten years later, the Ileto family continues to work in coalition with all communities affected by hate crime. In partnership with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), the Ileto family established the Joseph Ileto Hate Crimes Prevention Fellowship. The fellowship currently seeks funds for this current year to hire a fellow. For more information, please visit the Asian Pacific American Legal Center’s website: www.apalc.org.

On this anniversary, APALC collected letters of appreciation to the Ileto family, from organizations and individuals who have been inspired by their tireless work and their message of love. API Equality-LA sent the Iletos the following message:

Dear Ileto Family:

With our deepest respect and admiration, and in loving memory of Joseph,
Marshall Wong and Doreena Wong,
Co-Chairs, API Equality-LA