FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: emma@ncapaonline.org
August 17th, 2021
Washington, DC—The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) National Director, Gregg Orton issued the following statement after coalition members, along with leading Asian American academics, urged the White House to establish more comprehensive data disaggregation standards for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) community. NCAPA also urged that additional engagement be prioritized to ensure more community voices are heard on this critical issue for the community.
For decades, community advocates have been calling for the government to modernize the ways in which it understands our diverse communities. We have repeatedly reminded people that we are not a monolith, and when you view us as a single group in the aggregate, you invisiblize the lived experiences of millions of AANHPIs.
Just weeks ago, when we met with President Biden and Vice President Harris, we told them that the work of the White House Equitable Data Working Group had the potential to be a gamechanger. As the fastest growing population in the United States spanning over 50 ethnic groups, accurate and thorough data is critical to the visibility of AANHPI communities for ensuring fair representation in local, state and federal government as well as equitable distribution of resources from community grants to social safety net programs.
We are thankful for the engagement from the administration, as well as the leadership of Ambassador Susan Rice. We are hopeful that our collaborative efforts with the Equitable Data Working Group will continue, and that ultimately, AANHPI communities will have the chance to be seen.
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Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of 38 national Asian Pacific American organizations that serves to represent the interests of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and to provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns. Our communities are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, currently making up approximately six percent of the population.