Reestablishment of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Today, President Obama followed Clinton's lead from a decade ago to recognize the needs of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities by signing the executive order for the reestablishment of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which would improve the quality of life in underserved AAPI communities by increasing access and participation in federal programs. Because AAPI's are continually aggregated together in data and research despite the many diverse groups and needs, they are vulnerable to less federal funding and access to programs that could significantly make an impact. I'm really excited that President Obama acknowledges the challenges AAPI communities face, especially in health and educational disparities due to the "model minority myth" and lack of adequate research. This was the reason why I went into public health in the first place! :)

Some excerpts from his speech:

"It's tempting, given the strengths of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, for us to buy into the myth of the "model minority," and to overlook the very real challenges that certain Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are facing: from health disparities like higher rates of diabetes and Hepatitis B; to educational disparities that still exist in some communities -- high dropout rates, low college enrollment rates; to economic disparities -- higher rates of poverty in some communities, and barriers to employment and workplace advancement in others."

"It's the impact of a Department of Health and Human Services that funds research on the diseases that disproportionately affect Asian American and Pacific Islander families. It's the impact of a Justice Department that upholds the Voting Rights Act and its promise of language assistance and equal access to the polls. And it's the impact of evidence-based research and data collection and analysis on AAPI communities -- so that no one is invisible to their government."

To watch the video, go here and skip to the speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/The-President-Observes-Diwali/