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My parents cried when I did not get into UC Berkeley. My dad literally held the denial letter in his hands and cried. I cried, too. All my life I had been told to go to Berkeley and suddenly, I wasn't allowed. What was worse was that one of my best friends, a Latina, had gotten accepted. Despite the fact that California banned its universities to consider race in admissions at that time due to Proposition 209, life as an 18-year-old was horrible and we didn't know what else to do but blame affirmative action. 

Overnight, the Senate rejected Republican legislation to repeal and replace the ACA after a week of debate and unprecedented fast-track procedures that reduced transparency. While the Republicans’ attempts to repeal ACA are over for now, we cannot let our guards down. We came too close to stripping millions of Americans of health care and putting their lives in jeopardy.

This week marks the 35th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s tragic beating and subsequent death. Asian Americans Advancing Justice commemorates this anniversary by sharing conversations with people who were involved with or were affected by Vincent Chin’s case.

Today’s conversation is with Aamina Ahmed is the executive director of APIA Vote Michigan and has a long spree of working towards inclusion in the region, across race, ethnicity, and religion.

This week marks the 35th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s tragic beating and subsequent death. Asian Americans Advancing Justice commemorates this anniversary by sharing conversations with people who were involved with or were affected by Vincent Chin’s case.

Today’s conversation is with Frances Kai-Hwa Wang who teaches Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at University of Michigan. She was formerly Executive Director of American Citizens for Justice, the nonprofit civil rights organization formed after the death of Vincent Chin. You can find her at franceskaihwawang.com or @fkwang.