Background
2004
Inspired by the work and leadership of the National Black Justice Coalition, API Equality was founded in 2004 to be an affirmative voice for marriage equality in the API community. In the wake of the Federal Marriage Amendment effort in the U.S. congress and a 7,000-person demonstration organized by Chinese Christian leaders in the Bay Area to oppose marriage equality, API Equality built a national ad hoc coalition of over 50 API organizations in support of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Initially named the Asian Pacific American Coalition for Equality (APACE), it was eventually changed to Asian Equality. Asian Equality has since been renamed API Equality to address the discrimination faced by LGBT members in the greater API community.
2005
In 2005, API Equality convened API community leaders and organizational representatives in Los Angeles and San Francisco that led to the creation of API Equality-LA and API Equality-SF, local partners of API Equality committed to promoting marriage equality and overall LGBT acceptance in their respective communities. In addition, API Equality was invited to present on marriage equality to the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a coalition of 21 API organizations nationwide representing the interests of the greater API community. API Equality was also invited to serve on the board of Equality for All, a campaign to defeat any proposed ballot measures that would ban LGBT partnership rights in California's state constitution. Since joining the campaign, it has worked to bring greater public awareness about several such measures among California's communities of color. Finally, API Equality joined the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) in organizing the first-ever marriage equality contingent at the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, the largest celebration of its kind in the world.
2006
In 2006, API Equality secured the help of Victor Hwang, then Managing Director at Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO), to draft a groundbreaking amicus brief in support of the California Marriage Cases when they were before the California Court of Appeals. The brief addressed the parallel struggles against marriage discrimination faced by the state's API and LGBT communities, and was signed by nearly 30 API organizations across the country. In addition, API Equality was invited to serve on the Executive Committee of what would eventually become Let California Ring, the largest campaign in history to open hearts and minds about the freedom to marry. With the support of Evan Wolfson, Executive Director at Freedom to Marry, and Thalia Zepatos, then Director of Organizing and Training at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, API Equality was able to raise enough funds to hire its first full-time staff member.
2007
In 2007, API Equality officially joined with CAA, one of the nation's oldest and most reputable API civil rights organization, and became a fully-funded, fully-staffed project. Prior to its merger, API Equality was an all-volunteer run organization. Some of its proudest accomplishments in 2007 include encouraging hundreds of API community members to take action in support of marriage equality legislation, generating sustained and widespread media coverage of marriage equality in the API and English language press, and organizing the first-ever coalition of API faith leaders to speak out in support of LGBT families. For more on API Equality's accomplishments in 2007, click here.
2008 and Beyond
For 2008, API Equality is excited to embark on a number of new initiatives. Among them, API Equality is launching the Helen Zia Fellowship for Social Change to train the next generation of API community leaders to be progressive voices for change, including on the issue of marriage equality. As part of API Equality's goal to promote overall acceptance of LGBT people, the project is partnering with the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University's César E. Chávez Institute to develop culturally competent tools and interventions for API families to learn how to accept their LGBT children. Beyond these developments, API Equality will continue to work diligently to achieve marriage equality in California and the country in the New Year. Stay tuned!