TRAINING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW
IACPA Summer Leader Series Gives Students New Perspectives

"Coalition-building is one of the skills you will need as a leader. Whether you're trying to expand your campus curriculum, start an Asian studies program, or become an advocate for your community, your ability to forge relationships with others will be a critical success factor," says Deepa Iyer to a group of students gathered in a conference room on Capitol Hill. Iyer is a staff attorney for the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), a legal civil rights advocacy organization based in Washington.

This briefing is one of six 'Summer Leadership Series' (SLS) events hosted by the India Abroad Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) for young Indian American students and professionals working in Washington, DC during the summer. The weekly events, composed of guest speakers, debates, films, and workshops, are designed to increase understanding of issues and challenges facing Indian Americans and to provide students with skills to better take a leadership role in their community.

Iyer's event, which was sponsored by the State Farm Insurance Company, was a workshop about coalition-building. Students were divided into groups and given a list of scenarios of incidents which are occurring in other communities; for example, a hate mail received by Asian American students at a local college. The students then prioritize which incidents they are willing to mobilize on.

The trick of the exercise is that none of the incidents directly impact Indian Americans, however, all are still relevant for the community. For example, hate crimes against Hispanics still impact the Indian community since Indian Americans could easily be targeted as well. The message of the workshop is that although an issue or event may not have direct impact on our community, it is in our interest to resolve them by working with other communities.

"The SLS is our way of extending our internship program to other students," says Debasish Mishra, executive director of IACPA. "Each year we turn down 90% of our applicants because of lack of resources; this is one way we can share learning with those who can still make it to Washington, DC for the summer."

Approximately forty students and young professionals participated in the Summer Leadership Series on a regular basis; they came from universities across the country, from the University of California-Berkeley to Harvard University. Attendance varied week-to-week, from twenty-five students to over 100 participants.

Affirmative Action Debate Provides Perspective
The most popular event was an affirmative action debate that took place on July 19 between best-selling race-relations author, Dinesh D'Souza and leading Asian American civil rights activist, Karen Narasaki before a standing-room only crowd.

The two debated whether diversity had a place in determining affirmative action programs. D'Souza argued that diversity was an artificial measure that had no real value, and therefore not a valid justification for affirmative action. "After all, would you trust an airline pilot who had been hired for the sake of diversity?"

Narasaki argued that diversity increases the quality of life for everyone, citing statistics from the University of Michigan that show that students who are exposed to diversity in college are more likely to live in racially-diverse neighborhoods. Moreover, diversity plays an important role in providing key services, such as health care where cultural differences can cause miscommunication and impede the quality of care.

The audience responded with enthusiasm to the debate and to the SLS as a whole. One evaluater said that the debate featured "two excellent speakers, who made great points and kept the audience engaged. This lecture series is great and I'd like to see more of it in the future."

Films, Speakers, and More
In addition to the debate, the Center featured a film, "Roots in the Sand," a documentary about the Punjabi-Mexican community living in Imperial Valley, California at the turn of the century. Another workshop focused on how students can work proactively on negative images of Indian Americans in the media, focusing on positive solutions.

Two other guest speakers rounded out the Summer Leader Series. Jeet Bindra, president of the Chevron Pipeline Company, sat at a roundtable to offer his insights on leadership and what it takes to succeed. His intimate discussion covered a number of topics relevant to the community including stereotypes, cultural expectations, and professionalism.

Maryland Delegate Kumar Barve closed the SLS with a frank discussion of Indian Americans and politics. Barve told students that it was not possible to succeed in politics by maintaining an ethnocentric view; in order to be effective as a legislator, he needs to consider the viewpoints of all his constituents in his district.

"The Summer Leader Series' success in not just incumbent upon the participation of students, but lies with the community itself," says Mishra. In addition to all of the guest speakers, who generously donated their time, the SLS was made possible by grants from State Farm Insurance and the White Tiger Restaurant, as well as community support from Amit Bose, legislative assistant to Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Kapil Sharma, government relations expert to Verner Liipfert McPherson & Hand.

CHILLING HATE CRIMES SPUR LEGISLATION
In the wake of two gruesome and violent hate crime incidents against Asian Americans and other ethnic and religious minorities, a coalition of civil rights organizations was able to create significant momentum for expansion of federal hate crimes protections.

Before the Senate recessed last month, it passed by unanimous consent the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 (S.622), attaching it to the Senate tax bill. The vote occurred after series of racially motivated attacks in Indiana and Illinois by an avowed white supremacist over the July Fourth weekend. The two state killing spree took the lives of an African-

The killer, Benjamin "August" Smith, was a member of the World Church of the Creator, a neo-nazi organization based in Illinois that the American Jewish Committee describes as "one of the fastest growing white supremacist organizations in the United States." It is also an organization with a history of racist violence.

Smith's predatory rampage of racially motivated violence apparently involved stalking religious and ethnic minorities at their places of worship. He attacked a group of Orthodox Jews as they left their synagogue in Chicago, wounding six. He also fired into a crowd of Korean Americans entering a church, killing a Korean graduate student, Won Joon Yoon.

His killing spree also included the fatal shooting of Ricky Byrdsong, former Northwestern basketball coach, as he was walking with his two children. Smith also shot at, but missed, an Asian American couple.

Smith took his own life before he could be apprehended by police.

"Smith's attack are a disturbing trend of increasing racial and religious violence by white, Christian supremacist groups that feel threatened as their numbers diminish in an increasingly diverse America," said Debasish Mishra, executive director of IACPA. "The attacks in Chicago could have easily targeted Indian Americans."

In response to the killing spree, a coalition of national Asian American organizations, including IACPA, met with the Director of the President's Initiative for One America, Ben Johnson.

On behalf of the President, Johnson attended services held for the victims of those killed in Smith's savage attacks. Johnson articulated the President's commitment to the prevention of hate crimes and urged the group to build support for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

After Senate passage of the bill, another ruthless attack in Los Angeles by a white supremacist rocked the nation. On August 10, Buford Furrow, Jr., walked into a Jewish community center in suburban Los Angeles and began firing randomly, wounding three young boys, a teen-age girl and a 68-year-old grandmother working as a receptionist. He then carjacked a vehicle and later shot and killed a Filipino-American postal worker, Joseph Ileto. Furrow later fled to Las Vegas where he turned himself in to federal authorities.

Furrow, 37, is reported to have ties to the Aryan Nations, a group known for its hatred of blacks and Jews and is a follower of the Christian Identity movement, which considers whites a superior race.

Furrow said he wanted the community center attack to be "a wake-up call to America to kill Jews," according to an FBI source. Furrow had reportedly scouted several prominent Jewish institutions before stumbling on the community center. He also described the postal worker, Ileto, as a "target of opportunity" since Ileto wasn't white and was an employee of the federal government.

A plea of not guilty was entered for Furrow at his arraignment on August 30 on federal charges Furrow is charged with murder, using a firearm in a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At a vigil for Ileto and other victims of hate crimes held in Washington, DC, a broad coalition of Asian American, Hispanic, and African American leaders called for more attention to the hate crime problem and urged Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

The bill, which has close to 200 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and the endorsement of more than 100 law enforcement and civil rights organizations, has not made it out of committee despite strong efforts to do so before the Congressional recess.

According to Michael Lieberman of the Anti-Defamation League, an opportunity exists to pass the bill when the House and Senate confers on their tax bill. Since the Senate passed the measure, it may be possible for it to be attached to the final bill sent to the President. There is a risk, however, that the President will veto the tax bill altogether for other reasons, namely disputes with the Republican leadership over spending.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would expand federal protections for hate crimes to include disability, gender, and sexual orientation, in addition to race, religion, and national origin. More importantly, the bill would remove obstacles to federal prosecution. Under current law, the federal government may prosecute hate crimes only if the victim was engaged in a federally-protected activity, such as voting.

Since hate crimes are treated differently in each state (there are ten states that have no hate crimes law at all, notably New York), there is inconsistency in the way that they are prosecuted. The federal law will allow consistency, especially in violent cases without impeding the authority of local jurisdictions.

Coca-Cola Sponsors IACPA

The Coca-Cola Company recently announced that it will sponsor the India Abroad Center for Political Awareness, presenting a check last month to support IACPA's activities.

Coca-Cola joins State Farm Insurance Companies in lending corporate support to IACPA efforts to develop citizen leaders from within the Indian American community.

Given Coca-Cola's strong presence with Indians across the globe, IACPA is ecstatic to have the company join its growing list of corporate sponsors and partners.

On August 21, nearly seventy people gathered at the home of Dr. Akshay Desai to pay tribute to IACPA chairman, Gopal Raju. Raju was lauded for his outstanding accomplishments as founder and publisher of India Abroad, America's leading Indian American publication.

They also hailed Mr. Raju's visionary spirit, in establishing the Center as a resource for the community and towards developing young people into responsible leaders. In addition to an award, the audience presented Mr. Raju with $8000 in donations to support the Center, a record fundraiser for IACPA.

Legislative Alert
Bill May Stop Immigrant Political Participation

An amendment to the bipartisan campaign finance reform bill may prevent legal permanent residents (LPRs), or greencard holders, from having a voice in the nation's politics.

The Bereuter/Wicker Amendment to H.R. 417, the campaign finance bill sponsored by Reps. Chrisopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA), would bar LPRs from making campaign contributions and expenditures to local, state or federal elections.

The amendment was proposed as a measure to prevent foreign entities, such as foreign corporations or governments, from influencing the American electoral process.

Current laws, however, already punish citizens and immigrants alike for acting as conduits for foreign influence. The amendment is misguided in that it presumes that LPRs are more likely to be conduits for foreign money than U.S. citizens.

The blanket prohibition will not prevent 'foreign money' from entering the United States.  Instead, it would silence green  card-holders  who seek to exercise their First Amendment rights to discuss and show their support for the candidates who would best  represent  their views  on issues  including  crime, education, health care, and taxes.

Last year, the House voted overwhelmingly to support the bans in two separate votes. Congressional insiders agree that most of the Members were ignorant about the bills that they were voting for. The bar has gained support by utilizing the argument that if a person is Voting and making political expenditures, however, are not analagous acts. The Supreme Court, in Buckley v. Valeo, determined that political contributions are a form of free speech, and therefore protected by the First Amendment.

Moreover, legal permanent residents are not foreign nationals in the same sense as tourists and other visitors. LPRs are given special permission to reside in the US permanently, pay taxes on their worldwide income, and register for the draft. They raise families and make their lives here and are therefore, very much stakeholders in this society. To consider them foreigners is to commit an injustice against these "citizens-in-training."

This country derived its independence on Patrick Henry's famous argument "no taxation without representation." Similarly, legal permanent residents exercise their free speech rights by making political expenditures for candidates with whom they agree.

The vote is scheduled for the week of September 13. The best action for those interested is to call and/or write their Members of Congress and let them know their views. The House switchboard number is and the house website is http://www.house.gov.

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