FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2012

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CONTACT: Deb Wang; (330) 645-5805; dwang@asiaohio.org

Demographic Report on Asians & Pacific Islanders in Midwest Available on ASIA’s Website

CLEVELAND – The first comprehensive demographic report to include disaggregated, ethnicity-level data on Asians and Pacific Islanders in the Midwest had its Ohio launch at Ariel International Center in Cleveland on October 29, 2012.  The full report A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the Midwest, 2012 is available online at www.tinyurl.com/apadata, along with a full-length video of the Cleveland launch event.  Free hard copies are available at ASIA’s Cleveland office at 3631 Perkins Avenue, by email at ivy@asiaohio.org, or by calling (216) 881-0330.

Produced in partnership with the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice), A Community of Contrasts provides detailed data based on Census 2010 and other sources, including disaggregated data for over 20 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) subgroups. The report focuses on the five geographic areas of Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis & St. Paul, and the state of Wisconsin.

At the media event, Marita Etcubanez, Program Director at the Asian American Justice Center, focused on three key findings from the report for AANHPIs in the Cleveland area:

• dramatic population growth of Cleveland’s Asian community
• considerable social and economic diversity within the AANHPI community
• increasing civic engagement among AANHPIs

“It’s really up to us to make sure that we’re investing the time, effort, and resources to translate our community’s tremendous growth into increased civic engagement and, hopefully, increased political influence,” said Etcubanez.

The Community of Contrasts media event featured a public policy panel discussion with Michael Fleming, Executive Director of St. Clair Superior Development Corporation; Johnny Wu, President of the Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Cleveland; Radhika Reddy, Founding Partner of Ariel Ventures LLC; Tom Mrosko, Director of Migration and Refugee Services at Cleveland Catholic Charities; Eunice Park, Immigration Attorney at ASIA; and Vi Huynh, member of the Ohio Asian American & Pacific Islander Advisory Council.

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell, Cleveland City Councilman Jeffrey Johnson, and the office of U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge were also in attendance.

A Community of Contrasts was first released by Advancing Justice in Chicago on September 27, 2012. The report’s Cleveland launch was supported by the Chinese Professional and Entrepreneur Association, Cleveland Contemporary Chinese Culture Association, Chinese Women Association of Cleveland, Federation of India Community Associations of Northeast Ohio, Friendship Foundation of American-Vietnamese, MotivAsians, and OCA Cleveland Chapter.

A Community of Contrasts was made possible in part by the generous support of Bank of America, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, and Cyrus Chung Ying Tang Foundation.

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Asian Services In Action
Founded in 1995, Asian Services In Action’s mission is to is to empower and advocate for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs); and to provide AAPIs access to quality, culturally, and linguistically appropriate information and services. Visit www.asiaohio.org.

The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice
The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice works to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities, and is comprised of the Asian American Justice Center, Asian American Institute, Asian Law Caucus, and Asian Pacific American Legal Center. Visit www.advancingjustice.org.