More than 100 prominent Asian American and Pacific Islanders — creatives, activists and academics — announced their support Thursday for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
The collective includes notable names like “Crazy Rich Asians” actress Constance Wu; author Celeste Ng; Rabia Chaudry, attorney and author of “Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After 'Serial'”; and the CEO of Project Include and former CEO of Reddit, Ellen Pao. The collective cites Warren's stance on a number of issues important to the Asian American community, including immigration, education and investment in entrepreneurship among the reasons for its support.
The group explained in an exclusive statement that they “agree unreservedly with their assessment and assertion that Senator Warren’s experience, policies and character — and her support of broad inclusion, her profound empathy and her openness to input and change — are unique among the 2020 candidates.”
The group -- spearheaded by journalist Jeff Yang, writer and documentary filmmaker Curtis Chin and Laura Shin, founder of Korean Americans for Obama and Korean Americans for Hillary -- was inspired to formally endorse Warren as a cohesive front by 100 Black Women for Elizabeth Warren, a group that describes itself as “an organizing collective of leaders, activists, artists, writers and political strategists from across the country in the fight for Black Liberation.”
No one candidate has definitively clinched the Asian American vote. Two in 5 Asian American registered voters did not identify themselves as either Democrat or Republican, according to the 2018 Asian American Voter Survey.
Pao said she is primarily concerned with the issue of inequality pertaining to health care, living wages, housing, job opportunities, voting rights and other topics. She said she feels Warren has the ability “to address fundamental issues of fairness and opportunity for all, to improve quality of life for everyone, and to bridge divides.”
“All of these issue about fairness are relevant to Asian Americans, who suffer from discrimination, harassment and bias in different ways,” Pao said. “I believe she is the only candidate remaining who understands and cares about intersectionality and will make sure we don't leave anyone behind.”
As Pao pointed out, Asian Americans confront inequities, even as a minority group. The community currently has the nation’s largest income gap among races, with Asians at the top 10 percent of the income distribution earning almost 11 times as much as Asians at the bottom 10 percent, according to Pew Research.
One member of the collective, Anil Kalhan, an immigration law professor at Drexel University, said that he is particularly interested in Warren’s immigration plan. According to Pew Research, 59 percent of the Asian American population was born in another country. That statistic jumps to 73 percent when looking at adult Asians.
“The moment that sealed the deal in my support for Senator Warren was when she released her impressive plan to reform immigration in July 2019,” Kalhan said. “She came out much earlier than most of the other candidates with a strong, detailed and genuinely comprehensive vision to reform immigration that goes beyond simply reversing the damage done under Trump's presidency.”
Jenny Han, author of “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” series, explained that she is confident in Warren’s follow-through.
“Elizabeth Warren is more than just a person with great plans. She's a person with the drive and perseverance to see those plans through,” Han wrote. “She's smart, she's a fighter, and I believe she has the experience necessary to lead this country with empathy and strength.”
When it comes to Democratic presidential candidates, analysis on third quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission shows that the entrepreneur Andrew Yang is the top recipient of Asian American donations. However Christine Chen, executive director of APIAVote, a nonpartisan civic engagement nonprofit, previously told NBC News that the donor population may not be perfectly reflective of the overall group’s voting population as the donor community tends to be less diverse.
In fact, a joint survey between AAPI Data and the Public Religion Research Institute of AAPI voters in California, the state with the racial group’s largest population, revealed that 45 percent found former Vice President Joe Biden favorable, the highest proportion. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont followed closely behind at 43 percent.
One Asian American super PAC, AAPI Victory Fund, has already announced its support for Biden. In a statement provided to NBC News last week, the group’s chairman, Shekar Narasimhan, said that “we believe that Joe Biden is the best candidate to defeat Trump and lead our country.”
Read the list of endorsers below:
Geri Sanchez Agilpay (IL), Small business and economic development advocate
Tanzila Ahmed (CA), Founder of South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY). Artist and Storyteller #GoodMuslimBadMuslim #MuslimVDayCards
Sasha Neha Ahuja (NY), Community Organizer and Hillary for America Alum
Sefa Aina (CA), Board Chair, Founding Member of EPIC (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities); Former Vice-Chair, Obama’s Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (CA), TV writer (Chicago Fire, The Rookie); WGAW board of directors; equity and inclusion advocate
Subini Annamma (CA), Associate Professor of Education, Author of The Pedagogy of Pathologization: Dis/abled Girls of Color in the School-Prison Nexus
Gina Apostol (NY), Novelist, Author, Insurrecto
Frank Aum (DC), Former Senior Advisor on North Korea at Pentagon under Obama Administration
K.J. Bagchi (DC), Co-Founder/Immediate Past Board Chair, Desis for Progress
Vidhi Bamzai (MS), Civil Rights Attorney, Southern Poverty Law Center
Ginny Barahona (NJ), International Development & Philanthropy, Former Obama Appointee
Amanda Baran (VA), Attorney and Writer; Former Senior DHS Immigration Official and Senior Advisor to WHIAAPI Under Obama
Marie Bigham (LA), Co-Founder and Executive Director, ACCEPT: Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today
Iram Parveen Bilal (CA), Filmmaker, Artivist; Former Chair, Asian American Committee, Writers Guild of America; Founder, Qalambaaz, #PakistaniCinema, #womendirectors
Gregory A. Cendana (DC), Dancer, Strategist and Entrepreneur
Dr. Stephen Chao (TX), Family Physician; Community Advocate; Former President of Chinese American Doctors Association of Houston
Rabia Chaudry (DC), Attorney and Advocate; New York Times bestselling author; executive producer, The Case Against Adnan Syed
Karen Chee (NY), Comedian and TV Writer
Preeti Chhibber (CA), Author and Podcaster
Curtis Chin (CA), Writer and Documentary Filmmaker, Tested and Vincent Who?
Li-Chen Chin (NC), Assistant Vice President for Intercultural Programs and Instructor, Program in Education, Duke University
Dennis Chin (NY), Racial Justice Educator, Communicator and Queer Activist
Chang Chiu (TX), Co-Founder, Chinese American Progressive Action
Dr. Esther Choo (OR), Emergency Medicine Physician; Writer; Health Services Researcher; Healthcare Equity Advocate
Tracy Chou (CA), Software Engineer; Entrepreneur; Diversity advocate; Founder and CEO of Block Party; Co-Founder of Project Include, #MovingForward, and Arena
Olivia Chow (CA), Activist and Organizer
Keith Chow (MD), Writer, Editor, Podcaster, and Creator of The Nerds of Color
Arthur Chu (OH), Writer, Cultural Commentator; Jeopardy Champion
Navneet Chugh (CA), Attorney; Founder, South Asian Bar Association
Nicole Chung (MD), Author, All You Can Ever Know; Co-Editor of the Forthcoming Anthology A Map Is Only One Story; Editor in Chief, Catapult Magazine; Former Managing Editor, The Toast
Deborah S. Craig (NY), Broadway and TV Actor
Selma D’Souza (IL), Community Activist; Attorney
Vinh Dang (PA) , Co-Founder, Dang-inh Productions
Anil Dash (NY), CEO, Glitch; Advocate for Ethics and Inclusion in Tech; Pioneering Blogger and Host of the Podcast “Function”
Shilpa Dave (VA), Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia
E.J.R. David (AK/WA), Professor of Psychology, University of Alaska-Anchorage. Author of Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino/American Postcolonial Psychology; We have not stopped trembling yet: Letters to my Filipino-Athabascan Family
Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis (MD), Curator, Editor, Writer, Scholar; The Asian American Literary Review
Ramona Diaz (MD), Documentary Filmmaker, Motherland; Imelda
A.C. Dumlao (NY), Transgender Advocate, Activist, and Writer
Tuyet Duong (MD), Former Obama Appointee, Founding Committee of Vietnamese Americans for Hillary, and PIVOT
Aditi Dussault (DC), Obama Administration Appointee
David L. Eng (PA), Richard L. Fisher Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
Caroline Fan (MO), Community Organizer; Startup Strategist; Former Endorsements Chair, Asian American Action Fund
Jenn Fang (CA), Founder and Editor, Reappropriate (reappropriate.com)
Kip Fulbeck (CA), Distinguished Professor of Art, University of California, Santa Barbara
Shruti Ganguly (NY), Filmmaker; Appointee, Obama Administration’s ECCO committee of influential media and entertainment executives
Gayatri Gopinath (NY), Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis; Director of the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, New York University
Abby Govindan (TX), Comedian and Writer
Sonia Gupta (LA), Attorney; Technologist; Anti-Racism Advocate
Jenny Han (NY), New York Times bestselling author, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You
Pakou Her (MO), Principal, Tseng Development Group
Jennifer Ho (CO), Professor; Director, Center for Humanities &the Arts, University of Colorado Boulder,
Tonga Hopai (HI), First Tongan to Serve as White House Intern
Tiffany Hsieh (DC), Political and Community Activist
Yvonne Hsu (DC), Former Obama Appointee
Madeline Hsu (TX), Professor of History and Asian American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
Vicki Hsueh (WA), Professor of Political Science; Director of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Betsy Huang (MA), Associate Provost; Dean of the College; Klein Distinguished Professor, Clark University
Elena Hung (MD), Disabled Rights Advocate and Mom of Disabled Kid with Complex Medical Needs; Immigrant; Lawyer; Ally
Hyepin Im (CA), President and CEO, Faith and Community Empowerment
Zareen Jaffery (NY), Founder, Salaam Reads,
Gish Jen (MA), Author of The Resisters and other books
Rev. Sandhya Jha (CA), Author of Pre-Post-Racial America and Transforming Communities; Founder and Director, Oakland Peace Center
Anu Joshi (NY), Immigrant Rights Activist
Anil Kalhan (PA), Professor of Law, Drexel University; Visiting Scholar, Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley
Michael Kang (CA), Sundance Award-Winning Filmmaker
Kathy Khang (IL), Author, Raise Your Voice and More Than Serving Tea; Progressive Faith Advocate,
Jeffrey S. Kim (CA), Former Commissioner, California Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs
Jian Zapata Kim (VA), Former Obama Appointee; Past Vice Chair, Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia; Co-Founder, KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress (previously Filipinos for Obama)
Ramey Ko (TX), First Asian American Judge in Austin, TX; Former Obama Appointee
Madhavi Krevat (NC), Organizer, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Sarah Kuhn (CA), Author, Heroine Complex; I Love You So Mochi, comic book writer Shadow of the Batgirl
Manjusha Kulkarni (CA), Executive Director, Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
Preeti Kulkarni (CA), Commissioner, Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission
R.O. Kwon (CA), Nationally bestselling author, The Incendiaries
Thanhha Lai (NY), Author; Winner of National Book Award, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Newbery Honor
Heather Laverty (DC), Labor Activist
C.N. Le (MA), Director, Asian and Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jennifer Lee (NY), Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
Philip Lee (CA), Publisher and Co-Founder, READERS TO EATERS
Stephen Lee (CA), Professor, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Nancy Leong (CO), Professor of Law, University of Denver; author, Identity Capitalists
Amazin LeThi (GA), Athlete, Author, LGBTQ Activist, Athlete Ally ambassador
Ricky Leung (NC), Community Organizer; Boardmember, Durham People’s Alliance
R. Zamora Linmark (HI), Author, Rolling the R’s and The Importance of Being Wilde At Heart
Cezar A. B. Lopez (NY), Former Obama Appointee
Lori Lopez (WI), Associate Professor of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin – Madison
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (CA), New York Times bestselling author, The Food Lab; NYT columnist; Chief Culinary Consultant for Serious Eats, chef at Wursthall, a modern California beer hall
John Ly (CA), Lawyer, Liang Ly LLP, @johnk_ly
Victor Manalo (CA), Dean, Claremont Core, Claremont Lincoln University
Courtney Milan (CO), New York Times Bestselling Author; Former SCOTUS Clerk Turned #metoo Agitator; Inclusion Advocate, #1 Yuzuru Hanyu Fan
Kristin Mink (MD), Teacher; Activist; Organizer
Mike Mochizuki (DC), Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University DC
Erika Moritsugu (DC), Former Obama Appointee
Aparna Mukherjee (CA), Writer; Systems Thinker; Ex-FUSE Corps Fellow; Executive Advisor, City of Los Angeles
Enormvs Munoz (NY), Actor/Dancer
Joohee Muromcew (WY), Writer and Editor; Content Strategist
Taiyo Na (NY), Musician; Writer; Educator
Kevin Nadal (NY), Professor of Psychology, John Jay College; Author of Filipino American Psychology
Raj Nadella (GA), Samuel A. Cartledge Associate Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
Meera Nair (NY), Author, Video:Stories, Activist
Celeste Ng (MA), New York Times Bestselling Author, Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere
Anthony Ocampo (CA), Associate Professor of Sociology at Cal Poly Pomona, and author of The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race
Ellen Oh (MD), Middle Grade and Young Adult Author; Co-Founder of WeNeedDiverseBooks
Elizabeth R. OuYang (NY), Community Activist, Civil Rights Lawyer; Educator; Special Assistant to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Under President Clinton
Ellen K. Pao (CA), CEO and Co-Founder, Project Include; Advocate for Inclusion and Ethics in Tech; Former CEO, Reddit; Award-Winning Author, Reset
Annabel Park (VA), Filmmaker, 9500 Liberty
Jacqueline Parker (NJ), US Military Academy Graduate, US Army Veteran, LGBTQIA Christian Activist
Anh Phan (VA), Community Organizer
OiYan Poon (CO), Associate Professor of Higher Education Leadership, Colorado State University
Nisha Ramachandran (DC), Community Advocate; Co-Founder, Desis for Progress
Saira Rao (CO), Co-Founder of Race To Dinner and Haven Media
PJ Raval (TX), Filmmaker, Call Her Ganda; Before You Know It
Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow (CA), Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Author, Don’t Be an Asshat and In Defense of Kindness
Kiki Rivera (HI), Playwright; Independent Theater Artist
David S. Roh (UT), Associate Professor of English, University of Utah
Dan Santat (CA), New York Times Bestselling Children’s Author; Graphic Novelist and Animator,
Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons (OR), Unitarian Universalist Minister
Angana Shah (MI), Economic Inclusion and Development Specialist; Attorney
Laura Shin (DC), Founder of Korean American for Obama and Korean Americans for Hillary. Past President, Korean American Democratic Committee of Los Angeles
Valerie Soe (CA), Filmmaker
Vega Subramaniam (MD) , South Asian/LGBTQ activist
Soh Suzuki (MI), Board, Japanese American Citizens Alliance, Detroit Chapter; Board, James and Grace Lee Boggs School
Renee Tajima-Pena (CA), Documentary Filmmaker, Who Killed Vincent Chin?; No Mas Bebes
Edward Tang (AL), Professor and Chair, American Studies, University of Alabama
Theresa Thanjan (NY), National Co-Chair, South Asians for Obama; Documentary Filmmaker, Whose Children Are These?
Bouapha Toommaly (CA), Former Kerry-Edwards Staff; Activist; Daily Kos, Director of Finance,
Viet Tran (DC), Community Advocate and LGBTQ Activist; Former Obama White House AAPI Initiative
Monique Truong (NY), Bestselling Novelist (The Book of Salt; Bitter in the Mouth; The Sweetest Fruit); Librettist; Attorney; Vice President, Authors Guild
Vincent Paolo Villano (NY), Hillary for America Alum
Alton Wang (CA), Community Activist
Esmé Weijun Wang (CA), New York Times-bestselling Author, The Collected Schizophrenias; The Border of Paradise; Speaker; Teacher
Constance Wu (CA), Actor, Hustlers; Crazy Rich Asians; Fresh Off the Boat
Susan Wu (CA), Investor and Startup Advisor
Jeff Yang (CA), Author; Editorial Commentator; Podcast Host, “They Call Us Bruce”
Jenny Yang (CA), Comedian and Writer
Alvina Yeh (CA), Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Miriam Yeung (NY), Consultant; Former Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
John Yi (CA), Boardmember, Korean American Democratic Committee
Nancy Wang Yuen (CA), Sociologist; Author, Reel Inequality
Joseph Yun (DC), Former US Ambassador and Special Representative for North Korea Policy