My name is Beverly Liu and I am currently a Finance student at The Ohio State University. This summer, I am working as an intern for The 80-20 PAC. The past couple of months, Raina Lee, another summer intern, and I have been working alongside some board members of the 80-20 PAC to advocate and lobby for the organization. We have been writing emails and letters to recruit new members to support the 80-20 PAC as well as drafting newsletters like this one. Being a part of 80-20 has notably impacted me and how I think and has opened my eyes in many ways. As a first generation Asian girl who just graduated from high school, I never considered that the color of my skin may affect me as much as it does when applying for jobs, when it comes to equal pay, or even when trying to buy a house. However, learning and studying the impact and support of 80-20 PAC members, I have been inspired and been given the tools needed to help you and the rest of the Asian American community break the glass ceiling still looming over us today.
This past May, the 80-20 DC chapter represented us at the Sherry-Chen Press Conference in Washington DC. The Press Conference for Sherry Chen consisted of more than one hundred AAPI organizations, one of them being the 80-20 National Asian American PAC (80-20 NAAPAC). If you are unfamiliar with Sherry Chen’s case, Chen was racially profiled and accused of crimes such as espionage. She was then interrogated without being advised of her rights, brought under federal prosecution, and eventually terminated from employment. On the eve of trial, however, the government dropped all criminal charges. Sherry was always, and remains, an innocent American. Her case has even attracted national media coverage.
Ms. Sherry Chen was an invited speaker at APAPA Columbus Chapter Opening Ceremony. Munsup Seoh, our VP of Membership, represented the 80-20 PAC at the APAPA meeting. At this meeting, there were youth groups’ active presentations from Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. Working with the APAPA, 80-20 hopes to help and guide young Asian Americans to develop into the leaders of tomorrow.
Sherry Chen is just one example of how Asian Americans are discriminated on a daily basis; her experience could happen to you, someone you know, or even your family members. We hope that being a part of the 80-20 PAC has demonstrated and proven to you how working together and standing up for what’s right can make a positive difference, because it definitely has for me.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen To
Secretary