Biden admin announces first plan to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities

Tuesday’s release by the Biden administration of its first national agenda was aimed at addressing disparities faced by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

A total of 22 officials and community leaders met to officially unveil the strategy spearheaded by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. It contains 32 action plans from federal agencies. Among the administration’s priorities are combating anti-Asian hate and discrimination, the disaggregation of data across the communities and better language access, according to the report.

“For too long, systemic barriers have put the American Dream out of reach for many Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and racism and xenophobia against AA and NHPI communities continued to threaten the safety and dignity of countless families,” said Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services, under which the White House initiative is housed. “But now we have a choice. We can choose to stand for equity, justice and opportunity and not the status quo.”

Several celebrities, including Daniel Dae Kim (actor), who sits on Advisory Commission on Asian Americans.

The plan is the result of President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14031, signed in May 2021, which not only established the White House initiative, but also directed the development of a government-wide interagency plan to “advance equity, justice, and opportunity” for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders communities.

The strategy included some of the agency’s previous work in relation to communities as well as new goals. The Justice Department, for instance, had previously released guidance in conjunction with HHS raising awareness about Covid-19-related hate crime. According to the strategy, the agency helped to develop in-language resources for hate crimes and incidents. Similar to the agency, it committed to making sure that people with limited English proficiency can access its programs and communicate safety concerns.

And when it comes to data collection, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy committed to a revision of federal data standards around race and ethnicity, which could lead to the collection of “higher quality” disaggregated data and a better understanding of the communities.

“Our communities have experienced pain and trauma with lasting mental health impacts, including depression and anxiety. But history has also taught us how resilient and strong our communities are,” Kim said. “I’ve never seen our community come together the way it has over the past few years. And I’ve been so heartened by the support of this administration that has gone beyond the usual political rhetoric.”

This article was originally published by NBCNews.com

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